Historic Cambridge tennis club lights up for Winter! 

Members of Cocks and Hens tennis club in Cambridge will be able to enjoy playing tennis into the dark winter nights thanks to new floodlights which now cover all eight of their courts. 

Thanks to generous donations from members, funding from the Amey Community Fund, the Sport England Community Fund and Cambridgeshire LTA, the club has been able to install state of the art LED floodlights meaning that members will be able to enjoy some valuable extra hours of play as we enter the winter season. 

The floodlights were officially turned on by David Rawlinson the national President of the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) at the opening ceremony on 2nd October.  

Head Coach Justin Layne was the first to play on the floodlit court with a member of the Cocks and Hens juniors. Justin Layne said, “The LED floodlights give very impressive visibility on court and will allow our members to enjoy their tennis year-round.” 

The Amey Community Fund awards grants to support community, environmental and heritage projects run by non-profit organisations based in Cambridgeshire, within 10 miles of a landfill site. The fund is managed by Cambridgeshire Community Foundation and is part of a voluntary environmental tax credit scheme called the Landfill Communities Fund. 

Club Chairman, Guy Seaborn said, "It has been a challenging year for the Club, trying to navigate new and changing rules around Covid-19 and keeping our members safe and the grounds well maintained throughout this period. We are delighted to have some good news to share and know that these new lights will help our members keep fit and active through the winter months.” 

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LTA Outstanding Achievement County Award for Barrie Hunt

David Rawlinson, President of the LTA, visited the club at the beginnig of October 2020 to present Barrie Hunt with the Outstanding Achievement County Award for 2019/20.

We would like to congratulate Barrie as this is a very special achievement and is recognition for all the hours of work he has put in over the years to the club.

Barrie joined the club as a member is 2008 and in 2015 he took on the role of overseeing the relocation of our club to the new site. The move was completed in 2017 and Barrie became the Chair of the club. It is fair to say that the move involved overcoming significant obstacles and could not have been achieved without his remarkable determination, drive and selflessness during an uncertain period for the club. Over the period from 2015 Barrie  modernised and professionalised the club, drawing in new committee members and embedding a longer term sustainable approach to the club’s development. He also persuaded Justin Layne to come and take over the role of Head Coach. Under Barrie’s leadership the club achieved Tennismark in one year, raised funds for all our 8 brand new floodlights. The membership has doubled in size (particularly driven by younger families joining) and achieved charitable status.

Barrie’s eye for detail is legendary and has been focused on a deep love of the game of tennis and the need to pass that on to future generations. He has given so many hours of his time to make this club what it is today.

Thank you Barrie!