ARC Tennis Summer Open 2024

The annual ARC Tennis Summer Open returns this May, taking place from Saturday 25th May to Sunday 2nd June! This is our biggest event of the year and is open to everyone, with events for all ages from under 8s to vets.

Similar to last year, all events will be held on set days, following the schedule below. Please note that if an event runs over two days, you must be available on both days.

All children’s events will be held during the day, whilst adult’s events take place on Bank Holiday Monday (27th May), evenings and weekends. There is no Finals Day.

All draws will be either Elimination and Consolation, Round Robin or Compass, so there will be lots of tennis on offer throughout the open! If you would like to play in the doubles events but don’t have a partner, simply contact Marian Vinall at competitions@atlanticracquetcentre.co.uk and she will endeavour to find you one.

Entries for the Sumer Open close at 10am, Wednesday 15th May.

Tennis Summer Open Schedule

Saturday 25th May: 12pm U18 Boys Singles. 12pm Mens and Ladies Vets Doubles

Sunday 26th May: U12 Boys Singles, U14 Girls Doubles (2pm) Mens Doubles, Ladies Singles (Open & Vets’)

Monday 27th May: U8 Red Doubles Mens Doubles, Ladies Open & Vets’ Singles

Tuesday 28th May: 10 am U14 Boys Singles, 10am U16 Girls Singles. 6pm Ladies Doubles, Mens Vets Singles

Wednesday 29th May: 10am U12 Girls Singles, U16 Boys Singles, U18 Girls Doubles. 6pm Ladies Doubles, Mens Vets Singles

Thursday 30th May: 9–11am U8 (Red) Singles, 9am-12pm U10 Singles, 12-3pm U9 Singles, 3-5pm U9 Doubles, 12-2.30pm U10 Doubles, 6pm Mixed Doubles

Friday 31st May: 10am Boys U11 Singles, 10am 18 & U Boys Doubles, 6pm Mixed Doubles

Saturday 1st June: 10am U14 Boys Doubles, Mens Singles, Vets Mixed

Sunday 2nd June: Mens Singles, Vets Mixed, U11 Girls

ENTERING THE ARC TENNIS SUMMER OPEN

You can enter the Summer Open by clicking here. Please note that entries will close at 10am on Wednesday 15th May. If you have any questions, please contact Marian Vinall at competitions@atlanticracquetcentre.co.uk

Member Appreciation Day 2024

Coming up on Monday 6th May 2024, it’s Member Appreciation Day at ARC! This is a completely free event for all racquet and gym members and their families to thank you for your ongoing support of ARC.

Here’s what we’ve got in store…

  • Fun team competitions in tennis, badminton, table tennis, squash and fitness

  • You don’t need to take part, just come along as a spectator and enjoy the action and free food!

  • Workshops and specialised clinics with the ARC coaches

  • Free BBQ for everyone (plus a free drink!)

  • Free Kids Activity Camp 

  • Fantastic prizes on offer!

  • Free use of all ARC facilities - it doesn’t matter what membership you have. 

Schedule for the day:

10am - 12pm: Fun Team Competition
12pm - 1pm: Lunch, Prize Giving & Socialise with fellow members, staff and volunteers
1pm - 3pm: Workshops and Clinics (Schedule coming soon!)
3pm - 5pm: All facilities open and available for free casual use by all members regardless of membership (no pre-booking)

Free Kids Activity Camp will run from 9.45am - 3pm.

What you need to know:

  • Team Competition, Workshops & Clinics are open to all members aged 13+

  • Teams of 4-6: Come along on the day and we will arrange you into teams - let us know on your booking form if you have a group or any specific people you’d like to be on a team with

  • There will be handicapped competitions in Tennis, Badminton, Table Tennis, Squash and Fitness events

  • The morning competiton is open to all abilities - come and have a go! Overall winners crowned in the Prize Giving Ceremony, plus prizes for other categories!

Complete the booking form below to let us know if you’re joining us for the Team Competition, for the workshops and if you have any children joining us for the Kids Activity Camp, the names of any spectators you’re bringing along, and your dietary requirements. Please note, all members of your team need to complete their own forms (but not your spectators).

Member Appreciation Day Booking Form

Play Your Way to Wimbledon at ARC

Ever dreamt of playing at Wimbledon? Now is your chance! 

