CHAIRMAN'S NEWSLETTER - NEW YEAR 2017
By Wing Commander (Retired) Roger Lindley
A Happy New Year to you! 2016 proved to be a successful year for the club, particularly in our competitive tennis and the increase in junior membership. Much of this is due to the efforts of our Head Coach James Aburrow, who has been formally recognised as the Runner-Up in the county's Aegon Coach of the Year award. Well done James!
Subscriptions
As we explained at the AGM, our finances are in good shape, and it was agreed that we would make no increases in subscriptions this year. As last year, we are using the LTA's online membership scheme for payments, which is very straightforward, and is also used as the way we communicate with you. So please pay your subscription now, making sure to include all your contact details and names of all those that you are including in your subscription where appropriate. To access and renew your membership via our website:
www.clubspark.lta.org.uk/minchinhamptontennisclub
British Tennis Membership
It's important that all members are signed up for (free) British Tennis membership, linked to the club, and opted in to the Wimbledon ballot.
The more members we have, who are linked and opted in, the more Wimbledon tickets we qualify for. Also, all league players have to be members to enable them to participate. So please ensure you are correctly recorded, and keep a record of your membership number. www.lta.org.uk is the website.
Also, you need to opt in via the website to qualify for the Wimbledon ballot, so please do this as soon as possible (as the lta deadline for this is February).
Club Championships
Please don't miss out on competitive tennis through the summer months just because you know you won't be available on the day of the Club championships. There's nothing wrong with entering and seeing how far you can get, and this offers more tennis for everyone. If you do find yourself playing like a demon in a semi-final, just concede the match at an appropriate stage so that your opponent will qualify to play in the final.
It's always sensible to arrange your matches as early as possible; and leaving matches until after the deadline dates is unfair on others in the competition and creates havoc in the last few days leading up to the finals, so please ensure you stick to the deadlines.
Safeguarding Children
Just a reminder, now that we have over 140 Juniors, that those under the age of 13 cannot be left unsupervised, as we do need to comply with the LTA's safeguarding rules whilst on club premises. However, it is acceptable for parents to designate a specific adult to act in loco parentis, and of course they are being supervised when attending coaching lessons.
Coaching
James has done a brilliant job in attracting new members and improving team players. He's now very much in demand, so don't delay if you want to arrange coaching: james@aburrowtennis.co.uk or 07899 757166.
Court Etiquette
Please be considerate when there is coaching going on, and walk round the back of the court, rather than interrupt the coaching by crossing by the net. And of course, please wait until a rally is finished before crossing a court.
2017 Diary Dates
To ensure that you get the most out of the club throughout 2017, please put the dates below in your diary right away:
31 January Deadline for British Tennis Membership/opting in to the Wimbledon Ballot
January Paid your Subscription ?
1 March Sign up for Wimbledon Draw
3 April Glos LTA Summer Leagues commence
13 May Great British Tennis Weekend (Open Day)
15 May Signed up for Club Championships?
26 June Wimbledon fortnight commences
9 July Wimbledon Finals
31 August Glos LTA Summer Leagues end
1 September Sign up for Winter League
17 September Club Finals Day
11 October AGM and Awards Presentation
There are no social functions yet as the post continues to remain vacant. Let me know if you would like to volunteer, it would be great to have some new input and ideas - it's not too onerous as we all help out.
The Clubhouse
Di Cason does an incredible job to keep the clubhouse clean and tidy. Everyone can help by wielding the Hoover when necessary, putting away the cups, or taking the rubbish down to the bin in the car park when it's full. And if you use the heater, please attach the tag beside the socket to the door lock to ensure it won't be left on all night; this has happened twice already this season.
Don't forget, in order to keep both the clubhouse and courts clean throughout the winter, please:
- Walk around the sports pitches.
- Use the shoe scraper (on the left as you enter).
- Change into your tennis shoes once you arrive at the clubhouse.
Bear in mind that there will be times in winter when we need to turn the water off, so it's best to bring something to drink with you on frosty days. There's a large water container in the fridge if you forget. And please, help yourself to a hot drink and offer any visitors one when it's chilly.
Security
Thankfully, we have experienced no incidents of vandalism in 2016, but if you do have any concerns, even for antisocial behaviour on the Stuart Playing Field, do phone the police non-emergency hotline (101). Also, if someone is injured and needs transport, or disabled access is required, there is a key to the main gate in the Clubhouse in the cupboard containing the First Aid kit. There is also an accident book next to the notice boards in the clubhouse.
Bonus Ball
The Bonus Ball competition has been an excellent fundraiser over the last 15 years, with founder members in particular contributing a significant amount to the club over this time. We are very fortunate to have had Anna McBean and Ann Sherrington work so hard over the years to make this scheme a success. Our heartfelt thanks for all their time and commitment.
However following discussions at the AGM and with the committee, it has been decided that the Bonus Ball will no longer be run from 1 Jan 2017 as it is down to just a few members (with those contributing a disproportionate amount to the funds of the club), so we will be considering other fundraising options for future projects.
We'd like to thank all those contributors and ask that all standing orders are cancelled with immediate effect. We will identify those benefactors who have paid beyond the end of the calendar year and refund the payments made.
Wimbledon ballot
We are very grateful to David Plant for running our ballot for the Wimbledon tickets over the last few years as he has done an excellent job in managing the allocation and distribution of his tickets. David is no longer continuing as a member so is stepping down from this role. If anyone would like to take on this role please let us know, otherwise the committee will deal with the ballot for 2017 (which will be in March/April)
The Committee
I'm pleased to say that the current committee have all agreed to stay on in 2017, but we're still short of a Social Secretary, Juniors representative and Maintenance member, so please consider whether you could take one of these jobs on. We do our best to ensure that the jobs are not too onerous, or leave you out of pocket. It would be very encouraging if some newer members were prepared to help out the current stalwart members.
The composition of the committee is now as follows:
Chairman Roger Lindley
Secretary Becky Putnam
Membership Secretary Cris Fagarasan
Men's Captain Paul Wilkie
Ladies' Captain Alison Winkfield
Fixtures Secretary Sue Watts
Finance member Andrew Roberts
Treasurer Pat Humphery
Head Coach James Aburrow
Social Secretary Vacant
Juniors Representative Vacant
Ex-Officio:
Welfare Officer Clare Gardiner
Clubhouse Member Di Cason
Maintenance member Vacant
Minchinhampton Sports Association Committee:
Roger Lindley (Chairman) & Pat Humphery
I hope that this Newsletter has whetted your appetite for tennis, and provided you with all the information you need to get started in 2017. I look forward to meeting up with you on the courts!