DAVID LLOYD LEISURE LAUNCHES “EVERYONE FOR TENNIS” NATIONWIDE DRIVE TO GET MORE PEOPLE PLAYING

• UK’s leading tennis provider offers FREE coaching to all in June and July
• David Lloyd Clubs to host LTA Great British Tennis Weekends
• School outreach programme to introduce children to tennis
• Tennis-themed fitness sessions to get everyone into the Wimbledon spirit
• Festival of Tennis for racquets members to celebrate tournament finals

David Lloyd Leisure has launched a major campaign, ‘Everyone for Tennis’, with the aim of introducing the sport to all ages and abilities, and increasing grass-roots participation across the UK.

Europe’s premier health, sports and leisure group, which has more tennis courts and expert coaches than any other health and fitness operator in the UK, is rolling out a number of initiatives to encourage everyone to pick up a racquet and start playing.

Throughout June and July, David Lloyd Leisure racquets clubs* will open their doors to all adults and children who want to take part in free, new ‘Everyone for Tennis’ sessions with its LTA-qualified coaches, which will be synchronised to allow the whole family to try tennis at the same time. The 45-minute sessions, which include expert feedback, will be complemented by a Racquets Welcome introduction to tennis and Fast Track Tennis coaching sessions for adult beginners.

The clubs will also host the Great British Tennis Weekends, in association with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), for all families to enjoy trying tennis, serving up the first open weekend this Saturday and Sunday (17-18 May), followed by the weekends of 21-22 June, 28-29 June and 19-20 July.

David Lloyd Leisure, which operates the world’s largest junior tennis coaching programme, Tennis All Stars, will offer its unrivalled coaching expertise to local schools as part of an outreach programme to introduce as many youngsters as possible to the sport in a fun and exciting way and teach them the basic skills.

To encourage all its members to get into the Wimbledon spirit – including those who prefer a workout to match play and competition – there is Cardio Tennis, a heart-pumping workout involving fast-moving drills to music run by a tennis professional on court, as well as six-week gym programmes, including ViPR™ Tennis (the rubber tube that gives the ultimate whole body workout) and Power Plate Tennis.

For its racquets members, David Lloyd Leisure will hold its annual Total Tennis Strawberries & Cream social tournament and a World Cup Tennis event for adults and juniors to coincide with the FIFA football world championships in June and July. And to celebrate the Wimbledon Finals weekend (5-6 July), there will be a Festival of Tennis extravaganza featuring a host of celebratory activities.

David Bulgin, David Lloyd Leisure’s group racquets manager, said: “As the leaders in our field with a unique tennis heritage, we are very well placed to encourage as many people as possible across the country to play tennis.

“Our ‘Everyone for Tennis’ campaign aims to give everyone access to our facilities and expertise to show that, whatever your age or ability, tennis is truly a sport that the whole family can enjoy.

“Future tennis success very much depends on increased participation and David Lloyd Leisure is doing its utmost to encourage take-up of this sport across the UK while we continue to identify and nurture the fresh, young talent that could produce future British champions.”

With a tennis heritage spanning over 30 years, David Lloyd Leisure provides more than 700 indoor and outdoor tennis courts at 69 of its 81 UK clubs (with nearly half the total number of indoor tennis courts in the country). The group also operates the world’s largest tennis team comprising more than 400 LTA-qualified tennis coaches.

Its facilities have been used by many world-famous players. Both former British no.1 Tim Henman and Andy Murray trained at David Lloyd Leisure clubs during their junior years and the group sponsored Murray between 2006 and 2008 on his way to reaching the pinnacle of his game.

Every week, 12,500 children learn to play tennis following the group’s Tennis All Stars junior coaching programme, including some of the most talented young players in Europe.

Tennis All Stars is a unique, structured coaching programme for 3-11 year-olds endorsed by the LTA, with players progressing through a colour-coded system linked to age and ability with the opportunity to compete at almost every stage.

The programme is supported by a mini tennis ratings system, designed to reward players for competing, inspire them to develop their game, offer the opportunity to compete more regularly and to reach their full potential.

Children showing real talent can move on to David Lloyd Leisure clubs with enhanced performance programmes. The group’s network includes performance squads that support some of the brightest talent in the UK.

For more information on tennis at David Lloyd Leisure, visit www.davidlloyd.co.uk. For more on the Great British Tennis Weekends at David Lloyd Leisure, go to www.davidlloyd.co.uk/gbtw.

*Excludes Chelsea and Notting Hill Harbour Clubs, David Lloyd Kidbrooke and David Lloyd Chigwell. Also includes David Lloyd Dublin.

ENDS

Note to editors: For further information about this press release and tennis interviews, contact the David Lloyd Leisure press office on 01707 289833/4 or email press@davidlloyd.co.uk.

About David Lloyd Leisure Group

The David Lloyd Leisure Group operates 81 clubs in the UK and a further 10 clubs across Europe, comprising David Lloyd Clubs , Harbour Clubs and Next Generation, plus the new high street concept, David Lloyd Studio, in Islington, Putney and Winchester. It has over 440,000 members and employs 6,000 people. This includes an expert health and fitness team of over 1,800, while it contracts the services of more than 400 tennis professionals. Across all clubs, David Lloyd Leisure has over 150 swimming pools (of which half are indoor) and offers over 10,000 exercise classes per week. Every week 20,000 children learn to swim at David Lloyd Leisure and 12,500 learn to play tennis. Its racquets facilities are unparalleled with 700 tennis courts as well as 180 badminton courts and 140 squash courts. Additional facilities include health and beauty spas, club lounges with free internet access, crèches, nurseries and specialist sports shops.