NEWBERRY COUNTY, S.C. — The Newberry County Tennis Association has been hard at work this summer with helping to get local tennis courts in Newberry and Prosperity restored. The Newberry County Tennis Association have partnered with the South Carolina Tennis Association to identify local courts in the area by securing funding through federal grants.
The objective is to have courts restored and increase interest at the youth level. So far, the courts at Mid-Carolina High School, Newberry High School and the community tennis courts in Prosperity. The Newberry County School board has also played a big role in prioritizing this project. They have had this project at the top of their agenda for awhile and were finally able to get it approved.
They will begin phase two of the tennis court restorations in September by having brand new tennis courts built for Whitmire Community School. Oakland Tennis Courts will also see some upgrades soon as well, but it will take place later this fall. Oakland Tennis Courts serve as the home for both Newberry College men’s and women’s tennis teams, Newberry High School and Whitmire.
The project will restore 24 courts in total once it is completed and the Newberry County community will have the Mark Gardiner, Heather Studer, the local tennis association, state tennis association and the school board to thank for their efforts.
Gardiner and Studer have spent countless hours of helping identify this huge need in the community and help secure funding for these projects. In addition, the two dedicated leaders in our community have hosted clinics to increase the interest level in the sport and partnered with other local organizations in Newberry, Clinton and Laurens to host community events like Toys for Tots toy drive around Christmas and Special Olympics Saturday held in the fall.