The Supporting Tennis – Local Government Award is presented to the LGA which is judged to be the most engaged with, and supportive of, tennis in its community.
Mitchell Shire has invested nearly $4.2 million in the past two years towards tennis projects.
A further $2.1 million of combined grant funding from Sport and Recreation Victoria, Tennis Australia/Victoria, Sport Australia and local clubs, has seen nearly $6.3 million of service improvements delivered.
Mitchell Shire’s commitment to improving sport and recreation opportunities for girls and women has also benefited netball participation through shared-use courts and a pavilion.
These projects have addressed the urgent need to renew ageing outdoor courts infrastructure and expand and update lighting to support greater participation.
“Council’s Recreation and Open Space team works really hard to secure funding and deliver projects for our community. It’s great to see their hard work recognised with this nomination,” Mitchell Shire Mayor Rhonda Sanderson said.
“We are a growing shire and part of our role as council is to work with our government and community partners to help provide facilities and the opportunity to play sport and connect.
“I’d like to sincerely thank our funding partners, we simply couldn’t fund projects of this scale on our own at this stage in our population growth cycle.”
Projects completed in the past two years or due for completion shortly include:
• JJ Clancy Reserve, Kilmore, Tennis Court and Lighting Project: Reconstruction of four tennis courts, and eight courts lit to competition standard.
• LB Davern Reserve, Wandong, Netball/Tennis Court and Lighting Project (Enclosure 3): Reconstruction of two dual-purpose courts with competition standard lighting.
• Harley Hammond Reserve, Broadford, Netball/Tennis Project: New shared use pavilion with two dual-purpose courts and competition standard lighting.
• LB Davern Reserve, Wandong, Tennis/Netball Court and Lighting Project (Enclosure 2): Reconstruction of two dual-purpose courts with competition standard lighting.
Current projects include:
• JJ Clancy Reserve, Kilmore, Netball Tennis Court Renewal and Upgrade Project: Includes two netball/tennis courts and two netball courts, all with competition standard lighting.
• Wallan Tennis Complex – Enclosure 2 Lighting Project: New competition standard lighting for two courts.
• Beveridge Recreation Reserve Netball/Tennis Court Project: Includes reconstruction of two tennis/netball courts with competition standard lighting.
Council staff have worked closely to build strong relationships with Tennis Victoria, other state sporting associations and Sport and Recreation Victoria to deliver a wide range of sport and recreation facility improvements over recent years.
Winners of the 2021 Victorian Tennis Awards will be announced on Tuesday, October 19.