WANTED: Freelance Fitness Instructor

Freelance Fitness Instructor – Atlantic Racquet Centre – Bideford

Atlantic Racquet Centre is looking for a freelance fitness instructor able to deliver some form of fitness sessions on one of our outdoor or indoor tennis courts. We are open to ideas and willing to explore multiple formats, session options and times, as a way of kick-starting our fitness offering at the centre before our purpose-built fitness facilities are completed in 2021.

The centre is an exciting new community racquet & fitness facility in Bideford which currently has 6 outdoor tennis courts, 4 indoor tennis courts, 3 Badminton courts and 2 table tennis tables. Once completed, the facility will also offer squash courts, a café area, 2 fitness studios and a large gym.

The successful applicant will work closely with our Centre Manager to design, promote and deliver a small programme of new fitness sessions at ARC.

The ideal candidate will have a clear idea of the type of session they could deliver on either an outdoor or indoor tennis court and will have experience of doing sessions in similar environments. They will be a confident, approachable, and professional fitness instructor with relevant qualifications. They will have a passion for community participation and be committed to our vision & mission.

We are essentially looking for applicants to come to us with a proposal for what they could deliver at the centre.

Start Date: January 2020.

Acceptance will be subject to satisfactory references and a DBS check.

If you are interested in applying, please send a covering letter briefly outlining your proposal, your CV and names of 2 referees to tom@atlanticracquetcentre.co.uk.

Applicants who meet the criteria will then be invited to interview to further discuss their proposal.

If you would like any further information regarding the position, please contact Tom Vinall – tom@atlanticracquetcentre.co.uk

Application Closing Date: Friday 18th December 2020 at 12pm.

Nexus Tournament Win!

ARC Junior, Nick Beer won his first LTA Tournament of his career last weekend. The Nexus 12 & Under for girls and boys attracted 12 players to ARC from around the county. Nick had a tough match in the semi-final, coming through 11-9 in the Championship tie-break. He went on to beat the No 1 seed (who was ranked higher than him) 4-2 4-3. As well as gaining points for his LTA Rating, he won a Nexus goody bag of tennis accessories. Nick is one of our U12 Performance players and hits regularly with his Dad. Nick has been playing since the age of 8.

Junior Tennis Tournament Success!

Over the past month ARC has hosted several LTA sanctioned junior tennis tournaments at weekends. The events have been really well supported with around 16 players competing in each event. For us the highlight of these events has been seeing so many of our own Junior players representing ARC and competing against players from across the county.

We’d like to say a huge well done to Matt, Oli & Adam who played in the 16&Under Nexus Event, Nick who took part in the 12&Under County Tour and to Troy, Jack, Olivia, Noah and James who are all set to take part in the Mini Orange Whirlwind event this Saturday. We’re so proud of you all for stepping up, taking part and setting an amazing example to the other players on the programme - keep up the good work! We’re looking forward to more of our players competing in the coming months including many ARC adult players in the ARC Winter Open in October.

It's one thing to have so many players competing in external tournaments held at ARC, but when one wins one of them its even better! A MASSIVE congratulations to 16&Under player Matt who managed to fend off 15 other players to win the 16&Under Nexus event held at ARC last weekend. Matt has trained with us here at ARC since age 9 and its amazing to see him finally getting the results he deserves!

We’d also like to say a huge thankyou to the ARC referee’s and volunteer court umpires who have given up many hours of their time to make these events happen!

#TeamARC!

Eric’s National Series Success

Eric Lorimer, who trains at Atlantic Racquet Centre, Bideford, won the LTA National Series held in August and will now go on to play the National Finals on 26th September at facilities located near Derby, against seven of the other National Series finalists.

Eric was invited to play at the National Series U10 event held at Millfield School, Somerset, on 15th August and 23rd August, along with 11 other boys amongst the top 36 best-rated players in the country in his age-group. A similar U10 National Series event was organised in two other venues across the country each with 12 boys.  At each event each player had to play every other player (round-robin) in a FAST4 set such that every player had a minimum of 11 sets to play over two Sundays. The top two from each National Series event and the two best third placed players from all three groups would qualify for the National Finals due to take place on 26th September. Eric did remarkably well and won all of his 11 matches qualifying as first in his group. All of his match results were either 4-1 or 4-2 with the exception of one set which he won 4-3 on the tie break to 10 (11-9) having saved one match point against him at 8-9.

