Essex performance club sees membership grow during winter months thanks to year-round playing solution

BILLERICAY, ESSEX – Billericay Lawn Tennis Club, one of the largest performance clubs in Essex, has transformed its winter operations with Covair seasonal air domes, turning what was once a period of disruption into one of its busiest times of the year.

The club, which has more than 600 members and is home to three professional teams, installed two Covair seasonal air domes covering five of its ten floodlit courts. The domes are erected each October and removed in late March or early April, providing reliable covered play throughout the winter months.

“Before Covair, we didn’t have any meaningful winter membership. But that’s all changed,” explains Lester Galley, the club’s Chairman and Director. “It means we’re on a different curve to other clubs. Members usually leave during the winter, but our membership actually grows.”

Prior to installation, the club’s coaching programmes lost nearly a third of sessions to adverse weather despite having all-weather courts. The seasonal domes have eliminated this disruption entirely.

Rebecca Wright, Head of Junior Tennis at the club, says the impact on player development has been significant: “Being able to guarantee quality training sessions and not fighting on through the bad weather is a massive win for the coaches and club members.”

The club now supports around 400 juniors aged three to eighteen, with clear pathways through to county, national and international competition. Notable players include Edie Griffiths and Haqim Kamal.

“The top kids obviously get dedicated hours,” Rebecca explains. “Because of our domes, we can put those sessions on for them throughout the year. Without them, we’d have to send those juniors off to an indoor centre, or they’d end up going to another club.”

Galley also highlights the commercial advantages of the seasonal approach: “There’s a strong economic argument for seasonal air domes. You could easily spend much more on permanent structures, but then you’d have the worry about recouping the investment. Covair makes winter tennis economically viable.”

For media enquiries, please contact press@covair.co.uk or call +44 (0)1883 743988.

About Covair

Covair is the UK’s leading provider of sports facility covering solutions, with over 40 years of experience serving tennis clubs, schools, leisure centres, and professional sports facilities across the country. As the only UK manufacturer of air domes and exclusive UK distributor for DUOL premium structures, Covair offers solutions ranging from entry-level seasonal covers to permanent installations. For more information, visit www.covair.co.uk.