The refurbishment of the tennis courts in this rural location has lead to a resurgence in tennis that has strengthened community bonds, reversing a wider decline in participation numbers across the district.
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When Hayley Quach first moved to Grenville around eight years ago, there was a gully between the district's tennis courts that had tadpoles around the edges and reeds growing through the middle.
The facility had not been used for tennis for quite some time - instead it was sometimes used to host bush playgroup sessions. At the time there were no local after school sport options for the region's children without travelling in to Ballarat or Buninyong.
There is now three times a week people are joining together in the community, networking and catching up
- Hayley Quach, Grenville Tennis Club
The resurfacing of the courts was completed with funding from the Grenville Tennis Club and Golden Plains Shire in November 2016, around the same time current junior coach Marco Castro moved in to the district.
In February 2017 Mr Castro began running one coaching session for 10 junior players each week.
Now two years on he is coaching around 22 juniors aged six to 15-years-old across two coaching sessions and a Saturday competition each week.
Ms Quach said tennis had created a meeting point for local families.
"There is now three times a week people are joining together in the community, networking and catching up."
"It has become the most active event in the community in Grenville."
Ms Quach started playing tennis for the first time with the Grenville seniors team last year and her children Ava and Tano play in the junior teams.
Jocelyn Freeman is the mother of Tom, Estelle and Hugh who also play in the Grenville Tennis Club junior team.
The family live on the farm next door and the children ride their bikes or horses down through the paddocks to get to their lessons.
"My husband grew up at Grenville and was involved in the club but the courts had been out of action for about eight years," Ms Freeman said.
"It is terrific to have an after school sport option so close to home. It is keeping the kids active and involved in community."
Dereel resident Laurence McNaughton's son Hamish is also involved in the Grenville Tennis Club.
We have lost that sense of local where there might only be two or three families involved and everyone pitches in to support.
- Laurence McNaughton
He said becoming more involved in community first attracted his family to join the club, rather than the competition sport side of tennis.
"We often see our communities as travelling to the big cities and the big clubs. We have lost that sense of local where there might only be two or three families involved and everyone pitches in to support," he said.
Grenville Tennis Club Coach Marco Castro is preparing for the next season of tennis with a growing number of junior players joining the club. Four new junior players have signed up in the last few weeks.
Mr Castro said his coaching style focused on participating in tennis as a sport rather than a competition.
"My approach is using sport to create a good attitude in life. Tennis is not just a competition to win matches, it is more about creating respect for other players and respect for the environment," he said.
The next big project for the Grenville Tennis Club is to secure funding to have lights put in that would create more opportunities to play tennis in winter and run adult classes later on summer evenings.
Meanwhile, Grenville Tennis Club, as one of 15 club members of the Buninyong Tennis Association, will continue to promote the sport and the benefits of tennis to community in an effort to attract more players for the upcoming season.
Buninyong and District Tennis Association is hosting a Beginners Tennis Day at the Buninyong Tennis Courts on Sunday from 2pm to 4pm for beginners of all ages to learn how to play in a fun environment and learn more about joining a tennis club.
Ms Quach said the casual come and try day would provide an opportunity for anyone interested to get on the court and get game play experience in a fun environment with short games and modified rules.
"It is meant to be a fun experience to come and try it out, especially if they haven't played tennis before , to see if they enjoy it," she said.
Ms Quach said the association was hoping to attract new players to boost competition numbers. A drop in the number of players in the past few years has reduced the number of competing teams, resulting in combined grades.
Andrew Cronin is Tennis Victoria's Club Development Officer for Country Central West including Central Highlands and the Wimmera.
He said overall in the two regions, tennis participation numbers had remained static, while participation across Victoria increased from 350,000 to more than 450,000 in the last financial year.
Tennis program Hot Shots run in schools is helping to drive numbers. Smaller courts, modified equipment including lighter rackets, lower nets and low compression balls are used in the program to help children learn to play tennis.
Mr Cronin said improvements in tennis facilities was also attracting new players.
Buninyong and District Tennis Association treasurer Phillip Anstis has been a part of the Grenville Tennis Club for more than 20 years.
He said the biggest change in tennis during that time was dramatic improvements in the quality of playing surfaces available in the region.
"Research shows tennis players want to play on high quality surfaces and now we are able to offer that through a number of our member clubs," he said.
Mount Helen, Grenville, Warrenheip, Elaine and Buninyong tennis courts are some of the courts that have been upgraded in the past few years.
"We find the new playing surfaces has brought a lot more interest from the local communities," Mr Anstis said.
The Buninyong Tennis Association is also working to create new tennis programs and competitions that respond to member needs to retain and attract players.
Senior player numbers had dropped in previous years, so the competition was restructure last year to reduce the number of players on each team, hoping to make it easier for clubs to enter.
The Fast Four twilight tennis competition provides a weeknight offering for seniors that is less structured than formal tennis competitions. Players can turn up by themselves or with a partner to participate in the quicker competition where the first to four games wins.
"We know people are busy and they are looking for flexible and adaptable sporting opportunities that meet their particular needs and time availability," Mr Anstis said.
"That is the direction we are heading."
Ms Cronin said the future of tennis was exciting with new developments in the pipeline and successful local players promoting the game.
"Ballarat has been pretty lucky to have produced champions like Zoe Hives and James O'Sullivan who have come through the ranks of Ballarat and with Ash Barty going very well for Tennis Australia that is only more encouraging for young people to pick up a racket and go and enjoy the game," he said.
Grenville Tennis Club will also hold an open day for new and interested players at the Grenville courts on September 8 from 4pm.
Visit buninyongtennis.org.au/ for more information about the Beginners Tennis Day and Grenville Tennis Club on Facebook for information on their open day.
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