Padel: Yorkshire student wins £5,000 to invest in padel court concept

Padel is a racket sport that originates from Mexico, typically played in doubles on an enclosed court slightly smaller than a doubles tennis court.

Daniel said: “Despite being the fastest growing sport in the world, Padel is still not that accessible to many people in the UK because of the amount of space you need for the courts.

"This means that many of them have been built on industrial estates, or similar locations, and often these are not accessible for many people.”

Daniel, 28, spent five years studying and playing professional golf in the USA before joining the RAU. Alongside the Grand Idea prize money, Daniel will continue to receive guidance and business coaching through the Cirencester-based university’s Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Programme while developing his business.

He is now working with his father’s company, Blacker Steel Fabrications Ltd, which is based at Osbaldwick, to develop his plan to construct mezzanine levels in existing sports stadiums and other arenas on which to provide turnkey padel court installations.

Daniel said: “Arenas and stadiums have plenty of space but a lot of it is above ground – they are high enough but not wide enough – but, if you build a mezzanine level, there is loads of space.

“Padel is a doubles sport but I am keen to also build singles courts which are narrower than doubles courts.

"These courts will not only make Padel much more accessible for people who just want to play as a pair, but also mush more accessible for disabled people may not have the ability to get around the larger court.”

Daniel - and his business partner Sam Batty - are now speaking to the owners of community stadiums throughout the UK and hope to get the go ahead to build courts at York’s LNER Community Stadium in the next few weeks.

Part of the university’s programme, the RAU’s Grand Idea competition invites RAU students to pitch their business ideas to a panel of experts, which this year included RAU honorary fellow Levi Roots.

Daniel added: “The whole process has absolutely been a stand out experience for me. To have people of the judges’ stature in the business world say you have done something really impressive is a massive validation.

"Levi Roots has been in regular contact with me since the competition offering me advice and support and I currently see him very much as a mentor which is amazing.”

Christine Cross, who chaired the judging panel, said Daniel’s experience of both sport and business meant he is ideally placed to develop his winning idea.

Fellow Rural Land Management student Zachary Costello, from Warwickshire, was named as the runner up in the competition and won £2,500 to invest in his business Chauvet Couture, a fashion brand curating high-end, pre-loved garments, styles, looks, and outfit guides, enriched with storytelling and industry insights to inspire a more thoughtful, sustainable way of shopping.