This year the LTA are again expanding the usual Play Your Way to Wimbledon competition for Juniors into an exciting opportunity for Adults! Here at ARC we are running a Mens’ and Ladies Doubles event on Saturday 20th April, starting at 12pm. Winners will proceed to Area Finals, and then on to the National Finals on the famous grass courts at Wimbledon!

  • This event is open to anyone born in 2005 or earlier

  • You and your partner don't need to be members of ARC

  • World Tennis Number must be between 23 and 40.9

  • Special certificates for all players and medals for winners

  • Winners progress to county/regional/national finals

  • Entries are only £5!

We can promise you lots of great tennis in a fun atmosphere, so if you like social doubles - this is the event for you!

Entries close 13th April.

PLAY YOUR WAY TO WIMBLEDON FOR JUNIORS

The PYWTW events for Juniors held at ARC will be open to ARC Members only, and entrance is completely free as part of your membership. The event dates are:

Saturday 13th April: U14 Boys & Girls Singles (10am)
Sunday 21st April: U18 Boys Doubles (1pm)

To express interest in having your child/dependent enter the Juniors events, contact Marian Vinall at competitions@atlanticracquetcentre.co.uk

David Follett: Inspirational Speaker Comes to ARC

We’re thrilled to announce that David Follett, Para-Badminton Player for England, will be coming to ARC for a special one-off event on Saturday 23rd March at 7pm.

‘Tragedy to Triumph’ is David’s personal and inspirational story, overcoming a terrible road traffic accident that left him paralysed from the chest down to represent England in multiple world championships.

This fundraising event will be held in the ARC upstairs social space. Tickets are only £5 and all proceeds will go towards our ongoing building project to bring a multi-sports hall and community café to ARC.

If you have TeamUp, you can book your place for the event via TeamUp here.

If you are not on TeamUp, please contact Josh Morrall, Communications Officer, on josh@atlanticracquetcentre.co.uk to reserve your place.

ARC Hosts Driathlon UK Tour Event

On Sunday 18th February ARC Fitness hosted event 5 of the Driathlon UK Tour. The Driathlon is a tough 60min challenge, where participants work for 20mins on each of our three Concept 2 machines to complete as many calories burned as possible. There are Driathlon events happening all over the country, with the top participants qualifying for a grand final event at the Birmingham NEC.

We had 12 participants take part throughout the afternoon, including several visitors to ARC for the first time.  Each participant put in an incredible shift, giving it their all, everyone finishing. Perhaps most impressively we had two 10 year olds, Amelia and Jacob who completed the entire 60min Driathlon! ARC Coaches Lottie and Estelle also stepped up to trial out the first attempt at a pairs Driathlon. It proved a great success and is something the organisers will roll out more in the future. We also had several of our competitors achieving scores that put them at the top of their age group categories in the country, including father and son, James and Jacob Liepa.

Well done to everyone who took part and thank-you to all those who came down to support. We look forward to bringing this fantastic event back to ARC in 2025!

New Badminton Courts and Increased Availability!

ARC is delighted to announce the arrival of two brand new badminton courts at the centre, as well as increased availability for court bookings, and more opportunities to get involved with badminton socials and club play.

From Monday 5th February, badminton will be available 6 days a week at ARC (Mondays-Saturdays), and thanks to the support of Bideford Town Council, Sport England, Badminton England, and the Babcock Sports and Social Club, two state-of-the-art courts are available for use. A big thank you to our superb Volunteer Team who installed the courts.

Due to popular demand, we have upped the player cap to 18 for our No-Strings Badminton Session taking place every Thursday from 7-9pm. If you’re new to badminton and want to give it a go, our No-Strings sessions are the perfect place to learn the sport, improve your game, and make friends in a relaxed, welcoming and inclusive environment.

From Tuesday 6th February, we’re offering a new Badminton Social Club Play from 7-9pm (in addition to our Friday evening session). These sessions are open to all abilities and are completely free for Badminton and Unlimited Racquet members, and only £5 for others.

We would like to acknowledge the invaluable and much appreciated advice and financial support of Bideford Town Council, Sport England, Badminton England and the Babcock Sports and Social Club.

Watch this space for more exciting badminton developments and playing opportunities in 2024!

