Club courts success in Kettleholm
Thursday 13 April 2000
A five year long struggle for tennis facilities in Kettleholm, Dumfries and Galloway, will this weekend finally come to an end when St Mungo Tennis Club’s new facilities are officially opened.
Lord Monro, Sports Minister and Dumfriesshire MP for over 30 years before his retirement at the last general election, will cut a ribbon to perform the opening ceremony.
The upgraded courts, which were made possible with the help of an award of £12,000 from sportscotland Lottery Fund, will cater for tennis and netball, and will provide the only public tennis facility within eight miles of the village.
Previously, St Mungo’s Tennis Club formed an integral part of the sporting life of the community. After the courts fell into disrepair, an enthusiastic local committee set about the task of attracting funding to make the improvements necessary to resurrect the Club.
Mrs Pandora Buchanan-Jardine, Chairwoman of St Mungo’s Tennis Club, said: “On behalf of the committee, I would like to say how delighted we are to see our Club successfully refurbished. It has been a long struggle, but really worth all the effort. The courts and clubhouse look wonderful now and we hope that the local Primary School, Youth club and community will support us by using the Club, thus helping maintain sufficient funds to keep this treasured facility in the best possible condition.
“We are extremely grateful to everyone who has made this project possible and hope they feel that their money has been well spent.”
Allan Alstead, Chief Executive of sportscotland, said: “Small, local facilities like St Mungo Tennis Club’s new courts are as important to the development of sport in our communities as larger sports complexes and developments.
“Ensuring an even distribution of quality facilities throughout Scotland is one of the aims of sportscotland, and we have already contributed over £2.7m to the development of sports facilities throughout Dumfries and Galloway.”