AGM & New Committee
Many thanks to all those members who joined us at the cricket club to come along to our AGM back in February.
The new Committee was elected as follows:
| President | Ross Bagni |
| Chairman | Stuart Adolph |
| Treasurer and Secretary | Peter Hale |
| Membership Secretary | Helen Woodhead |
| Head Coach | Sara Leavy |
| Mike VennTournament | Glenn Wigley |
| Social & Round Robin | Janet Hale |
| Public Relations | Andy Cross |
| Junior Co-Ordinator | Debbie Williams |
| Website | Steve Macintosh |
Non-Committee roles:
| Club Tournament | Dave Hillman |
| Clubhouse | TBC |
| Coaching Assistants | Alison Lowe and Ben Johnson |
Thanks to all our members for your continued support – without you there would be no club. We’re always on the lookout for people who’d like to become more involved. Remember, this is your club. See later in the newsletter for a full list of who to contact.
Your Newsletter
Welcome back to the quarterly Newsletter that aims to keep you updated on all club matters. We’d love to hear your views on anything to do with the club, or even tennis in general. So please drop us a line at ‘andy.cross@ebltc.org.uk’ and you may feature in the next edition in the Summer!
Social Tennis Sessions
Confirmation that our Tuesday evening social sessions still run from 6pm to 8pm, alongside our normal Sunday morning sessions from 10am to midday. Juniors have their own dedicated social tennis on Wednesday evenings from 5pm to 7pm.
Round Robins are organised every month from April to September, and then over the Winter period, the Mike Venn Trophy tournament takes place, again monthly. The next Round Robin will be on Saturday 17th May, call Jan Hale for details.
We hope more members will take advantage of these sessions in the current fine weather. It’s all included in your membership!
Membership & Subscriptions
Subscriptions for the year 2014-2015 have been agreed to be as follows:
| Standard | British Tennis Member* | |
|---|---|---|
| Adult | £98 | £88 |
| Couple | £155 | £135 |
| Family | £196 | £156 |
| Senior Citizen & UB40 | £83 | £73 |
| Disabled | £83 | £73 |
| Student & Junior U16 | £52 | £42 |
| Child under 10 | £35 | £26 |
| Social (non-playing) | £10 | £10 |
These prices represent excellent value for money for a club with three high quality courts, floodlights, clubhouse and superb coaching facilities. An entire family can enjoy unlimited tennis for just £3 a week. We look forward to enjoying your membership for another year – if you have not yet returned your renewal form, please do as asap, or ask Helen Woodhead if you need another one. There are some special offers also….
New members pay half price for their first season only. There is a refundable key deposit of £10 for new members.
Introduce a Friend Discount – bring a friend or friends along for a free taster lesson or social session and receive a 20% discount for each friend that joins the club from your 2015-16 membership
*British Tennis Membership is completely free and entitles you to many tennis-associated benefits including entry to the draw for Wimbledon tickets. 90% of our members are signed up to British Tennis. If you are not a member and would like more information, please contact a committee member.
Clubhouse Re-furbishment
Anyone visiting our Clubhouse over the last few days will have noticed the major re-furbishment that is currently nearing completion. A new secure cupboard has been installed together with new kitchen units. The ceiling has been re-plastered and low energy lighting is being fitted. Finally, a new coat of paint has been added throughout, including our front door and window shutters. I’m sure you’ll agree that it looks almost brand new again!
Many thanks to all members who have helped in this work, but particularly to Dave and Adele Provan who have very generously donated time, additional labour and marerials. This is appreciated by all our members.
Finally, apologies. Why the text in this paragraph wouldn’t ‘justify’ after an hour’s effort is beyond me!
Visited our Website?
A reminder that our brand new EBLTC Website is up and running! Here you can see the latest club photographs, read about how to join or renew, peruse our latest newsletters and see the calendar of forthcoming events, both on and off court. Soon we’ll be adding the ability to buy merchandise, book courts on-line and arrange coaching. Visit us on http://www.ebltc.org.uk/
We also have a new Facebook page which you can visit. We’re here at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Eaton-Bray-Lawn-Tennis-Club/229927490370820
Wimbledon draw
The 12 members whose names were drawn out in the recent Eaton Bray ballot were;
Emma Sherwood
Thomas Noithip
Howard Wilcox
Peter Messetter
Adele Provan
David Williams
Jane Wigley
Alison Lowe
Martin Clarke
Gail Brand
Nicola Griffiths
Nicholas Clarke
Congratulations to all the lucky winners, and enjoy your day at Wimbledon!
Like to play more regularly?
