LTAs Roger Draper was all promises and no action to spread free tennis around UK

By Tony Hawks 1055PM GMT thirteen Mar 2010

Previous of Images Next Tough observation LTA arch senior manager Roger Draper (back left) watches Britain"s Davis Cup better by Lithuania Photo GETTY IMAGES

Although there competence be a small personal good for me if we lose the subsequent tie to Turkey, as we"ll afterwards be in the same organisation as Moldova and my book Playing the Moldovans at Tennis competence embrace a good late progress in sales, I would still most cite to see the people who run British tennis have the right decisions and for the players to be successful.

I instruct to discuss it a story that competence assistance them. It"s a really didactic story.

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In 2003 I was on legal holiday in America and I played tennis on fool around belligerent courts that were free. I was told by my American friends that this was the normal because, as they put it, "We"ve paid the skill tax, since would we compensate again?" The people who used the courts had combined a kind of tennis village in that players of all levels were done welcome, and were means to find people to fool around with of a identical standard.

Upon my return, I approached the LTA, afterwards underneath the care of John Crowther, and referred to they have make make use of of of a little of their immeasurable income to foster identical schemes in the UK. I was told that simply creation the courts free would not have a disproportion as people compulsory simple fee to get the elemental skills compulsory to fool around tennis.

I agreed, and referred to they thus additionally have make make use of of of a little of their immeasurable supports to yield a little free coaching. They told me people would not take value of free coaching as there indispensable to be a little monetary joining differently they wouldn"t go on to spin up. I didn"t hold this.

I had assumingly strike a section net but as I love tennis and it seemed a cop-out if I did zero carrying lifted the issue in the initial place, I set up tennisforfree with a colleague, Patrick Hollwey, that has been using successfully ever since.

The most appropriate approach to find out what we do is to revisit the site www.tennisforfree.com and watch the short movie but, in a nutshell, we yield one free coaching event a week for all ages on courts that we have negotiated with the legislature to be free for the open to have make make use of of of all the time. I lerned as a tennis manager and for the past five years I have been branch out scarcely each Saturday morning, 50 weeks of the year, and you do free coaching as a proffer in the Joseph Hood distraction belligerent in Merton.

It"s fun. I similar to assisting people. The internal village benefit, people sense new skills, the total thing is run in a suggestion of giving. I longed for to speak to someone who could see the knowledge of rolling this out opposite the country.

When Draper took his pursuit in Apr 2006 I thought this competence vigilance a breath of uninformed air. I met with him and told him about the work of tennisforfree and he pronounced it was illusory and he betrothed that weed roots tennis was to be his priority. He afterwards assumingly did nothing.

Oh well, that"s not particularly true, he hired Brad Gilbert to be Andy Murray"s manager at a cost of �750,000 a year. As far as I know Murray was the usually top-20 tennis player in the universe to have his manager paid for by his country"s ruling body. When Murray and Gilbert fell out, the LTA had to go on to compensate Gilbert until his stipulate ran out. Oh, and I was still reception no replies to my emails reminding Roger about his promises for weed roots tennis.

I motionless to take the ideas to the Sports Minister and in Feb 2008 I met with Gerry Sutcliffe and Sylvia Heal at the House of Commons and told them all about the work of tennisforfree and how we had a commercial operation plan that could broach free tennis in each precinct of the nation at a comparatively small cost. Sutcliffe told me he thought it was an glorious thought and that we should move in Draper so that we could plan how to hurl this out.

On Mar 18, 2008 we had an additional assembly at the House of Commons at that myself, Sutcliffe, Heal and Draper were present. Draper reiterated his enterprise to "make weed roots his priority" and concluded that a discuss to get as most fool around belligerent courts as probable done free to the open would be a priority for him. He went as far as to guarantee a big discuss during the Wimbledon fortnight that year. I felt enthused. We had the capitulation of the Sports Minister and the CEO of the LTA. At last, a little movement would be inevitable.

How wrong could I be? Just as had happened after my initial assembly with Draper in 2006 there was air wave overpower with no replies to my emails and no pointer of any discuss being planned.

I eventually managed to get a assembly with Draper when the Wimbledon Championships were already underneath approach but when I reminded him he had betrothed a campaign, in the participation of the Sports Minister and an additional MP, he voiced that they would have one in the second week of Wimbledon. I felt this was ridiculously rushed, but as there was still an event I fast set up a website, enlisted Pat Cash, who is a fixed believer of tennisforfree, to be the orator and waited to be contacted about the sum and plans. Nothing happened.

I called him to beg for a assembly but he was indignant with me since I had been vicious of him in an talk with a BBC journalist. We eventually met on the second Tuesday of the Championships 2008. Our assembly was utterly short. Here is the sell as I recollect it.

TH Roger, you betrothed a discuss during the second week of the championships. RD We are removing onto it. TH Roger, how can you be removing onto a discuss for the second week of the Championships when it is already the Tuesday of that second week? In front of the Sports Minister in the House of Commons you betrothed a discuss to foster free tennis in parks during these Championships. It seems to me that there are usually dual possibilities One) That you were on purpose dubious me, or Two) that you are incompetent. RD Get out! TH What?RD Get out!TH This is how you are selecting to finish this meeting? RD Get out of my bureau now!

And so finished my assembly with Roger Draper, the man who is reportedly paid in the segment of �500,000 a year to run British tennis. Through his inaction we had squandered the greatest emporium window in British tennis to get this summary of free tennis opposite to the British public, permitted as it was by the Government.

Not prolonged after this, Draper was since a serve five-year contract. Dismayed, I withdrew from the debate. I asked myself, "Why put yourself though this?" I go on to assistance run tennisforfree and I lift on with my free coaching each Saturday morning.

I have right away been called to discuss it my story to a row of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tennis at the House of Commons who are utterly righteously holding hearings in to the activities of the LTA. I shall penchant the opportunity.

When I played the Moldovans at Tennis behind in 1998 it was their football group that I took on. Little did I suppose that one day we competence be essentially backing up opposite their feeble saved tennis squad.