Issue 4/2024 looks into the LTA’s plans to further grow tennis with its new three-year plan. Covering the years from 2024 to 2026, the “Tennis Opened Up” strategy looks to take the sport into a new age, with a focus on inclusivity and lowering barriers for people to play.
Elsewhere, Colin Corline, Technical Lead at SAPCA, explains how the association’s Technical Programme is at the heart of everything the association does and helps improve standards in sports construction. Colin also outlines the strong partnerships SAPCA has when it comes to setting and influencing standards.
“SAPCA is engaged at both a national European level with a range of organisations, including standardisation bodies and governing bodies of sport,” Colin says. “We work closely with sports councils from the four nations and has strong links to a number of sports governing bodies and stakeholder groups, many of which are affiliate members of the association.”
There is a look at the history of synthetic sports pitches, from 1G to 3G, as well as the current standards for their design and construction and some case studies of recent installations.
Thepopularity of open-water swimming is also explored. England now has more than 600,000 regular open water swimmers and SportsNation looks at some of the benefits – as well as the opportunities – from improved fitness and treating specific health conditions to competitions and coaching.
Finally, there are also articles on how technology is being used to change the way sports is delivered – from the design and build of facilities and venue operation to how sport is “consumed” – and a review of Leisure DB’s State of the UK Fitness Industry Report 2024.