Some members have said that they would like the opportunity to play the occasional friendly game against other club members. However they don’t know who to call who might be in a similar position. So, Glenn has offered to maintain and publish a list of members who would like to be contacted by others on the list for the occasional (or frequent…) game. If you’d like to be included, then please let Glenn know by either calling him on 01525 220006, or e-mail glennwigley@hotmail.com
2013/2014 Mike Venn Trophy
What an exciting finish to this season’s Mike Venn Trophy on Sunday 30th March…….thanks to Glenn Wigley for ‘stringing’ together (geddit?) the following report.
The scene was set, Ross Bagni the clear leader by 3 points in the Men’s section, and Carole Thorpe leading the girls by a 4 point margin.
As the clocks were going forward on the previous Saturday night, tournament organiser Glenn Wigley made a number of reminder phone calls on Saturday evening. Everyone arrived on time – except one person. Glenn !! Whoops!!
Before the morning’s session started, Glenn told Ian Morris, who was second in the overall standings, that he was just 3 points behind leader Ross……..
Wham! Bam! Smash! Ian played like he was making history, 8:1 wins in each round left two brave men cowering from his titanium racket….8 points towards the championship. What was Ross doing? Probably not much wrong as he secured a joint second place to Dave Williams. Meanwhile in the ladies section Lynn was equally motivated. The motivation was obvious when when she rolled into the car park at 9.33 – 3 minutes late, pretty good for Lynn, 8 points secured. Carole was on the receiving end of Ian’s racket, but held on to an equal second, 4points.
So, we arrive at the end of the 2013/14 Winter League tournament. This was the closest finish so far!
The 2013/14 winner of the Mike Venn Trophy is Ian Morris!
Congratulations Ian
The highest place ladies are jointly Carole and Lynn, well done both of you.
Finally, a quick mention to Dave Williams for winning division 1, and to John Jones and Janet Hale for sharing the spoils in division 4.
Broken A String?
Contact Sarah Leavy on 07561 571578 for a restring – £20 per racket
Latest Coaching News
Wednesday 7-8pm (Beginners/Intermediates)
Starting 30th April 2014*
The summer is slowly approaching so it’s the perfect time for the summer sport of tennis. Come along and give it go. These sessions are ideal for players who want to learn more about the game and work on basic tennis skills. It is also a great way to meet new players at the club.
| Sign up for : | Pay: | |
| 10 sessions | £45 | = 1 free session |
| 5 sessions | £25 | (week 1-5 or 6-10) |
| Pay as you play (PAYP) | £7 per session |
Contact Sara Leavy on 07561571578 to book your place
A summary of the available coaching at EBLTC is as follows:
| Junior coaching – Saturday mornings: | Junior coaching – Wednesday afternoons: |
|---|---|
| 9-10am Mini Red U6 | 5-6pm Juniors mixed |
| 10-11am Mini Red U7 | 6-7pm Mini Green U10 |
| 11-12pm U14 Boys | |
| 12-1pm Mini Red U8 | |
| 1-2pm Mini Orange U9 |
| Senior coaching – Saturday afternoons: | Senior coaching – Wednesday evenings: |
|---|---|
| 2-4pm Rusty Racquets / Improvers | 7-8pm Beginners / Intermediates |
| 8-9pm Intermediates / Doubles |
Contact Sara for more details, or if you need a little advice on which group would suit you best. Group coaching is a lot of fun – and much less expensive per person!.
2014 Calendar – Tennis and Social Activities
| Sat 17th May | 2pm-5pm | Round Robin |
| Sat 7th June | 2pm-5pm | Round Robin |
| Sun 15th June | 2pm onwards | Family Doubles Tournament |
| Sun 22nd June | 12pm-4pm | PLAY DAY |
| Sat 5th July | 3pm-6pm | Round Robin / (Carnival) |
| Sat 12th July | 2pm onwards | Chairman’s BBQ |
| Sat 19th July | 9am-2pm | JUNIOR TOURNAMENT |
| Sat 4rd August | 2pm-5pm | Round Robin |
| 28th July-22nd August | 9am-1pm | Summer Tennis Camps |
| Sat 6th September | 2pm-5pm | Round Robin |
| Sat 13th September | 1pm-6pm | SENIOR FINALS DAY |
| Sat 18th October | 7pm for 7.30pm | Quiz Night |
| Sat 20th December | 7pm for 7.30pm | Christmas Meal |
Senior Social Tennis continues every Tuesday 6pm onwards and every Sunday 10am onwards.
Junior social tennis every Wednesday 5pm-7pm
For general queries contact Stuart Adolph 01442 842689 or 07557 886011
Lessons and Coaching sessions will also be taking place throughout the year.
Contact Sara Leavy on 07561 571578