The retirement of Colin Stringer at the end of 2024, after 24 years as club coach, marks the end of an era at St Ives Tennis Club. To mark his long service, Colin was presented with a cut glass bowl by club secretary Jane Liddicoat at the annual dinner and awards night at the Harbour Hotel.
Chairman Chris Martin said: "St Ives Tennis Club has lost a part of its furniture with the retirement of Colin Stringer as club coach.
“Most of the current membership won’t know St Ives Tennis Club without Colin being the tennis coach.
“But many won’t know what a great player and attribute Colin has been to the club, sitting on the committee, being a trustee and, to sum it up, being a perfect member for this club. He has always had the club’s best interests at heart.
“We hope to see Colin on court for many years to come enjoying the sport he loves.”
Colin, who first joined the club as a member 40 years ago, has been made a life member and he writes:-
I first joined St Ives Tennis Club in 1984, exactly 100 years after it was founded. It cost me £13, which doesn’t seem much, but it was double the amount paid by current men’s captain Bill Peters as he was still a junior. It was particularly extravagant as I only played once before moving to Penzance!
Sixteen years later, having captained Penzance for three seasons, and won their men’s singles and doubles tournaments, I was invited by St Ives coach Ken Halliday to come and help with his junior groups on Saturday mornings.
Having just qualified as an assistant coach, I accepted the invitation and once more became a member of St Ives, even though the fee had increased to £50.
After three hours on court, Ken thanked me for helping and invited me to take over as club coach as he wanted to retire. A committee meeting was hastily arranged, where I was unanimously accepted, and a fortnight later I was club coach and first team captain.
During the first two years, I increased the junior membership from 40 to 100 and took the men’s first team from Division 1 West to the County Premier League, playing alongside juniors who’d attended my very first group. 
At this time, I also set up the West Cornwall Tennis School, along with Adrian Stonebridge. We were based at Mount’s Bay School and introduced tennis to children from over twenty primary schools.
The club I joined had black tarmac courts surrounded by a rusty fence full of massive holes, through which I lost a dozen balls a week.
One of my duties as coach was to paint the lines with a wooden roller at the start of each season.
The first step towards obtaining the facilities we now enjoy, was to negotiate the purchase of the land with a loan from the LTA. I was invited Ken Halliday, now our chairman, to attend every meeting with solicitors, LTA and head teachers as he believed that “the coach is the most important person at the club.”
Several of my former students are now coaching in such far-flung places as Australia, Leeds - and Hayle, and several others have represented their county, but what am I most proud of?
It must be encouraging a child, diagnosed with dyspraxia, to get back up after every fall, and keep on trying week after week, until eventually achieving a rally of more than 100 shots.
What are my plans for retirement? I hope to be fit enough to continue playing tennis and there are a couple of young players who insist I continue to coach them, but the main plan is to begin work on the sequel to my novel The SAD Detective - of which a few copies are still available!
To order The Sad Detective email colin.stringer1@btinternet.com