\n However, in one Norfolk town the sport is proving to be divisive as a club served a surprise to its members.\n<\/p>\n
\n Cromer Tennis Club has announced it wants to axe a concessionary fee for members aged between 31 to 40, claiming that it did not bring in a “significant” number of people.\n<\/p>\n
\n It has led to fears that people in that age range will give up the sport, leaving the club a ” cosy enclave” for retired members.\n<\/p>\n
\n The decision means members in that age bracket will go from paying \u00a3165 for their yearly membership to a staggering \u00a3400, the standard adult fee.\n<\/p>\n
\n Kelvin van Hasselt, the former chairman of the club, has slammed the committee’s decision,\n<\/p>\n
\n The courts at Cromer tennis and squash club (Image: Neil Didsbury)\n<\/p>\n
\n Mr Hasselt, who was the chairman between 2019 to 2024, said: “The club, buttressed by its funding from the local council, moves serenely forward as a cosy enclave for the retired.\n<\/p>\n
\n “It joins the ranks of so many rural tennis clubs, picking the low hanging fruit of the retired population, lacking the imagination or perhaps too lazy to make an effort to recruit the 31 -40 year age group.”\n<\/p>\n
\n The decision to axe the fees was announced by the committee in the AGM report which said: \u201cMajor decision on membership by the committee is not to continue with the 31 \u2013 40 age group.\n<\/p>\n
\n “It has brought in younger members but not a significant number. There will be a small increase to all membership prices in line with increased costs\u201d.\n<\/p>\n
\n Cromer Tennis and Racket Club has been given the go-ahead to build two padel tennis courts. (Image: Google Maps)\n<\/p>\n
\n Mr Hasselt described those between 31 to 40 as the financially \u201cdisadvantaged generation” as they face costs of mortgages, student loans and raising a family.\n<\/p>\n
\n As a result, the reduced fees made the sport more accessible for them and helped retain the club’s young adult members.\n<\/p>\n
\n He added that those members dismissed as \u201cnot a significant number \u201d will “may now be lost to the club \u2013 and maybe tennis too, perhaps permanently”.\n<\/p>\n
\n “It would be a tragedy,” he said.\n<\/p>\n
\n The club will continue to provide a concessionary fee for those living more than 20 miles away, including second home owners, at \u00a3210 – nearly half what adults in catchment will have to pay.\n<\/p>\n
\n With the club partly funded by the North Norfolk District Council, Mr Hasselt has called for the club’s committee to “have a social conscience” and rethink their decision.\n<\/p>\n
\n “The club should welcome everybody,” he added.\n<\/p>\n
\n THE CLUB’S RESPONSE\n<\/p>\n
\n A spokesman for the club said: “We are aware that there are a range of views regarding the proposed changes to membership options.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n “This remains an ongoing discussion and will be reviewed again at our next committee meeting this week.\n<\/p>\n
\n “Our committee is made up of volunteers elected by the membership, and they are committed to acting in the best interests of the club in all of their decision-making.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n “While this process is still underway, it would be premature to comment in detail or draw conclusions.\u00a0 Our focus is on ensuring that all perspectives are considered carefully.”\n<\/p>\n
\n A club committee meeting will be held on April 29 to discuss the concerns.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"However, in one Norfolk town the sport is proving to be divisive as a club served a surprise…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":553324,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[101,118,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-553323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-sports","tag-tennis","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/553323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=553323"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/553323\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/553324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=553323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=553323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=553323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}