The 10th Memorial Jim Bailey Tournament.
Jim a great friendly player and much admired tennis coach for many of us in Northamptonshire sadly passed away from Motor Neurone disease 10 years ago. We have been holding a tournament at Oundle Tennis Club in aid of the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA) for the last ten years and together with a couple of Charity Balls have raised £5,000 for MNDA. This year’s tournament was saved by the generous donation of court time at Corby Tennis Centre by Craig Haworth as torrential rain on Sunday threatened a complete washout. 12 players, many of whom had been coached by Jim and still represent Northants, John and Peter Whight, Fiona and James Frost, Claude Badowski and Jakob Bonnett, Philip Bradley and Paul Brown, Mike Fray and Charlotte Gibbons, and Bob Wenman and James Batchelor made a last minute switch from Oundle. This ensured that we could toast Jim with the traditional beer, cakes, and refreshments and to award the tenth anniversary cup to the winners Jakob and Claude. The event was also supported by event stalwarts Kate Whight, Norm Edwards, Phil Raby-Smith, and Richard Poulter. In all £168 was raised for MNDA and ensured Jim’s legacy lives on.