Just a few things to remind you of before we start our new season in May....
Membership
A gentle reminder to all those members who have not yet renewed to please use the individual link sent to you to renew your membership for this year. To those of you who have already joined - thank you for your continuing support to the club.
 
Club Opening - Saturday 4th May 2024
Most importantly, we are starting to play on our grass courts on Saturday 4th May. You may book courts from Saturday and you are very welcome to come along to our Saturday club afternoon (2-5pm) to mix in and play doubles with other club members.
 
Open Day - 11th May 2024 
Just a reminder that we are hosting an open afternoon on 11th May from 2-5pm. If you know of anyone who might like to come along and play at the club, please invite them along to have a hit and meet the members. Hopefully we will have good weather and lots of members present to play some tennis and show off our club to potential new players. All offers of cakes for tea, will be most gratefully received.
 
Club Sessions 
Open mix-in sessions five times a week, where members of all standards are very welcome.  Turn up at any time during a session, and stay playing doubles tennis for as long as you like - it's a great way to meet new people and to have fun: 

• Tuesday evenings 5pm-8pm on 4 courts  
• Thursday evenings 5pm-8pm on 2 courts (or all 4 courts if /when 2 are not needed for coaching) 
• NEW Friday evenings 5pm-8pm on 2 courts  
• Saturday afternoons 2pm-5pm on 4 courts 
• NEW Sunday afternoons 2pm-4pm on 4 courts - particular emphasis on fun session and welcoming those people who are less confident.  

We use a 'peg board' to ensure that all members get a fair and equitable chance to play, and tennis balls are provided by the club.  Saturday afternoons are particularly sociable - possibly due to the quality tea and cakes that are provided in the clubhouse. 
 
PLEASE NOTE:  We've opened up a couple of new sessions (Fridays and Sundays), and also brought the start time of evening sessions forward from 6pm to 5pm as some members were choosing to come earlier anyway.  We are also extending the Saturday afternoon session until 5pm. Please feel free to use WhatsApp to ensure that there will be others coming at these times, particularly until they have become established. 
 
Coaching 
We are running our subsidised coaching offer to all full adult members again this year: 
Either  
THREE free coaching sessions as part of any of the group coaching programmes run by Julie Williams, our coach. 
Or 
Each adult member can book one private lesson with Julie, which Elms LTC will subsidise to the value of £24.  Julie's private lessons are normally £30, plus an additional £5 per person if sharing (max. 4 others). Members must make this clear to Julie at the time of booking. 
Julie is a great coach who is always able to suggest ways to improve tennis shots and gameplay, so please make the most of her expertise.  Please see www.clubspark.lta.org.uk/JWTennis for more details, or contact Julie on Julie@jwtennis.com or call her on 07738 092 276. 
 
Teams and matches 
The Club have three teams that play in the West Somerset League. The matches start in May and we will always be delighted to hear from any members at any time, new or existing, who are interested in playing in matches.  Please email Neil Robson, our Tennis Captain via info@elmstennis.co.uk, and he will get in touch with you to talk about deciding on the most appropriate team for you to play in. He will be able to talk to you about the standard required for each team.  
The club match fee is £3 payable for each match you play in, and due at the end of the season in September (you will be notified of the amount owing once all the matches are played).

Safeguarding 
The club's safeguarding policy can be found here - please have a read. It's important that we remember that safeguarding is everyone's responsibility. Along with this - let's keep the LTA's Fair Play principles front and centre as we embark on another great season. Fair Play includes among other things: 

• Good sportsmanship, honesty and respect whether you win or lose 
• Learning to challenge yourself and improve social skills 
• Taking responsibility for your actions, calling scores and lines clearly and fairly even if it costs you the point 
• Learning and following the rules and being a role model to others 
• Enjoyment of the sport 

Please watch this short video for more information. 
Our welfare officer (covering Safeguarding) is Jo Dafforn. Her contact details can be found on the safeguarding policy and on a poster in the clubhouse. Please contact her to discuss anything of relevance with regard to safeguarding. 
 
Teas
Our Afternoon Teas at Elms are a much loved and enjoyable occasion. One could say that it is the highlight of every Saturday (be at the clubhouse at 4pm). We really do appreciate the lovely cakes and goodies made by our members. 
As usual there will be a Teas Rota on the notice board and we would be very grateful if you could sign up for a slot. We kindly ask that members pay £2 for tea & cake (due to costs - tea/coffee/milk/cleaning equipment etc)  Paid in coins or a BACS transfer (which is easier to do now on our phones!) 
If you have any questions please contact Karen Evry via info@elmstennis.co.uk.
 
Tournaments 
We're holding 4 tournaments in 2024: 
 

• May 27th      NEW for 2024:  Ladies doubles tournament - another fun one 
• June 30th      Pete Owers Tournament - a fun mixed doubles tournament 
• August 4th      Club Championship Finals Day  - a competitive tournament, 5 categories: Doubles (ladies, men and mixed) and Singles (ladies and men) 
• Sept 8th      Joan Jeremiah Tournament - a fun mixed doubles tournament 

 
Our tournaments are open to all full adult members and are £3 to enter, apart from the Club Championships.  Details and sign-up sheets for each one will be put on the noticeboards so don't forget to sign up for the tournaments you want to play in. All our members are welcome to enter these tournaments. if you have any questions about the tournaments please contact Hilary Barlow via info@elmstennis.co.uk.

Finally, I hope we all enjoy a great summer season playing at the club and I look forward to catching up with you all on the courts,

Kind regards,

Cathy (Chair- Elms Lawn Tennis Club)