Work under way for Ōhaupō court upgrade

Work is under way to give the 50-year-old court in Ōhaupō a facelift. Photo / Bethany Rolston

Work is under way to give the 50-year-old community tennis/netball court in Ōhaupō a facelift.

The court — used for tennis in summer and netball in winter — is being upgraded thanks to Waipā District Council money allocated to upgrading existing assets in parks.

Council is resealing the court, replacing fencing, installing a removable tennis net and creating line marking.

The upgrade has come after a push from the Ōhaupō community to resurrect the old court and make it usable again.

Ōhaupō Netball Club co-ordinator Marie Monahan says the upgrade is a big step for the club.

"The court hadn't been usable for training for a very long time and we had been using Kaipaki courts to train instead," she says.

"But that meant extra travel for the teams.

"It's far more convenient to have the girls able to walk up to the courts. For me, it's five minutes up the road."

Marie says the Ōhaupō Netball Club has grown rapidly in recent years.

"We've always just had one team but in recent years our club has grown and this season we are looking at having five to six teams playing for Ōhaupō.

"The new court will mean a lot for our netball club. It's a big step forward for us."

The new court is the first step in a raft of upgrades.

There are future plans to add court lighting for night use and a second court when funding becomes available.

Marie says the upgrade will complement the Ōhaupō Sport and Recreation Centre, which is due to start being built in August.