Spring is finally here! The weather may be a bit variable but the clocks have now gone forward, the days are lengthening and floodlights (court play order and tokens) will soon be distant memories – hurray!

Social Events

We thought it was time to focus a little on recent and upcoming social events. The social team (Tim Baldwin, Kevin Wilks, Rebecca Rose and Jax Brabazon) work to put together a varied schedule of events through the year (day trips out, club BBQ, local walks). The current list and their contact details are available on the website HERE. They are always open to new ideas so do get in touch if you would like to see something scheduled. Here’s Kevin’s report on the day at the races from last month:

Kempton Park Races

An 18 strong contingent from the club visited Kempton Park racecourse at the end of last month for the latest club social event. We were blessed with marvellous spring sunshine throughout the day, and took a hired minibus there and back from the club (with singing ringing out on the return leg!). Noticeable stand out performers in different categories were firstly Jamie Daden in taking the highest winnings of the day. Next was ‘Sky bet boy’ Baldwin in his Caribbean blue shirt, favouring his phone betting app rather than the Tote, but failing miserably nevertheless! On her first trip to the races, Ange had classic beginners’ luck with a few winning bets, making her eligible to choose one of the last horses to run, in the combined group ‘accumulator’ bet. Another race going newbie, Stoney, looked a beaten man after 3 or 4 failed races, but a few Guinnesses kept the smile on his face. Dave Seddon displayed the touch of a miser with his 50p each way bets, halting the betting after only the second race when he had managed to win about £35! The day ended with some members continuing with a drink in the Bell public house, and the hardcore concluding with a curry afterwards. A great time was had by all and we’re sure this event could be repeated in the not-too-distant future.

 

Ukraine Fundraising

We imagine many of our members have been directly or indirectly affected by the recent events in Ukraine and have been involved individually or collectively in doing what they can to help. A group of our members recently held a support for Ukraine social. 

As a Committee, we wanted to put our support behind fundraising activities. We have decided to focus our fundraising on the American Tournament Easter Monday 18th April 11-1:

Entry Fee: The £2 entry fee for the tournament will be donated to fundraising.

Tombola: We will run a tombola during the tournament. All prizes have been donated by Committee members. The list of prizes is below. Please come along and buy a ticket if you are taking part in the tournament or have five minutes to spare to drop in. This will be an instant win so you can take your prize home with you!

Tombola Prizes: 1 Coaching Session (Craig), 6 x 1 bottle of Prosecco, 2 x 1 bottles of gin, bouquet of flowers, mini hamper, assorted chocolate (well it is Easter)

Donations: We will have a donation bucket available on the day so if you just want to donate however much you can that will be very welcome.

Tennis Activities Planned

We have a full programme of social tennis events planned for the coming season. The full list is available HERE.

Upcoming highlights include an American Tournament on Easter Monday (18th April) from 11 - 1. There’s no need to book for this – just come along and join in! The tournament is played as mixed doubles with partners changing every mini-match. It’s a great way to meet people if you are new to the club – for existing members it provides the chance to catch up with friends as well as the chance to hit a ball with a different group of people from usual.

A new tournament for this year is The Dot Burgin Cup which is dedicated to founding member Dot. The paragraph below is part of a fuller tribute to Dot which can be read on the Website HERE

Dot loved her tennis and was a founder member of the Bovingdon & Flaunden Tennis Club which opened in 1979.  Dot had raised £1000 by organising fundraising events in Flaunden and, with a grant from Bovingdon Parish Council, the first two courts were built on Sports Association land in Green Lane.  We needed to form a tennis club with access available to the public, so we held a meeting in Bovingdon Memorial Hall which was very well attended.  Later a garden shed was donated and Dot arranged for it to be transported by her sons who brought it over from Belsize.  Dot’s love of sport, which included winning the Flaunden pancake race for many years and bowling, continued until recently when she was still playing a good game of tennis. 

The tournament will be held on Early May Bank Holiday (2nd May).

Current plans are to have a fun social competition running from 11 -1 with a BBQ finish. If you can spare any time to get involved and help with the organization of this, please contact Steve HERE

External Matches: Results and Fixtures

This is how we finished the season in the Aylesbury & District Winter League:

 Men A – Captained by Gordon Bettis - Ended the season top of the Division 8

Men B - Captained by Tim Baldwin - Ended the season 3rd in Division 7

 Women A – Captained by Jill Cohen - Ended the season top of Division 7

Women B – Captained by Ali Lyons - Ended the season top of Division 8

 Mixed A – Captained by Angela Morgans - Ended the season top of Division 5

Mixed B – Captained by Maureen Grant- Ended the season in second place in Division 6

Mixed C – Captained by David Seddon & Ali Lyons - Ended the season in 5th place in Division 7

 This was the Club’s first season of competitive league tennis since the start of the Pandemic and provided a much-missed opportunity to test out our skills against other local clubs.   The Winter League is always a challenge given the weather conditions, a big thanks to all Captains and Players, some of whom made themselves available at very short notice.

 We are now straight into the Summer schedule with the Watford & District Tennis League starting again on the 19th April.  We have two Mixed, two Men and two Women’s teams playing during the week and Herts Hot Rackets taking place at the weekend – if you would like to take part, please get in contact with Ali Lyons HERE or the various Captains listed below:

 Summer Captains are as follows:

 Men A – Andrew Stutley

Men B – Tim Baldwin

Ladies A – Jill Cohen

Ladies B – Ali Lyons

Mix A – Angela Morgans

Mix B – Maria Mills

 Hot Rackets

 Ladies A – Maureen Grant

Ladies B – Ann Mudd

Men – Phil Wood

Safeguarding

Just a reminder ahead of a busy season of tennis to check out our safeguarding page on the website HERE

If you have any queries or concerns about the safeguarding of children, young people and /or adults at risk, please contact Kay Gobby HERE

Used Tennis Balls

As a club we try to ensure we find a good home for as many of our used tennis balls as possible. One example is that we donate to local schools. The children at Dagnall C of E School were excited to receive the balls from the club for their playtimes. They love to practice their tennis and some of the children made this card below to say thank you. 

If you know of any other ‘good homes’ for used tennis balls then please let one of the Committee know

New Members and returning members

Welcome to all our new members who joined the club in the last month. Welcome back to everyone who has renewed membership. We look forward to seeing you on court and at social events!

Queen’s Platinum Jubilee: Thursday 2nd June 11am – 10pm

As a Club we also like to support social events in the village. This June, Bovingdon Parish Council is organising a celebration of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee on Bovingdon Green. There are plans afoot for a Classic Car Show and Jubilee Beacon Lighting as well as plenty of children’s entertainment and the usual cakes and hog roast / pizzas etc.

This event depends on volunteers so if you have a couple of hours spare to help, please get in touch with any of the Club Committee.

Calendar

Easter Monday 18th April 11 - 1: Easter American Tournament and Ukraine Fundraising Tombola

Sunday 24th April: Walk in the Chilterns

Monday 2nd May: Dot Burgin Inaugural Tournament

Tuesday 31st May: Box League Round Finish

Thursday 2nd June: Queen’s Platinum Jubilee  

Saturday 11th June: Club Summer BBQ

Sunday 18th:  September: CLUB CHAMPS FINALS Day