ONE year on from the destructive flooding in Grand Vaux, Caesarean Tennis Club still find themselves wading through troubled water.
While most are keen to put a turbulent 2023 in the rear view mirror, “the struggle continues” for Jersey’s premier tennis facility.
The club has been no stranger to adversity over recent years.
Almost three years to the day of the flood, their four-court bubble collapsed after high winds ripped the fabric and one of the fans caught fire.
Fast forward to 2023, the Caesarean were forced to navigate choppy waters in the opening month of the year, before again suffering widespread devastation in November with Storm Ciarán, causing irreparable damage to the facility.
Club manager Jonathan Rubber confessed that the club are “still months away” from being able to rebuild the four-court bubble, which has to be purpose-built.
“There is a tendency once we enter a new year to feel like it’s somewhat of a clean slate,” he said.
“But the widespread impact of Storm Ciarán is still felt, both at the Caesarean and many other sport venues across the Island.
“To lose our four-court bubble over the winter months has been devastating for revenue, which inevitably puts added strain on the club.”
Coupled with rising insurance costs, the Caesarean also lost their flood cover, upon the renewal of the policy last October.
However, there might be renewed hope for Rubber, with assistance from the Government of Jersey’s Infrastructure and Environment Department.
The club manager continued: “There was a lot of concern a couple of weeks ago that Grands Vaux and the facility would flood again.
“But Infrastructure came down to the club and put in place a number of protective measures to mitigate the risk.
“Thankfully, they didn’t need to come to fruition in the end, but there is some peace of mind that, should a flood occur, we have measures in place to protect against the impact.
“I have recently reached out to our insurers in hope that the flood cover can be reinstated having demonstrated these additional measures.”
With the Caesarean currently reliant on just the two-court bubble to facilitate winter tennis, there is a sense of urgency to bring the club back to capacity.
However, the wait “could be months”, leaving Rubber and co with another dilemma.
“There is a very real chance that we will not see the new bubble until March time,” he added.
“By that time there is a question as to whether it is worth putting up, because it will have to come down soon after to accommodate summer tennis.”
While Caesarean Tennis Club is a private facility, Rubber believes that the government should do more to support tennis in Jersey.
He continued: “There is not another facility like ours on the Island.
“The better the facilities we have available, the better the standard of players we are likely to produce.
“Indoor tennis is vital to this. If you look at the weather we have had over the winter months, it becomes impossible to cater for all our players without some external help.
“We have had some fruitful correspondence from Deputy Lucy Stephenson, who explained that she was aware of our plight in 2023.
“She invited us to reach out and to arrange for her to come down to the facility with government officers who might be able to help in terms of advice and so forth.
“Keeping the channels of communication with the government is vital and for someone to show a keen interest in tennis on the Island is refreshing and crucial to ensure our sport continues to thrive locally.”
