Whilst storms continue to hit us, tennis continues at Formby Lawn Tennis Club. This marks the first Tennis Talk since the AGM and as such there are some notable changes to notify you of!
 

Committee changes:
Our committee has seen several longstanding members leave us. Of those, Peter Collinson (Chairman/Treasurer) and Paul Brereton (Ground Chairman) have passed on the baton. The new committee is as follows:

• Karl Hughes - Chairman
• Debbie Johnston - Secretary
• Paul Chambers - Treasurer
• Peter Knowles - Ground/House Chairman
• Tim Colocott - Club Captain
• Christian Bryan - Match Secretary
• Gerd Niepel - Membership Secretary
• Susan Johnson
• Margaret Lyons
• Ben Cox
• Mike Hall
• Rick O'Mahony
• David Llewellyn
• Simon Bentzen
• Donald Gordon

Lights:

As you're no doubt aware, there are some on-going issues with the lights. We're currently engaging with a local company to rectify this issue. We expect that they'll be on site in the coming weeks. Our long-term plan is to migrate to LED lighting for the courts. Though, for the moment, we're just in the exploratory stage of this. When we have something concrete, we will feed this information back.

We'd kindly remind members to turn lights off when they've finished playing to both save money and reduce load on the electrics whilst we await the work to be completed.

Court 4:

We had feedback that the dip on court 4 was becoming more of an issue. We've spoken to a few companies with regards to fixing this dip. One of those companies is coming to the club next week to assess the current condition.

Tree Pruning:

We're aware of some issues with the large trees encroaching over the courts. We're arranging for these to be trimmed back. This should help allow more light to get onto the courts and reduce the leaves/branches (especially after heavy winds). Unfortunately, we're struggling to acquire a tree surgeon for the time being, but it is being actively pursued. We also need to acquire planning permission for this work to be undertaken.

Storm Damage:

As the storm left its mark on the local area, we were unfortunately not spared. The windbreaker on court 2 near the footpath caught the wind and has bent the fence posts. The windbreaker has been removed and we're chasing up repairing the fencing.

There was also a bit of damage to the roof which we're working on repairing.

Please be aware, if you're playing on court 2/3 avoid contact with that fence in its weakened state.

Christmas Party:

Due to the changes on the committee, we've not had enough time to organise a Christmas Meal this year. Instead, we'd like to invite members to a Christmas Drinks on Saturday 18th of December at 3PM. The Winter Goblin event is held on the same day which is always a fun watch. We intend to put on some nibbles for those who come down and we'd love to see as many of you as possible!

Winter League:
The winter league continues! Thanks to our sponsors Tower Heating, the winter league continues to run successfully. Always nice to see the members in the bar catching up afterwards whilst Joel tallies up the scores.

Footwear:

A gentle reminder to members to wear appropriate footwear at all times. It's a constant balance to ensure the appropriate amount of sand is down on courts to preserve their lifespan. Some members have found that wearing clay court shoes gives them a greater confidence underfoot which may be worth considering.

LTA Account Changes:

The LTA are working to consolidate their login methods. You should have received an email from them to explain these changes. It is likely to affect your login to our portal for making court bookings so do take the time to look for it.

Town Hall Sessions:

We're looking at introducing Town Hall sessions for the committee and the membership to ensure people are aware of the plans for the club/feedback opinions & suggestions. These are likely to happen every 3 months. More information will be sent out in due course.

Teams Update:

Special mention from our Club Captain to our 4th Team who have been crowned division champions in the Autumn League! Excellent work!

Coaching Update - Including Rusty Racquets/Tennis Express:

First off, we're looking at bolstering our coaching by investing in some Level 1 qualifications for some of our Juniors. They will work alongside Joel to deliver larger sessions.

This includes Rusty Racquet/Tennis Express sessions which we're looking to reintroduce in early 2022. If you're interested in partaking in such events, please contact Joel via Whatsapp on 07768 824393.

Lastly, with the ongoing work going on with club facilities, we are having to engage with a plethora of local tradesmen of varying skillset. If we have anyone with the skills who could help contribute to these works, please do get in touch!

Kind regards,