AGM - 15th March, 8pm

Hi everyone, this is your invitation to the 66th Annual General Meeting of Roundhay Lawn Tennis Club on the 15th March at 8pm in the clubhouse.

This also serves as a review of the past year.

Agenda

1. Approve minutes from 2017 meeting
2. Presidents report
3. Budget review and accounts
4. Election of committee members
5. Approve proposed subs
6. Election of auditors
7. Any other business

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to the club over the past year. Our committee members are all volunteers and work tirelessly to maintain our club to the standard we’ve come to expect.

You are welcome to ask questions throughout the course of the meeting, however to guarantee a suitable answer, you must submit any questions in writing in advance of the meeting.

Minutes of the 2017 Meeting

These are available on request and a small quantity will be available at the AGM.

Presidents Report

Hello everyone and welcome to another year at our tennis club. As a club we are very much on the front foot and 2017 was a year I will remember for several reasons. After a number of false starts we were all delighted to unveil the new floodlights and I hope you have all enjoyed using them. I for one have noticed better visibility and I’ve even started to take for granted the immediate switching on of the lights without having to wait for them to warm up. We expect our electricity bills to be reduced this year.

 The tennis circus, originally scheduled for June but eventually delivered in September was incredibly popular and everyone who took part had a positive experience. It was fantastic to see former Davis Cup players Danny Sapsford and Luke Milligan passing on their knowledge and immense enthusiasm to our members. We will endeavour to do something similar in 2019. 

I was very privileged to be part of our men’s Leeds League team which won the league in 2017 for the very first time. Back in 2015 we made the decision to really challenge at the top of the ever improving Leeds League so it was a culmination of a project that took us from division 2, via a training block in Spain to league champions. Thanks to Sam Llewellyn for his excellent captaincy and the rest of the team for their commitment and outstanding play. Please see below for an update on how all our teams fared last season.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all the members of the committee for their support over the past year. Val, Usman, Rosie, Stephen, Lauren, Arthur, Camala, Jonathan and Ann all do amazing work for the club and it’s great knowing we’re all pulling in the same direction and a real motivation to know that we are all focussed on creating the best tennis club for our members. My thanks also to the countless volunteers, captains, parents and supporters who all help out at the various events – my regret is that I can’t thank every one of these dedicated members personally but there are so many people who help the club tick over it would be impossible.

Thanks to you, all our members, for your continued support throughout the year. We are in a very strong position at the moment and I hope we can maintain this strength through your enthusiasm and eagerness to support the club and all our endeavours.

Lastly, I’d like to thank Arthur, who is stepping down from his committee position after 40 years service. Simply put, the club probably wouldn’t exist without Arthur’s colossal input over those years. He has been a real inspiration to hundreds, if not thousands of tennis players of all ages over the years including me. The club owes Arthur a debt that is impossible to be repaid. As a committee the most fitting way to thank Arthur for everything he has done for us is to keep the club moving forward and managing it in a sustainable manner. I hope Arthur knows that he’s left the club in safe hands and in good health. I look forward to seeing Arthur continue being part of our community and wish him all the best in his retirement.

Finance

The club has retained its strong financial position. We increased membership fees significantly last year which has contributed to more income from memberships. We also saw increased income from selling used balls, increased match fees, interest and Roundhay Runners. Unfortunately Roundhay Runners have moved to pastures new having outgrown our facility. Our most significant expenditure was again on facilities. The new floodlights, court maintenance, tree surgery, new signage and running repairs to the old floodlighting system all ate into our savings. We did take out an interest free loan of £20,500 from the Yorkshire LTA to cover half the cost of the scheme.

Membership

The full breakdown is as follows:

Full adult: 109 (Previously 128)

Honorary/Complimentary (Previously included as “Full adult”) : 9

Juniors: 118 (Previously 119)

Family:  5 (Previously 5)

Midweek: 15 (Previously 15)

Intermediate: 12 (Previously 3 – some of whom were included as “Full adult”))

Proposed Fees for 2018

Individual Senior: Pre 30th April electronic £145

Individual Senior: Pre 30th April cash/cheque £148

Individual senior: Post 30th April, all payment types £155

Intermediate age, 18-25: £80

Midweek Daytime: £75

Full Family: Pre 30th April electronic £310

Full Family: Pre 30th April cash/cheque £320

Full Family: Post 30th April, all payment types £320

Junior: School Years 12-13 £40

Junior: School Years 7-11 £30

Junior: School Years up to Year 6 £20

Social Membership: £5

We will be trialling a new payment system for this year. You will be able to pay using your debit or credit card. If successful we will use it going forward. PLEASE DO NOT DEPOSIT ANY MEMBERSHIP FEES INTO OUR ACCOUNT – WE ARE NOT ACCEPTING PAYMENTS OF THIS KIND. You will receive an email with full, easy to follow instructions on how to pay. If you do not receive the email, please get in touch with Chris Harper, 07796267505, harperrltc@hotmail.co.uk

We will extremely reluctantly accept cheques from members who have paid this way previously.

