It’s time to join the Stray Ferret Business Club. Our next networking event is lunch at Manahatta, on June 29th at 12.30pm.
Don’t miss out on this chance to network with businesses from across the Harrogate district. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.
Harrogate’s growing reputation as the “padel capital of the North” has been boosted with the launch of a new clothing and apparel company devoted to the sport.
Padel Boyz, which sells T-shirts, hoodies, shorts, skirts, socks and sweatbands for men and women, is the brainchild of former PE teacher Sonja Bancroft.
Ms Bancroft, a former Rossett School pupil who later taught at Boroughbridge High School and Boston Spa Academy, said:
“I’m thrilled to be bringing Padel Boyz to the market, and I feel like there has never been a better time to be promoting padel tennis in the UK.
“We’ve worked tirelessly to develop a range of sportswear that reflects the passion and energy of this dynamic game, and we’re confident that our customers will be delighted by the quality and fit of our range.”
We started Padel Boyz to get away from traditional tennis wear – we wanted a cooler, younger look. We’ve started simple, but we plan to add more colours and more lines, such as jumpers, later in the year.”
Padel is a sport similar to tennis but played with a solid, stringless racquet, in an enclosed court like squash. It was invented in Mexico in the 1960s, and is now one of the fastest-growing sports in the world.
It is gaining increasing numbers of fans in our area as more opportunities to play are created. Harrogate Sports and Fitness Centre, on Hookstone Wood Road, launched its first outdoor padel court in 2019, and then Surge followed in 2022 with six Adidas-branded indoor padel courts at its centre on Hornbeam Park.
Last summer, Ripon Tennis Centre opened two new outdoor padel courts, and just last month, Harrogate Spa Tennis Club opened two new outdoor courts at its home off Claro Road and has seen players book sessions from across Yorkshire.
Sonja said:
“Padel is growing in popularity in this country so fast, now seems like the perfect time to launch a brand like this.
“My aim is to create a successful, growing business, but we’ve only just launched and we’re still small, so we’ll see how it goes.”
Harrogate company achieves industry recognition
A Harrogate company has been awarded an industry recognised certificate for environmental performance.
Net zero consultancy Flotilla, based on Station Parade, achieved B Corp status, which is certified by not-for-profit organisation B Lab.
It recognises companies which meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.
(Left to right) Flotilla team Mark Woodward, Grant Walker, Caroline Linford, Dan Cox, Sara Snow, Sally Wood, Helen Fox, Anthony Bagshaw, Jess Morris, Francesca Woodward, John Rastrick and Joe Hobbs.
In order to achieve the status, Flotilla went through a rigorous assessment process which examined the impact of company decisions on employees, customers, suppliers, the communities the business serves and the environment.
John Rastrick, chief executive of Flotilla, said:
“Receiving B Corp certification is an outstanding achievement for everyone here at Flotilla.
“Not only does it honour our commitment to a better future, but it provides a framework for continuous future improvement.”
Read more:
- Business Breakfast: Harrogate beauty brand appoints chief executive
- Co-op submits plans for new store in Boroughbridge
Keen sportsman seeks amputee padel players in Harrogate
A sports enthusiast is looking for the perfect partner to play padel with in Harrogate – with one particular requirement.
Andrew Simister has only recently tried the sport, but was immediately a fan after his first session at Surge in Harrogate.
However, because he lost his leg last year following an accident and now uses a prosthesis, he needs to find another amputee to join him on the court.
Mr Simister said:
“I tried padel a few weeks ago and I loved it, but I can’t play it unless there is someone to play against. My friends play it, my son plays it, but I can’t at the moment.
“It’s doubles, so I need at least one other amputee on the other team to make it fair.”
Mr Simister’s right leg was amputated above the knee after he was involved in a collision last February.
Read more:
- Harrogate Spa Tennis Club unveils new pavilion and padel courts
- Harrogate’s Olympic hopeful from a famous sporting family
The company director said he still has “good days and bad days” after the operation to remove his leg in March 2022, adding “on the whole, it’s good”.
He was previously a keen sportsman and has got back to doing as much as he can.
While he is no longer able to run – though is hoping he may be able to use a blade in future – he has a good level of fitness and hopes he can find someone of a similar level to play against.
He added:
“I would like some sort of competition – someone that’s going to be of a similar standard.
