Merchiston Tennis & Bowling Club - June 2020

The committee would like to thank all members; tennis, bowling and social, for continuing to support the club during these trying times. Our member numbers have held up well considering we had no play for 10 weeks and leagues and competitions have been postponed or cancelled. We still have no access to changing room and toilet facilities, nor the clubhouse and bar, which are the heart of the club for many.  We hope these will re-open in some form in the not too distant future and are actively preparing for it.

Thankfully from late May/early June, we have been allowed to re-open the courts and the green, albeit with various restrictions in place. It has been great to see happy, smiling faces (and some frustrated ones too!) back taking part in activities they enjoy in the company of friends and family. We’d also like to extend a warm welcome to the new members we have attracted to the club this year.

You’ll be pleased to hear we successfully applied, and were awarded, a grant through the City of Edinburgh Council which will mitigate our income lost through the bar closure. We should now make it through this year in good financial shape.

We have a number of people who rely on the club for an income, such as our tennis coach and bar staff, and feel it is only right for the club to show our appreciation of their loyalty by providing some financial support.  We’d also like to announce the committee has agreed in principle to a discount to next year’s membership subscriptions for this current year’s members. The exact amounts and details are still to be worked out and will be advised later in the year at our AGMs. 

Although we don’t know what the rest of this year will bring, please have confidence that the committee is working hard behind the scenes to ensure the continued strength and success of the club for all its members!

Sharon Murray,
Club Treasurer (on behalf of the General Committee)