Presidents Welcome 2026-27

Hello once more my fine tennis friends and welcome to the new season! Congratulations on making it through the longest, grimmest months of the year. Not that it’s felt endless or grim judging by the level of tennis activity already going on. It has been great to see so many of you playing recently. Spring is in the air and with the 2026-27 tennis season fast approaching, a reminder that Membership Fees are due to be paid by 1st April.

 

We have a range of membership packages to suit all ages, abilities & availability. We would encourage as many of you to enjoy the benefits of a full membership, allowing access to evening coaching, regular weekend mixed social tennis sessions, interclub social tennis events, our own internal club tournaments and of the course the club championships. The restricted Associate membership remains an excellent 5-day offer, allowing access to all facilities on weekdays- Monday to Friday up till 4pm. For younger members we have Under 25, Under 18 & Under 11 Memberships, in addition to Family Membership packages.

 

Please see the website for membership categories and how to join and a reminder email will also be issued with joining instructions.

 

The Committee secured agreement at the AGM to increase annual membership fees for the new season by 4% across all categories (rounded to the nearest pound). Equating to £5 per week for a full Senior Membership/ £3 per week for an Associate Membership, the new subscriptions still represent excellent value for money.

 

 

Appeal

This year we are asking you to please consider making an additional voluntary contribution on top of the annual subscription. This will directly contribute towards our mounting court maintenance costs. The amount could be £10, £20, £30 or any other amount you might be able to afford. Your support will be greatly appreciated and help sustain our wonderful club & facilities.

 

 

Membership Secretary

We urgently require a volunteer to step forward and take on this role for the club. Everything is set up digitally and you would be shown how the system works. The main time commitment is during March & April, around the time of annual membership renewals. Responsibilities would include:

• Maintaining accurate and up-to-date records of members
• Processing new memberships/ renewals/ cancellations
• Managing the membership database
• Preparing and handing out access cards & shoe tags

This is an important role for the club and we hope that a helpful member will come forward. If you are able to help then please contact Julie McAleese, Club Secretary at: secretary@troontennis.org.uk

 

Thank you in advance!

 

 

Adult League Tennis

Last year was one of the most successful seasons ever- well done Team Troon! As usual, we will be entering a number of teams in this year's Ayrshire Doubles Leagues: Ladies, Gents, Mixed knockout & Seniors teams. All we need now are the players! Please consider this a call to arms. If you would like to participate & represent the Club, then please add your name to the list on the clubhouse noticeboard. We would encourage all potential team players to come out of hibernation and begin limbering up for the new league season which commences in mid-Apri

 

 

Match Team Practice Sessions

Ahead of the new season we will be running weekly coach led match team practice sessions FREE OF CHARGE! Ladies Team Practice sessions will begin on Wednesday 4th March/ Gents Team Practice sessions will begin on Thursday 5th March, running weekly 7pm -8.30pm for 6 weeks. No need to pre-book…just turn up!

 

 

Junior Section

Our Junior Section continues to thrive, with our LTA Level 3+ Accredited Coach Brian Knox leading a comprehensive Junior Programme. Last season was also one of the most successful for our juniors, who achieved great things in local, Ayrshire & West of Scotland Leagues.

 

Friday afternoon & Saturday morning coaching sessions cater for around 90 youngsters each week, covering all age groups, with further specific afterschool sessions on Tuesdays by invitation. Opportunities to participate in fun & competitive junior tennis events will also be offered. This year we plan to run LTA Approved Junior Team Challenge Events around the French Open & US Open Championships and we will run a “Play Your Way to Wimbledon” singles tournament for Boys & Girls in April. More information will be issued to parents regarding each of these events nearer the time.

 

Remember to check the website for full details of our ongoing weekly coaching offering. This will be updated throughout the season. A huge thank you to our Coaching Assistants Kerr Johnson & James

Low for their support every week. If any parent would be interested in helping or supporting the junior classes in any way, then please don’t hesitate to come forward.

 

 

Court Maintenance

We need to look after our wonderful facilities. We have now established a professional court maintenance programme involving moss pre-treatments & court deep clean twice a year. This will help maximise lifespan but we still anticipate having to replace the court surface on the front courts sometime soon…at considerable expense!

 

Our Maintenance specialists have just undertaken a thorough inspection of all courts and will be submitting a comprehensive Condition Report with recommendations & timescales for routine maintenance, special maintenance & ultimate court surface replacement. This will help the committee plan for the most appropriate way forward.

 

 

We all have a part to play

Please make it a habit to brush the courts after play. Every time. No exceptions. This will help to redistribute the sand around the courts and extend life expectancy of the carpet. We have ordered more drag brushes so that we have a set on both the front & rear courts.