Join ARC's 2024 Summer Season Tennis Teams

Calling all Tennis Racquet, Unlimited Racquet, Premium Racquet and Gym members! Are you interested in representing an ARC Tennis Team at this year’s upcoming summer season? Our 2024 Team Tennis Committee has been assembled and will be responsible for selecting and managing our teams across the various North Devon Tennis events and competitions that ARC enters, and the committee is accepting expressions of interest. Read on to learn more about how to get involved.

Our Team Tennis Selection Committee will be looking for players to participate in the Men’s Open League, Men’s Open Cup, Ladies’ Open League, Ladies’ Open Cup, Mixed Open Cup, Men’s Vet’s League and Ladies’ Vet’s League. For the 2024 season, the committee is:

Men's Open League & Cup - Tom Farnell (Volunteer), Tom Vinall (Coach)
Ladies' Open League & Cup – Catherine Andrews (Volunteer), Lottie Johns (Coach)
Vet's & Mixed Open Doubles League & Cup - Mark Clayton (Volunteer), Stephen Minall (Volunteer) Marian Vinall (Coach)
Vet’s LTA Team Tennis - Catherine Andrews (Volunteer) Marian Vinall (Coach)

If you’d like to be considered for an ARC Tennis Team in the 2024 summer season, click here to complete the form.

All players are invited to attend our Team Tennis training & selection evenings running for 6 weeks from 21st February - 28th March. These sessions will consist of both coach led doubles drills and competitive match play. All players who wish to be considered for a Men’s or Ladies’ Open League/Cup team should attend these sessions if possible and if unable to do so should let us know within the comment box in the survey linked above.

Men’s Open Team Training & Selection (Outdoors, all weathers): Wednesdays 7-9pm, 21st Feb, 28th Feb, 6th Mar, 13th Mar, 20th Mar, 27th Mar
Ladies’ Open Team Training & Selection (Outdoors, all weathers): Thursdays 7-9pm, 22nd Feb, 29th Feb, 7th Mar, 14th Mar, 21st Mar, 28th Mar
Vet’s Team Training & Selection - (Outdoors, all weathers): Mondays 7-9pm, 8th April, 15th April

All eligible members are welcome to attend these sessions and put themselves forward for Team Tennis regardless of standard or experience. We have a huge number of teams and do our best to give as many people as possible the opportunity to represent ARC. For players who played last season, we’d like to remind you that whilst previous performance is taken into account, team selection starts afresh each new season and players should not assume they will be in the same team as they have played in previously as selections are likely to change year on year.

To make sure you don’t miss the latest updates from ARC about upcoming racquet events and competitions, make sure to sign up to our Racquet Weekly newsletter. Sign up here.

ARC Team Members Win Devon Tennis County Awards!

At the annual Devon Tennis County Awards hosted on Wednesday 24th January, ARC team members Hannah Miller and Ella Wilson were recognised for their hard work, dedication, and outstanding contribution to tennis in Devon.

Hannah was named Performance Coach of the Year for 2023 for her incredible work at ARC, transforming our tennis performance programme, developing 15 players to perform in county squads, 2 players at regionals, and more than 20 players competing regularly in other graded tournaments. Known for her high energy and challenging lessons, Hannah brings years of experience, skill and passion to her coaching at ARC.

Ella was awarded Volunteer of the Year for 2023 after successfully becoming part of the LTA’s Young Person’s Welfare Ambassador (YPWA) pilot programme and continuing to be an exceptional role model for the younger members of the group. Ella has contributed to ensuring that ARC is a safe, welcoming place for young people to play and enjoy tennis.

From all of the team at ARC, we congratulate the nominees and winners, and thank Devon Tennis for once again hosting a great night that celebrated the important work of all those who contribute to making tennis thrive in the county.

We're recruiting! Join the Team at ARC.

We’re looking for passionate and committed people to join our team and support ARC in delivering the best service possible to our members and the wider community.

Below are the roles we’re currently recruiting for. Don’t forget to stay tuned to our socials for the latest announcements about staff and volunteer opportunities.

YOGA INSTRUCTOR

We’re looking for a Yoga Instructor to deliver engaging, high quality classes to our members. You’ll support the ARC Fitness Team in providing a safe, accessible and inclusive environment, teaching approx. 1-3 hours a week with occassional evening/weekend work required. Applications close on 31st January. Find out more and apply here.

