A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR MENS GRAYS CUP TEAM OF 2025 - TIM, TOM, MATT AND TIM WHO WON THIS YEAR!

CONGRATULATIONS to all of our teams for a great Summer 2025 campaign - a special mention to the Women's 2nd team who won Division 5 and Men's 3rd team who won Division 5 and Men's 4th team who won Division 7.

The Club runs a number of teams in both the Summer and Winter Cambridgeshire LTA Leagues including Mens, Womens, Mixed, Vets (45 and over) and Super Seniors (60 and over). We run a comprehensive team coaching programme all year round to help develop matchplay. Teams are very popular at this point in time and currently there is very limited availability in the Womens or Mens teams (Nov 25). At the start of each term we revisit the teams to see what spaces are available.

Please email cockshenscoaching@gmail.com to express your interest in joining a team.

Most home matches take place on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings from 6.30pm and on Sundays from 10am. 

Women’s and men’s teams in the Cambridgeshire League

Team tennis is a key way our members enjoy the competitive side of their game. They are a large part of the outwardly facing side of C&H. As such, team players are ambassadors for the club, both external and internal. With the variety of adult teams spaced across local and national competitions, C&H aim to cater for a large range of playing standards and ages.

Our women’s and men’s teams that compete in the Cambridgeshire Doubles League have dedicated team coaching sessions.

Women’s and men’s teams in the Cambridgeshire Doubles League.

Team objectives

At the beginning of each summer and winter season two important decisions should be made.

1. Led by the captain(s) and assisted by the coach of the relevant team, the team squad (the set of individuals that make up a team) should be decided upon for the coming season. Team squads will then be listed on the noticeboard. A player can only be a member of one team and can only vote for the captaincy of that team. Team membership does not prevent players from representing higher or lower teams during the season under the normal rules of the league.
2. Once the team’s squads have been selected, each team will decide on the key objective for the coming season. For example: A - Equal distribution of matches. B - Promotion or avoiding relegation. C - Strongest pairs available for the first half of the season. If option A is the preferred objective, then matches would be shared out as equally as possible within the squad. If option B, then the strongest players/pairs should be picked from the players available for each match. If C, then after the first half of the season the squad should reassess. For instance, if the objective was to avoid relegation and this objective looks likely to be met then sharing out the matches to all squad members for remaining matches would be the aim for the second half of the season.

Team Captain selection and rotation. 

In the event of a captain relinquishing their captaincy role, each squad member will vote (blind) on who they would like to captain their team for the following two summer seasons. Potential captains should meet the following criteria: Have been a member of the team for at least two summer seasons and have attended the team training regularly for those past two seasons.

In the event of 2 or more players receiving equal votes, just those candidates who are tied will be entered into a run-off vote. If the result is still tied, then a coin toss will break the tie.

To allow a potential rotation of captains, every 2 years after the summer season, each squad will vote (blind) on who they would like to captain their team for the following two seasons. Voting for the current captain is allowed. Candidates should meet the same criteria as above regarding team tenure and coaching attendance.

Before the start of the season, the team captain will appoint a vice-captain from within the same team who will be listed by the LTA as the secondary contact for the team.

Team FAQ

How do I get involved in the teams?

How often do you have trials for the teams?

What team will I be placed in?

How does a player get promoted to the team above?

How many players in a team squad?

What division are the teams in?

Is there a minimum standard expected to be in the teams?

Does a player have to attend team coaching to play in the teams?

When is team coaching?

How many matches will I be expected to commit to?

Can I just play in the home matches?

What happens if I miss team coaching to play a match for the club?

 

How do I get involved in the teams?

Email  cockshenscoaching@gmail.com letting us know you’d like to get involved with our teams. 

How often do you have trials for the teams?

We aim to have try outs for the teams at the beginning of each of the school terms (the 2nd or 3rd week in) which the coaching runs in parallel to. Vacancies will be filled on merit, with each player that trials compared to other new players trialling. As our teams are nearly always full attending a trial does not guarantee a place in the teams.

What team will I be placed in?

Our trial system expects all players to trial in the Women’s 4ths or the men’s 4/5ths as a first step. From there the coach of the session will see how the new player compares to the others in that team. If the new player is deemed to be of a higher level, they will be invited to trial with the next team up. The process is continued until the most suitable team is found. If the most suitable team is full then a new player will be held on the wait list for that team. Squads need some stability for effective partnerships to form, therefore the opportunity for new people to play for the team may be restricted while this happens.

How does a player get promoted to the team above? 

The lead coach in conjunction with the captains continually monitor players performances both in training and matches. Under the process set out above in Team Objectives, paragraph 1, team membership for the coming season is agreed by captains and coaches and published on the club noticeboard. This will include any players moving to a different team.