Myself and the committee believe that our tennis club should be accessible to everyone in the local community and further afield. If you, or someone you know would like to join but can’t afford to, please get in touch. Your request will be dealt with in the strictest confidence.

Dates for your Diary 2018

15th March – AGM, 8pm

17th March – Annual spring clean, 12pm – 2pm.

27th April – Wimbledon Draw, 8pm

28th April – Annual Charity Tournament, in aid of “Women’s Health Matters”

21st  July – Open Tournament Finals Day/Social Event

9th September – Handicap Tournament Finals Day/Social Event

20th October – Junior Finals Day

3rd November – Curry and quiz night (time to be confirmed)

Coaching and Junior Report

Junior Teams

The Junior teams competed locally in the Leeds League again in 2017. We continue to encourage juniors aged 14+ to start transitioning onto the senior side of the club with a view to gaining experience in senior teams, as well as enjoying social tennis.

Our 3 x junior teams in the Leeds League battled hard again this year, so well done to those players and all their supporters!

Both the U16s and the U12s improved on the previous year with close 2nd places in the age groups – great effort!

Roll of honour: Leeds League

U16s Ali Mohammed, Alex Hill, Andrew Jack, Anna Lingham, Sam Millichamp, James Shoesmith-Evans, Isaac Hodgson-Mullings

Captains: Sarah Potter & Jo Hill

U12A Lucy Bulpitt, Harry Hepworth, James Howling, Seamus Jackson-Brogden, Anna Pisacane, Alex Vaughan-Payne, Dylan Wood

Captain: Paul Brogden

U12B Lewis Stirling, Cameron Brockway, Matthew Holleran, Patrick Fleming, Edward Fraser, Alicia Marshall

A big “thank you!” to all those parents who helped host matches, and provided transport and support at our away fixtures.

Our younger mini-tennis players also enjoy competition, pitting their wits against other local clubs in teams and individual tournaments.

Captain: Katherine Stirling

Roll of Honour – RLTC Junior tournament

Winner/Runner up

U8 boys Eddie Cedeno Wilf Dumphy

U9 boys Toby Lapthorne Daniel Dixon

U10 boys Fergal Jackson-Brogden Edward Fraser

U12 girls Matilda Charlett Marni Peverill

U12 boys Ben Flint Thomas Marles

U14 girls Rosie Robinson Anna Pisacane

U14 boys James Howling Dylan wood

U18 boys Alex Hill Ali Mohammed

Coaching

Jonathan’s coaching programme continues all-year-round, with indoor ‘backup’ facilities at Roundhay High School for our youngest players.

He also conducts invitational ‘area training’ with Alex Thornton, Specialist Junior Coach at Chapel Allerton, giving our best youngsters the opportunity to train regularly with the best juniors in the area, whilst firmly remaining RLTC players.

On our own courts, over 80 juniors take after school coaching, 40 on Saturday mornings, and approximately 12 seniors at various times in the week, with numbers swelling during the summer season.

Please help us introduce new players by spreading the word, particularly about the adult beginner/improver classes on Thursday evenings and junior groups on Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturday mornings.

Group coaching sessions are one of the main ways new seniors & juniors first step on court so tell your friends.

To get involved with coaching, junior tournaments, and teams check the notice boards at the club or contact Jonathan on 07980 556463 or at jonathansaddler@me.com.

By the way do also visit the clubhouse shop for rackets (try before you buy), shoes, accessories and restringing service.

Many thanks to Jonathan who has built and continues to develop his well-respected coaching programme at our club.

Social Tennis

Social tennis continues to be our strength and remains an integral part of tennis at our club. There have been many suggestions as to ways in which social sessions can improve but until now, in the opinion of the committee none of the suggestions improve what we already have. There are concerns regarding some sessions – Wednesday evening in particular suffers from low attendance. Please try whenever possible to support our social tennis and if you have any ideas as to how things can be improved (if they need to be improved?) then please let us know.

Team Tennis

Ladies Teams

Yorkshire League:

Lauren Whitaker’s team were promoted from Division 2 and will take their place in division 1 next season.

Leeds League:

Kathy Horne's ‘A’ team secured a highly creditable 3rd place out of 7 teams in Division 1.

Ann Sedivy’s team, Roundhay ‘B’, unfortunately came bottom of division 1 and will be relegated to division 2.

Catherine Mellor's ‘C’ team came second in division 3 and expect to be promoted to division 2.

‘D’ team run by Bernie Biegnowski and Steph Stockwell finished bottom of division 3.

Thanks to ladies captain Ann Sedivy and all our captains who have done a fantastic job over the last year.

Men’s Teams

Yorkshire League:

Ben Jervis’s 1st team finished a very solid 6th place in division 1.

Nat Wright’s 2nd team finished a creditable 5th place in division 2.

Leeds League

Sam Llewellyn’s ‘A’ team finished the season as champions, our first ever men’s league title.

Ian Green’s ‘B’ team finished 5th in division 4 and expect to be relegated to division 5.

John Ross’s ‘C’ team finished 2nd in division 5 and expect to be promoted to division 4.

Another good season from the men with much to look forward to. My thanks to all the captains.

