University Tennis Flood Relief Fund

Many of you might have heard that the University Tennis Centre in London had some flooding recently as London had some of the worst flooding seen in over 40 years. I'm not sure everyone really has realized how bad it was for the UTC and its owners. At one point the courts had 2 feet of river water on them! Through dedication and quick responses, complete closure was avoided however there was a tremendous amount of financial loss.  Many of you might have thought insurance would be covering this, however, being that the Bubble is located on the Floodplain,  annual 6 figure insurance costs are not feasible. The loss was in the tens of thousands for restoring the Bubble back to being functional and in lost revenue, for the 8 days it was closed. I know some of you might say that well for a business that is just how it goes, they can write it off, etc. It just doesn't work that way for small businesses. The UTC is a partnership between two great families that do what they do for their livelihood but also for our tennis community/family.


I know that if the Bubble closed it would be a great loss personally for me as someone that plays a couple times a week and because of the great friendships that I have developed there. I am so grateful the owners didn't just throw in the towel and give up on it. My attempt here is to make a difference for them in 2 ways. One is to gather contributions financially to at least make up some of their losses and maybe, more importantly, to show them that their business matters to me and the community. My hope is our community can come together to say thanks for having the courage to be the owners you are and work through the challenges that have come your way.


How about you consider a donation? One thought could be the court fees you normally would have spent during the 8 days it was closed? All I know is with the 300+ members of the UTC and the entire community of London that knows the Hatch and Richards family we can say thank you for not giving up on tennis in London and not giving up on us.