Inside Yorkshire's 'working-class tennis club' with industrial heritage and a player aged 92
In other words tennis suggests posh - most definitely not what their club is about, says Thorncliffe Tennis Club chairman Stephen Hague.The club was formed in 1953 as part of the old Newton Chambers/ Thorncliffe ironworks sports complex in the north of Sheffield helping to look after the the health and wellbeing of its 2,000-strong workforce.Over the years as the old industry wound down or was sold off, the club effectively became privately run and operated by its members.It has moved to different sites around the Thorncliffe/High Green playing fields and offers a chance to play tennis for an extremely modest yearly sum of £90.But the club - which numbers 60 members with five over the age of 84 - is struggling to raise money to resurface its tennis courts at a cost of £50,000.
New floodlights are needed while a usable clubhouse is something they can only dream of.Mr Hague said: "Thorncliffe isn't like other clubs in the area - it's very much a working class set up."The courts were put down 20 years ago and they are 10 years past their sell by date and slowly but surely starting to crack up."We can't justifiably expect members to come up with £500 each for the new courts."It's really difficult to get funding - we have an application into the Lottery and we've approached Sports England. We are also going out to local businesses and trying to crowdfund.
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Hide Ad"We are trying to deliver affordable tennis and decent sporting facilities for people, but we are simply not eligible for most grants as we don't fit the criteria."Their oldest player Eric Smedley is about to turn 92 and has been a member since 1953 when he was 21 and working at Thorncliffe as a production fitter in the machine shop.He and doubles partner Margaret Stevens, now 86, used to play in the League and still play socially twice a week."I've enjoyed it and still enjoy it," he said. Mr Smedley gave up badminton at 70, and table tennis in his early 70s, but still plays doubles as he says the bounce in the ball gives him a fighting chance of getting to it and he "doesn't have to run so fast".Having seen siblings suffer from dementia, he believes tennis helps keep it away.Karen Lyon, whose daughter played at the club when she was growing up, is determined to raise the money.She said: "The club deserves better. My daughter played at three of the best clubs in Sheffield before joining Thorncliffe. It was the best move we made. Everyone knows everyone and everyone is an equal. A more welcoming and social club couldn’t be found elsewhere. We would like to raise funds to bring a better playing ground for all."The crowdfunding appeal can be found at https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/court-resurfacing.