A message from our Chair

AGM: Hold the Date: Monday 16th October - the club AGM will be held on the 16th October, further details to follow.

I am delighted to announce that the Lease has been completed and we are now the proud owner of a new 25-year Lease of the Tennis Club, the lease will run up to 6th June 2048.

Dear Members

 The Committee is absolutely delighted to announce that after (very) lengthy negotiation, we have now completed the new lease for our Tennis Club, securing our future over the grounds for another 25 years until 6th June 2048. The lease has been negotiated under favourable terms, which sees minimal rent of only £250 being paid per annum for the foreseeable future. This is a great deal for the club and with a new lease secured, we can push on with other matters in knowledge we have security of tenure.

 I would like to thank all of those that have been involved in this important matter, from those who helped kick start it off many years ago (Gordon Bettis) to those that have taken the matter on and finished things off (Jo Alden).

Please join Myself and the Committee where we will all raise a glass to celebrate this good news on Sunday 17th September 2023 Club Champs Finals Day at the Clubhouse. 

Car Park/ Security

You will all notice that the entrance and exit to our club carpark has been upgrade with wider access. The HACRO team have recently installed some parking markers.  Please would you all park within the marked bays, where and when possible.  Our thanks to Matt Cannon and his team for giving our entrance to our club a new look.   As well as the HACRO team for laying the markers and tidying up the space.

We will be looking at upgrading the security at the club with additional fencing installed down by the mini-Court and entrance gate will be locked with combination lock – this code will be provided to all members.  Any members who wish to understand these plans please contact a member of the Committee.

NB: If you are the last to leave the club please will you make sure the club house is locked and secure.

Landscaping around the Club House

A very big thank you to the HACRO team for their hard work to improve the landscaping underneath and around the oak picnic table outside the Club House.  This should reduce the amount of mud that’s walked onto the courts as well as looking much, much nicer.

Social Tennis 

Open to all members -  and is primarily doubles.  You're welcome to join any session on or after its start time. 

This is the main tennis activity offered by the club and gives all members an opportunity to play tennis and socialise with each other.  There's no need to book just turn up and join in.

Matches should be restricted to the first to five games if there are other members waiting – further details are on the website.

Social Tennis Sessions are:

• Saturdays:  from 1:00pm (open to all)
• Sundays 11:15 to 1pm (for non-team level players)
• Wednesdays: from 5:30pm to 7:00pm (open to all, floodlit when needed)
• Fridays: 10.00am to 12:30pm (open to all)

Sunday Tennis

A reminder to ALL members - The early morning men’s and women’s sessions is open to all team players.  Men/Ladies Team Captains will ensure eligible members are invited. 

The Sunday social sessions which start at 11.15am will be open to all non-team players.   We understand that some less experienced players may well prefer to play with people at a similar level so we would ask all players to adjust their play as required to ensure that social tennis is a fun enjoyable experience for everyone.

Club Champs

The club champs are now in full swing.  If you haven’t seen them already, you can check out the draws Here.  Make a note of the guideline dates for each round, and if you’re due to play and need contacts details, please let Andy Ferguson or Ali Lyons know.

Accident Reporting: Important Requirements 

A quick reminder to all members that any accidents requiring first aid need to be formally reported i.e., you need to fill in the accident book kept with the first aid kit (this is a legal requirement for the club). This needs to take account of GDPR regulations governing personal data confidentiality so we have provided a stack of envelopes for members. Each completed form needs to be sealed in an envelope, addressed to Kay Gobby (head of safeguarding) and posted in the club letterbox outside the club house. Once this has been done members should then email Kay on safeguarding@bftc.club to let her know a form is waiting for her.

Court Booking: for Members / Non-Members & Visitors

Please note that matches have priority on all courts followed by social and coaching sessions. 

Members can book free of charge- you must be registered and log in to the website or app first. 

Non-members can book online at a cost of £10 per hour on courts 4 & 5 only.  This is not intended for regular court use or for club socials. Rackets and balls are not provided. The mini court for toddlers can be used FOC. 

Visitors are welcome to accompany a member for a fee (there is a Visitors book in the clubhouse which, for H&S requirements should be completed by the Member who has brought along a visitor).  Members are responsible for signing the book and making the Visitors payments by bank transfer. Adults £ 2.00/ Juniors £ 1. The same visitor to the club can play for MAX 4 times per year 

Payments can be made electronically to the Club's Account – details are on the website under court bookings. Please ensure that the member's name is used as the payment reference.

Coaching Update

The LTA Youth league matches are nearly completed and have been a huge success with the teams winning the majority of the matches. 

There will be a Junior Club Championship where the finals will be held on 9th September. The entry deadline is 22 July. The format and rules will be going out this week,. Please contact Phil for any further information.

Junior coaching has now finished on Saturday mornings although we will continue with Summer camps. Please see the website for further Information on the Summer camps

• Rusty rackets are continuing on Monday’s from 1-2pm 
• Tuesday evenings drills is a weekly basis from 7-8.30pm 
• Toddler tennis has started from 4-5pm on Tuesdays 
• Tuesday 5-6:30 from September will start a “Captains” course for Junior players from Saturday sessions playing the club matches and looking to improve further 
• Wednesday intermediates are continuing from 10-11.30am
• Wednesday evening B team practice are weekly basis from 7-8.30pm 

Contact Phil phil@everyball.net for any individual lessons – Phil is available Monday-Wednesday.

Court Surface 

Firstly, many thanks to all of you who responded to the survey on court resurfacing. It’s essential that we get member feedback on all manner of club matters, and your comments on this subject have been much appreciated. The main feedback that came out of the survey was

• Large part of the membership doesn’t want to pay £ 280 per member need to replace courts immediately.
• 80 % of the membership voted to keep tarmac surface.

We have therefore done some minor repairs and repainted courts 4 & 5 as a short-term solution, which I’m sure you will all agree look great and will be a big advantage for our club champs coming up in September.

I would very much encourage the members to read the full report from Kevin which has a lot of discussion and information which you may find interesting Club News this month contains exciting news on our Lease , information on the growing and successful Junior program , news abouts our improved facilities which include the Car park and the area outside the clubhouse . There is a summary of the courts survey , further information on this can be found in an additional document on the website .