How many players in a team squad?

A minimum of 6 people.

What division are the teams in? 

Our teams cover a range of levels within the Cambridgeshire League. We have teams in the upper divisions, lower divisions and divisions in between. This spread of teams throughout the divisions should be a key factor in the objectives each team sets at the start of each season with the average ability of each squad ultimately determining the league(s) they compete in.

Is there a minimum standard expected to be in the teams?

We aim to have teams across the spectrum of divisions, however being competitive leagues the teams are not for beginners with the standard of the lowest leagues acting as a filtering point. Understanding the rules and scoring system, being able to hit all shots in the court with some consistency especially the serve and having enough agility to be able to jog about the court are the minimum.

Does a player have to attend team coaching to play in the teams? 

Team players are encouraged to attend team training, although captains may use their discretion with match selection.

When is team coaching?

Women: 

4ths Monday 17:45-18:45. 

3rds Monday 18:45-20:15. 

2nds Monday 17:15-18:45. 

1sts Monday 20:15-21:15

Men: 

4/5ths Wednesday 19:30-21:00

1,2,3rds Monday 18:45-20:15

How many matches will I be expected to commit to?

This will be determined by the objective of each team. Leagues typically have 6-7 matches per season.

Can I just play in the home matches?

Players are expected to be as flexible as possible and be available for both home and away matches.

What happens if I miss team coaching to play a match for the club?

We have scheduled team coaching to be on different nights to a team’s usually allocated match days. However, from time-to-time clashes do occur. In the event of a player(s) missing team coaching to represent the club in a match, the captain should email cocksandhensmembers@gmail.com after the match has been played with the names of individuals effected. A refund for missed coaching sessions will be issued at the end of each term.

Womens teams

4 womens teams competed in Cambs LTA Summer League in 2025.

• Cocks and Hens Womens 1 – Div 2 4th
• Cocks and Hens Womens 2 – Div 5 Winners
• Cocks and Hens Womens 3 – Div 5 5th
• Cocks and Hens Womens 4 – Div 9 4th

4 womens teams competed in Cambs LTA Winter League in 2024.

• Cocks and Hens Womens 1 – 
• Cocks and Hens Womens 2 – 
• Cocks and Hens Womens 3 – 
• Cocks and Hens Womens 4 – 

Summer and Winter Captains: Karolina Minczuk (1st team), Anna Handy (2nd team), Sarah West (3rd team), and Liz Orlowski (4th team)

Team practices: 1st team - Monday 20:15; 2nd team - Monday 17:15; 3rd team - Monday 18:45; 4th team - Monday 17:45

Mens teams

5 mens teams competed in Cambs LTA Summer League in 2025.

• Cocks and Hens Men 1 –  Division 1 3rd
• Cocks and Hens Men 2 –  Division 3 3rd
• Cocks and Hens Men 3 –  Division 5 Winners
• Cocks and Hens Men 4 –  Division 7 Winners
• Cocks and Hens Men 5 –  Division 10 2nd

4 mens teams competed in Cambs LTA Winter League in 2024.

• Cocks and Hens Men 1 –  Division  
• Cocks and Hens Men 2 –  Division  
• Cocks and Hens Men 3 –  Division 7 - Winners
• Cocks and Hens Men 4 –  Division 

Summer Captains: Görkem Diges (1st team), Laurence Fay (2nd and 3rd team), Colin McGerty (4th team), Tom Elvidge (5th team) 

Winter Captains: Görkem Diges (1st team), Laurence Fay (2nd team), Colin McGerty (3rd team), and Tom Elvidge (4th team)

Team practices:  1st/2nd/3rd team - Monday 18.45;  4th/5th team - Wednesday 19:30 

Mixed teams

1 mixed team competed in Cambs LTA Summer League in 2025.

• Cocks and Hens Mixed 1 – Div

2 mixed teams competed in Cambs LTA Winter League in 2025.

• Cocks and Hens Mixed 1 – Div
• Cocks and Hens Mixed 2 - Div

Captain: Rebecca Howland

Vets (45 and over) teams

3 teams are competing in the Cambs LTA Veterans League in 2026.

• Cocks and Hens Vets 1 - Div 2
• Cocks and Hens Vets 2 - Div 
• Cocks and Hens Vets 3 - Div

Captains: Jeremy Tuck (Vets 1), Claire Beaumont (Vets 2) and Neale Whyatt (Vets 3)

Super Seniors (60 and over) team 

• Cocks and Hens 1 - Only 1 division 

Captain: Richard Blyth