The draw format of the finals of the National Series is an 8 player compass draw played over 1 day (26th September).  All matches will be two FAST4 sets plus a deciding match tie-break if the score reaches one set all.  We hope Eric will enjoy playing his matches and do his very best in all aspects of the game.

NEW WEEKEND RACQUET ASSISTANT ROLE

Part-Time Weekend Racquets Assistant – Atlantic Racquet Centre – Bideford

Atlantic Racquet Centre is looking for a part-time weekend racquets assistant to help enable to centre to extend its weekend opening hours and programmes.

The centre is an exciting brand-new facility in Bideford which currently has 6 outdoor tennis courts, 4 indoor tennis courts and 3 Badminton courts. Once completed, the facility will also offer squash courts, a multi-sports hall, large gym and café area.

The successful applicant will be required to complete 3 main duties on a weekly basis as detailed below:

1.       Assist with packing up of Badminton courts on Saturday’s from 5.00pm. (Approx. 30 mins).

2.       Unlock Indoor Tennis & Badminton Hall on Sunday Mornings at 9.30am (Approx. 15 mins).

3.       Lock-Up Indoor Tennis & Badminton Hall on Sunday Evenings at 5.00pm (Approx. 15 mins).

The ideal candidate will be a reliable and trustworthy person with excellent time-keeping skills who is willing to spare an hour of their time at weekends to help our community centre continue to grow and offer our facilities to more and more users.

The position essentially covers 1 hour a week and will be paid at £15.00 per week. There will be occasional weekends where one or more of the 3 duties may not be required, in such cases the weekly pay will be reduced accordingly.

Start Date: As soon as possible.

Acceptance will be subject to satisfactory references and a DBS check.

If you are interested in applying, please send your CV and names of 2 referees to tom@atlanticracquetcentre.co.uk.

If you would like any further information regarding the position, please contact Tom Vinall – tom@atlanticracquetcentre.co.uk

Application Closing Date: Wednesday 16th September 2020 at 12pm.

NEW COMPETITION ORGANISER ROLE

Part-Time Competition Organiser – Atlantic Racquet Centre – Bideford

Atlantic Racquet Centre is looking for a part-time Competition Organiser to manage our many sanctioned LTA tournaments that take place at the centre.

The centre is an exciting brand-new facility in Bideford which currently has 6 outdoor tennis courts, 4 indoor tennis courts and 3 Badminton courts. Once completed, the facility will also offer squash courts, a multi-sports hall, large gym and café area.

The successful applicant will work closely with our Centre Manager and Coaching Team and will be responsible for organising and managing all aspects of LTA sanctioned competitions at ARC. This will include:

         Planning, applying for and creating a full programme of events each competition season

·         Booking courts, organising Referees, and purchasing balls & equipment

·         Promoting events on social media and elsewhere

·         Managing the entry process, responding to entry enquiries, and creating draws in the lead up to events

·         Managing and uploading results post event

·         Sharing and publicising the results and success stories post event

The ideal candidate will have good IT literacy and a good knowledge of the LTA competitions framework and relevant software. They will be familiar with social media platforms and confident in how to use them effectively. They will have previous experience of organising and running Tennis competitions and be able to evidence this. An ABTO referee qualification along with in date Officials Accreditation is desirable.

The position will be 3 hours per week with the timing of these 3 hours flexible. Pay will be based on qualification and experience.  

Whilst the position will initially focus on LTA sanctioned events only there is the possibility for the role to expand in future into our own internal competition programme and events.

Start Date: September 2020.

Acceptance will be subject to satisfactory references and a DBS check.

If you are interested in applying, please send your CV and names of 2 referees to tom@atlanticracquetcentre.co.uk.

If you would like any further information regarding the position, please contact Tom Vinall – tom@atlanticracquetcentre.co.uk

Application Closing Date: Wednesday 16th September 2020 at 12pm.

ARC awarded up to £10,000 and place on learning programme to improve local community

Tom Vinall the centre manager of Atlantic Racquet Centre in Bideford, is one of 71 leaders across England selected for a competitive learning programme and grant of up to £10,000.

The Community Business Trade Up Programme is run by the School for Social Entrepreneurs, in partnership with Power to Change. The programme supports people improving their local communities through trade.

The programme will help Tom to grow Atlantic Racquet Centre’s membership, coaching and court hire programmes.

