Thanks to a lottery cash investment from the Sports Council for Wales, more young people in Abergavenny have been given the chance of becoming tennis coaches.

Abergavenny Tennis Club has been awarded a £1,000 Community Chest grant from the Sports Council for Wales to plough into coach education for young people in the area.

The Club’s Chairman Mike Buck explains, "We want to develop and provide people in Abergavenny with increased skills and qualifications to eventually be able to coach and train youngsters and adults in the future.

"It’s important that young people get involved with their local sports clubs because a lot of skills can be learned as well as keeping fit and active. In the future, we would like to be recognised as a club of coaching excellence and this is the first step in getting to that ultimate goal."

The club has become somewhat of a figurehead for tennis in South East Wales, reaching out to businesses, public organisations and local schools in the area to help deliver a range of tennis programmes to adults and children in Monmouthshire.

Established in 1923, the club’s facilities have expanded and now - with two floodlit carpet courts, three tarmac courts, a floodlit Kids’ Zone and practice area as well as a new clubhouse with disabled access - the club is positively blossoming.

Since the inception of the Sports Council for Wales’ Community Chest scheme in 1999, communities across the length and breadth of Wales have been investing heavily in sports and physical activity projects.

As a result of the popularity and undoubted success of the scheme, the Sports Council for Wales is raising the level of grant. Organisations keen to develop sport & physical activity in Wales can now receive up to £1000 for a qualifying project over a 12 month period.

The scope of the scheme has also been widened. Grants have traditionally been awarded to sports clubs and sporting bodies. Now most organisations seeking to develop physical activity and sporting projects will be eligible for an award.

The Community Chest has recently been infiltrating additional areas of work such as the voluntary sector (e.g. Voluntary Youth Clubs, Women’s Institute) and the workplace, as well as continuing to support projects in the health and education arenas. So while funding the local football club might get the younger members of the community moving, backing a walking group will encourage more adults to get active.

Chair of the Sports Council for Wales, Philip Carling, said:

"Community Chest has been and continues to be a huge success and is very popular throughout Monmouthshire. The increase in funding and the greater scope of the scheme will increase its effectiveness.

"Panels based in each of the 22 local authorities in Wales hold the purse strings and have delegated authority to award grants to worthwhile projects. We want to hear of bright ideas and projects that will get more people in Monmouthshire more active, more often."

To remove the obstacles and to get your project going, call your Sports Council for Wales regional office:

South East Wales: 0845 045 0904

South West Wales: 0845 045 0906

North Wales: 0845 045 0908

Or visit www.sports-council-wales.org.uk