Latest news with #LawnTennisAssociation
Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Times
LTA ‘breaking law' by letting trans women play in female contests
The Lawn Tennis Association has been accused of breaking the law by encouraging tennis clubs to allow transgender women to play in internal competitions for female players. In January this year the LTA, Britain's national governing body for tennis, banned trans women from competing in the women's category for most domestic tournaments. However, the ban did not extend to social tournaments and championship competitions held within tennis clubs, in which many female grassroots players compete. Instead, in an update of its trans and non-binary participation policy, the LTA ruled that it was at the discretion of the individual clubs as to whether trans women should be allowed to take part in these internal 'non-specified competitions'. The guidance also goes a step further by encouraging tennis clubs to permit transgender women to participate in female competitions they hold internally. It states: 'We strongly encourage venues to start from a presumption of being inclusive for trans and non-binary players by ensuring they provide competitive opportunities which allow them to take part in the category which matches their gender identity.' In addition, it says that officials and organisers need to think about what is more important at this level of competition: 'Ensuring absolute fairness in the competition or making trans people feel included and a part of your tennis community by enabling them to compete in the category that matches their gender identity.' Campaigners lobbying for female sporting categories to remain single-sex claim that the LTA's policy is 'unlawful', which the tennis governing body denies. They say it leaves tennis clubs open to being sued, particularly in light of the Supreme Court judgment earlier this year. The Supreme Court ruled in April that under the Equality Act 2010 the legal definition of a 'man' and a 'woman' refers to their biological sex. In the wake of this judgment many sporting bodies moved to amend their transgender inclusion policies to ban trans women from competing in female categories. Su Wong from SEEN in Sport, one of the campaign groups opposed to the LTA's guidance, said: 'Most people are unaware that the LTA is encouraging clubs to adopt a policy that exposes them to risk of litigation. 'They are encouraging tennis players to be allowed to self-ID as the opposite sex, which is not recognised in UK law, and they have not adjusted this policy following the Supreme Court ruling. 'Inclusion' somehow never includes the women who want to play single-sex sports.' Former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies, who has campaigned to keep women's sport single sex, wrote on X: 'This is an insane & illegal position by the LTA.' Sharron Davies LIA TOBY/GETTY IMAGES A senior LTA source rejected the suggestion that the Supreme Court judgment requires sporting governing bodies to ban trans women from playing the female category at levels including recreational play. He told The Times that it was important clubs had flexibility to set their own rules about trans inclusion in internal competitions for a number of reasons. For example, he said it would be 'nonsensical' if a club specifically set up for LGBTQ people could not hold a competition which was trans and non-binary inclusive. He made the further point that banning transgender women from all forms of competition in the female category would mean that they could not play in the gender with which they identify at any time, even with people who were perfectly happy to do so. But Wong questioned: 'Why don't the LTA recognise that trans players are already included in their own sex and mixed-sex categories and focus on making them feel welcomed and included there?' • A spokesman for the LTA said 'A policy which allows clubs the freedom to make their decisions locally is compliant with the law. 'However, we will continue to keep the policy under review, in particular in the context of any further guidance from government and other relevant public sector bodies'. The Equality and Human Rights Commission, which has issued an 'interim update' on the practical implications of the Supreme Court judgment, said it will address the rules about when competitive sports can be single sex in due course.
