Club news
Dates over Christmas & New Year:
Sunday 22 December 4pm: club tea. We'll get together to celebrate the season with one of our usual scrumptious club teas whatever the weather
Wednesday 25 December: no play allowed
Thursday 26 December: 10.30am club session cancelled. Instead there will be a session at 2.30pm that day to work off at least a few of those extra calories
Wednesday 1 January 2.30pm: extra club session to work off whatever you did the night before.
Club hitters: A hitter is a consistent player, who is paid to play with you. It can be a great way to build consistency, get fit or focus on perfecting a new shot. It can complement coaching or just be a great way to shake up your game. We are conscious that it can be hard to get coaching time, so we are delighted to announce that the club now has two official club hitters in Louie Kovaci and Pete Ross! For more details about them, including contact details, just click here >>
Thanks to the autumn clean up working party: A very productive 90 minutes has left the grounds looking beautiful. Many thanks to those who helped. Three days later the contractors came to brush and apply moss kill to the courts, so they are immaculate.
AGM: will be Friday 14 March. More nearer the time.
Court bookings: We allow a group of players to book for 90 minutes maximum per day. Obviously if there is no-one using the court after this time there's no problem with you continuing beyond this. However it is not in the spirit of the club for one person to book 90 minutes and another in the same group to book a further 30. It isn't fair to other members, particularly at peak weekend times.
Courts now available to book Wednesday evenings: As with last year, we have suspended the Wednesday evening club sessions for the winter, so courts 3 & 4 are now available to book in the normal way on Wednesday evenings.
Club tournament finals: Thanks to everyone who makes the tournament a special event - helpers, players and supporters. Have a look here at some of the photos. The tournament results are here.
Club sessions: It's been great to see so many people coming to the weekend sessions recently, from 2:30 to 5:30pm Saturday and Sunday. Club sessions are open to everyone of 'club standard' (if you're not sure whether you're of that standard, then talk to Joe) and the principle is that we all mix in. So this is not an opportunity to arrange your own sets.
Thursday morning club sessions are from 10:30 to 12:30.
Junior club sessions are every Sunday from 5:30 to 7:00pm. 12-16 year olds welcome. Any questions, just contact Joe on 07956 265158.
Can you help drag the courts please?: It significantly extends the quality and life of our lovely courts if we drag them every couple of weeks. We don't have another court maintenance until December, so if you can drag a court after you've used it, that would be much appreciated.
Weather warning: a reminder that we can't play on the courts when they're frosty or snowy as the fibres become brittle in the cold and can break, damaging the surface.
Beginners' coaching session: Joe runs another beginners' group 7-8pm on Wednesday evenings. Cost £12 + £2 for lights. If you're interested please contact Joe at joetenis@hotmail.com or 07956 265158.
On court behaviour: Please do your best to keep shouting to a minimum. Emotions are part of tennis for sure, but swearing and shouting - even if it is only at your racket - can be off-putting to your opponent and in extreme cases disturb other people using the Estate grounds. In particular, please be aware of your noise levels if you're playing early morning. And we all play our best tennis when we feel supported and comfortable, so encourage your partner. Criticising is counter-productive and not in the spirit of the club. In the end it boils down to one simple principle - be nice!
Guest fees: you are welcome to bring guests to play at the club (except for weekend club sessions) but please:
- let us know in advance who you are bringing and when (email guest@muswellhilltennis.com)
- once they have played, pay £5 per adult guest, £3 per junior into the club account
This is important as we need information about who is playing for the purposes of our insurance.
Members may bring the same guest 10 times each tennis year. A member may bring up to 3 guests weekdays till 4pm.
Tennis balls: If you are buying tennis balls from the club the cost is £6 per tin.
Contactless payment for the floodlights: We have moved to a contactless payment system for the lights. All debit and credit cards and ApplePay are accepted (but not Amex). The card reader is behind the door on entering the clubhouse. As agreed with our neighbours, floodlights should not be on after 9:30pm.
The climate crisis: We're doing our bit. All the lighting at the club, both on and off court, is now LED.
Booking courts: The booking system lets you book for the current day and the next six days for up to 90 minutes maximum per member (or group of members). Please be sure to cancel court bookings that are not needed.
Car parking : We ask that, where possible, you walk or cycle to the club. If you need to drive, we have 7 spaces in our car park and we ask that the first car to arrive parks at one end or other of the car park, to encourage others to park so that we make use of the 7 spaces. In addition, we need to remind long standing members and to advise new members of the following:
- We have no right to use car parking spaces at The Paddock. It is merely a friendly arrangement with a neighbour
- We may only use The Paddock spaces when our spaces are full
- When using The Paddock spaces we must always leave 3 spaces empty so that we do not deprive any resident or visitor of a space
- We are not permitted to park in the curve opposite the entrance to The Paddock parking
Car park stickers: Once you've renewed your membership, if you will be using the club car park, please pick up a 2024/25 car sticker from Mike, Ian, Joe or Sylvia.
Clubhouse security: If court 4 is the only court being used and there is no-one in the clubhouse, in the interests of security please lock the clubhouse.
Fox poo is horrible! Please keep it off our courts by making sure you close the gates when you finish playing, at any time of the day. If allowed access to the courts, the foxes also love chewing our nets. Also, if there are not too many people around, they like to go into the clubhouse, so best to keep the door closed if you're on court and there's not many people about.
Closing up: A gentle reminder that if you're the last person/group leaving the club at any time of day please make sure that in winter the clubhouse heaters are turned right down to the frost setting (the red dot), doors are properly closed and locked and that the gate is closed behind you. With the weather so changeable it may well be that later bookings get cancelled, so don't assume others will be there later.
Emergency contact details: It's essential that we have contact details for a parent or guardian of junior members.
But it is also important for us to have contact details for ALL members, particularly if you are the only person in your family who is a club member. Hopefully it will never be needed, but it would be terrible if there were a serious incident and we didn't know who to contact. So please check that we have up to date details in your profile on clubspark.
Supervision of Juniors: When children attend formal coaching sessions or holiday camps, they are supervised by the coaches concerned. However, when junior members and their guests use the club's facilities at any other time that is permitted by the club, parents and guardians must understand that there are no staff on the premises to safeguard, supervise or assist children, and at times there may not be any adults present at all. Parents must therefore accept complete responsibility for their juniors and guests when using the facilities of the club and the neighbouring North Bank estate, and either arrange for their play to be supervised or knowingly allow them to play unsupervised.
Safeguarding & Diversity: The LTA have asked us to make all members aware of their responsibilities when it comes to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. Guidance and details of our Welfare Officers who will deal with any issue is on the noticeboard in the clubhouse. You can also find advice on what to do if you have a concern in the 'Club policies' section here>>
Feedback: As we reflect on the past year and what we want to change, the Committee would welcome your feedback! Things that have gone well, things we could improve - we'd love to know, so just drop us a note.