By Tanya Faulkner
A local sports club has been rallying for Knox, and have recently been nominated for a statewide award.
The Ferntree Gully Tennis Club has been recognised for its all abilities tennis program, and has been named a finalist in the Victoria Tennis Awards for the most outstanding inclusion initiative.
The club will go head to head against Doncaster’s Au-Tastic Tennis program and South Gisborne Tennis Club’s All Abilities Tennis Challenge.
Ferntree Gully Tennis Club vice president Justin Metcalf said regardless of the result, the nomination means a lot to the club.
“It’s recognition for the hard work the volunteers and members have done over the last few years to get this program up and running.
“There have been a number of people involved in the program, we went through the process to get it started as Covid started, and we worked through Covid to get it up and running,” he said.
The club isn’t unfamiliar with the spotlight with Tennis Victoria, having been awarded the Polytan Peter Norman Inclusion Award in 2021.
Their all abilities program was designed and started a couple of years ago in conjunction with Special Olympics Australia and Tennis Victoria, with the idea of making tennis more accessible to the community.
Mr Metcalf said from a club perspective, it’s brought about a whole new life.
“Lot of clubs in the area have closed due to low numbers of members or no committee, and a lot of people haven’t been able to commit to a club or take time to volunteer.
“Our club decided to look at opportunities where the club wasn’t being fully utilised in certain aspects of the day.
“This way we can show locals that our club is open and welcoming to anyone,” he said.
Ferntree Gully Tennis Club have an overarching goal to make their club more inclusive, active and fun for the community to be involved in the sport, and has become their tagline of the all inclusive program.
Mr Metcalf said there has been a lot of positive support in the program from around the state.
“Tennis Victoria had programs and coaching we incorporated into our all inclusive program, and they have been heavily involved in getting it off the ground,” he said.
From their very first session in recent years, the program has grown to over 30 people playing tennis through the All Abilities program.
According to Mr Metcalf, it is a program that is continuing to grow in Ferntree Gully.
“The first session we had was very small, but it worked.
“Now we have anywhere between 15 and 25 people who come along to our Thursday night sessions,” he said.
The club provides all players with a racket at the beginning of the term when they join the program, and Mr Metcalf said the club prioritises its players throughout their progression.
“Thanks to support from Bendigo Bank in Ferntree Gully with sponsorships and support to get grants, we have equipment on hand to give to the players in the program.
‘“If they continue on longer than a term, we make sure they get really well looked after and have the equipment they need,” he said.
Overall, the Ferntree Gully Tennis club has goals to make an even more inclusive club culture, with locals and visitors from all diverse cultures and walks of life welcome to make the most of the clubs’ facilities.
Mr Metcalf said their next ambition is to see more women involved in their club.
“Tennis is a funny sport – we can see AFL and cricket is progressing with more womens’ teams, but tennis seems to be slightly more left behind.
“The great thing about our club is that we have a 50-50 split in our committee between male and female.
“If I say so myself, it makes it a really good, really healthy, and nicer environment to be in,” he said.
According to Mr Metcalf, the most interest from locals has been in their ‘Book a Court’ system, where locals can book the courts for an hour or two whenever they like to go down for a hit.
“It’s been prevalent in our club, and a lot around the area, where locals can book sessions whenever they want to pop down for a game on their own time,” he said.
At the end of the day, Mr Metcalf encourages Knox locals to pop down for a visit and see what their club has to offer the community.
“What we’re trying to establish in the community is that, just because there are big fences around, doesn’t mean you can’t come in.
“Everyone is always welcome to come down and use the facilities or join our club, no matter what age, ability or background they come from.
“It doesn’t matter if you can’t hit a ball, it’s lots of fun and there are lots of options like our ‘cardio tennis’ or social tennis on Thursdays,” he said.
Anyone wanting to learn more about the Ferntree Gully Tennis Club, or book time on the courts, can visit play.tennis.com.au/ferntreegullytennisclub
