Welcome to the first Newsletter of 2024.
Court time has been somewhat limited for the hardy winter season players as the rain poured down. Despite the conditions, there has been a lot of tennis played and we have plenty to report.
CLUB AGM - Thursday 11th April in the Rugby Club at 7.30
Every member is invited, indeed encouraged to attend and we look forward to seeing many of you there.
Saturday social sessions – Start Saturday April 6
The Saturday afternoon social tennis sessions for all start back April 6 with a mixed doubles session between 2-5pm. All full court players are welcome, please sign up. Tea and cakes will follow in the fancy new clubhouse. Please support this session and future Saturday sessions. Social tennis sessions will also be held Fridays 1-3 & 6-8.
Junior Social Tennis - FREE weekly sessions start on Tuesday 9th April
Please promote and support these sessions; they are open to members and non-members. Encourage your children and their friends to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity. It is really important that we focus on this element of the club, growth in junior membership will help secure the club for the future! Sessions start at 5pm if you are new to tennis and 5.45pm if you can hit full court. The age range is for guidance only. Learn more Kindly sponsored by Bryn Illtyd Youth Trust.
Quiz Night – 26th April at the Bowls club starting at 7pm
Alan is busy preparing another entertaining quiz for us . The last quiz proved extremely successful and was enjoyed by many!
Sign up, bring your friends and family.
Clubhouse and groundwork update
Have you seen the progress on the wonderful clubhouse? We now have a vastly improved club house to enjoy this year and in the future. There has also been a lot of work carried out on the grounds, including an anonymous donation of decorative stones. A big thank you goes to everyone who has dedicated so much time and effort into making our clubhouse and grounds better for us all, thank you all so much, it is really appreciated!
Call for Volunteers
We are looking for volunteers to help with the upkeep of the clubhouse and grounds as well as setting up quarterly maintenance parties of volunteers. Look out for a list in the clubhouse, even the smallest contribution is valuable to the club. Contact Nic Farmer for more info. 07810 796689
Annual Club Championship
Get your rackets restrung & your gear in order, as this year’s championships are looming ahead & promise to be the most competitive ever! Below are the key dates for you to remember and all information is on our website:
Wednesday May 1st - Club tournament entry opens
Sunday May 19th - Club tournament entry closes
Friday May 24th, 5pm - Club tournament draw announced
Saturday July 6th - Club tournament finals’ day from 12 noon (fallback day Saturday July 13th)
Sunday July 7th - Junior tournament - (Run by Vale Tennis Academy)
This is the biggest event at the club, and this year will be no exception: the club ladders have proven to be the perfect training ground for our budding competitors, and we encourage every member to enter the following draws when the time comes:
● Men’s Singles ● Men’s Doubles ● Ladies Singles ● Ladies’ Doubles ● Mixed Doubles
In addition to rewarding our winners & runners-up, the final’s day will also include some lucky losers’ ‘Plate’ matches. So, bring your shades & a plate of food! For more info contact Loic on 07707613348 .
Help on the day is always appreciated - it takes a few kind souls to put the event together, and most importantly, help with the celebratory bubbly at the end of the day. Good luck everyone!
Mixed doubles and singles ladders updates
Alan - The mixed doubles ladder has proven to be very popular and there are currently 36 participants. Even more encouraging is that we are still gaining new players. Since we started back in August so far 172 matches have been played and remarkably 21 people have played 5 or more matches. The mixed doubles ladder has helped to integrate newer and longer-standing members of the club and new friendships have been formed as close and exciting matches are played out. I would like to give a special shout out to those who were totally new to any form of competitive tennis but nonetheless embraced this event with enthusiasm regardless of how the match played out. For information on rankings please contact me direct.
NB. Mixed Doubles’ Ladder: Paused between April 1st and July 1st (Club championships) for more info contact Alan 07871064839
Loic - The singles ladder update – Just a big shout out to say thanks & well done to those who have taken part in this ladder. We witnessed some great matches being played, under all sorts of conditions. We would also like to thank & encourage the newly joined members and note that we are still recruiting! The ladders are a fun and informal way of playing some competitive tennis in a great-spirited atmosphere. Matches are arranged at your own pace & leisure, with no real obligation. Why not join the fun? If you found yourself & little disheartened or bored for not being challenged enough, then why not come off it for a bit & restart from the very bottom? This is a great way to stay motivated & will surely scare a few members along the way! For more info. contact Loic 07707613348
Please make a note of the following dates as no matches or challenges will count towards your rankings:
Singles Ladder: Paused between June 1st - July 8th. (Club championships)
Doubles summer leagues
Men’s Doubles’ Summer League:
We are pleased to announce the Club’s re-entry into the Men’s Doubles’ Summer League. Our team will take on clubs such as Pentyrch, Rhondda, Glynneath, Glamorgan, Garw Valley, & even… Haverfordwest. We are extremely motivated and want to encourage anyone who would like to join to make themselves known! We need a constant ‘pool’ of about 8-10 players to choose from (allowing injuries, holidays etc.) Matches are mostly held on Sundays, with home & away contests where travel arrangements are made. If you are not available to play, then come & support your club! Home matches will be advertised at the clubhouse so do come along and support!
Please contact Loic on 07707613348 if you would like to be added to the team.
Ladies’ doubles summer league:
Following continued success from last year’s summer league and the winter 4 player league we are pleased to announce that the ladies are entering a 6 player league this summer! Please contact Vicki for further information 07990 897471
Over 60’s doubles Summer Mid week league: Although we haven’t fielded a team for the league this season, the senior sections continue successfully and are enjoyed by many.