SMALL CLUB’S BIG SUCCESS

Hill & Valley Lawn Tennis Club has double cause for celebration this year – not only will it be marking its 25th anniversary but the club was recently awarded Tennis Clubmark status by the Gloucestershire LTA – something which only 12 of Gloucestershire’s 45 tennis clubs have achieved to date. 

The accreditation recognises that Hill & Valley has achieved excellent standards and that the LTA endorses and supports its management, policies and procedures, tennis programme and development planning.  Members of the committee were on hand to receive the prestigious Clubmarkcertificate and plaque from Joe Morris, the LTA’s Tennis Development Manager for Gloucestershire, Herefordshire & Worcestershire on Wednesday 16 February, and they will be on permanent display inside the pavilion for all to see.  Making the presentation, Joe said:“It gives the LTA great pleasure to present you with the Tennis Clubmark today in acknowledgment of the effort which the committee puts into all aspects of running the club. We are very impressed with the level of commitment and excellence that Hill & Valley has demonstrated”.

Introduced in 2002 by Sport England, Clubmarkis the only national cross-sports quality accreditation scheme for clubs with junior sections. More than 10,000 clubs in around 35 diverse sports are currently Clubmark accredited or ‘working towards' the award. 

Graham Stock, Hill & Valley Club Coachsaid:  “This award means a great deal to our club and we are thrilled to have attained it. We are one of just a dozenGloucestershire clubs to have Tennis Clubmark, including Oxstalls, East Glos., Cirencester, Painswick and others much larger than ourselves.  It is an important step in building a sound foundation and a bright tennis future for the juniors and adults of Chedworth”. 

Clubmark Leader and Club Secretary Fred Shaftoe added: “Members and potential new members can be confident that we have a proper framework in place to manage the club systematically and effectively, which will be helpful in retaining and attracting new members in the future.  Despite being a small club we have high aspirations, and this award also means that Hill & Valley is now eligible to apply for LTA financial support.  This will be important in our aim to develop a third court and for any other improvements planned for the future”.

To this end, several members of the committee then had a meeting with Joe and Gloucestershire LTA’s Facility Project Manager, Donna Bickley, regarding theadditional floodlit court, should the Parish Council agree to lease an additional area of land behind the existing courts.

New members are always very welcome and it is Hill & Valley’spolicy to keep its membership fees affordable for all.

Joe Morris, Gloucestershire LTA’s Tennis Development Manager for
Gloucestershire, Herefordshire & Worcestershire (second from left)
presenting the coveted Tennis Clubmark plaque to (from left)
Fred Shaftoe; Chairman Stephen Scott-Smith and Graham Stock.