{"id":43713,"date":"2026-04-09T14:47:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T04:47:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/vic\/?p=43713"},"modified":"2026-04-10T11:49:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T01:49:28","slug":"affiliate-of-the-month-april-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/vic\/news\/2026\/04\/09\/affiliate-of-the-month-april-2026","title":{"rendered":"Affiliate of the Month – April 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

In a very short period of time, Benalla Lawn Tennis Club<\/strong> has demonstrated outstanding leadership, growth and community engagement, making them a deserving Affiliate of the Month for April.<\/p>\n

\n

The club committee has worked tirelessly across a number of key areas, including programming, tournament development, financial viability, coaching pathways and digital engagement. Their proactive approach and strong collaboration with Tennis Victoria, including consistent engagement with the Club Support Officer role, has produced impressive results that the club should be extremely proud of.<\/p>\n

In 2024\/25, Tennis Victoria worked with the Benalla committee to identify opportunities to strengthen financial sustainability, with a clear focus on growing the club\u2019s tournament. Within just two weeks, the committee regrouped, developed a 12\u2011week marketing plan, created video and online content, engaged local businesses and significantly increased tournament entries. This rapid action and commitment has greatly strengthened the club\u2019s financial outlook.<\/p>\n

The appointment of a dedicated Social Media volunteer has been a game changer for the club. Regular posts promoting programs, events and club news have increased visibility across the community and played a major role in attracting new players, members and participants.<\/p>\n

The club successfully managed a smooth transition from long\u2011term coach Greg Duns, showing strong leadership and support during the change. Benalla supported their new coach, Patrick Neilson, through his Level 1 Coaching Course and provided volunteers to assist with programs, ensuring continuity and growth in coaching delivery.<\/p>\n

One of the club\u2019s standout initiatives has been the introduction of a free Women\u2019s Tennis program designed for new and returning players. This program has already attracted 22 women, building confidence and connection in a welcoming environment. Clear pathways are in place from this program into Cardio Tennis and the Wednesday Night Social competition.<\/p>\n

Volunteer\u2011led junior development has also flourished. The club delivered a two\u2011day school holiday clinic with over 80 children attending, followed by the launch of a Hot Shots program that feeds into coloured ball junior competition. More than 60 players are now actively involved across Hot Shots and junior programs, creating a strong pipeline for the future of the club.<\/p>\n

Supporting the club\u2019s vision, Head Coach Patrick Neilson generously volunteered his time to deliver a free four\u2011week women\u2019s tennis course, supported by President Dave O\u2019Donoghue and Vice President Mark McDonald. The program ran two back\u2011to\u2011back sessions each week, with more than 20 women attending regularly, many of whom were picking up a racquet for the very first time.<\/p>\n

At the conclusion of the program, the club further demonstrated its inclusive approach by offering free court access to all participants, encouraging them to continue playing and stay connected with the club.<\/p>\n

Patrick\u2019s enthusiasm and commitment, alongside strong committee leadership, has helped bring more women into the sport and strengthen Benalla Lawn Tennis Club\u2019s community\u2011focused culture.<\/p>\n

Benalla Lawn Tennis Club is a fantastic example of what can be achieved through strong governance, volunteer commitment and a genuine passion for growing tennis at a local level.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"\"

Benalla Lawn Tennis Club’s Head Coach – Patrick Neilson<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a very short period of time, Benalla Lawn Tennis Club has demonstrated outstanding leadership, growth and community engagement, making them a deserving Affiliate of the Month for April.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6423,"featured_media":43720,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43713","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\/43713","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=43713"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/vic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43713\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/vic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/vic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/vic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/vic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}