Mixed Teams, Barkston Ash League

Emily Fearns’ ‘A’ team finished 2nd in the league, agonisingly close to the top spot.

Charlotte Cheesebrough’s ‘B’ team retain their place in division 1 – for the first time ever.

Glen Marsh’s ‘C’ team finished a very impressive 3rd in division 2.

Thanks to everyone who represented the club last season, in particular the captains who work so hard to get teams organised and fixtures arranged.

We will be fielding the following teams this year:

Leeds League, Ladies:

Roundhay ‘A’ – Captained by Kathy Horne

Roundhay ‘B’ – Captained by Ann Sedivy

Roundhay ‘C’ – Captained by Catherine Mellor

Men:

Roundhay ‘A’ – Captained by Isaac Hodgson-Mullings

Roundhay ‘B’ – Captained by Michael Gandy

Roundhay ‘C’ – Captained by John Ross

Yorkshire League, Ladies:

Roundhay – Captained by Lauren Whitaker

Men:

Roundhay ‘A’ – Captained by Josh Collins

Roundhay ‘B’ Captained by Nat Wright

Barkston Ash Mixed:

Roundhay ‘A’ – Captained by Emily Fearns

Roundhay ‘B’ – Captained by Charlotte Cheesebrough

Roundhay ‘C’  - Captained by Glen Marsh

Tournaments in 2017

The tournaments were once again well supported and keenly contested. The winners and runners up were:

Open Men’s Singles:

Sam Llewellyn beat Chris Harper 2-6, 7-5, 6-4

Ladies Open Singles:

Lauren Whitaker beat Kathy Horne 7-5, 6-2

Men’s Open Doubles:

Sam Llewellyn and James Laybourn beat Chris Harper and Ben Jervis 2-6, 6-4, 6-4

Ladies Open Doubles:

Kathy Horne and Val Maycock beat Lauren Whitaker and Emily Fearns 6-3, 6-2

Open Mixed Doubles:

James Laybourn and Lauren Whitaker beat Sam Llewellyn and Emily Fearns 7-5, 4-6, 7-5

Handicap Ladies Singles:

Lucy Laville beat Rosie Nicholl 6-2, 4-6, 6-3

Handicap Men’s Singles:

Sam Llewellyn beat Chris Harper 6-2, 6-0

Handicap Men’s Doubles:

Glen Marsh and Chris Harper beat Jonny Bowers and Kenwyn Paddy 6-3, 8-6

Handicap Ladies Doubles:

Rosie Nicholl and Elaine Abbiss beat Charlotte Cheesebrough and Viva Baillie 6-8, 6-3, 6-2

Handicap Mixed Doubles:

Rosie Nicholl and Isaac Hodgson-Mullings beat Oxana Smith and Sam Llewellyn 6-2, 7-5

Thanks to Lauren Whitaker and everybody who helped organise the tournaments.

Alan Jackson “Member of the Year Award”

Nick Jones was awarded this prestigious award for his long and outstanding service to the club over many years.

Committee Members

There will be significant change on the committee this year. We are having a “Cabinet Reshuffle” as well as welcoming at least one new committee member. If you’d like to be proposed for any committee position please get in touch. The following members are seeking re-election:

Chris Harper – President

Rosie Nicholl – Vice President

Stephen Ball – Vice President

Val Maycock – Treasurer

Jonathan Saddler – Junior representative and grounds

Memberships – Usman Afzal

The following positions will be vacated:

Secretary – Vacated by Camala Marsh. Proposed: Lauren Whitaker

Ladies Captain – Vacated by Ann Sedivy. Proposed: Kathy Horne

Men’s Captain – Vacated by Jonny Bowers. Proposed: STILL TO BE CONFIRMED

Tournaments – Vacated by Lauren Whitaker. Proposed: Ann Sedivy

Social – Vacated by Lauren Whitaker. Proposed: Camala Marsh.

Grounds and Facilities

Jonathan and Sam have worked well throughout the year keeping the courts, grounds and clubhouse in excellent order. Thanks also to everyone who helped at the Spring Clean morning.

Myself and Jonathan spent considerable time investigating solutions to the worn patches on courts 4 and 5, trying to delay a full replacement of these courts and instead extending their lifespan beyond their recommended 12 years. We were able to improve those courts by turning round the carpet on the baselines. We were very pleased with the outcome of this project and we look forward to getting at least a few more years out of them as a result.

Tree surgery was carried out in Spring 2017 and will need to be reviewed regularly going forward.

Having conducted annual maintenance on all 6 courts last year, Jonathan will be doing the deep clean of the lower courts from 2nd April - 7th April as we have now had them for 5 years. Hopefully this will improve the inconsistent bounce problems, particularly prevalent on courts 2 and 3 on the far side. If these persist there may be other options we can explore.

Projects for 2018 include:

Installing a proper windbreak/screen to mask the compost heap area behind the shed.

New storage solution opposite Jonathan's office to house the ball machine and the club archive.

The annual Spring Clean will take place between 12pm and 2pm on 17th March. Your help will be appreciated.

Thanks once again for all your support. We look forward to welcoming you back to the club for the new season.

The Committee of Roundhay Lawn Tennis Club