Alderney Tennis Club News April 2017
Court Maintenance
All the courts have been swept and sanded ready for the new tennis season. Courts 3 & 4 have been badly affected with moss over the winter, though not as badly as previous years thanks to the sweeping and moss killing undertaken last year.
The most effective moss killer that we have found is tennis players trampling on it. To this end I would ask you to make more use of courts 3 & 4 this summer in the hope that the moss will be discouraged from growing back next winter.
The fencing around the courts is now over 25 years old and is starting to show it's age. A number of fence poles have already been replaced but there are still a large number of rusty poles in situ (18 of the 44 around courts 2 & 4 alone). The poles are also starting to move about due to ground movement so that some of the lines of poles show a considerable waviness both sideways and vertically. Movement of the poles holding the door hinges mean that most of the door bolts now barely meet their catch on the neighbouring pole, causing them to swing open in windy conditions.
We will need to fund-raise to finance work on these fences as they could become dangerous fairly soon. We can either fix what we have or decide to replace with new. Fixing will not be cheap, probably at least 1/3 of the replacement cost, and will leave us with a continuing maintenance issue as more of the old poles deteriorate with the fencing still not looking pretty.
Grounds Maintenance
Contractors:
The Hedge cutting is now nearing completion. This has proved to be a much more arduous job than I think Mark Cosheril expected but he has committed to complete the job at the agreed price so many thanks to him. The hedges have been cut much lower than was originally intended due to their being so overgrown. The brief was to make the hedge cutting cheaper in the future and this should now cut the cost by more than 50% provided the hedge is kept under control.
The Cosherils have also done the first grass cut of the year. Financial restraints will limit the number of times we can afford to get the grass cut so please do not expect elegantly manicured lawns – just serviceable grassed areas.
Volunteers:
The hedge next to the practice wall had been allowed to grow about 2m through the fence. Unfortunately it is planted too close to the fence to allow it to be cut outside the fence and it is causing too much damage to the fence (even snapping one of the poles) so, after consulting with a number of members, it has been decided that this piece of hedge should be removed. More than 5 hours has already been spent untangling it from the fence in preparation.
A similar fate needs to befall the 3 yucca plants growing against the junior court fence. These also damage the fence and strew their leaves over the courts. We have volunteers with chain saws waiting in the wings.
The gravel areas around the courts have been sprayed with weed killer twice already this year. The weeds damage the concrete at the edges of the courts and get tangled in the fencing so we need to keep up the effort to clear them and keep the edges of the court clear.
In the future more grounds work is going to have to be done by volunteers. To this end we have been investigating the possibility of erecting a shed to house equipment and materials. Then, about 2 months ago, we heard of an old shipping container that was available. This would make an ideal large storage space but required a number of ducks to be put in a row before it could be considered:
- Planning – we have obtained permission for 3 years for the container as a temporary structure.
- Clearing the rubbish from it's likely location – awaiting quotations
- Financing: Purchase, moving, de-rusting, painting – Container free otherwise awaiting quotations
We had hoped to be able to obtain a grant for the container but this has not been possible (yet) so we have to decide whether we wish to take on this financial and preparation commitment.
Club House
The Club House needs some freshening up and we have received a small grant of £600 towards this. This will allow us to replace the water damaged ceiling.
The Swimming Pool committee have also donated two left over rolls of carpet to us with which to re-carpet the clubhouse. This may have to be left in abeyance until a) the ceiling and any other decorating jobs can be completed and b) we can finance it's fitting.
The patio door in the clubhouse is difficult to open as the runners have collapsed and could not be locked. New Locks and runners have been purchased and the lock has been fitted (so no need for the wooden board any more). The runners will be fitted as soon as time and weather permits – be aware that it might suddenly move rather more freely than you are used to!
We hope to allow members who want it freer access to the club house. The current lock is not secure and we wish to be able to keep track of everyone who has a key. It is therefore intended to fit a Yale type lock to the main club house door using fittings that will allow the same lock barrel to be fitted to any replacement door in the future. A lock has been purchased and we are just awaiting conformation of the availability of key blanks before buying the lock barrel. Keys will then be made available to members for the payment of a small deposit.