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Closed south Essex tennis courts re-open after £85,000 refurbishment
A SET of shuttered community tennis courts have reopened to the public following an £85,000 refurbishment. Tennis courts at the King George V playing fields on Canvey's Poplar Road have reopened following a major renovation described as creating "first-class facilities that can be enjoyed for years to come.' The project was funded by Castle Point Council and delivered as part of the Lawn Tennis Association's largest ever nation-wide facility improvement project. We're now on WhatsApp! Join our new channel at to get all the latest breaking news and exclusive stories delivered straight to your phone. Canvey Island Independent Party Mayor of Castle Point, Barry Campagna said: 'The reopening of the King George V playing fields marks a proud moment for our community. 'Thanks to our work with the Lawn Tennis Association, we now have first-class facilities that can be enjoyed for years to come.' The courts have undergone extensive work including resurfacing, repainting and the installation of new fencing, nets and gate access systems. The Lawn Tennis Association's nationwide programme of investment is seeing thousands of existing park tennis courts in poor or unplayable condition brought back to life for the benefit of communities across the country. The refurbished courts will host Local Tennis Leagues, giving people the opportunity to get involved in friendly and social competitions. Read more Faces of gang members jailed for 34 years over Southend violence last summer Bookmakers release odds for National League title race 'Explosions and loud bangs' rock homes as blaze spread across Basildon gardens Scott Lloyd, Lawn Tennis Association chief executive, said: 'We're delighted to see park tennis courts across Canvey officially re-open to the public, and in better shape than ever. 'Park tennis courts are vital for providing people with opportunities to pick up a racket, and we want as many people as possible, of all ages, abilities and backgrounds, to enjoy playing tennis and being active. "Thanks to this investment the sport will be opened up to more players, for years to come.' All courts are now available to book via the Lawn Tennis Association website
The Sun
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Ultimate UK guide to everything you can do for FREE in the school summer holidays… from tennis lessons to cinema tickets
THE summer school holidays are nearly here but keeping the kids entertained can be a challenge - and expensive. A new study found parents spend as much as £1,000 a week on their children during the six-week break but there is a wealth of free family activities across the country that promise a brilliant summer without breaking the bank. From sport classes to screenings and festivals, there are hundreds of free opportunities to try. Here's our pick of the best... 1. Free government-funded clubs The Government's Holiday Activities Fund (HAF) provides for completely free holiday clubs across the UK, run by local authorities. The clubs are targeted at children who have ever been eligible for free school meals in their schools, but there is discretion for 15% of the places to go to other children who would benefit. Councils are expected to provide a minimum of 16 days of provision, and you may need a code or letter from your child's school to get a place. Check online or ask your child's teacher if you think you may be eligible. 2. Tennis lessons for beginners Get the kids healthy and into a new sport with free tennis sessions. Barclays is sponsoring free group tennis sessions that can be booked on the Lawn Tennis Association website while you'll find more free sessions at Tennis For Free. 3. Art and sculpture trails Track down painted rabbits in Ipswich or colourful guitars in Manchester with a Wild in Art trail. These public displays of large-scale sculptures come with apps and maps so you can spend the day finding them all. Check out the Wild in Art website to find one near you. 4. Outdoor cinema pop-ups Go to the cinema for free with pop-up screenings of popular movies. Everyman is hosting outdoor screens in Kings Cross and Watford while Screen on the Green runs a similar outdoor experience in the middle of Newcastle. There is no one website that details all free screenings so the best place to look is local Facebook and council sites. 5. F un in the forest Forestry England runs free trails (some with paid-for activity packs), as well as summer activities in forests up and down the country. Download a Wallace & Gromit themed walking trail or find one of their free 'disc golf' courses at six forest sites including Hamsterley in County Durham or Salcey in the East Midlands. You can pay to hire special discs, buy your own set to play for free, or get started using a frisbee you've got at home and buy a proper set if you get hooked. Get a Blue Peter badge & meet Bluey... one mum's top tips for a great value summer Lavania Oluban has recently published a journal for families to record their days out, called The Amazing Adventures of Me. Here, the Birmingham-based mum and teacher shares her top tips for making the summer holidays great fun and, importantly, great value. Plan ahead Start with your diary, Lavania says. Ask the children what big days out they want to do. Put those in first, and then fit cheaper events around them. 