Playing indoor tennis and meeting new people in the Be Active club at Bodmin Leisure Centre is ‘energising and uplifting’ according to Barbara Beresford, 68, from Fowey.
It’s the first time that Barbara has been part of the Be Active group but, with Tennis Manager Steve Holmes as coach, she’s loving the weekly opportunity to keep fit in good company.
“My grandson is on one of the Lawn Tennis Association schemes that Steve runs here so I wanted to get back into some racquet sport too,” she said. “It’s a wonderful local facility and the exercise gets my blood going and makes me feel really good. I can’t recommend it enough.”
Be Active Tennis Tuesdays have been set up through the Tackling Inequalities Fund as part of a collaboration between Active Cornwall and social enterprise provider GLL which runs Bodmin Leisure Centre on behalf of the council.
Nick Taylor, 60, from St Breward is another regular participant.
“I retired recently and wanted to improve my fitness,” he said. “I’ve never been a tennis player, but Steve is an excellent teacher and we all have fun. The fact that the courts are inside means we don’t have to worry about the weather either.”
Each hour-long session costs just £5.
“Be Active sessions have always been very popular with the over 50s and although the pandemic stopped them for a long time, people are beginning to come back,” said Steve Holmes, who has worked at the centre for the last twenty years. “It doesn’t matter if someone has never played tennis before – everyone is welcome.”
More multi activity sessions for older participants are being planned. For more information, visit Better.org.uk/bodmin or email Bodmin@GLL.ORG