Tuesday, 9 September 2025

Thomastown Tennis Club

[NAME AWAITING VERIFICATION]

Bronwyn HALFPENNY (Thomastown) (16:29): Last Tuesday I met with members of the Thomastown Tennis Club at their clubrooms in Rowen Street, Thomastown. I would like to thank Christie Ind, Margaret McDougall, Mark Liberatore, Lou Petro, Khoi Tran and Carol Saunders for meeting with me on that cold, wintry night. The Thomastown Tennis Club has a long and proud history in our area, with families connected to the club going back three generations. The club participates in local competitions both day and night and prides itself in being a welcoming club, supporting locals young and old to embark on a tennis journey, whether playing competitively or for fun. It is one of the few clubs now in the area that has a choice of en-tout-cas, classic clay and mod grass courts.

The club has been seated in the current location since 1999, and the club members do lots of voluntary work. But no matter how hard they work, there are certain facilities that are just not up to scratch for a modern club, and it is holding them back from attracting new members. I have written to the City of Whittlesea, asking them to support the club with new lights for courts, maintenance around fencing and infrastructure to allow the remote booking of courts at the club. However, unfortunately the council at this stage have not come up with any sort of a plan, even though this is their responsibility – they are responsible for sport and recreation, and it is on council land. I encourage them to apply for the Victorian government Local Sports Infrastructure Fund. Applications close on 2 December.