Dear Members,

I’ve not sent out a newsletter for some time, in fact the end of January, so I thought I should give you an update of what’s been going on at the club.

Recent Events

There have been four events so far this year at the club which have all been very different to each other.

We had the Annual Quiz Night on 24 February.  This was a great night with a very full clubhouse as we managed to squeeze in six tables for the teams.  Thank you to everyone who attended and to those who brought guests along, as well as to Steve Goldman who was the question master and John Boesinger who organised the food.

The Annual General Meeting was held on 18 March. It wasn’t very well attended partly because it coincided with the arrival of the “Mini-Beast from the East” so it was very cold. You should have seen my email to all members that followed the AGM, I hope you actually took the time to read it. More about the consequences below.

The Club Clear-Up was on the morning of Sunday 24 March. Not many people turned up but I must thank those who did. It was a great effort from the small band of people and we managed to give the clubhouse a thorough clean including cleaning and clearing out rubbish from the kitchen and the bar area. The windows are now a lot cleaner too!  The grounds look much better too, including the new picnic table that was assembled to replace the old one that was beginning to fall to bits, the new bushes planted in the laurel hedge along Mayfield Road and cutting back the ivy on court 4.

Finally, the American Tournament and Afternoon Tea that was planned for Sunday 1 April didn’t happen.  It was Easter Sunday and many people were away and, in addition, the weather was not at all good for tennis so I made the decision to abandon the event. It may be rescheduled but a date hasn’t yet been fixed.

Tennis

There are signs that the weather has started to improve and is becoming more spring-like. Let’s hope it continues so we can all get out on the courts more.

Surrey league matches The winter leagues have been completed for both ladies’ and men’s teams.  Thanks to Li and Sandra, the men’s captain and acting ladies’ captain respectively, for organising the matches and the teams.  We are about to embark on the summer leagues, with Sam and Sandra as acting men’s and acting ladies’ captains respectively.  New captains will be announced in the near future.

Tennis Coaching

Adrian is taking the group coaching sessions for adults on Tuesdays starting at 10:15 am, and Saturdays starting at 11:30 am and for Juniors on Saturdays starting at 12:30 pm. With the lighter evenings, junior coaching should start soon on Tuesday evenings.

 Boules

There is a friendly Petanque match against Croydon Petanque Club on Satuday 28 April, starting at 2:00 pm. If you are in the team – Good Luck!! If you’re not, do come along to support the team.

Tennis Balls

Old Balls – We are still recycling old tennis balls. Please put yours in the bench on court 2 to assist us. The club gets £40.00 for every 200 balls we recycle so it’s well worth it and the recycled balls go to good causes and charities. Note, don’t put old, discoloured balls that you find in the hedge in there as they can’t be recycled.

New Balls – I have tubes of new balls for sale – at just £2.50 per tube (of 4 balls). The balls are Wilson US Open suppied by the LTA.

Ex-Match Balls – I've put tennis balls that have been used in league matches in the bench on court 2 (left-hand side). Please feel free to use these for the club sessions and put them back afterwards. Once they are beyond their useful life please put them in the bag on the right-hand side for recycling!

And Finally

I’ll end with a reminder that the club is holding an Extraordinary General Meeting at 8:00 pm on Wednesday 18 April in the clubhouse. You should all have seen my email of a couple of weeks ago. It follows the AGM at which I announced that I would be standing down as chairman at the next AGM and, similarly, Steve Goldman announced that he would be standing down as Treasurer.  Things have happened more quickly than I imagined and Kate Wilson has managed to organise a group of members who have offered to stand for a new committee and are willing to take over now. The purpose of the EGM will be for the current committee members to stand down and the election of a new committee.

This will therefore be, unless there is a major surprise to scupper the plan on Wednesday, my last newsletter as chairman of the club.

Please come along to the EGM on Wednesday to vote for the new committee members.

Mike Tarrier

Chairman, Sutton Highfields Lawn Tennis Club