Tom will soon begin a nine-month learning programme at the School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE). SSE helps people develop the skills, strengths and networks they need to tackle society’s biggest problems.

Tom says: “I am delighted to have been accepted onto the Community Business Trade Up Programme, run by the School for Social Entrepreneurs, in partnership with Power to Change. The programme and grant of up to £10,000 will help us continue to grow ARC, so that we can continue to improve the health & wellbeing of people of all ages in Bideford and the surrounding areas.”

Amber Sorrell, programme manager at the School for Social Entrepreneurs, says: “We are thrilled to welcome Tom onto the programme, where he’ll learn alongside other community leaders how to create lasting social impact for the region. We are confident that Tom has the entrepreneurial qualities and motivation to increase his impact in Torridge even further, which is why we have awarded him a highly-coveted place.”.

Find out more about the programme at https://www.the-sse.org/courses/community-business/

Marian named South West Volunteer of the Year!

We're very excited to announce that our very own Marian Vinall has won the LTA South West Volunteer of the Year award. Having won the Devon award back in January Marian was then put forward to the regional round against the 9 other southwest county winners of which she came out on top!

Marian volunteers as our membership director as well as contributing massively to our safeguarding team. She is one of our part-time coaches and does a huge amount of voluntary tournament refereeing every year. ARC couldn't function without the relentless volunteer work ethic of Marian and others like her. We're incredibly proud of her and pleased that she's got the recognition she deserves.

She'll now go forward to the national stage against the other regional winners. Good luck Marian!

COVID-19 UPDATE 16/03/20

Statement Issued By Centre Manager Tom Vinall at 23:00 on 16/03/20

Dear ARC Members & Users,

In light of the most recent government advice regarding Coronavirus (Covid-19) and in particular the advice to avoid social gatherings we have tonight made the following decisions about upcoming activity at ARC:

Upcoming Events

•  ‘Share Your Views’ Open Meeting – 17/03/20 6.30pm – Postponed until further notice

• ACCT Schools Multi-Sport Festival – 19/03/20 10.00am – Postponed until further notice

• Try Tennis & Badminton for Free Open Day – 21/03/20 – Cancelled

• Men’s Team Tennis Training Indoor Session – 22/03/20 10.00am - Cancelled

Member Club play Sessions

• All member club play sessions will be cancelled until further notice. All courts will be made FREE and available to book for members during the usual club play slots but no volunteers will be asked to organise any activity – members are of course still welcome to book courts and play during this time after assessing their own risk.

  - This will include the following sessions: Tennis - Tuesday 6.30 – 9pm, Weds 10 – 12pm, Fri 7 - 9PM. Badminton - Thurs No-Strings 6.30 – 8.30pm, Fri 7 – 9pm.

• Men’s & Ladies Team Tennis Training (Wednesdays 7 – 9pm, Thursdays 7 – 9pm) – Cancelled.

  - Outdoor courts will be made available to be booked by members for free during these slots.

Coaching Sessions – Kids & Adults

• All coaching sessions will continue as planned for the final 2 weeks of our term until Saturday 28th March or until the government issues further related advice. We will be asking all players both children and adults to be mindful of social distancing during the sessions and to avoid any close or physical contact with other members of the class. Good hygiene practices including washing hands thoroughly before and after the session will be encouraged.

Until directed otherwise by the government the centre will remain open to both members and non-members for general court use. We are disinfecting all regularly used door handles, surfaces and toilet flushes 3 times daily and have provided hand sanitiser at the entrance to the indoor Tennis & Badminton hall for members & users to use when they arrive and before they leave the centre. We would ask all members and users to please follow government advise and not visit the centre if you are in any way unwell but particularly if you or anyone in your home has a new continuous cough and/or high temperature. Likewise if you become ill shortly after attending the centre please contact Tom Vinall (tom@atlanticracquetcentre.co.uk) as soon as possible so that we can share this info with anyone you may have come into contact with at the centre.

We will review all of the above measures including the cancellation of club play sessions on Saturday 5th April 2020, or as and when the government issues further advise related to any of the above activities.  

We’re of course sorry to have to cancel many of our sessions & activities, however the health & safety of our staff, members and users is as always of paramount importance to us.

Please check this page again for more updates in the coming weeks as the situation develops.

