Bexley Mencap's Learning Disability Tennis group is delighted to be back at Bexleyheath tennis club for the 4th year in a row now!

The tennis group have been playing soft ball tennis indoors at a local sports club during the winter to keep up their skills.

Nick Marsden, Bexley Mencap's Tennis Lead, said;
'It great to be back outdoors playing at such a friendly and supportive club with whom we have developed such close ties throughout the years.'

The club will again also be hosting Bexley's Learning Disability Sports and Awareness Day next month on 17th June and we look forward to attracting the wider local disability community to take part in a range of all inclusive sports and activities as well encouraging new players to take up playing tennis.

Wimbledon may have just finished but over 40 people with a learning disability took part in a special LTA (Lawn Tennis Association) Matchplay event at Bexleyheath Tennis club on Tuesday 16th July.

The event was organised by Bexley Sports Disability Network, and led by Bexley Mencap. There were players from a number of local disability groups such as Bexley Mencap and Reinstate as well as day centres, supported living and care homes.

Sponsored by the LTA, the event consisted of a series of tennis challenges such as serving and a mini rally points competition.

There was also a chance for players new to the game to receive special coaching and tips from members of the tennis club.

Dave Williams, chair of the club said:

‘We are proud to support the LTA’s Open Court programme to make tennis more accessible and inclusive to everyone. It’s great to see Bexley Mencap players practising every week at the club in the summer and autumn and everyone who took part was so enthusiastic. Many of the serves were definitely aces!’

‘All the players responded so well to the special tennis challenges and forehand and backhand shot exercises’ said Nick Marsden of Bexley Mencap. ‘There was a lot of healthy competition during many of the rallies. It was great to welcome back players from last month’s Sports Day, keen to practice more skills as well as new members who haven’t had the chance to play much tennis before.’

Josh Hayre, of Bexley Sports Disability Network and Reinstate said:

‘It’s the first time the Network has put on a borough wide event and partnered with local organisations and the LTA to celebrate the sporting achievements and abilities of people with a learning disability.’

Everybody who took part received LTA team challenge certificates, wristbands and medals.

Bexley Mencap’s tennis group were featured as part of a Special Sports & Information Day for National Learning Disability Awareness Week. Around 100 people with a learning disability and carers took part in the event which also included football from Bromley Skills Academy and Kent Cricket.

As ever Tennis was very popular with both courts full of enthusiastic players. Mencap members and staff helped coach newcomers with a range of skills based exercises such as juggling and balancing as well as help in learning how to serve. Several players needed no help at all in playing rallies over the net immediately. Others were fast learners and soon picked up the basic hand and eye co-ordination skills required. Just as importantly, everyone seemed to having fun and enjoying themselves.

The overall event was organised by Sharon Rodrigues, from Oxleas NHS Adult Learning Disability Service.
Sharon said: ‘It was great to see so many people at the event. The day is all about enabling people with a learning disability and their carers to meet each other and our learning disability teams so that they can keep well in the community. All the sporting activities were well attended especially the tennis and gave people a chance to play sports they might not have tried before.’

Nick Marsden Bexley Mencap’s Tennis Coach said: ‘Great effort from all the players. It’s always fantastic to see such enthusiasm and by the end of the session, several of the players had mastered the basic technique of serving and returning and trying different shots. I hope everyone had a smashing time!’

Next month on 16th July with other local partners, Bexley Mencap is helping to organise a special LTA Matchplay tennis event. This will be another chance for players to demonstrate their skills and have more tennis coaching in a friendly and supportive setting at the club.

Bexleyheath Mencap’s Tennis Group are delighted to be back playing outdoors again! After a winter and spring playing soft ball tennis and multi sports indoors at a local Sports Hall, the group had their first practice at the club today and are now booked every Monday until the end of September.

Bexley Mencap’s tennis group were Kent LTA County Best Tennis Disability Programme winners in 2022 and were Highly Commended at Regional level. Several players have also taken part in LTA Regional Disability competitions at the Bromley Tennis Centre.

In addition to weekly practice, Bexley Mencap will also be showcasing tennis for a Sports Day event on 18th June at the club as part of National Learning Disability Awareness week. And we’ll also be holding a special Matchplay event with the club later in July.

So watch this space, for a summer of all-inclusive tennis activities.

6 members of Bexley Mencap’s tennis group played in the LTA’s Regional Learning Disability tournament at Bromley Tennis Centre on 28 October.

It was the first time we had ever entered a competitive tournament so it was a steep learning curve for all of us. Special congratulations to Stef who reached the semi-finals in the green ball event and Rob, (yellow ball) who exchanged rallies with an experienced opponent who has represented GB at tennis events overseas.

Bexley Mencap’s tennis group showcased their skills as part of a special Sports Day for Learning Disability Week. Over 60 people with a learning disability took part in the event which featured boxing, judo and football as well as tennis.

It was great to see so many people enjoying trying out the different sports on offer. Lots of people had a go at tennis who had not played before or for a long time. Members of the group were very good at encouraging newcomers to play and practised different ball skills with them. Several players are now keen to join the tennis group.

The overall event was organised by Sharon Rodrigues, from Oxleas NHS Adult Learning Disability Service. Sharon is also a Bexleyheath Tennis club player

Sharon said ‘the main focus of day is to enable people with learning disabilities to meet each other, try different activities and meet our learning disability teams to enable them to keep well in the community and know who to contact in times of crisis. It was great to see so many taking part in the Mencap tennis group and great to see how well they are all playing.’

Bexley Mencap’s Learning Disability Tennis group resumed playing outdoors this week. The Tennis group, which won Kent LTA’s Best Disability Tennis award in 2021, is now back playing at the club for the third year.

Nick Marsden, who leads the group said: ‘It’s great to be playing again at the club. During the winter we’ve been playing indoors in a local youth centre and new members have joined. We’re looking forward this summer to playing in the sun, practising our favourite shots and having fun with our friends at the same time.’

Four members of Bexley Mencap took part in the Learning Disability tennis festival at Bromley Tennis Centre as part of the Kent County Champs.

Based at Bexleyheath Tennis club, where they play every week, the group demonstrated their all round tennis skills through a range of special juggling and balancing exercises as well as playing singles.

Afterwards they were presented with medals and t-shirts by Phil Lynch and John Ratcliffe and each received a goody bag.

Bexleyheath Tennis club hosted a special tennis challenge as part of National Learning Disability week on 20th June. Co- organised by Bexley Mencap and NHS Oxleas Adult Learning Disability Services, over 30 people with learning disabilities took part in a range of fun tennis exercises set up by the LTA coaches Clint and Marc………. READ MORE

Bexley Mencap supports people with learning disabilities and launched weekly Zoom online Tennis sessions in October 2020 to help with health and wellbeing during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 12 regular members had mostly never played tennis before, and many had never taken part in regular sports activities. But they were inspired by practising tennis shots and playing a range of games online, using soft and felt balls, happy hands, and a special balancing mat.

Despite being unable to meet face to face, the group kept together throughout lockdown supporting each other with tennis equipment from an LTA Open Court grant.
Once the Covid-19 restrictions were relaxed the group successfully made the transition to playing weekly outdoors at Bexleyheath Tennis Club from May to October 2021 taking on new members and currently play indoors at a local sports centre.

Janice White, of Kent Tennis, said: ‘It is phenomenal to start a tennis-specific session from scratch in lockdown, maintain the group's interest, and then transfer them to get on the court.’

As a next stage, Bexley Mencap’s tennis team now hope to take part in Kent LTA’s Learning Disability recreational competitions in the summer.