{"id":43712,"date":"2026-04-21T09:11:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T23:11:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/vic\/?p=43712"},"modified":"2026-04-21T09:11:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T23:11:25","slug":"community-champion-of-the-month-april-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/vic\/news\/2026\/04\/21\/community-champion-of-the-month-april-2026","title":{"rendered":"Community Champion of the Month &#8211; April 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Congratulations to Pip Gent from Ocean Grove Tennis Club who has been crowned our Community Champion of the Month for April! Over the past year, Pip\u2019s leadership as President of Ocean Grove has had a profound and lasting impact on the club and its wider community. From the outset, she has championed inclusion, connection, and opportunity, particularly for women and girls in tennis.<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Pip has actively supported the development of women leaders through participation in Tennis Australia\u2019s Women Leaders in Tennis program, translating that learning into meaningful action at club level. Her commitment to community engagement was on full display when she led an AO on the Road event that not only brought people together but also raised $1,500 for Shedding the Blues, a band that performed on the day while helping fund programs for disadvantaged youth. In the same event, Pip ensured the celebration extended across cultures, with catering provided by the Nigerian Association of Geelong. The club then donated a further $1,500 to the Association, recognising and supporting their vital work assisting new immigrants in the region.<\/p>\n<p>Under Pip\u2019s leadership, Ocean Grove has also hosted a women and girls workshop featuring elite athlete Jemima Montag, providing inspiration and practical learning for participants. She has further strengthened pathways for female participation by hosting a PEC program, Participate, Educate and Celebrate, designed specifically to encourage and uplift women and girls in tennis.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond programs and events, Pip has been instrumental in improving the club\u2019s facilities. She is currently managing the Shell Road Pavillion upgrade, a project made possible through the successful acquisition of a Community Infrastructure Grant from the City of Greater Geelong. In parallel, she is overseeing the installation of LED lighting and the implementation of Book\u2011a\u2011Court at Arthur Powell Reserve, the club\u2019s second facility, projects expected to receive support through Tennis Australia\u2019s National Court Rebate program.<\/p>\n<p>Taken together, Pip\u2019s achievements reflect a leader who not only meets the criteria but embodies its intent. Her vision, energy, and commitment have strengthened Ocean Grove Tennis Club and extended its impact well beyond the court, making her an exceptionally worthy candidate for recognition.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Congratulations to Pip Gent from Ocean Grove Tennis Club who has been crowned our Community Champion of the Month for April!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6423,"featured_media":43734,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/vic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/vic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/vic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/vic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6423"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/vic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43712"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/vic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43712\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/vic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/vic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/vic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/vic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}