Thank you to all of the members who took the time to complete our survey.  We had an excellent response rate of 146 members which is over 50% of our adult membership. This is well above the comparable industry average of 35%.

The first and most important headline coming through from the survey was that your feedback was overwhelmingly positive with 93% of you saying you would recommend Heswall tennis club, and 92% saying the membership represents good value for money.  We are particularly pleased with the positive feedback about the quality and maintenance of the courts and grounds.

The survey has, however, highlighted a number of areas which it is felt by a sizeable number of members could do with some attention. Some of these tweaks and changes to aspects of the club were already in motion and others less so, but we wanted to let you know about some of the initial pieces of work the committee are taking forward on your behalf.

Courts 7 and 8:

You raised concerns about the quality of these courts and their drainage.  In the coming newsletter, you can read more about the improvements we are making in this area.  Indeed, court 8 is currently closed while we carry out that work.

Coaching:

While there were many positive comments about the quality of coaching, there is a demand to increase the breadth and availability of the coaching programmes, particularly for adults. The Committee is already working with our coaching team to come up with programmes to meet that demand.

Ranking:

There was a feeling that the system used for ranking members when playing in our competitive teams is not transparent. We will publish our approach to ranking on the club website to help members understand the process.

 
Courthouse and bar decor:

There are ongoing discussions about improving the décor and facilities of the clubhouse and whether the bar is ready for a facelift.

Booking system:

You will be aware that we have rolled out a new booking system for floodlight usage hours. Alongside this, all coaching and league matches are being entered on to the system so that members can get a much clearer idea around court usage at a given time.

LED floodlights:

We have an active planning permission request with Wirral Council to allow us to upgrade our floodlight to LED’s. We await the decision, and you can read more in this month’s newsletter.

There were, of course, other comments and areas raised which have not been highlighted in this email. We are taking all the feedback given seriously and working our way through it all.

We will use the club website to provide a more detailed plan which will reflect how we are progressing with the work.  We are, however, a small committee and will depend on help from you, the membership, to implement change and improvements in your club.

We are planning a volunteer and new members day on Sunday December 14th when we will share more details of our plans and how you can help.  We’ll provide more information about the day in the coming week but please put it in your diary now!