2 August 2011 | Tennis Victoria

Running the 35+ Seniors’ Social Program is a great way to get older members of your community active and help them live a long, healthy life. Run in a non-competitive environment, the program is also a great way to utilise your club’s courts during down times and increase membership.

Altona Tennis Club has been running the program for a number of years with great success. There are about 30 players participating on a weekly basis, with a  ‘hit and giggle’ group for beginners and competitive male and female groups for those who enjoy the more serious side of tennis. 

The ladies play a round-robin format where they play eight games before changing partners to mix games up.

“We don’t keep a daily score. We don’t [like to] have a winner or loser on the day,” said Mary Baldwin, the Senior Social Coordinator at Altona Tennis Club.

The participants range in age with the oldest being Iris Brady and Linda Findlay, both 83.

“Iris comes along every week. She likes the company and likes to be there. Iris might only play four games and then sit four off, or she might play eight or 10 games and say she’s had enough and sit the rest off.”