HILL & VALLEY IS NUMBER
ONE!
Chedworth's Hill & Valley Lawn Tennis Club has just been
voted Club of the Year for 2004 by the Gloucestershire Lawn Tennis
Association - the first small, two-court village club to win the
award. Announcing the accolade at the Gloucestershire LTA's AGM
last week, Christine Rivers, County Development Officer, attributed
the club's success to its achievements on several fronts and said
it was a good example of what can be accomplished by a two-court
club.
Runner-up for the title for the past two years, Hill & Valley
has increased its membership by 20% since 2002 and has considerably
upgraded facilities. A new pavilion was erected in 2000, new netting
in 2001, both courts were resurfaced and the first set of floodlights
were installed in 2003 and the second set will be added before
the 2005 season commences. John Robson, Club Coach, and tennis
assistant Carol Bailey have greatly encouraged participation by
juniors and mini-tennis players (5-10 year olds) with 40-50 youngsters
now regularly involved throughout the year. As a result the club
has been awarded mini-tennis status by the Lawn Tennis Association
and juniors now regularly take part in District and County events.
Success was in the air throughout the season with the men's team
finishing top of their division undefeated in all ten matches.
The under-11 mini-tennis boys' team (Hill & Valley Hawks)
also won all their matches and topped the National Junior Club
League in their first season!
Stephen Scott-Smith, Chairman of Hill & Valley LTC said:
"This award is a tribute to the vision and hard work of the
club's committee members. We recognised several years ago that
the club would not prosper without its own coaching resources
and youth development programme. Our coach John Robson's work
in this area has been outstanding as evidenced by the increase
in youth (and adult) members and the achievement of the youngsters
in local and county competitions. We are not a large club but
we have invested significant sums over the past five years in
improving our facilities. We thank Gloucestershire LTA for this
award and for their support".
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