A SPORTS coach with over a decade of experience coaching additional support needs (ASN) is moving to Saltcoats.
As of December 21, Allwyn Crawford will be calling Saltcoats her home – bringing with her 12 years of private tennis coaching expertise.
Further to this, for the same period of time, she has an amazing history of dealing with programmes geared for and directed toward ASN-related inclusion.
Allwyn is a Ladies Tennis Association (LTA) approved coach who began her journey as a coach at Lenzie Tennis Club in 2010.
The club was awarded Club of the Year by Tennis Scotland and during her time there Allwyn ran a successful mini programme of red, orange, and green ball competitions, school competitions and various yellow ball teams in the West of Scotland leagues.
She also commenced ASN coaching with Campsie View School and Merkland School.
Then in 2015 she set up a community not-for-profit organisation ‘The Tennis Aces’, which grew from seven young ASN adults to a programme which involved over 200 people.
This work saw Allwyn named Disability Coach of the Year with East Dunbartonshire Leisure and Culture Trust three times, while in 2016 the Tennis Aces was awarded Disability Programme of the Year awarded by Tennis Scotland.
Towards the end of 2019, this not-for-profit organisation became a charity, known as The Sporting Aces to incorporate multi sports.
Allwyn left the charity in 2022 to establish a new community not-for-profit company named ‘Promoting Inclusion Through Sport’.
It is this new company which Allwyn is bringing to Ayrshire following her move, in what has been described as “East Dunbartonshire’s loss” but “Ayrshire’s gain”.
Already, plans are under way to establish tennis clubs for disabled and non-disabled participants at the four all-weather tennis courts in the Glebe Street Park in Saltcoats – across from the library.
Further, indoor training and coaching are planned for several other areas in Ayrshire and again these will be for disabled and non-disabled participants.
Allwyn has meetings scheduled for early 2023 with representatives from North Ayrshire Council, local sports affiliated companies, charities, venue operators and representatives of the Lockhart ASN Campus in Stevenston – as she looks to set out a “busy, productive and amazing 2023” for inclusive sport in Ayrshire.
For more on this Allwyn and Promoting Inclusion Through Sport, visit: promotinginclusion.co.uk.
