ALBANY TENNIS NEWS by Pat Sharp Quiz Night - will members intending to enter a team please assist the committee by Contacting our Social Secretary Kirsten Hall and enter a team (max. 6 people) and supper orders by Wednesday 18th March. Our lounge can only seat 54 and we already have 17 Todmorden Tennis Club members joining the evening. They will be playing tennis v Albany on Saturday morning, then travel to Ramsey in the afternoon before returning to Douglas for the social evening at the club. They will also join Albany’s Sunday club session before visiting Castletown T C for their afternoon club tennis, then returning home on the 7.45pm ferry. I could still use 4 more raffle prizes to add to the £20 Shoprite voucher, bottle of champagne,2 bottles of wine, box of chocolates. Please let me know if you can help.
Our fund raising to pay for the LED lights in the indoor court is going well so far, having raised over £4,200 from the Christmas Fayre &Tombola and Race Night. Quiz Night we hope will add another £300 + to the total. I’m hoping the junior section of the club plus their parents will organise an event, as they are the ones who will benefit the most from improving the club’s facilities. When we decided to build the indoor- court our juniors did various fund raising events and on the Official Opening day Susan Travers and Gareth Nation handed a cheque for £8,000 from the juniors, to Club President Louis Callow, on behalf of the club’s juniors.
I’ve been having a good sort out of tennis reports, photos and memorabilia and discovered a tournament programme dated 4, 5 and 6 August 1913 which was held at the Douglas Lawn Tennis Club in Kensington Road. This was sent to me in 2000 but I can’t remember who by, which I will pass on to The Douglas Club. The terminology is fascinating – “gentlemen’s Singles” and all events were handicap. The programme cost 2d. I also have a John Player cigarette card album of famous Players in action. The album cost 1d And it’s almost complete with The Service – incl. F J Perry; return to fast serve W Allison; The forehand drive, backhand drive, including H W Austin, Miss Dorothy Round and von Cramm; other cards show Jean Borotra, H C. Hopman, D Budge, and many more. I wonder if any tennis memorabilia from the current clubs will be around in 100yrs time.