Malua Bay Tennis Club is thriving on the backs of around 30 members aged between 66 and 86 who meet three times a week for a hit that is as social as it is competitive.
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The club formed on the back of community funds raised in the late 1980’s to which the Eurobodalla Shire Council provided a plot of land and $35,000 to prepare it for construction.
Club secretary Judy Thomson recalls a devoted number of local residents who helped to cart and lay the original sand and clay. And, when the club’s steering committee moved its focus to a clubhouse the community rallied again, with residents and members working alongside local builder John Aust.
The club has a local charm that Judy and her fellow players clearly cherish.
“A lot of local people - many of whom are still with us - they literally laid the cement and put the walls up,” she said.
Batemans Bay’s Funerals director Robert Hewson was just ten years old when the courts were built. He well remembers his father, Mark, being one of a number of residents recruited to wheelbarrow and move sand and clay.
“I remember it because after it was all finished I had to go and pick up the stones,” Robert said.
That sand and clay formed the surface of the courts which are maintained to this day.
Clay and sand is a world recognised tennis surface but it requires some extra maintenance, Judy says club members and council are working together to preserve what are the only courts of their kind, in the Eurobodalla.
“We play on the only clay courts in the area,” Judy said.
“It can be a struggle to find people who know how to lay the courts properly.”
For this reason, after each session the players ‘bag’ the courts, which involves dragging a piece of felt across the surface to smooth it out. They then water the courts, which helps protect sand and clay from the elements.
Barry Brown, 79, is the current club president. He joins members at the courts for games each Monday, Wednesday and Friday between 8am and 10am.
“We may not be Pennant players but we enjoy good tennis,” Judy said.
All members play to a level but it’s common to see senior-aged residents return to the game they love once they retire.
“Most of our members have played over the years and we can all play reasonably,” Judy said.
While the club doesn’t play a strict “competition” the games are still competitive.
“We’re very lucky,” Judy said.
“This is a particularly nice group of people."
