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Tennis coaches Eduardo Caffarena and Bradley Roberts |
Tennis coaches kick up a racket over new contracts ‘forcing’ them to lower rates
Council defends shake-up as making coaching ‘more accessible’ to the disadvantaged
Tim Henman, strawberries and cream, and a dearth of public courts are some of the reasons why tennis has struggled to shake off its elitist image.
But in one Paddington park it really could be a case of anyone (and everyone) for tennis after the council launched a bid to get more people playing the sport.
Game, set and match tennis you might think.
Not for three of the coaches who have taught at Paddington Recreation Ground for almost 20 years. They claim the new contracts have robbed them of their jobs.
Bradley Roberts, Eduardo Caffarena and Nicolas Marinopouos are saying “You Can Not Be Serious!” to the deal introduced in August – saying they have been forced out of work and financially crippled.
Under the new deal, the coaches have to lower their tuition fees and provide more group sessions to children and low income groups or pay higher rates to use the courts.
Councillor Audrey Lewis, cabinet member for customers and neighbourhoods said: “This is about making tennis more accessible for people who love the game but perhaps cannot afford to pay the higher prices for private lessons, as well as ensuring the quality of coaching provision.
“Coaches who do not wish to take part in this scheme to open up tennis to more of our residents, particularly those on low incomes, cannot expect to continue benefiting from what have effectively been subsidised hire rates.”
But coaches say the new contracts amount to a “stab in the back,” saying they will be crippled by the hike in monthly licence fees from £90 to £1,000 per month. A council spokesman confirmed the rate increase, which started at £200 in August this year and will reach £1,000 by April 2009.
The plight of the embattled coaches – who have not hit a ball on any of the 11 courts since the end of July – has become a lightning rod for tennis players and residents who have rallied to their defence, handing a 300-signature petition to the council last week.
Last year a head coach was appointed to the park in Randolph Avenue by managers Canons Health and Fitness, with the task of bringing the sport to a new audience and making the park a “hub for grass roots tennis”.
With hour-long sessions costing around £35, the net is simply too high for most people. But with so few courts in central London, the coaches, who claim to have 1,500 clients from the area between them, say the community is being robbed of their coaches.
They deny claims of not offering affordable coaching, pointing to a number of charity days and evening sessions they run at discounted rates.
Mr Caffarena, 42, said: “We’ve been here for nearly 20 years but that doesn’t seem to matter. Not only is it complete rubbish that we don’t serve the community or offer discounted sessions, but these new rates would absolutely kill us.
“I’ve lost around half of my client base simply because I can’t get another court and even if I can they want to use their local facility. To treat us like this is a total disgrace.”
Mr Roberts, 48, said it felt like a takeover: “I strongly suspect [the council’s] motivation is money. We would be happy to talk about doing more discounted sessions but it seems like they are staging some sort of takeover.”
Linda Ely, who lives in Warwick Avenue, has had lessons from Mr Caffarena for eight years. She said: “Why should the council chose my tennis coach? I’m all for lower fees for people who can’t afford it but I can’t see any reason why these coaches can’t continue to work there.”
The council says this is not a strongarm policy, but rather a shake-up of the way the public courts are used.
Cllr Lewis added: “Tennis coaching is a lucrative career and it is only fair coaches are charged a commercial rate for using our facilities if they insist on charging commercial rates for lessons.”
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