 

Please make it a habit to use the rear courts more often…particularly court 6. Regular play helps disturb the sand and prevent it congealing. Congealed sand holds moisture which attracts dirt & promotes moss growth, all of which clogs up the carpet, preventing proper drainage leading to standing water. This has been a noticeable problem on the rear courts. We are in the process of arranging a new side gate to provide convenient access onto court 6. We will also widen the gate access onto court 4 to allow larger & better sit-on maintenance equipment to access the rear courts.

 

 

Sinking Fund

Our club offers a top-class facility, however, maintaining 6 courts, 3 sets of floodlights and a clubhouse is expensive. As outlined at the AGM our current focus is to ensure we can cover the cost of front court replacement which may be necessary in the near future. We have now set up a sinking fund at the bank, ring fenced to cover ongoing court maintenance and refurbishment plans on a 5-10 year rolling basis. By the end of this season, with another concerted effort of financial management & fundraising, we should have sufficient funds to meet the cost of front court replacement, but any measures to extend the life of these courts and delay replacement will be considered.

 

To help boost our cash reserves, we will focus on a number of initiatives:

• Drive on fund raising and your support will be greatly appreciated!
• Drive to host more tennis tournaments, which can secure considerable venue hire fees.
• Drive to boost membership through an active presence on social media.

 

Fund Raising

Over the coming months we will be running a series of fundraising events similar to last year’s programme. Look out for notification emails and check out the Events page on the website for more information. We have already held a quiz night fundraiser this year. Thanks to all those who attended and a huge thank you to Lyndsay Christie & Murray Wilson for hosting the evening. Future

events will include some family fun activities and a sponsored challenge. We hope to count on the full support of all members.

 

If you would be interested in helping with any of this, please get in touch via info@troontennis.org.uk

 

 

Open Day Sun 26th April

Our next planned event will be the Open Day to be held on Sunday 26th April. All in the community are invited to come and see what we have to offer. Our coaching team will be on hand and we would encourage all members to support the event- a great opportunity to meet new people, make our guests feel welcome and play with potential new members. Catering & refreshments will be provided all day, along with an afternoon BBQ, raffle & other fun fundraising activities. Last year was well attended, attracted some new members and raised some funds for the club. Donations of home baking would be appreciated and if you would be able to attend and help out, even just for an hour or so, your support would be much appreciated.

 

 

Some Dates for your diary

Sat 25th April: “Play Your Way to Wimbledon” U14 Boys & Girls Singles (internal club tournament).

Sun 10th May: Troon v Titwood Invitational Challenge at home. 12.30pm start.

Sun 17th or 24th May: McDonald Cup Mixed Doubles 2pm. TBC.

Sat 13th June: Troon to host an LTA County Cup Event.

Sat 20th June: McDonald Cup Ladies & Gents Doubles 2pm.

Sun 21st June: Troon to host “Play Your Way to Wimbledon” 18U Doubles Area Finals.

Sun 9th to Sat 15th August: Troon to host a Tennis Scotland Open Tournament.

Sun 23rd August: Margaret MacGregor Memorial Cup 2pm.

Sat 12th Sep: Club Championship Finals Day including Consolation Finals & Junior Finals.

 

 

Community Outreach

Our coaching Team have been giving tennis lessons in every Primary School in the Marr cluster and this will culminate with a Junior Tennis Festival, to be held in the spring. Details to be advised.

 

Our coaching Team will also be attending the local Care Homes on the last Friday of each month, giving tennis workouts to groups of enthusiastic senior citizens. Feedback from last year has been excellent. A huge thank you to David Chalmers for helping with this initiative.

 

 

Lobster Elite Ball Launcher

A reminder that the “lobster” ball launcher is fully operational. The “lobster” is available for hire @ £5 per hour. It’s brilliant! When booking your court time, please remember to book the ball machine at the same time (as if booking “court 7”) and make a payment to the club bank account in the usual way. 

 

 

Volunteers

Our Club is run entirely by volunteers and I cannot thank everyone enough for their help & support. The Committee works tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure the smooth running of the club, and I sincerely appreciate everything they do. If you would be interested in joining the Committee (no experience necessary!) you would be most welcome. We are always looking for fresh legs!

 

 

Thank You

To parents & junior volunteers who help out with the junior sessions, to all those who donate raffle prizes for our fundraisers, to those attending our fundraising events, everyone who helps out around the clubhouse and to others who help out in so many ways- you know who you are, and your contributions do not go unnoticed. Thank you so much and let’s keep it all going to ensure the continued success of our wonderful Club.   

 

Thank you for your attention and I look forward to seeing you on court soon for another successful year of tennis.

 

Bruce Baird

Club President, Troon LTC