Summer is almost here and your local Tennis Club is buzzing! Players have dusted off their rackets, we are welcoming new members and there is much going on right through the summer. Thanks to everyone who came to the Open Day on 21 April - a good time was had by all and much tea and cake was eaten. Thanks again to club members who helped out.

Tennis club members are automatically registered with the Lawn Tennis Association, which gives everyone the chance for tickets for Wimbledon fortnight, which starts at the end of the month.  Not that they are free; finals tickets are scarily expensive and you might wonder if you’d preferred the chance for tickets earlier in the tournament. But members generally welcome the opportunity to get these hard-won prizes. 

David Room will be retiring as Chairman at the end of the year, after 17 years of outstanding service. Please don’t be shy about putting your name in the hat; we are very interested in getting fresh blood onto the committee. On that subject, Henrik Malker did not, in the end, head back to his homeland of Sweden with his wife Shelley, so we are still enjoying his company and work on the committee for the foreseeable future.

Thanks to all members who renewed in April. Not only did they benefit from a reduced fee, they helped simplify the running of this side of the club’s operation. We are very pleased with the way the on-line tennis club systems work. Powered by Club Spark via the LTA, it has simplified our administration enormously.

The ABC League started on Friday 24 May, running through to the end of July. Team captains have been appointed, players selected so Friday nights through the summer will see plenty of action. Play starts at 7pm; please do come down for a social evening at the pavilion on Upper Green.

Peter Burgess