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Tennis Ball Challenge Gets Into The Wimbledon Spirit

Barnsley was the tennis ball manufacturing capital of the world and now it’s back on centre court with a crazy, Wimbledon-themed challenge.

The Yorkshire town was home to Slazenger for more than 50 years before the factory moved production to the Philippines 20 years ago. During that time workers made balls used at Wimbledon and even the umpires’ chairs.

An exhibition celebrating Barnsley’s unlikely heritage is taking place at Experience Barnsley museum throughout the Wimbledon fortnight and runs until October.

To celebrate play getting underway in SW19, organisers of “Barnsley Serves the World” scrambled to fill a red phone box with tennis balls in as fast a time as possible. The team managed to cram over 4,600 balls into the phone box in an impressive time of 90 minutes.

Curator Steven Skelley explained:
“This year marks the 20th anniversary of the factory’s closure and transfer of production to the Philippines, so we decided to put Barnsley back on the tennis map with an exhibition and a bit of family fun.

“The tennis ball challenge was great fun and a real show-stopper. I’m really glad that former factory workers were able to join us at Experience Barnsley to cheer us on!

“It was great to see so many people at the event and we hope that this will encourage them to visit the exhibition which tells the stories of the people who worked there and brings to life the shop-floor camaraderie.”

Barnsley Serves the World is free to attend and there’s plenty for visitors to enjoy including memorabilia, photographs, evocative Pathé films, newly commissioned films, as well as activities for sports fans of all ages.

The tennis balls used in the challenge are going to be reused and given away as part of the Barnsley’s best balls trail which will run throughout July.

Fans of the Slazenger exhibition will be encouraged to keep their eyes peeled for the 12 tennis balls hidden around the town. Make sure to collect your trail card from Experience Barnsley, The Cooper Gallery, or Barnsley Museums in The Glass Works to get started on this fun, free, family-friendly trail across the town.

For full details of the exhibition, which runs until October, please visit www.barnsley-museums.com