{"id":26274,"date":"2024-12-19T10:52:17","date_gmt":"2024-12-18T23:52:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/nsw\/?p=26274"},"modified":"2024-12-19T10:52:17","modified_gmt":"2024-12-18T23:52:17","slug":"rally-as-one-roadshow-bringing-community-connection-to-bushfire-and-flood-affected-areas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/nsw\/news\/2024\/12\/19\/rally-as-one-roadshow-bringing-community-connection-to-bushfire-and-flood-affected-areas","title":{"rendered":"Rally as One Roadshow: Bringing Community Connection to Bushfire and Flood-Affected Areas"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Australian Tennis Foundation (ATF) and Tennis NSW hit the road this December for <\/span>the<\/span> Rally as One roadsho<\/span>w, visiting clubs <\/span>impacted<\/span> by bushfires and floods<\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Five years ago, bushfires tore through towns across New South Wales\u2019 Mid North Coast.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was devastating. The community itself suffered with the loss of houses, crops, livestock. It was absolutely devastating \u2013 the community was very sad,\u201d Kempsey resident Kylie Vidler recounted.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

5 years on, communities are still rebuilding \u2013 with local sporting clubs such as tennis \u2013 playing a central role in the recovery.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This December,<\/span> the Australian Tennis Foundation (ATF) and Tennis NSW kicked off its much-anticipated <\/span>Rally as One<\/span><\/i> roadshow, making stops in five locations across New South Wales – Armidale, Grafton, Coffs Harbour, Kempsey and Kendall.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Launched in 2020 to support areas devastated by bushfires, <\/span>Rally as One<\/span><\/i> continues its mission to bring hope, connection, and joy through the power of tennis.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great to see the community come together and all different ages and cultures \u2013 having more community events is definitely what we need.\u201d Vidler added.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the most heartwarming moments of the roadshow came in Kendall, where former Davis Cup captain John Fitzgerald returned to the town\u2019s tennis club. Fitzgerald had first visited in 2015 to unveil the new courts and renovated clubhouse, and he spoke with pride about the impact that tennis has had on the local community.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI came from a regional area when I was a young boy, so I understand what tennis clubs can do and what sporting facilities can do for local communities \u2013 this is a prime example of it. In fact one of the best I\u2019ve seen\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a town of 1200 people here in Kendall and they have more than 500 members of this tennis club \u2013 it is really a heart warmer to come here and see what influence this has in their local community.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Wendy Hudson is not only Kendall\u2019s dedicated tennis club president but also local police officer who as a first responder witnessed first-hand the devastation of how the bushfires and floods impacted her community.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI worked during both those disasters \u2013 it was a tragedy \u2013 but what makes you feel so good is when everyone comes together and helps those in need.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a community \u2013 it\u2019s more than a club. Any time there is tragedy or disasters we have come together, we have helped each other and opened up the club.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Rally as One program has been an awesome injection of funding into this community and it really needs it \u2013 the kids have been able to do morning programs before school , breakfast programs, school sports, they have been part of getting on court where kids would never have had the opportunity or afford any coaching but they have been able to access the coach during school and before school,\u201d Hudson said.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The roadshow was held across six days \u2013 with local tennis clubs hosting a range of activations including on and off court activities, prizes, giveaways, food and drinks and more.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are able to use this roadshow as a vehicle to bring people together at different venues using tennis.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been on the road at all events \u2013 the feedback from everyone that has been involved \u2013 from catering, to entertainment, to volunteers, it is just so positive \u2013 everyone feels good about tennis and they are excited about it,\u201d Tennis NSW Regional Tennis Manager, Sonia Close said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For ATF Ambassador Susie Norton \u2013 the highlight of the roadshow was seeing the joy the events brought to these communities.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is great to see the community resilience, seeing everyone happy, seeing smiles on faces has been so wonderful \u2013 and I\u2019m so proud the Australian Tennis Foundation and Tennis NSW have been able to facilitate these events,\u201d Norton said.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For more information about the Australian Tennis Foundation visit <\/span>here.<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Australian Tennis Foundation (ATF) and Tennis NSW hit the road this December for the Rally as One roadshow, visiting clubs impacted by bushfires and floods.\u00a0 Five years ago, bushfires tore through towns across New South Wales\u2019 Mid North Coast.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt was devastating. The community itself suffered with the loss of houses, crops, livestock. It […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6178,"featured_media":26275,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/nsw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/nsw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/nsw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/nsw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6178"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/nsw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26274"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/nsw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26274\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/nsw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/nsw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/nsw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/nsw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}