RECEPTION TEAM

We’re looking for two Reception Team Members to join our team of friendly, skilled and experienced customer facing support staff. You’ll be a reliable and trustworthy person, working 6-10 hours per week (with more hours available depending on the candidate). Applications close on 31st January. Find out more and apply here.

CLEANING STAFF

We’re looking for looking for an early morning cleaner (with the potential for afternoon work) and key holder to join our existing team of cleaning staff. You’ll be reliable, fast working, punctual and professional with experience of cleaning work in similar commercial environments. The position will involve early morning shifts from 6-8am and potentially some afternoon shifts from 12.30-2.30pm. Hours will start at 6hrs per week including a Sunday with the potential to increase. Applications close on 31st January. Find out more and apply here.

We're Recruiting a Yoga Instructor to Join our ARC Fitness Team

Atlantic Racquet Centre (ARC) are seeking to appoint a Yoga instructor to join our ARC Fitness team and lead 1-3 Yoga Classes per week. The position will be offered on a self-employed contract. To apply please send a covering letter and your CV to lottiemiles@atlanticracquetcentre.co.uk

Hours: 1-3hrs per week (some evening and/or weekend required)

Closing date: Weds 31st January Interviews: Mon 5th – Fri 9th February Start date: Ideally from Monday 12th February

Our coaching timetable includes the following classes – Functional Fitness, HIIT, Kids Fitness, Pilates, Inclusive Fitness, Health Class, Olympic Weightlifting and Functional Strength. Experience of coaching group classes in some of these areas, especially Pilates is preferred but not essential. In addition to the class coaching role, there is a great opportunity for the successful candidate(s) to work with personal training clients through the gym.

For full information Click Here

ARC Awards Evening

On Saturday 25th November, ARC hosted our third annual Awards Evening. More than 150 members and their families joined us for the event, celebrating a year of incredible achievements across racquet sports and fitness.

More than 200 trophies, medals and certificates were presented, showcasing the successes of members of all ages. The evening came to a close with our Special Recognition Awards, including our most improved players for tennis, badminton, squash, racquet ball, table tennis, and fitness. We were delighted to recognise George Milburn as the Most Improved Adult with a Disability, and Freya Willock as the Most Improved Junior with a Disability.

For the second year running, the Northam Care Trust was announced as our Community Partner of the Year for their contributions to people with mental and physical disabilities in the local area. We were also thrilled to recognise ARC team members Ella Wilson as Staff Member of the Year, and Neil Harris as Volunteer of the Year, for their dedication, hard work and spirit throughout the Year.

Congratulations to all!

ARC SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARDS

TENNIS
Most Improved Male – Tennis
Winner: Matt Farley
Nominees: Richard Williams, Wade Bulmer, Matthew Daniel, Neil Sivill

Most Improved Female – Tennis
Winner: Niamh Ramsay
Nominees: Tish Shere, Julie Souch, Sally Lewis, Amanda Loud, Catherine Andrews, Cindy Reynolds, Jo Carr

Most Improved Junior (Ages 11-18) - Tennis
Winner: Troy Eales
Nominees: Noah Williams, Euan Greenslade, Jayden Lovelock

Most Improved Mini (Ages 5-10) - Tennis
Winner: Rudi Lobato
Nominees: Amelia Creighton, Jessica Smale, Jacob Liepa, Rufus Underwood, Louie Brummit

BADMINTON
Most Improved Male – Badminton
Winner: Jack Powell
Nominees: Callum Ford, Ben Povey

Most Improved Female – Badminton
Winner: Elsie Davies
Nominees: Sarah Cook

Most Improved Junior (Ages 11-18) – Badminton
Winner: Bonnie Davis
Nominees: Oliver Ross

TABLE TENNIS
Most Improved Male - Table Tennis
Winner: John Glass

Most Improved Female - Table Tennis
Winner: Fredrika Karlsson

SQUASH & RACKETBALL
Most Improved Male – Squash & Racketball
Winner: Oscar Meridith

Most Improved Female – Squash & Racketball
Winner: Pollyanna Coyle

FITNESS
Most Improved Male – Fitness
Winner: Martin Jeffries

Most Improved Female – Fitness
Winner: Lydia Hunt
Nominees: Leah Sargeant, Corrina Bright