'You know six weeks is coming up. It's a lot of time to fill, so plan ahead.' Look for deals and vouchers Whether its Merlin tickets with Sun Club, or 2 for 1 days out if you travel by National Rail, there are plenty of deals available to take down the cost of days out, Lavania says, so always search for a discount. One top tip she has is to get your children applying for a Blue Peter badge. There are lots of ways to get one of these by meeting specific criteria and each one gives free child entry at lots of different attractions. 'The badge arrives in the post and you've got time for summer if you apply now,' she says. 'I keep my son's in the glovebox in the car so we can use it at any time.' Scrutinise every noticeboard Local days out are often advertised on physical noticeboards, so make a habit of reading them whenever you walk past, Lavania says. Whether it's an animal sanctuary with an open day, or a local county show where your children can enter a baking competition, all these days out are free or very cheap. 'Take photos of interesting possibilities on your phone when you see them,' she suggests. Hit up the shopping centre The summer months are quieter for shopping malls, so they often increase footfall by offering free children's activities. 'They will have days when a mascot like Bluey is there,' she says. 'Or a free outdoor trail'. You can check the website of your local centre to see what is going on. Pick your own A trip to the strawberry picking farm can be fun and provide you with food for the week. 'Lots of them have fun activities like Maize Mazes too and they aren't expensive,' Lavania says. If you don't know of farms near you try the for a list, and always check first whether there is fruit ready to pick before visiting. 6. Library r eading challenges and games Get the children reading with the free challenge run by the Reading Agency and available at most UK libraries. Librarians will issue your children with a collector folder, and they can earn stickers and rewards for reading books, while they may also run other free activities. More details available here. 7. Local museum craft days London and other national museums are often free to enter and run free or extremely cheap craft days for children in the summer holidays, many of which you can book in advance online. My dream pool was £40,000 so I DIYd my own 18ft version in February all for this summer heatwave - it's saved me £37,000 As well as the big free museums, check out smaller local galleries and follow them on Instagram to see what they're offering, for example the National Archives in Kew, which runs a Time Travellers club with bookable sessions is free to visit with a small charge for its craft activities, while the Science & Industry Museum in Manchester offers bookable exhibitions. Which Museum is the best source for free galleries, shows and exhibitions near you. 4 8. Geocaching Make a walk more exciting with the free geocaching app, which encourages you to find small 'caches' containing plastic toys and other tokens and leave some for others. Just download the app from and find caches near you. 9. Festivals and open days Expensive festivals can take a huge bite out of your budget, but there are free local events in many areas of the country. Check out the Eventbrite website for free options near you. Setting the filters for free family events will let you see what's going on in your area and allow you to apply for free tickets. 10. In-store workshops Many companies offer free workshops for kids to tempt you in during the holidays. Try your local Pets at Home for free pet owner classes with a certificate or sign up for Apple Camp on the tech company's website for free movie-making classes. Other companies to check for free kids' workshops include Hobbycraft, the Lego Store and Hamleys. 11. Farm visits Many city farms are free to visit year-round while others hold bookable open days where children can feed and pet animals and learn about their care. Check your local websites for details or for free farms near you or try animal sanctuaries such as the Sidmouth Donkey Sanctuary, which is also free. 12. Get girls moving Nuffield Health offers free girls fitness classes run by expert instructors. You can book at if you have a Nuffield gym near you. 'My son wants to go to Harry Potter World... apart from that it's all about free days out' Natalie Ormond, 43, plans the summer holidays carefully to ensure she can get through the six weeks with her sons with her finances intact. 'I definitely do look for a lot of freebie things because obviously it's a long time and all of the paid-for things, like bowling and days out and stuff, add up if you're doing that every day,' says the Leeds-based mum-of-two. Natalie, who runs a children's gift business called Smallkind, says most deals and discounts dry up in the summer holidays, so she searches hard for free activities for sons Jesse, 11, and Noah, 8. 'We've got into geocaching which is free and lots of fun as it takes you very random places, or we'll have a day with a theme and a trail,' she says. 'So, once it was spotting owls on buildings, and that definitely gives the boys something to concentrate on while we're out and about. 