Thanks to everyone who attended Ben's 2024 celebration/awards event on Sunday 2 February - it was a great success and a really fun day for all participants. Ben devised an excellent mini tennis tournament which appealed to all ages of competitors and we were also blessed with some lovely weather.
After the event, Ben looked back over the memorable club performances of 2024, and presented the following awards:
Most improved player - Imogen Hart
Outstanding commitment - Miles Easy
Club Loyalty - Harry Tasker
He also inaugurated the 'Callen' award in recognition of James Callen's hapless experiences on and off the court during 2024 - no prizes for guessing the winner!
As regards the mini tournament, Ben handed out trophies to the winner Jo Ballinger and the runner-up Andy Bishton. In the junior category there were trophies for the winner Ollie Screen and the runner up Harry Tasker.
Ben also provided a resume of club highlights in 2024 and his own personal contribution shone through. Here are just some of the many achievements that he mentioned:
- One additional Mens league team, one additional winter league team, and one new Stroud league entry
- Two new junior league teams (and hopefully this will only increase as time goes on)
- Easter holiday camps resumed - attendances were low but by the time Ben ran Summer holiday camps the bookings totalled over 50
- Club championships were moved forward to July (some valuable lessons learned regarding deadlines and the need to avoid a 'round robin' format)
- 20th anniversary celebration at the club for current and former members
- Tennis display at the Frampton Country Fair to boost interest in the club
- Successful tennis club quiz at the Cadbury Hall
- Excellent Christmas celebrations at The Anchor Inn
Here's hoping that the highlights for 2025 will be just as good - or perhaps even better? For starters, Ben is planning to enrol the club in the national 'Play your way to Wimbledon' scheme to see if some of our members can emulate his own success in getting there in 2024.