Nanaimo Area Indoor Tennis Society (NAITS)

Our goal is to preserve, promote and protect indoor tennis in Nanaimo, BC.  We advocate for sufficient indoor tennis courts for the population in general, as well as for accessibility of facilities by the general public.

NAITS is working with Tennis Clubs of Canada and the City of Nanaimo to create city-sponsored covered tennis courts.  

In addition, we run "Tennis NAITS", a drop-in night tennis programme.  Tennis NAITS runs on Monday and Wednesday evenings at Bowen Park in the spring and fall.

NAITS is also currently exploring the creation of a Touchtennis programme.  Touchtennis is a "short form" of tennis, using a badminton-sized court, which can be played indoors in a gymnasium, as well as on many other surfaces.  

You can read more about our current efforts on our advocacy page.

The City of Nanaimo and surrounding area has over 100,000 residents, currently served by one indoor tennis facility, Westwood Tennis Club.  Westwood provides the only means for tennis players to play year-round, during foul weather, during the day or the evening.

So in response to the potential sale of Westwood Tennis Club to a property developer, an informal group of members first tried to arrange to buy the club.   Commitments of upwards of $750,000 were made during the initial meetings with club ownership, but this was far short of the necessary amount.

The group then decided to try to see if there was any interest with the City of Nanaimo.  NAITS (then FITIN), created a proposal for the city to purchase the property as an extension to Westwood Lake Park.  NAITS would then lease the tennis facilities and become the club operator.  The city would gain office/admin space, as well as a rentable banquet facility in addition to extending the land area of the park. 

The proposal was presented in June, 2020 to Parks and Recreation, who in turn presented to city council in November.  Unfortunately, city council did not approve the purchase.

NAITS became a registered society in December, 2020, with 8 dedicated directors.  Our membership drive commenced in March, and as at the end of May, 2021 there were approximately 70 paid members.

Also in 2021, NAITS joined an effort by local pickleball and badminton groups, to create an indoor racquet centre.  The group's vision was presented to the city's Finance and Audit Committee in October of that year.  

The Racquet Centre initiative did not get sufficient traction with the city, so NAITS withdrew our participation in fall of 2022. 

Good news came at the end of 2022, when we were approached by Tennis Clubs of Canada, an established operator of indoor tennis facilities.  TCC is now working with NAITS and the City of Nanaimo to create the first new indoor facility in the mid-island area in almost 50 years.