BELAIR—St. Maarten’s first Padel Tennis Club was inaugurated Saturday afternoon at its location in Belair at a gathering of invited guests, partners and sponsors. It is the second Padel Tennis Club to be realised after the French-side club in Sandy Ground.
Padel is recognised as the fastest growing sport in the world. It began in 1969 and quickly gained popularity in South America, Spain, France, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium and many Nordic countries.
The sport is typically played in doubles on an enclosed court roughly 25 per cent smaller than the size of a tennis court. Scoring is the same as normal tennis and the balls used are similar but with a little less pressure.
The main differences are that the court has glass walls and the balls can be played off them in a similar way to squash and that solid, stringless bats are used. The height of the ball being served must be at or below the waist level.
The St. Maarten club has two state-of-the art courts supplied by Padel 10, the top producer of courts in the world with one of the courts a professional regulation court. SXM Padel Group BV is the developer and operator of the club. Oyster Bay Beach Resort
General Manager Ricardo Perez is one of the three partners, along with architect Ignacio Jauregui and contractor Patrick Marmolejo.
The club has been built on the site of the old damaged tennis courts belonging to Belair Beach Hotel. “The land belongs to Belair Beach Hotel and we were able to lease the land and re-purpose those old courts,” Perez explained. “It was a lot easier that way by already having a base to construct from. The club also serves as an amenity for the hotel guests.”
The partners came up with the concept in November 2020 and construction started in June of this year.
The project was approved and benefitted from a grant/loan from the National Recovery Programme Bureau’s (NRPB) Small Enterprise Support Programme. NRPB’s Director Claret Connor was present together with Marcel Gumbs, St. Maarten’s representative on the steering committee of the Trust Fund from the Netherlands managed by the World Bank which allocates funds for projects executed by NRPB.
The Club is open for players of all levels and ages, six days a week for now, from 7:00am to 10:00pm, based on reservations. Like all tennis clubs, it offers clinics, lessons, and friendly matches and tournaments will be organised. Players will also be able to walk in and rent the courts by the hour or take advantage of the various membership plans.
The club has a café, changing room and shower facilities, and a reception and shop with equipment and active wear for sale. At the rear of the club are two Pétanque courts, popular in Europe and in French St. Martin.
“We want to make sure this project stays here for many years and to that end we’ve started a programme called “Sponsor a Future Champ,” Perez disclosed. “For US$700 an individual or company can sponsor a child whose parents have few means, and we will provide lessons and the raquets, everything that’s needed, so that child can participate.”
He noted that raquet brand Starvie from Spain has a talent school and children in St. Maarten can potentially benefit from a scholarship development programme with the company.
Perez thanked everyone who contributed to realisation of the club before the ribbon was cut by the Honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Sports, Rodolphe Samuel.
For more information call 545-3890, 520-4319, or 520-1381. By email to: ricardop@sxmpadelgroup.com. Visit web page www.sxmpadelgroup.com or their Facebook and Instagram page.
https://www.thedailyherald.sx/sport/local-sports/st-maarten-s-padel-tennis-club-inaugurated-in-belair