Most Improved Junior (Ages 11-18) – Fitness
Winner: Maisie Underwood
Nominees: Dylan Ferrigni Monfils, Kerenza Roberts

MOST IMPROVED ADULT WITH A DISABILITY
Winner: George Milburn

MOST IMPROVED JUNIOR WITH A DISABILITY
Winner: Freya Wilcock

TEAM OF THE YEAR
Winner: Ladies A (Tennis)
Nominees: Men’s A (Tennis), Ladies E (Tennis), Men's C (Tennis), Men's ARC B (Badminton)

COMMUNITY PARTNER OF THE YEAR
Winner: Northam Care Trust
Nominees: Bideford Bridge Trust, Torridge Health, Primary Care Network, CMTG, Torridge District Council

STAFF MEMBER OF THE YEAR
Winner: Ella Wilson
Nominees: Alyssa Hitt, Lydia Underwood, Lottie Miles, Tom Vinall, Ella Wilson Leanne Avery, Lottie Johns, Katie Casey, Catherine Short, Marian Vinall, Hannah Miller, Karen Girard

VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR
Winner: Neil Harris
Nominees: Andy Seaman, Angie Adams, Tish Shere Simon Trapnell, Anoushka Lynd, Sue Doncaster, Robin Lewis, William Gorin, Marian Vinall, Fiona Miles Glen Parry, Gary Young, Sarah Powell, Sophie Chapman, Ed Jenner

Volunteer Celebration Day!

We recently held a Volunteer Celebration day with a an evening BBQ! Over 20 of our amazing volunteers came along and played lots of garden games, ate good food and have great time! Tom V managed to keep everyone fed with his BBQ Skills!

Volunteers are so important to making ARC what is is and it’s really important that we thank them!

Fancy becoming a volunteer? Find out more here:
https://www.atlanticracquetcentre.co.uk/volunteer

We won FIRST PLACE at the Carnival!

On the 11th of September 2023 ARC entered into the Bideford Carnival! We were in the Trade Category and we won! We’d like to say a huge thanks to everyone who came along! From the people who helped decorate the float to people who helped give out almost 300 signed tennis balls! We had two very special stars on the float with Tenby the Tennis Ball and our very own World Weightlifting Masters Silver Medalist Lottie Miles!

It was such a fun event and we can’t wait to see you at the next one!

Summer Tennis Open 2023

ARC Summer Open

The ARC Summer Open for Adults and Juniors continued this year in its usual week. And what a week in the sun came our way! There were 30 different events, 9 days of competition, 200 entrants, over 400 matches played and competitors aged from 6 to 80! The week began with Mens and Ladies Vets doubles on a very hot May afternoon. U8 doubles attracted just  2 pairs, most of whom were playing their first doubles competition of their life! What a final it was! The enthusiasm was contagious and competitiveness ran high as the tiebreak was finally decided on 10-8. If you want to see good volleying, come and see these children in action when they play in another event! On a similar theme there were also U9 and U10 doubles. Thursday saw 60 children U10 on site for all the singles events, and for the first time ever we were able to have separate boys and girls events these could not have happened without the help of our great team of Junior volunteers who were on court scoring:  Nick, James, Lucas, Ryan, Heidi, Jayden, Arlo, Jack, Michael and Euan.

Events for older juniors were well supported and the compass draws meant that everyone found their own level in the end. It was great to attract enough girls to hold both singles and doubles events this year. Children travelled from as far away as the Lake District, Wales and Kent to compete here. A record 35 children from ARC entered

ARC players who claimed trophies:

U8 Singles  Winner Boris Lobato RU Marlow Murray

U8 Doubles Winners Henry Maukonen & Zeon Storkey RU William Lethem Gent & Oli Wild

U9 Doubles Winners Boris Lobato and Rufus Underwood

U10 Boys Singles RU Iseo Gould

U10 Girls Singles Winner Amelia Crighton

U10 Doubles  Ru Amelia Crighton & Iseo Gould

U12 Girls Singles RU Heidi Clarke

U14 Girls Doubles  Winners  Lily Bridger & Heidi Clarke

U16 Boys Singles RU Euan Greenslade

U18 Boys Doubles RU Euan Greenslade

Winsome Trophy for Most Improved and successful ARC Junior in this tournament Boris Lobato

The adult tournament did not disappoint with its late night doubles of a very high standard, spectators wrapped in blankets and the toasties and drinks going down well. Again competition was fierce, both from the home club and visitors from away.

