Many congratulations to Jane Reap, our amazing Treasurer (and more), who has been awarded the LTA President’s Award for Hampshire & IOW for 2025.
The Award was presented to Jane by Lois Nash, the LTA President for Hampshire & IOW, at the LTA Showcase event in Southampton on 18 April 2026.
Our Club Chair, Nigel Hatt, nominated Jane for all the work she has done for the club since joining the Committee in 2019. Nigel wrote:
For the last 25 years Old Basing Tennis Club (OBTC) has pursued the quest to have flood lights installed on its courts. Several members, past and present, have made serious attempts to achieve this aim but on each occasion have encountered insuperable resistance from the Old Basing & Lychpit Parish Council.
On 2nd September 2025 Jane Reap, our Treasurer and Membership Secretary, made history at OBTC by securing our landlord’s approval to court lighting at a highly charged Full Council Meeting. A key ingredient to Jane’s success was a 30-page Proposal which she drafted over many months containing photographs of our chosen specification, examples of court lighting at neighbouring clubs, projections of membership data, village residents’ comments in support of the proposal and views of chairs of the other sports clubs in the vicinity. Jane made vigorous efforts to counter criticisms that the Club was not inclusive enough showing the contribution the Club has made to the wellbeing of the village on many fronts.
Faced with stiff questioning by some councillors opposed to the lights, Jane remained calm and explained the technical aspects of the design and, after the vote, was able to negotiate favourably with the Basingstoke Planners on the location of the columns outside the courts to reduce costs.
Jane showed commercial acumen by offering the Parish Council concessions to incentivise acceptance of her Proposal. Our 150 strong membership, many villagers and even some ex-councillors showered Jane with praise at the Club’s 95th birthday celebrations on Finals Day.
On top of all this, Jane has been Secretary and Webmaster of OBTC for almost two years managing membership renewals, drafting and dispatching member communications, answering queries from the public and ensuring the compliance of OBTC with LTA Legislation. She establishes her identity with members by summarising the key elements of the committee’s activities monthly to keep them on side and up to speed on progress. At a practical level Jane has enhanced the club house to make it even more welcoming and safe for visitors.
Jane has also accomplished much behind the scenes which tends to be taken for granted by so many. She has created a dedicated repository on Google Drive for the documentation relating to the Club including legal content, governance items, minutes of meetings and photographs of social events at the Club. This is a tremendous paper saving measure.
Finally, in addition to keeping OBTC profitable, Jane manages our junior and adult coaching propositions ensuring their sustainability. The membership of the club has trebled since 2018 and this is a testament to the contribution that Jane has made.
Her hard work and commitment to the Club pervades all areas of the Club’s operations and are way above the call of duty. Such dedication on behalf of our members deserves recognition and I commend her for the LTA President’s Award.
Well done Jane!