'We do things like library tours - four libraries in a day with a picnic and walk in between them, and then we rate the libraries! Or we do the same with bookshops if the kids have any book tokens to spend.' Ormond, who is married to lawyer Owen, says that she's got pickier over the days out she will spend on, because she is so often disappointed. 'I think when the boys were younger, sometimes I was so desperate for somewhere to go that I ended up spending quite a lot of money. Now, if I'm going to spend a lot of money on a day out, I want to know that it's a good place. 'So, I've got a lot more selective. We've sort said to the boys for this year, they can give us a couple of ideas each of places that they'd like to go, and we'll try and do that. So, my oldest really wants to go to Harry Potter World and the younger one to a theme park – but mostly it will be free days out.' 13. Get up high Visiting London? Taking a trip up the Shard or on the London Eye will cost you dear but there are several viewing platforms that allow you to see the city for nothing at all. Horizon 22 is the highest viewing platform you can visit for free, and you can book in advance at Horizon 22 or get walk up tickets on the day. Other options include the Sky Garden and the Lookout at 8 Bishopsgate, all of which are bookable in advance. 14. Play football with McDonald's McDonald's is offering free football coaching for 5 to 11-year-olds this summer. Look online to find a session near you and to sign up for sessions and find out about free football festivals at here. 4 15. Join a walking tour Visiting a new city? Check out free walking tours to make the most of it with older children. A lot of cities offer these tours with an expert guide in exchange for a donation. For example, check out this free Harry Potter tour in Edinburgh. Make sure you book in advance and – in this case – make sure your children bring a wand, or something similar to 'swish and flick'. 16. Visit a s plash parks or a lido If the weather warms up, a trip to a free splashpark or lido could be just the ticket. Free lidos include Swansea's Blackpill Park, while Shoalstone in Devon has a free seawater pool. Free splashpads include Splashlands in Welwyn Garden City, while many city council website have details of local offerings.
IOL News
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- IOL News
Forget the tennis finals. At Wimbledon this July, it's pickleball.
Here. Of all places. It took a while, but even at Wimbledon, Britain's fortress of tennis traditionalism, pickleball is at the gates. On Day 6, it was louder. More than 100 people showed up to try a new court sport as Emma Navarro and Barbora Krejcikova prepared to face off on Wimbledon's Court No. 1, a few hundred yards away. Pickleball. On Day 4 of Wimbledon, some of the fans who queued up outside the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club to see Novak Djokovic take on Dan Evans might have heard a distinctive thwock thwock thwock coming from the public park next door. It wasn't lawn tennis, or croquet, and it wasn't there a year ago. The American-invented hybrid of tennis, ping pong and badminton was officially recognized as a sport in December by the top sporting councils in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, and is gaining footholds. The upstart racket sport, which has upended court culture in the United States, Canada and Australia, is taking off across the United Kingdom. After being slowed by the coronavirus pandemic, membership in the country's national pickleball organization grew by 73 percent last year and is on pace to jump by 114 percent in 2025. 'It's getting bigger all the time,' said Emma Wells, who runs tennis programs in Wimbledon Park. Wells introduced pickleball last year and is reconfiguring more of the courts each season. 'You respond to demand, and the demand is definitely here.' More like foot faults, aghast tennis purists say. As it booms here, pickleball is bringing the same frictions with tennis players (jealous of court space, sniffy of the skill needed), and complaints from neighbors (annoyed at the noise) that has marked its explosive spread in the United States. There was controversy at the highest levels - court intrigue, as it were - when the top governing body of English tennis in 2024 attempted unsuccessfully to wrest control of the new, suddenly everywhere sport from Pickleball England, the grassroots organization that has nurtured its growth since 2018. Critics said the motives of the Lawn Tennis Association were as much to keep pickleball in its place as a 'poor relation' as to promote it. The association denied being up to anything nefarious. 'We just felt that we could play a role by growing tennis and pickleball in a complementary way,' said Olly Scadgell, the association's managing director of tennis development. Perhaps nowhere is the juxtaposition of the ancient 'sport of kings' and the newcomer recreation of the masses as acute as in Wimbledon, the leafy London suburb where tennis is a religion and the first fortnight of July are holy weeks. At the venerable All England Club, the players wear white, the fans wear ties and, this weekend, the top pros will vie for trophies in the 'Gentlemen's' and 'Ladies'' divisions. Asked about pickleball, many were not amused. 