ARC players who won trophies:

Mens’ Singles  Lewie Parker

Ladies Singles RU Niamh Ramsay

Mens Doubles Winners Dan & Alex Grigg RU Dan Lobato

Ladies Doubles Winners  Lottie Miles & Niamh Ramsay RU Sue Donegan

Mens Vets’ Singles RU John Norman

Mixed Doubles Vets’ Winners Ian Leonard & Cath Andrews RU Phil Yabsley

Ladies Vets’ Winner  Sue Donegan RU Sarah Powell & Marian Vinall

Mens Vets’ Winners Dave Thresher & Phil Yabsley RU Simon Trapnell & Martyn Beer

Junior Sportsmanship award – Troy Eales & Noah Williams

If you missed out on all the fun this time, make sure you enter the next weeklong tournament which is the ARC Winter Open October 21st to 29th – save the date now!

Remember all events are either Compass Draw or Round Robin so you get to play 3 or 4 matches and only need to commit one or 2 days/evenings!

Squash & Racketball Courts Opening 12th June

We’re extremely proud to be finally opening our 2 brand new glass back Squash & Racketball courts on Monday 12th June 2023.

The courts are long awaited and will become the only publicly available courts in North Devon after the closure of the courts at North Devon Leisure Centre last year.

The courts will be available to be booked from 8am – 9pm on weekdays, 8am – 5pm Saturdays and 9am – 4pm Sundays with equipment hire provided for just £1 per racquet for those who need it. As with everything at the centre, you won’t need a membership to use the courts with prices starting at just £5.00 for 30 minutes, however using one of our great membership packages will be by far the best and cheapest way to access the centre with prices dropping to as low as £3 per 30 minutes for Unlimited Racquet members. The new Squash & Racketball Racquet package will offer a 30% discount on the base court rate of £10 off-peak/ £15 peak along with a host of other benefits. 

This eagerly anticipated facility completes the planned racquet sport offering at the centre and it’s hoped that interest in Squash will be very high. The completed facility will feature a multi-sports hall/event space and community café which is set to be completed in 2024 once the final funds have been raised.

ARC is a community charity with the aim of making racquet sports & fitness accessible and affordable to all local people. In this sense our skilled and engaging team will be embarking on a formal community launch of the Squash & Racketball courts in September which will see local schools, disability centres and community groups all being invited to sample the new courts and learn to play Squash & Racketball in a fun and supportive environment. As part of this community launch the centre is planning a free open day and exhibition evening on Saturday 2nd September which will see professional Squash players from across the country visit the centre to play a series of exhibition matches and offer free coaching & inspiration to anyone who comes along.

      
Our staff team spent some time this week experiencing the courts for themselves and ensuring they are ready to answer your questions on our new offering.

We’re really hoping that you, our existing community, will be keen to get involved and try the new courts between now and September as part of our ‘soft launch’. We’ve had huge interest in Squash since it was first proposed we install courts many years ago and we’re thrilled to finally be able to make Squash available to you our members & users and the wider community of Torridge & North Devon. It’s testament to the extremely hard work of many of our volunteers, and the continued support of our many funders, that this has been achieved. We’re also particularly excited to be able to introduce Racketball, also known as Squash57, a slower more accessible version of the sport that is perfect for those just starting out, or those who are less mobile. Please do drop in to the centre anytime after the 12th to have a look at the courts or book a court and give them a go yourself.

Find out more about the courts, memberships and how you can get involved here - https://www.atlanticracquetcentre.co.uk/squash-racketball

Here you can see members of our staff team sampling the courts and learning about the new offering ready to answer all of your questions.

Do Something Different!

This month we held loads of Do Something Different events to raise awareness of Mental Health! Our Staff & Volunteers generously gave up their time to run all these events that they themselves love doing!

Doing something different for just 60 minutes with other people can have a huge impact on your health & wellbeing and in particular your mental health. Exercising, socialising & learn a new skill are all fantastic ways to improve your mental health!

Below are a few photos from several of the events!