The President of the tennis club

The Tennis Association of Roquefort les Pins is celebrating its tenth year this year, and has gone from strength to strength over the last three years with membership currently at 450, making it the largest association in town.

I spoke to one of the people responsible for this, Chris Thomas Chicken, and he explained that his motivation for standing for president three years ago was to engage more teams in local competitions, improve the tennis school and so the standard of the club.

The club is open to everyone, and a family membership is priced at €60 plus €20 per person for the year. Prices for non-Roquefort residents are a little bit higher. It’s a modern club (you can reserve courts online) currently with three courts and to find out more contact raquet.roquefortoise@free.fr

DH: How long have you lived in the area?

Chris: Seven years. The wonderful weather brought us down. We’d holidayed here a long time ago and proximity to the airport meant I could continue to commute to Paris which I did for two years.

DH: Where were you born?

Chris: In not-so-sunny Newport, South Wales.

DH: What’s your favourite object, gadget or thing?

Chris: The pool table! We have one in the garage so I can play with my sons all year round.

DH: Where would you prefer to spend a day out, in the mountains or on the beach?

Chris: Has to be the mountains. I snowboard.

DH: In your opinion, does Roquefort lack anything?

Chris: The town is improving all the time, but a pleasant centre with a good environment without cars would be great.

DH: Do you have a guilty food pleasure?

Chris: Yes, chocolate, Cadbury's Fruit & Nut.

DH: What’s coming up for you in 2009?

Chris: Well the club will be celebrating ten years, so we’re planning our largest ever outing to the Monaco Tennis Masters semi-final day in April, and also we’re planning a new club house and are going to be pushing for a fourth court.

And on the work front, I’ve got some interesting renovation projects lined up for the spring.

To find out more contact Chris via his site http://www.chickenrenovation.com/ or by calling him on 06 75 48 75 11.