“I don’t suppose they have to be amputees, but some sort of disability that means they would be a good match for me.”
Anyone interested in playing padel with Mr Simister can find him on Instagram, or contact the Stray Ferret.
Harrogate Spa Tennis Club unveils new pavilion and padel courtsHarrogate Spa Tennis Club has unveiled brand-new facilities that it says bring it a major step closer to achieving its aim of becoming a centre of excellence for sport.
The club already had six tennis courts, but now has a larger pavilion with shop, Break Point café, bar and terrace overlooking the tennis courts, full LED floodlighting, improved parking, and two new padel courts. Padel is a sport similar to tennis but played with a solid, stringless racquet, in an enclosed court like squash.
The new padel courts are already attracting players from across the region.
Jacqui Collyns, who took over as centre manager in February, said:
“There’s nowhere like this within a 100-mile radius – Harrogate seems to be becoming the North’s padel capital. We’ve only been open for three weeks and we’ve already got ‘repeat customers’ coming from as far afield as Leeds and Pontefract.
“This is a real ‘wow’ space. But it’s not just about tennis and padel – we’ve got plans to expand it for other uses too. This is very much phase one. It’s all part of a 10-year plan to turn this club into a centre of excellence for sport.”
Run as a charity by volunteers, Harrogate Spa Tennis Club is understood to have paid a seven-figure sum for the nine-month programme of improvements through donations, fundraising and a small loan from the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA).
The club has a strong sense of community, and provides junior tennis coaching to year groups at Harrogate High School (pictured on the horizon).
Jacqui said:
“A special mention should go to the volunteers and trustees. They’ve really made this happen, and have just given and given and given. They’ve never had a salary. They really are remarkable people who just want to give something back, and you don’t often get that these days.”
The club, which is located off the end of Claro Road, offers tennis and padel on a pre-booked pay-and-play basis, and professional tennis coaching is also available. It also provides free coaching to year groups from Harrogate High School, holds weekly tennis fun sessions for children with learning disabilities, and all its facilities are wheelchair-accessible.
Jacqui said:
“This club is all about community. It was founded 76 years ago as a club for everybody, and that’s what it still is. Membership costs just £20 a month, and you can bring the kids along too. It’s incredible.”
Read more:
- New £70,000 tennis courts open in Dacre with free taster sessions
- Ripon Tennis Centre opens new £180,000 padel tennis courts
- Harrogate’s Rossett School could swap three tennis courts for 3G pitch
Popularity of Harrogate’s premium indoor padel tennis centre continues to ‘surge’
This story is sponsored by Surge Padel.
The UK’s largest premium indoor padel tennis centre has ‘surged’ in popularity, with players travelling from across the country for games.
Based at Harrogate’s Hornbeam Park, Surge Padel has grown to 1,400 members, with its six courts often fully booked.
Owner and CEO Stuart Perrin said members often play up to four times a week and he puts the sport’s popularity down to its simplicity.
He said:
“You serve underhand and the ball stays in play a lot longer than tennis. It’s a lot less technical, so people of all ages and abilities can play. It’s also super social as you play in pairs. Once you’ve played a few times you just keep coming back.”
A mashup of tennis and squash that originated in Mexico, padel has been described as one of the world’s fastest growing sports.
It is played between four players on reduced-size tennis courts. Competitors use paddle racquets and can bounce the ball off walls.
Since November 2020, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) has been the national governing body for the sport when it was officially recognised as a discipline of tennis. This has opened the door for greater recognition, support and funding.
Mr Perrin said:
“Because it is so fresh in the UK, we get people travelling to play. We get people from Middlesbrough and the far side of Leeds regularly.
“There aren’t facilities like this anywhere else, especially fully indoors.
“We have people coming from far and wide. I would say around 900 of our members are from the Harrogate district and the rest are from further afield.”
Surge Padel, which is located above Coach gym, is now a centre of excellence for the UK is fully affiliated with the LTA. It has hosted European Championships and events are held at the club most weekends.
Mr Perrin said:
“We are the largest padel tennis club in the UK and are member based. We’ve only been open since January 2022 and it is now getting really difficult to book a court on an evening, as it’s so popular. If we could have built a bigger site, we would have done!
“We have got a further four centres opening in 2023. One of those will hopefully be in Leeds.
“We offer state-of-the-art facilities at an affordable price.”