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DAVID LLOYD LEISURE LAUNCHES ‘RALLY UP’ SMARTPHONE GAME  IN DRIVE TO GET THE NATION PLAYING TENNIS

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  • UK’s leading tennis provider serves up free multiplayer online game with smartphones used as racquets
  • Rally Up launched as part of nationwide drive to increase tennis participation
  • Players can hold virtual tennis matches with friends around the world
  • Features expert videos to help develop tennis skills
  • 2 x 1 year racquets memberships up for grabs for longest rallies

David Lloyd Leisure today announces the launch of ’Rally Up‘, a new, Wimbledon-inspired online tennis game for smartphone users.

’Rally Up‘ has been created by Europe’s leading health, sports and leisure group as part of its ‘Everyone for Tennis’ nationwide campaign to encourage people of all ages and abilities to pick up a racquet and get playing.

The UK’s foremost tennis provider has designed Rally Up with the aim of providing an

interactive, rally-style game that allows smartphone users to play a virtual match with their friends around the UK and the world, and hone their tennis skills with the help of expert videos.

The game features two player modes: Practice - a training setting where users are pitted against a computer to get to grips with their stroke, serve and backhand, and Multiplayer - enabling enthusiasts to sync with friends and rally in real time.

Both modes feature helpful tutorial videos from David Lloyd Leisure expert coaches to perfect tennis skills both on and off the court.

Set-up is simple; users visit the David Lloyd Leisure Rally Up website (davidlloyd-rallyup.co.uk) and follow the on-screen instructions to either take on a friend in match play or choose to test their skills against a computer. Each smartphone device used automatically becomes a ‘racquet’ displaying a virtual tennis court.

A stroke in any direction puts the ball into play and, once in the ‘strike zone’, an opponent can play a return stroke. The aim of the game is to achieve the longest rally with a friend. For those who score 20 strokes and above, there is the chance to enter a free prize draw to win one of two racquets memberships for a year at David Lloyd Leisure.

Compatible with Android and iOS devices, Rally Up features the latest web-based technology, including HTML 5 and Web Sockets to synchronise smartphones for match play without the need to download an app, with the aim of providing the optimum experience for users.

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.

“The aim of Rally Up is to get as many people as possible involved with the sport this year, in a fun and easy way – and they don’t even need a racquet! Whether a user is on court, at home watching a match, or on the go, this game can be played almost anywhere and by anyone with their friends around the UK and abroad.

“Future tennis success very much depends on increased participation and David Lloyd Leisure is doing its utmost to encourage take-up of this sport, whether it’s through our free taster sessions this summer, our hosting of the LTA’s Great British Tennis Weekends, our tennis-themed fitness classes and events, our school outreach or through a fun, palm-sized game.

“It doesn’t matter how or where it is played; as long as people give tennis a try, they will see how much fun it is and that it’s a great all-round sport.”

Rally Up is the latest initiative in David Lloyd Leisure’s “Everyone For Tennis” campaign to increase participation, harnessing the huge appeal of the Wimbledon Championships.

David Lloyd Leisure, which has more tennis courts and expert coaches than any other health and fitness operator in the UK, has rolled out a number of initiatives to encourage everyone to pick up a racquet and start playing, including:

  • Free tennis coaching for adults and children throughout June and July
  • Great British Tennis Weekends for all the family, in association with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA)

With a tennis heritage spanning more than 30 years, David Lloyd Leisure provides more than 800 indoor and outdoor tennis courts at 68 of its 81 UK clubs (with more than a quarter of the total number of indoor tennis courts in the country). The group also operates the world’s largest tennis team comprising some 450 LTA-qualified tennis coaches.

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.

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.

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 800 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. 

press@davidlloyd.co.uk

01707 289833/34 

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