A great initiative by PSC to engage the community so everyone can have real input into the direction of projects and decisions that affect our community.

We all want to continue to build a positive and progressive community that we can all enjoy living in. Tennis is a sport for life and can be enjoyed by everyone across all demographics throughout the shire. We have players spanning 3 years to 83 years playing our game on the courts every week throughout a suite of programs.

There is hardly be a single day throughout the year (weather permitting) when you drive past the courts and they are empty. We are family driven and had commenced our Family Friday Social evenings to encourage families to get together and use the facility. We also provide a great barbecue and undercover area available for kids birthday parties and gatherings and when COVID-19 restrictions are further eased we will be continuing to encourage the community to use these facilities. After all this is a Parkes Shire Council owned asset. The volunteer committee just look after the centre on their behalf to serve the community and the sport.

1989 was the last time Parkes Tennis received a co-contribution by NSW Govt to resurface courts 1-4. That's over 30 years ago. Since then the club has continued to maintain and develop the centre as best we can with only a volunteer workforce. The time it takes each week to keep the grounds in peak condition including mowing the grassed footpaths and surrounds, spraying weeds, sweeping leaves off courts and brooming the courts let alone maintaining the clubhouse, kitchen and bathrooms can never be underestimated.

We have courts that are in desperate need of upgrading to Tennis Australia standards so we can bid for more events once COVID-19 restrictions are eased. These events bring people and families into our community and boost the shire's economy in all areas during their stay.

If anyone has an email reading this please go to yoursay.parkes.nsw.gov.au/ register and follow the links to the Resources for Regions Category and cast your vote for WOODWARD OVAL TENNIS COURT UPGRADES it would be very much appreciated. It closes July 31.

JUNIOR COMPETITION: Comp tennis was back in action last week and great to see all the juniors out on court enjoying their matches. A huge thankyou to parents who continue to follow the COVID-19 guidelines with only 1 parent per child at the centre.

Round 2 this afternoon. If at any time the weather looks doubtful please follow ParkesTennis facebook page for updates.

SENIOR COMPETITION: Sixteen ladies are taking to the courts on Monday evenings for some social doubles and despite the evening being a little chilly they were all out on court laughing, running around, trying to remember the score and personally benefiting from being active and enjoying their three sets of doubles.

On adjacent courts there are eight men who are working hard with no assistance at their end of the court playing singles matches. Plenty of energy is dispersed during their three sets and no worries about the cooler evenings as these men are relishing in the competition.

COACHING: What an amazing first week of HotShots last week. The smiles on the faces of the new girls and boys collecting their sparkling new racquets, putting their HotShots shirts on and eagerly participating in their group activities was a treat to see across the centre.

There are just a few places available mainly on Friday afternoons for girls and boys aged 3yrs to 14yrs. Blue Stage is 3-4yrs(pre-school), Red Stage is 5-8yrs, Orange Stage 8-10yrs, Green Stage 9-14yrs.

The private lessons for those girls and boys who would like more personal attention for all sorts of reasons are being well received and to see happy healthy children engaged and learning is the most important outcome.

Reports from Squad training last week was a few sore muscles from the fitness component. Many youngsters forget they haven't been out and about as normal and their physical workload had decreased. It will be great to get all the squad players back on track and into full load fitness routines in the coming weeks.

For our readers, skipping is one of the best all time cardio workouts for the whole body so grab a rope and start with 50 and build it up to 500 each day and you'll feel the full benefits.

SOCIAL TENNIS: Tuesday morning Ladies from 8.30-11am and Saturday afternoon mixed from 1pm-4pm for everyone to enjoy. Come alone, meet some new friends and join in some active social play doubles.

BOOK-A-COURT: The flexibility has never been greater for people to enjoy using the courts whenever they wish to. The online court booking system allows anyone to book a court from 7am-10pm 7 days a week and receive a unique code to enter into the pinpad to open the gates in Metcalfe St. Players must allow half hour between booking and play time.

UTR EVENTS: The start of the Central West UR events on Sunday with Orange managing to get through despite the wet conditions. Luckily for Orange they would've been one of the only centres in NSW playing tennis on Sunday as they have 5 indoor courts at their disposal. Mitchell Arndell, Faith Clarke, Hayden Arndell, Tia Dunn, Poppy Fisher, Liliani Latu, Phoebe Forbes, Savannah Latu, Katie Forbes all enjoyed their matches and are working on improving their World wide based Universal Tennis Rating (UTR).

Dubbo will be on this Sunday and then Parkes, August 8-9, will be staging a combined event with the Open UTR for ratings 4-12 on both days and players with ratings 0-4 on Sunday only.

KEEP OUR COMMUNITY SAFE: Finally thank you to our tennis community for complying with the updated COVID-19 restrictions.

Please do not come to tennis if you are unwell. Do not come into the facility if you have been to any 'hot spot' areas across NSW in the past 14 days. Only 1 spectator allowed per participant. No spectators allowed for adult classes or competitions. Maintain physical distancing of 1.5m where possible at all times.