Newsletter 41                                       February 2021

We hope you are keeping well in these difficult times.  The progress of the vaccine roll-out and the plans for the gradual easing of the lockdown are hopeful signs. In particular, it is good that tennis should be able to resume in time for the new season which, with luck, will not suffer renewed interruptions. This is a slightly longer newsletter than usual as there is quite a lot to cover. 

The modification to our logo at the top of the page marks the fact that this year is the 40th anniversary of the foundation of the club (although the courts were not opened until 1983).  As you will see below, our membership and finances are healthy, but our current playing surface – is starting to show its age and will not survive many more winters.  We are therefore hoping to resurface the courts in spring 2022, provided we can raise the balance of the cost by then – recognising that getting grant support may be more difficult than on previous occasions. More detail below.

COVID-19 – update.  First things first.  Following, the government’s announcements on 22nd February, we are currently aiming to re-open the courts on Wednesday 1 April (we will do so earlier if practical).  We will confirm this as soon as we can and provide more information, including details of continuing Covid precautions. 

Subscription Renewal.  We will be sending out subscription renewal invitations next week.  Rates will be unchanged for the new season and, in recognition of the disruption to last season and to encourage everyone back on court, we are offering discounts for adult and family/couple memberships renewed before 1 April. (£5 and £10 respectively).  We expect to send out a new edition of the Club e-handbook to those who rejoin in time for the new season.

Finance and Membership.  Our membership remains healthy for a small village club and, although coaching income suffered because of Covid, we were still able to add to our reserves last year, which now stand at some £21,000.  Nevertheless, we will need to resurface our courts soon and this will be a significant challenge – see next item.

Resurfacing Plans.  Our courts are now twelve years old and showing increasing signs of wear.  Although the playing area remains generally sound having been repainted in autumn 2018 and thoroughly cleaned during the first Covid-19 lockdown, there is no doubt that they are approaching the end of their life.  The Committee hopes that we will be to lay a new surface in spring 2022.  Although our reserves should cover the bulk of the cost, we estimate that we will still need to raise at least £5,000 from grants and other fundraising.  Last time we received considerable grant funding but this may prove more difficult in the post-Covid financial climate.

Plans for the new season.   Unsurprisingly, the uncertainties due to Covid there are very few firm plans at this stage but there are a few things to note:

Drop-ins.  We expect the Sunday and Tuesday drop-ins to resume in the new season. We will also consider reviving the Thursday evening drop-ins that we ran in 2019.

AGM – provisionally planned for September.

British Tennis Membership (BTM) is now “Advantage”.  The LTA have revamped their membership scheme and renamed it Advantage. If you are already a BTM you will automatically be part of the new Advantage scheme.  It is simple to join and basic membership is free – one of its biggest perks is entry to the LTA Wimbledon ballot – see below.

Wimbledon – Wimbledon are committed to staging The Championships from 28 June to 11 July but planning is currently centred on a reduced capacity event, so tickets will be even harder to come by than usual. Our understanding is that there will be no public ballot this year but the LTA members’ ballot is likely to go ahead and will be run centrally rather than through draws at individual Clubs.  Existing LTA Advantage/British Tennis Members will contacted by the LTA directly when the Opt-in window opens. If you haven’t joined Advantage and want to go to Wimbledon this year, now might be a good time to do so at: https://www2.lta.org.uk/advantage

Club Events – When things are clearer, we will consider whether to reschedule the annual dinner as a summer or autumn event and/or hold some sort of Club day, possibly with a barbecue or picnic. 

Rogate Fete – There are tentative plans for a “cut-down” fete on August 14 and the Club hopes to hold an event on the courts, so please put this provisional date in your diary.

New Website and optional Booking system.   Don’t forget we have a new website at https://clubspark.lta.org.uk/RogateTennisClub. One feature of the new site is a court schedule which shows when courts are reserved for coaching or club play.  Although members can still just turn up and play if there is a court available the site also allows you to reserve a slot if you want to be sure of a court at a particular time. 

To use the booking facility, you will need to register on the site by setting up a password (or using your existing Google/Facebook or LTA Membership).  This is a straightforward process and will also make tasks like updating contact details and membership renewals simpler in the future, so we will be encouraging you to join over the course of the next season.

Join the Committee?  Would you like to become involved in running the club? The Committee would welcome the addition of fresh blood and new ideas.  If you think you might be interested in joining us and want to discuss what might be involved, please contact myself or one of the other committee members.  Contact details on the website.

Keep safe,

Amanda Farren, Chair

Richard Hatfield, Secretary