What does the committee do?
What does it take to be on the committee?

The club is run by a committee of up to 10 volunteers, made up of a variety of people who give their time and services for free. This group, voted in at the Annual Member’s Meeting (usually in March), keeps the club running on a day-to-day basis, whilst looking towards the future and how the club can develop.

Areas covered by the committee include (but are not limited to):

• Retaining membership of the LTA and ensuring relevant criteria are met
• Maintaining the courts and the surrounding areas, in partnership with the KWMCC, including the club house – this can be through maintenance carried out by an individual to managing a third-party contractor
• Managing the club’s finances including any loans and bill repayments
• Ensuring that the club is a welcoming and safe environment – including safeguarding
• Promoting the club and sport in general to the local community
• Arranging activities for members and the wider community – including being a part of the local tennis leagues
• Working in the best interests of the membership, visitors to the club and other local stakeholders

Meetings and time required

The committee meet every two months or so. Usually this will be a face-to-face meeting in person, however online meetings can take place should circumstances require. Meetings take place in the evening as many committee members work during the day. Whilst committee members are expected to make it to as many meetings as possible, it is not compulsory to attend them all.

Away from committee meetings, the time required for each committee member varies depending on the individual and their role. Some people are able to give more time than others. In every case, no-one is left by themselves as the rest of the committee is always on-hand to assist. Plus, sometimes other members may be drafted in to help with specific requirements, such as a fundraising event.

Who can be on the committee?

It is important that the committee can draw on a range of skills from the more practical, hands-on to the organisational, administration. To help ensure that the club is run in the interests of all, it is also good to have a mix of voices on the committee so that key issues can be debated and informed by several perspectives. The only real requirement is that a committee member must be a member of the club.

The committee may have a Chair, but it is run as a democracy with no one person having any more influence or say than any other. However, there may be occasions where the final decision will lie with the Chair.

Roles and responsibilities

Roles are divided up to ensure that no single person has too much to do – though some positions do inevitably require more attention than others. Whilst all positions on the committee are important (including those with no specific role), there are a few key roles:

• Chair – leads the committee and runs the meetings. Whilst they are the leader of the group, this does not mean that they take responsibility for everything as many areas will be delegated, both to committee members and to other volunteers. The Chair, however, is likely to take an active interest in everything happening within the club
• Secretary – principally responsible for the keeping of minutes and other correspondence to ensure transparency
• Treasurer – keeps the bank balances in check, including money incoming from subs and outgoings such as loan repayments, bills etc
• Welfare Officer – acts as the main contact for members and coaching staff relating to any safeguarding and inclusion issues. They are not required to resolve matters that arise as all committee members are responsible for creating a safe and inclusive environment. The Welfare Officer always has their support along with the LTA Safeguarding team to whom any relevant issues are passed onto for further investigation.
• Match Secretary – registers teams for leagues, liaises with league organisers, arranges fixtures, works closely with team captains, books courts for matches, posts results and fixtures on club website and relevant social media.

Of course, these are just five positions. Whatever your skillset is, there will be a position for you on the committee.

How to get involved

The committee is always looking for new people to get involved. Fresh ideas and different skills will always be required. Never been on a committee before? No problem. That’s not important. To begin with, the most important qualities are to care about the club and to be happy to put your point of view across.

The club is entirely dependent on members to run it so please give thought to the possibility of becoming involved, even if in a small way.

To find out more about how you can get involved speak with one of the current committee members.