Tennis is bringing communities together in West Cork, in clubs like Schull and Mizen, writes CAMMY HARLEY.
THE game of tennis offers a wide range of physical, mental, and social benefits, and nowhere is this more apparent than at Schull and Mizen Tennis Club.
This strong local club currently has more than 40 members and growing, 30 of whom meet and play on a regular basis at least three times a week.
Club chairman Paul Ryrie explained that the club is welcoming to everyone.
‘We have some who come as complete beginners, to people who win tournaments and really good players with national rankings. If someone new comes along and is starting from scratch, we all just chip in and some of the old hands give a few tips and their game gets up to level in no time.’
Tennis is a great sport that can be played year round and does not need a large capital outlay, making it accessible to everyone.
In fact, Julian van Hasselt, one of the tennis club’s longest standing members, is known to play in his wellington boots. Julian first walks his dogs and then stops to enjoy a game of tennis. When asked if his wellies are a handicap, he laughed and said ‘They are more like a secret weapon really, when people first see me in them they suspect I can’t run fast!’
Long-standing club members Julian van Hasselt, George Hughes and Paul Hadland. George is the club’s most senior member and still plays a formidable game of tennis.
Julian says that the club was first called the Schull Tennis Club, but when it was regenerated in 2017, it became the Schull and Mizen Tennis Club to broaden the appeal and make it inclusive of all of the Mizen peninsula, which paid off as the club has gone from strength to strength.
Julian’s dogs Pupsie and Alfie enjoying watching him play a game of tennis on a Sunday morning.
In 2022, the club received €43,200 in Clár funding, which helped upgrade the courts.
Paul Ryrie expressed thanks to Cork County Council for their help in fixing up the courts and in particular to Niall Chamberlain, who was the engineer in the Schull at the time of putting the successful bid together and to his successor Ruth O’Brien, who also helped get the work over the line.
‘We got the grant about three years ago and over the ensuing years, work was done which was completed this summer and we now have two courts up and running which is really brilliant and makes all the difference,’ said Paul.
Not only does The Schull and Mizen Tennis Club have a magical setting, with the view of sail boats bobbing in the harbour, but it is also adjacent to the public walkway which means dog walkers and joggers stop to greet and chat and watch a while making it a very sociable experience for everyone.
Paul Hadland, another long standing club member, says ‘Sometimes when you’re on the court, the sun lights up the water and it’s so beautiful. You can see all the way to Cape Clear.’
The club has a strong sense of camaraderie which is evident in the shouts of encouragement of ‘that was a sizzler’ and ‘good shot’ which echo out in the morning air as games are in play.
Ballydehob has an active club too which sometimes meets up and plays with the Schull and Mizen Club and it is hoped that an inter-club competition can soon be arranged.
‘We’re mostly folk of a certain age, retired, so we play at 9.30am on a Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday’, says Paul, ‘whereas in Ballydehob, they have a slightly different demographic in that they are younger and many of them work during the week and have young families so if we do play with them, it tends to be at the weekends.’
For the winter, the Schull and Mizen Club committee is putting together the final arrangements for something new and experimental which is to run a league for all the players.
Paul explains: ‘We will pair people up to make a doubles pair and then invite each pair to play another pair over the winter and then tot up at the end to see who has won the most games and we’ll have the winner.’
Another long standing club member Len Lipitch says: ‘There is no age limit to tennis, anyone can play and its inclusive of everyone. Now all we need is a clubhouse, that would be lovely, or even a third court.’
Some of the key advantages of playing tennis include physical fitness and co-ordination and agility.
Tennis requires some strategic thinking and quick decision making which can also enhance cognitive skills.
That, coupled with a low cost initial outlay and the social interaction the game provides, creating opportunities to meet new people and to strengthen existing friendships, makes it an all-round winner to get involved with.
A small membership fee of €50 applies for the year which covers buying nets, balls and the running of the club.
Although it is more fun to play in the sunshine, the club plays all year round regardless of the weather as they have one tarmac court and one Astroturf court.
For more information call to the tennis courts on any Tuesday, Thursday or Sunday at 9.30 am where you will be assured of a warm welcome.
