On Wednesday 18th September ARC welcomed legendary tennis coach Judy Murray OBE for a tour of the centre. Judy Murray met local school children and individuals with learning and physical needs during the visit and presented four lucky participants with sweatbands worn by her son, British tennis icon Andy Murray.
Judy Murray met with children and teachers from Appledore Primary, Parkham Primary, Buckland Brewer Primary and Woolsery Primary, and joined in a Disability Tennis session with participants from Northam Care Trust, an award-winning charity providing support for those with learning and physical disabilities in North Devon. Judy Murray watched sessions and classes offered by ARC including a Badminton No-Strings session, Bat & Chat Table Tennis, Adult Tennis Super Drills, and both a Teen and Over 50’s fitness class in the ARC gym.
About the visit, Judy Murray said, “ARC is probably the best example of a true community multi-sports centre that has tennis at its heart that I’ve seen across the country - run as a charitable foundation and done for the good of the community and for the good of getting people active. It was great to see different sports, mini tennis for local schools, and special needs groups co-existing in a hive of activity. There is still a job to do in terms of fundraising to complete the café and studio space, but ARC should be very, very proud of the work they’ve done to create an incredible asset for your local area.”
Judy posted on X (formerly Twitter) about her visit, saying, “The best community tennis centre I have visited in 35 years of coaching. Run as a charity, Atlantic Racquet Centre in north Devon has 1600 members, 4 indoor 6 outdoor courts plus gym. Delivers to 17 local schools + adapts to badminton, pickleball, TT for all ages + abilities. I hope you find the funding to complete your cafe and the multi sport studio. Affordable accessible sport for the local area run by an enthusiastic team and lots of volunteers. Community spirit at its finest.”
Judy Murray’s visit comes as ARC seeks funding to complete the final phase of its ongoing building project to bring a multi-sport hall and café to the centre, providing the local area with a much-needed community hub, with health, wellbeing and learning at its core. As a charity, ARC relies on funding and donations to aid the maintenance and continued development of its high quality and affordable facilities.
Any businesses or individuals interested in sponsor opportunities or donating to the final phase of ARC’s building project should contact Tom Vinall, General Manager, at tom@atlanticracquetcentre.co.uk