Diversity & Inclusion

Access Tennis

One of the key principles to which Tennis Ireland is unwaveringly committed is that of equal opportunity and inclusion for all. In upholding this principle, we are guided by the Irish Government’s National Sports Policy 2018-2027, and the equivalent declaration from the Government of Northern Ireland:

“Sport must be welcoming and inclusive, offering appropriate opportunities for participation and improvement to all. We will promote inclusion to deliver our desired outcomes with a focus on addressing social, disability, gender, ethnic and other gradients. Irish society is increasingly multi-cultural. Sport can make an important contribution to economic and social cohesion and a more integrated society by using the potential of sport for social inclusion, integration and equal opportunities, whilst emphasizing the total unacceptability of racism and xenophobia”.

Parks Tennis

Provide tennis coaching at grass roots level nationwide in 140 locations during the summer holidays for girls and boys between 5 and 17 years. The major cities; Dublin and Cork operate all year round.

Enjoy Tennis

Enjoy Tennis is Tennis Ireland’s programme for players with an intellectual or physical disability, helping these players become integrated into the life of their local tennis club.

Through a collaborative approach with partners, coaches, players and (crucially) clubs, Enjoy Tennis provides an accessible and inclusive sport to people of all abilities in their communities. The programme is strongly supported by Sport Ireland and a range of Local Sports Partnerships. In 2018 Tennis Ireland received the National Governing Body Award for the Enjoy Tennis Programme at the CARA National Inclusion Awards.

Youth Forum

The mission of the Forum is to empower the voice of young people in the future development of tennis with the aim to broaden the tennis horizon and, by doing so, the potential of the sport too.

The first Youth Forum got off to an exciting start, with the first meeting in Leinster House in November 2022. The Youth Forum was invited as special guests of Senator Malcolm Byrne and Minister Jack Chambers, attending a very interesting tour of the buildings before the meeting.

This marked a new era for Tennis in Leinster as the Forum is tasked with representing the voices of young people across the province.

Small changes can have big outcomes and we are excited to see what lies ahead in 2023.

If any young people between the age of 15 and 25 are interested in getting involved, please get in touch!

Out2Tennis

Out2Tennis is Ireland’s only LGBTQ+ tennis group. The Out2Tennis group aims to provide a welcoming and friendly environment for the LGBTQ+ community and their friends to come together and play tennis. The club welcomes players of all levels to play tennis socially and organises several singles and doubles tournaments each year. Out2Tennis is part of the Sporting Pride network of LGBTQ+ sports groups, which is a volunteer-run community organisation that focuses on giving LGBTQ+ sports groups visibility and promoting inclusivity in sport.

Many Out2Tennis players are members in tennis clubs throughout Ireland and compete in our annual tournaments. The group has expanded rapidly since 2011 and has a large social media following, with over 1,200 followers on Meetup, an event-based social media platform. The numbers of players participating in tournaments and social tennis have been steadily growing each year. The group regularly organises social tennis events for beginners, improving and advanced players, and coaching is sometimes available. These sessions have proven to be quite popular and helped the group’s growth even more.

Follow us on Facebook or Instagram to get the latest info and you can sign up for our events on Meetup.

Women in Tennis

Tennis Ireland secured funding from Sport Ireland to implement a programme to support the Women in Sport Policy, publicised in 2019. The Women in Sport Policy identifies four different areas (coaching & officiating, active participation, leadership & governance and visibility) that need to be improved upon to develop the overall landscape of women’s sport in Ireland. The Women in Tennis Programme began in February 2020, with research being undertaken to identify the behaviours and  attitudes in relation to women’s tennis in Ireland. This programme is in place to support and empower girls and women across Ireland to take up leadership roles within tennis in a playing, coaching, officiating and administrative capacity.

Women in Sport Week 2023 – Features

SHE LEADS

Young Women Leadership Programme

Tennis Ireland is delighted to present our second cycle of ‘She Leads – Young Women Leadership Programme’. ‘She Leads’ will give representatives from each county of Ireland the opportunity to discuss and collaborate on how to grow tennis for young Irish women, empower future leaders in our sport and provide a platform for them to voice their opinions and bring about effective change. Representatives could be nominated by their clubs, potentially junior representatives on committees, junior captains or young committee members (i.e. potential future leaders in clubs).

This five-week programme will give participants a chance to learn more around goal setting, leadership, teen dropout, gender equality and networking all whilst interacting with their fellow participants and hearing from some fantastic guest speakers. Details on the programme, along with the application form can be found below:

Themes:

  1. Goal Setting
  2. Leadership
  3. Teen dropout
  4. Gender Equality
  5. Networking

Please check back soon for updates.

Webinars

With Judy Murray and Helen Shields

With Julie Kjendlie (ITF Gold Certified Chair Umpire), Maggie Farrelly (Top Gaelic Football Referee) and Maria Kilkelly (Ireland’s Top Female Tennis Official)

CLUB INITIATIVES FOR WOMEN IN TENNIS

INTERVIEWS WITH WOMEN IN TENNIS

2020

GET INVOLVED

For more information on women in tennis or how you and your club can get involved, please contact National Coordinator for Women in Tennis, Gráinne O’Neill on [email protected]

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