The University’s new Tennis Centre, based over at the Westwood campus, recently gained its ‘BREEAM Excellent’ (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) rating, making it the first building in Coventry to achieve a BREEAM Excellent rating and the first Leisure Centre in the UK to achieve a BREEAM Excellent rating.

This rating provides an assessment of the environmental sustainability of the building's design, considering impacts such as energy use, green transport, materials specification and health/wellbeing of future occupants.

The tennis centre has been operational since March this year, with a wide variety of courses on offer for users. It was officially opened at a ceremony on Tuesday 12 November, with Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe MP as guest of honour, and as part of the official launch of the British Transplant Games, which are to be hosted by Coventry in summer 2009.

The British Transplant Games will take place from 30 July until 2 August 2009, with Warwick playing host to the Games Village for more than 600 athletes and 1,500 supporters.

The aim of the Games is to encourage transplant patients to regain fitness and promote awareness of the need for more people to sign on to the NHS Organ Donor Register. All of the athletes have experienced life threatening illness and are now fit and well as a result of a successful transplant.

Tuesday’s event included transplant tennis players undertaking a coaching session with Matt Thomas, Warwick’s new head tennis coach. Former Olympic triple jumper Eric McCalla also attended the launch event. Eric competed for Great Britain in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics before being diagnosed with renal failure. He has had two kidney transplants, the latest one taking place at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire.

For more information on the tennis centre, visit http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/sportscentre/facilities/westwood/tenniscentre