'My job is to maintain decorum and protocol,' said the honorary marshal dressed in a straw boater hat, a smart blue blazer and a flawless Windsor tie as he scanned the crowd around Centre Court last week. 'It would not be appropriate for me to say what I think of - ' the honorary marshal paused in apparent pain, 'pickleball.' He declined to be quoted by name. 'It's a fun game,' Dean Goldfine, an American coach waiting to watch Djokovic, said with a shrug. 'I mean, you can't compare it to tennis.' 'Could they please call it something else?' wondered Wimbledon resident Nina Ruiz, still in tennis whites from her morning game and watching a doubles match on a jumbo screen set up at nearby Roehampton Club, the site of some of Wimbledon's practice courts. 'I've played it, and I like it,' Ruiz said, 'but that name.' Roehampton is one of dozens of clubs where pickleball is breaking through, but with growing pains. Responding to requests, club management allows one of its indoor tennis courts to be taped over into four pickleball courts for one day each week. Pickleball players want more. Many tennis players don't. Paul Lindsay, who oversees the club's nascent pickleball program, said the sport is gaining traction, but is still 'stifled' by the trad-tennis resistance. The club's tennis committee is split between those who think pickleball should get more space and those who warn 'it will devour tennis,' said committee member Emily Monson, who was also watching Wimbledon on the outdoor screen. One possible solution: reconfigure a few tennis courts for pickleball each day between 1 and 5 p.m., when even retiree tennis players tend to retreat from the heat or, this being London, the rain. 'That's a lot of retaping,' Ruiz said. 'It's certainly treating them like second-class citizens,' Monson said. Carolyn Laville grew up in Wimbledon, lives less than 500 yards from Centre Court and loves the grass-court pageantry that consumes her neighborhood each summer. She also wears her love of the new sport as loud as her pink-and-blue T-shirts that say 'Wimbledon Pickleball,' the group she co-founded with her son, pro pickleball player Louis Laville. The family discovered the game in Florida a few years ago and went crazy for it. Louis introduced the sport at Roehampton, played in national tournaments and helped start a nationwide Premier Pickleball League. He's now playing the pro circuit in Australia. Carolyn Laville, a business owner, plays at a growing number of courts around Wimbledon and recruits more and more players. 'Oh, well done!' she shouted, breathless, during a recent women's drill at Roehampton after failing to reach a wicked crosscourt backhand. Coming off the court, she unzipped her prized paddle, a JOOLA Agassi Pro signed by Andre Agassi. (Agassi is one Wimbledon vet who has embraced pickleball; as have Steffi Graf and Andy Roddick. John McEnroe has said 'compared to tennis, I think pickleball does suck, honestly.') The keen new players are phlegmatic about the resistance from tennis die-hards. 'It's a cultural thing,' said Serena Norgen, who says she joined the pickleball 'cult' after retiring. 'This club prides itself on being at the center of tennis. There's a lot of anxiety about that. But pickleball is here to stay.' It may be that no one ever orders a Pimm's Cup or strawberries and cream at a pickleball grand slam. And demand is still nowhere near the tidal wave washing through U.S. parks and tennis clubs. By some estimates, almost 50 million Americans have tried the sport, which fans hail as more accessible than tennis, and scolds deride as akin to riding an e-bike in the Tour de France. But popularity is building in the U.K. The number of venues climbed tenfold in the last six years, and the estimated number of players jumped from 2,000 to 45,000. 'A lot of clubs have embraced it, and a lot of them are now at full capacity,' said Karen Mitchell, a retired American Express executive who runs Pickleball England. 'We're always running out of space.' Four dedicated pickleball courts debuted in June at Park Sports, a pay-to-play tennis complex on the grounds of Chiswick House, an 18th-Century neo-Palladian villa just across the Thames from Wimbledon. It was their second run at the sport; eight courts launched last year were popular but sparked noise complaints. 'We learned some things,' said Luke Brosse, the marketing manager for Park Sports. 'With two tennis courts you have four players and two balls. With eight pickleball courts, you have 32 players and eight balls; it does make a bit more noise.' The new courts, farther from nearby houses and showcased by the club entrance, have drawn double the bookings - 'I've never seen a sport grow so fast,' Brosse said - and has inspired eye rolls from tennis-firsters. 'I think it's a little silly compared to tennis, to be honest,' said Benjamin Borger, 19, a university student playing tennis at Chiswick last week. 'My biggest issue is that it takes courts away.' But Park Sports wants to expand pickleball. It is eyeing courts it manages in Hyde Park, Regent's Park and other billboard London locales. But in those 'Royal Parks,' owned by the Crown, pickleball has been a tougher sell. 'They have been a bit more hesitant about a new sport,' Brosse said. Maybe, in the House of Windsor, pickleball has met its match.
