Hi, I hope you are all keeping safe and well. I am writing to all our members to give you an update on the tennis courts. As many of you will be aware the court surface has been upgraded to artificial grass. I can now report that this work is now completed and as soon as the government restrictions are lifted you will be able to resume playing tennis on some of the best courts in the area. I am sure many of you will have walked past the courts on your daily exercise, but if you have not been able to get out of your home then you can see pictures of the courts on our new Website at Alsager Tennis Club or on our Facebook page (Alsager Lawn Tennis Club). I would encourage all our members to use these resources to check on the latest status at the club.
In these difficult times for the club there has, however, been one recent piece of good news. As part of the government support for small businesses and clubs, the government has awarded us £10,000 under the Small Business Rate Relief Fund. This unexpected windfall has enabled us to pay for the new courts from current funds without having to take out a loan. In addition the LTA has indicated they would approve our application for a loan for floodlights for all 4 courts. We would hope to go ahead with this work in November although as per the vote at our recent extraordinary AGM we will not go ahead with this without full approval from an AGM to be held as soon as conditions allow. In the meanwhile your committee will continue to look for further grants and donations to help with the cost of floodlights.
We'd like to thank those who have paid subs already and encourage other members to pay by early May. We would like to re-assure all members we will be offering a discounted rate on next years subs (subject to AGM approval) based on how many months we lose this year due to restrictions. As we have paid for the courts using our sinking fund the club does require our financial support at these unprecedented times.
On a sad note it is with great regret that I have to inform you of the death of one our oldest members, Marion Jordan. She was a very determined and competitive player and even won the Ladies singles title one year. She carried on playing and enjoying her tennis up to a few years ago and finally stopped playing at the the age of 87. After her playing day’s were over we made her a life member of the club. RIP Marion.
Finally I would like to personally thank all the Committee members for their efforts in organising the planning and finance for our fantastic new facilities. Keep safe and well and hopefully we will be all playing again soon.
Dave Parkinson
Chairman