The Somerset LTA comprise 5 officers elected at the annual AGM in December each year namely - President, Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and LTA Councillor.  In addition, there can be up to 7 elected members of Council whose role will be agreed on an annual basis.

The Council can also co-opt individuals to act from time to time and/ or attend meetings.  These include an Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity representative, referee/ organiser of the County Championships, the county competitions coordinator, social media representative and parents' representative.  Members of the Regional LTA team are also invited to most meetings.

The Council meets around 5 times a year depending on matters that may need addressing bearing in mind that most of the inter county matches and county cup events are either timetabled by the Competition Team at the LTA or individual age group captains.

The current composition of the Council is:

Nigel Barker - President

Nigel has been a great servant of tennis in Somerset for many years. He served as LTA Councillor for the County for 15 years as well as Chairman before and after his Councillorship. He was elected President in 2017 and provides a much-respected figurehead for the game in the County.

Nigel remains very active in the game playing nationally and internationally for GB teams in his age group as well as for the Army and the County whilst pursuing a very successful individual playing career. 

Andy Fay – Chairman & Interim Treasurer 

Having lived in Jersey for 20 years and got involved with the Channel Islands LTA, when he moved to Somerset in 2005 Andy was keen to continue his involvement with County tennis, both playing and helping to run. Taking over from Nigel Barker in 2015, having previously been Treasurer for a number of years.

He strongly believes in tennis as both a healthy sport but also a great opportunity for social interaction and so increasing both physical and mental wellbeing.

Simon Brand - LTA Councillor

Simon joined the Council in 2017 after retiring from the Royal Navy.  He has always been passionate about the sport as a player, coach and committee member. 

He was chairman of the Royal Navy and Armed Forces TA for a number of years and represented both organisations as well as Somerset as a player. He is an LTA Accredited coach and has specific responsibility for junior county training, partnering, coach development, Padel and communications.

As the Councillor he acts as an LTA ambassador responsible for delivering the vision and supporting the mission to open up tennis nationally. He represents Somerset at Council level and acts as a conduit of information thereby ensuring that the county and the LTA work in harmony.  The responsibilities of the Councillor can be found here.

Michele Philipson - County Administrator

As County Administrator, Michele will be your first point of contact for many of you contacting the County. 

Michele’s first and enduring love has always been tennis. However, she began her working life as a ballet teacher, having trained at the Royal Ballet School. Following a move to Somerset from Hampshire she decided on a career change and trained as a tennis coach.

Having worked as Minehead Tennis Club coach, as Somerset administrator, ten years as manager of Taunton Tennis Centre and coach at Crowcombe Tennis Club, she has come full circle and is administrator for Somerset Tennis once more.

Michele is an LTA accredited coach and continues to enjoy passing on her love of the game at Crowcombe.

Karuna Tharmananthar - Safeguarding Officer

Karuna joined the committee in 2017, he is a retired civil engineer.  He is passionate about tennis and is a member of the Elms Tennis Club in Taunton. His other passion is the environment and a strong campaigner for improving the ecology and the climate. 

Karuna has taken on the role of lead councillor for safeguarding working closely with the LTA and individual clubs to ensure that safeguarding messages are heard 'loudly and clearly' by the clubs and at the same time clubs are provided with the help they need to ensure that tennis gets played in an enjoyable and a safe environment.

Pippa Lawson - County Competitions Coordinator

Pippa is passionate about everyone being involved in sport not only for physical and mental health gain, but also for developing skill sets you will benefit from for life.

Having lived in Singapore for the best part of 20 years, Pippa has coached netball in clubs and schools and was involved in running competitions and touring with teams to Australia and Malaysia.

On returning to the UK in 2023, Pippa has thrown herself into tennis and has qualified as an assistant coach, referee, tournament organiser and is excited to combine all of these skills whilst joining the Somerset LTA team.

John Barrington - County Seniors Representative

John is a retired solicitor as well as being our County Seniors representative so looks after all our men's County teams from Over 40s to over 75's. John is also a level 2 coach and works across several clubs in the County especially at junior level. He is heavily involved with all three of the main leagues in Somerset - North Somerset, West Somerset and Yeovil & District (Chair or Deputy Chair of the last two).

John is a very keen tennis player and has played for the men's County in several age groups, captaining many. He plays his tennis mainly at Trull TC and has helped the County move the sport forward over his long association with the County team.

Neil Driver - Accessibility and Participation Lead

Neil has been actively involved with tennis in Somerset since 1984 in a variety of roles. He played for Somerset at County Week for 10 years, captained the team for 4 years and still enjoys competing for the Somerset Seniors teams. He coached at Millfield School for 25 years and ran County junior squads. Currently he's an LTA Level 4 Accredited Coach, giving lessons at Somerton TC and South Petherton TC.

Having joined the Somerset LTA team in 2020, Neil continues to have a passion for helping players of all ages to enjoy their tennis and to encourage as many people as possible to participate in our wonderful sport. 

Tim Seymour - Junior Development 

Tim moved to Somerset from Surrey in January 2022 following 30 years of coaching in Surrey where he was based across three village clubs, Normandy, Pirbright and Worplesdon.  

He took over as the Head Coach at the Avenue TC in Burnham on Sea in March 2022 and took on the same responsibility at Bridgwater TC in September 2023.  

Additionally, Tim coaches a number of hours a week at Millfield Senior School and is the Lead Coach for the U8 County Squad.  In 2022, he trained to become an LTA Tutor to deliver the Primary and Secondary Teacher Training Courses and in the last 12 months has delivered 4 Primary Teacher Training Courses across Somerset and Avon.  

He joined the Council in 2023 with specific responsibility for all aspects of junior development in the county.

Treasurer - Position Vacant

Please contact Andy Fay.

Secretary - Position Vacant

Please contact Andy Fay.