Ahead of Wimbledon Tennis Championships, a FREE tennis open day is coming to Portsmouth to encourage more families and young people to have a go at the sport and get active.
From 11am-2pm on Saturday 29 June 2024, residents are encouraged to engage in family free play, and have a go at ‘beat the coach’ matches and tennis-themed games to inspire more children to take up the sport this summer. In true Wimbledon tradition, FREE strawberries and cream will also be available for everyone taking part on the day (subject to availability).
The initiative comes from BH Live, a registered charity that runs Portsmouth Tennis Centre in partnership with Portsmouth City Council who own the facility.
Macca Neaves, BH Live’s Head Coach at Portsmouth Tennis Centre says;
“Tennis is heaps of fun, it’s really social and great exercise too! We want to make sure it is accessible for everyone to enjoy so in the run up to Wimbledon we are opening our doors and inviting people to come and meet our LTA qualified coaching team and see what it’s all about.”
Sessions for Portsmouth Tennis Centre’s open day, which is open to all, can be booked directly online at clubspark.lta.org.uk/PortsmouthTennisCentre/Events.
An additional open day will also be held later this year for individuals with disabilities in partnership with local community groups Headway, a brain injury charity, and DS Active (Downs Syndrome).
Portsmouth Tennis Centre was commended as the Hampshire & Isle of Wight winner in last year’s LTA Tennis Awards ‘Tennis For All’ category for the centre’s hard work in bringing tennis to underrepresented groups throughout the city.
BH Live also runs Aces Tennis Academy at Portsmouth Tennis Centre, a programme aimed at youngsters aged 5 and upwards to provide a progressive and fun tennis pathway for children of all abilities up to the ages of 16. It runs alongside the LTA’s youth learning framework with an extra serving of fun.
For further information, visit bhliveactive.org.uk or speak to a member of our team in your local centre.
-ENDS-
About BH Live
BH Live is a leading operator of leisure and event venues; a registered charity and social enterprise that designs and builds engaging experiences to inspire people and enrich lives.
For more visit bhlive.org.uk.
Get social with us: LinkedIn, X @BHLIVE_UK and Facebook @SocialEnterpriseBHLive
BH Live is a leisure and cultural trust, established in 2010 as a ‘non profit distributing organisation’ (NPDO) for public benefit to promote participation in leisure and cultural events. BH Live is a Company Limited by Guarantee and Registered Charity. Charity No: 1138311. Company No: 07092112. VAT Reg No: 108 2248 37. BH Live (Enterprises) Ltd, is a Private Company Limited by Shares and a wholly owned subsidiary of BH Live. Company No: 07175626. VAT Reg No: 108 2248 37. Registered Office: Bournemouth International Centre, Exeter Road, Bournemouth, BH2 5BH. Registered in England and Wales.
About Headway Portsmouth & South East Hampshire
Headway Portsmouth and South East Hampshire has been a registered charity since 1986. We became an incorporated charity limited by guarantee in 2001.
We provide support to people with brain injury and other forms of acquired brain injury, their family members, carers, and interested professionals.
Although affiliated to the national charity, Headway Portsmouth and South East Hampshire is a separate and independent charity not funded by Headway UK. We rely entirely on our own funded contracts, grants and income generated through donations, fundraising and the trading of our two charity shops.
We support those affected by brain jury to understand, adapt and accept the changes brain injury brings to their lives enabling them to achieve maximum independence within their own community.
BH Live operates the following venues in partnership with Portsmouth City Council:
- Mountbatten Leisure Centre – Portsmouth’s flagship leisure and event venue with swimming pools, a 150 station gym,
squash, spin and dance studios, a cycle velodrome, athletics track, function suites with bars, a café and soft play facility.
Mountbatten is also home to an eight-court sports hall. The sports
hall remains temporarily closed for overhead repairs.
It is also home to a Clip ‘N Climb leisure attraction which opened in 2018.
For more visit bhliveactive.org.uk.
Get social with us: X and Facebook @mountbattenlc
- Pyramids Centre – one of Portsmouth’s leading leisure venues overlooking Southsea beach and the Solent. It has state-of-the-art Technogym fitness equipment in a spacious gym with functional fitness, strength and cardio zones. There is a dedicated area for health assessments and people who are new to exercise, plus fitness tracking technology to help support people in reaching their activity goals.
Four activity studios provide a variety of daily exercise classes including Group Cycling, HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), Yoga, Pilates and the Les Mills programme.
The centre is also home to Exploria, a themed play and bounce attraction which opened in 2021. A range of exciting experiences stimulate play and challenge children agreed from 6 months upwards. A bounce zone includes a diving tower with air bag, interactive games, themed slides agility parkour, battle beams and foam pits. The play zone includes ball pits, spider’s web and cargo climbing features, a rope bridge skywalk, bash bags, tunnels, rollers, beams and dodge ball shoot out. And the baby and toddler zone has all things Exploria, but downsized for little ones. There is also a range of interactive games, a dedicated sensory room, four themed party rooms and a café serving snacks, light bites and drinks.
For more visit bhliveactive.org.uk and exploria.org.uk
Get social with us: X @PyramidsCentre
Facebook @Pyramids.Centre
- Portsmouth Gymnastics Centre – gymnastics hall with physiotherapy and meeting room.
For more visit bhliveactive.org.uk.
Get social with us: Facebook @PortsmouthGymnasticsCentre
- Portsmouth Tennis Centre – Situated in the north of Portsmouth consisting of four indoor courts and six floodlit outdoor courts. A comprehensive coaching programme caters for all ages and abilities. Sessions are available for tots, juniors, adults and also includes variations of the sport such as cardio tennis and touch tennis.
For more visit bhliveactive.org.uk.
Get social with us: Twitter @PortsTennis and Facebook @PortsmouthTC
- Wimbledon Park Sports Centre – sports hall with badminton and basketball courts
For more visit bhliveactive.org.uk.
Get social with us: Facebook @WimbledonParkSportsCentre
- Charter Community Sports Centre – 20m swimming pool, 20 station gym, sports hall and an outdoor multi-use games area.
For more visit bhliveactive.org.uk.
Get social with us: Facebook @CharterCommunitySC