A World Class Tennis Academy Coming

Blowing Point, an important tourism gateway to Anguilla, is getting more than a facelift and the planned port development. Now on the drawing board, and probably ahead of the Government’s plans for the area, is a World Class Tennis Academy. It is the brain-child of 27-year-old tennis professional and advocate for young children, Mitchelle Lake, whose enthusiasm, persuasion and dedication have won him the support of some very influential persons in the United States and Anguilla.

Lake is a graduate of Gardner-Webb University in America with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics. He founded the Anguilla Tennis Academy in 1996 and over the past seven years has organised summer tennis camps for some 200 Anguillian school children on each occasion. He is Sports Masters International Representative for the Caribbean and promotes professional tennis events at top class resorts throughout the region. He teaches at the Hill School in Middleburg,Virgina.

Mr. Lake launched his business proposal for the Anguilla Tennis Academy, at Paradise Cove on Monday evening under the auspices of the Ministry of Social Development. The ceremony was attended by a mammoth gathering whose overwhelming support and applause added much to his slogan “Together we can make good things happen.”
Governor Peter Johnstone commended Mitchelle Lake, Michael Fleming and Myron Goldfinger, a renowned architect, for their combined efforts in laying the groundwork for the project. “Well done,” he said to the “three Ms,” as he called them. He hoped that the planned tennis academy would serve as a beacon for others to follow, noting that Government did not have the money to provide all the social services on the island.
Minister of Social Development, Eric Reid, was pleased to endorse the project which Mr. Lake and others are proposing to build. He pledged that the Government would do all it could to ensure that the project comes into being. “I have faith in the young man and I believe that he and his partners will come through. We will definitely support you,” the Minister promised.
Minister of Finance, Victor Banks, applauded Lake for the passion he has shown for the youth and for the amazing support he received during his summer tennis camps from businesses and parents. He was delighted with Lake’s project proposal which he saw as a boost for sports tourism in Anguilla and the creation of other linkages for prospective investors and for the social and economic development of the island. Mr. Banks assured him of Government’s support and encouragement.
In presenting his proposal, Mr. Lake said that the ground-breaking for the project would commence in March this year and construction completed early in 2004. He stated that the proposed plans were “to create a world class tennis facility to make Anguilla the apex of tennis in the Caribbean and, more importantly, a communal place to better the children [of Anguilla] by providing more structure and opportunity for their lives.”
“The facility will encompass a 6-acre plot of [government-owned] land in Blowing Point, conveniently located about 4 miles from the Valley. It will consist of a main office structure, six every day courts and one centre court,” Lake explained. “The office building will include all managerial facilities for the academy. Storage, display room, meeting room and lounge will also be included in the facility. It will house a pro shop and men’s and women’s lockers. A palm/handball court will complete the facility. The six regular courts will be used for every day operations. The courts will be lighted and gated. All lessons and clinics will take place on these courts. The centre court will be a state of the art tournament court. It will be lit and gated with stadium seating to accommodate approximately 1,000 people.”
He said the Anguilla Tennis Academy would cater for local, regional and international competitive matches; and certified coaches from Anguilla, the region and the United States would be recruited to assist with the development of the structured training programmes.
The project is estimated to cost over 1.6 million US dollars with funding from various sources including private donations, fund-raising and contributions in kind.
The project committee is headed by Lake and includes Myron Goldfinger, Michael Fleming, Conrad [Walton] Fleming, Sheila Haskins, Brent Davis, Mildred Hodge, Leslie Richardson, Keesha Fleming, Joan Hill, Brenda Carty, Cardigan Connor, Alfred Thompson and Stanley Reid. Honorary members are Chris Wade, Bill Riddle, Mr. and Mrs. Eric Martineau. Mr. and Mrs. Bob Green, Mr. and Mrs. Lee Bertman, Jeremiah Gumbs and E. Valentine Banks.

Following Mr. Lake’s presentation, a comprehensive explanation of the mounted architectural drawings was given by Mr. Goldfinger who acknowledged the assistance of Jeff Taylor a New York-based architect. He praised Lake for his vision and commitment to the project and the children of Anguilla. Mr. Goldfinger is no stranger to Anguilla having been visiting the island with his wife for the past 20 years. Some 17 years ago he built Covecastles Resort and recently provided the architectural work for Altamer Resort.

The most informative and productive meeting was chaired by Brent Davis who commended both Messrs Lake and Goldfinger for their work and expressed his delight for the proposed Anguilla Tennis Academy.

Introductory and closing remarks were given by Michael Fleming who is proud to be intimately involved in the project. He took the opportunity to mention plans for the upgrading of the Sandy Ground playing field for which Mitchelle Lake had assisted in raising EC$80,000 towards the cost of the work.

L-R Brent Davis, Michael Fleming, Mitchelle Lake, Myron Goldfinger & Minister Eric Reid

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