Kind Regards,

Tom Vinall
Centre Manager & Head Coach
Atlantic Racquet Centre

North Devon Tennis Tournament 2020

The North Devon Tournament 2020 taking place at Tarka Tennis Centre, Barnstaple between 6-22 March.

Entries are now open and close at 11am on Saturday, 29th of February.

To enter, please find an entry form here.

Tennis Leaders Update

In December we ran a Tennis Leaders update course for all of our Tennis assistants. It was good fun going over what makes a good tennis coach. Followed by a competitive mini red tournament!

Men's Tennis Night Out

31 male team players attended the Men's Tennis Night out, starting with a meal at The Spice and followed on by drinks. A great time was had by all celebrating the many successes in the league this year!

Match Week - Red vs Blue!

Last week was MATCH WEEK here at ARC. All of our mini and teen groups battled it out in their final session of the term in a super fun Red vs Blue team challenge battle! Points were scored in fun team games, matchplay and just about anything that could possibly be judged!

The week ended with the Red Team taking the win by 99 points to 82! Some smaller groups due to it being the holidays but nonetheless a fantastic week of competition for all those players who came along! Big shout out to LTA - Tennis For Britain and LTA Competitions for providing the awesome certificates and team stickers!

Tennis for Kids Party!

After a really successful term of Tennis for Kids courses we hosted our first Tennis for Kids Party to celebrate! Thanks very much to everyone who attended, It was brilliant to see so many of you there and to see the kids really enjoying playing some of their first real tennis matches!

ARC clothing now available!

Out brand new ARC Hoodies, T-shirts and Water Bottles are now avliable to buy.

For more information click here

Atlantic Racquet Centre Ratings and Rankings Tournament 2019

This year was the 32nd Tournament and as always was a great success. A total of 231 players entered from across the country, playing in 26 different events with ages ranging from 7 to 80.  60 adults from ARC competed but the best ever number of ARC juniors entered – a total of 23. We were even able to hold 8 Junior events that girls could enter, this is quite an achievement as often girls events are cancelled due to lack of numbers.

 A really big well done must go to the ARC youngsters who were Winners or Runners Up in their events: Matt Daniel, Jake Cleave, Alex Grigg, Finn Gillespie Petersen, Julian Hayter, Oli Sussex, Tom Whiteley, Katie Rowe and Harrison Booth.

ARC oldies performed well too! Trophies were awarded to Tom Farnell, Martyn Beer, Billy Pearce, Kevin Hooper, Jeremy Williams, Matt Johns, Gerald Sussex, John Norman, Cath Andrews, Ian Leonard, Paul Ley, Phil Yabsley, Mark Clayton, Helen Beer, Marian Vinall, Sue Williams, Ken Stoate, Sara Milburn, Liz Booth, Caroline Richards, Tish Shere and Bev Trapnell.

There were 3 special awards; Junior Sportsmanship award - Freya Hooper, Senior Sportsmanship award – Billy Pearce and the Winsome Trophy for most improved ARC Junior was shared between Matt Daniel and Alex Grigg

A huge thank you to everyone who helped in any way to make this a big success for ARC.

Devon Social Series Badminton Tournament

The Third Devon Social Series of Badminton Tournaments of 2018/19 took place on Sunday 19th May at the Atlantic Racquet Centre in Bideford under the watchful eye of Referee Paul Widdicombe.

The men’s doubles was a close contest with the eventual winners of the morning tournament going to Paul Cook & Bradley Cloutman who play at Edgehill Badminton Club, close runners up were Harry Chagger & Lino Luongo who play at Kenwith Badminton Club.

The afternoon tournament saw Chagger gain revenge over Cook & Cloutman with new partner Glen Parry with the narrowest of margins 21-20. Chagger & Parry gaining maximum points to claim top spot.

It was good to see so many young players in the event. Teenagers Louis Bloodworth, Matthew Daniel, Adam Hooper, James Leonard, Jake Redstone and Chris Weaver have much to offer for the future.

The mixed was a smaller entry but good to see Ben and Mary Anne Redstone back on court after a few years absence who took the runners up spot. Youngsters Louis Bloodworth & Talitha Tanton finished third behind winner Alison Widdicombe who because of round robin event partnered six different men Gary Cook, Harry Chagger, Glen Parry, Lino Luongo, Paul Cook & Bradley Cloutman to go undefeated in all matches.

More events are planned in the Autumn.