Telegraph
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Women's sports ‘must ban trans players or face legal action'
Women's sports have been told they will face legal action if they fail to ban trans players. Sharron Davies, the former Olympic swimmer, will say on Tuesday that British sporting groups such as tennis and weightlifting could end up in court if they do not prevent transgender women from competing. She will speak at a meeting of the new all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on women's rights, established by Rosie Duffield, the former Labour MP. The meeting comes three months after the Supreme Court ruled that the word sex in the Equality Act is defined by biological sex, not self-declared gender identity. A number of sporting bodies, such as the Football Association, changed their rules to state that trans players could not play in women's sports. But many others did not, leaving them open to the threat of legal action. The group Women's Rights UK, which acts as the secretariat to the APPG, said while 21 UK sporting bodies restrict women's sport to biological sex, 38 do not. Another 18 have no policy or are currently under review. The Lawn Tennis Association, the UK's governing body for tennis, protects elite women but not lower-level players. England Golf not only allows trans women, who are biologically male, to compete against women in the amateur game, it also allows them to use the women's changing rooms. Ms Davies, who won two gold medals in the 1978 Commonwealth Games and a silver medal in the 1980 Moscow Olympics, said: 'Even after the very clear Supreme Court ruling on what a woman is and the 1975 Sex Discrimination Act, sports are still choosing men's feelings over women's reality and our rightful opportunities to fair sport, free from any and all males. 'It's simply wrong. It's time for women to firmly say no. And if we have to, we will resort to more litigation. 'Bringing women together at this event is ever-more-needed as women continue to be treated like second-class citizens in our own races and spaces.' Ms Duffield, who is now the independent MP for Canterbury, said: 'I set up the APPG on women's rights following the Supreme Court ruling because so many issues arose from that and it's clear that so many public bodies and institutions have been misinterpreting the Equality Act, and there are many ongoing discussions to be had. 'We need to have discussions with sporting bodies, public buildings providing bathrooms, clubs and organisations. It's important that the law is followed correctly and we will be keeping an eye on how that unfolds.' The Lawn Tennis Association said last year that trans women would not be eligible to compete in female events in higher-graded competitions. But the rules do not extend to events taking place between players from the same venue. British Weight Lifting allows trans women to compete in female categories as long as they can demonstrate that their testosterone levels are within the range of biological women. Other examples of sports which do not ban trans women are rounders, taekwondo and wrestling. Heather Binning, founder of the Women's Rights Network said: 'Tomorrow's meeting will focus on protecting and promoting women's sports and the failure by too many sporting bodies to protect single-sex sport and encourage greater participation by women and girls. 'In the absence of leadership to address the erosion of women and girls sports, the APPG will be an opportunity for parliamentarians to discuss how we can address this and promote safe and fair sporting opportunities for women and girls at both elite and grass-roots levels.'
