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Determined to fight: Eduardo Caffarenae and Brad Roberts |
Tennis coaches continue battle over £1,000 courts
Campaigners urge reinstatement of two ‘forced out of jobs’
A campaign to reinstate two long-serving tennis coaches who claim they have been forced out of their jobs by astronomical court hire fees at Paddington Recreation Ground is gaining momentum.
New Lawn Tennis Association-approved contracts were introduced by Westminster City Council’s leisure contractor, Nuffield, last August in a bid to strip the sport of its elitist image and encourage more youngsters to get on court.
But Brad Roberts, 48, and Eduardo Caffarenae, 42, who have taught at the ground for almost 20 years say the contract overhaul amounts to a “stab in the back” because of the crippling hike in monthly licence fees, said to be the highest in London, from £90 to £1,000.
The figure compares with rates of £100 in Kensington and Chelsea and £74 in Hammersmith and Fulham.
Now opposition leaders in Westminster City Hall are calling on parks bosses to come clean over how many tennis coaches have actually signed up to the new “commercial rate for commercial rates” deal, following claims that the courts are empty for most of the day.
In the face of widespread opposition, culminating in a 300-signature petition from players loyal to the embattled coaches, the council has defended the contracts as a way of freeing up the 11 courts for more group sessions at discounted rates.
They could not provide the number of takers, but confirmed that six community coaches pay nothing to use the courts under the new deal.
Mr Roberts and Mr Caffarenae now hope that the council might consider a deal whereby they would be able to work alongside the separate community coaching team. It is understood this could cost the two £130 a month.
Labour group leader Paul Dimoldenberg said: “The council has destroyed the livelihoods of these two popular, hard-working tennis coaches by forcing them off the tennis courts and by demanding unjustifiably high charges. And residents, too, are very unhappy at the council telling them who can and who cannot give them tennis lessons.
“We demand answers from the council to our questions and the reinstatement of Brad and Eduardo.”
In 2007 a head coach was appointed to the park in Randolph Avenue by Nuffield, tasked with bringing the sport to a new audience and making the park a “hub for grass roots tennis”.
With one-hour sessions costing around £35, the net is too high for many. But with so few courts in central London Mr Roberts and Mr Caffarenae say the community is being robbed of its coaches.
Mr Roberts said: “We are going to fight this to the bitter end. Holland Park, arguably London’s most prestigious public courts charges £150 a month, and that’s the highest I’ve heard of – £1,000 is simply outrageous. All this community stuff is just spin. We both do community coaching.”
A council spokesman said: “As part of the contract all coaches will carry out coaching through our leisure provider Nuffield.
“They will still be classed as self-employed, but will be on a similar footing to personal trainers and other sports professionals who have access to our leisure facilities.
“These rates form part of a commercial agreement between the leisure provider and the coaches, and their individual salary/remunerations details are a personal matter.” |
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