The Hill and Valley Lawn Tennis Club
Chedworth

NEWSLETTER 2010

Dear Member

CHAIRMAN'S CORNER

The club remains strong and active. We have a flourishing programme of coaching for juniors and adults and membership has increased by 17% to 192 this year, despite these difficult economic times. The icing on the cake was award of runner-up for the Gloucestershire LTA Club of the Year Award, only narrowly missing first place.

One of this year’s highlights was the increase in numbers from 100 to 108 for The Coln Valley Tournament. This combined with a much overdue increase in entry fees meant that we raised significant funds for both the club and the valley churches. We were pleased to introduce the new mixed doubles Hill and Valley Club Challenge which was played for the first time in October and was a great success.  Our thanks to all who got this tournament off the ground so well.

We are constantly asked about progress on two additional courts for the club. We are led to believe that the affordable housing project will soon move towards the planning stage and we are hoping that this will then allow the Parish Council to make a decision on a suitable site for us, but otherwise there is little to report.

We are making good progress towards becoming a limited company. All the paperwork has now been completed and we expect everything to be finalised during the Summer.

We have a number of changes to the committee this year. After many years of sterling work, Julie Young has decided to step down and she will be replaced as Treasurer by Neil Kenning. We also have a new Men’s Captain in Graham Stock, who will take this on in addition to taking over responsibility for Coaching from John Robson. John has settled for a much earned rest after so many successful years. He will be staying on the committee but will be concentrating much of his time in the next year on the affordable housing project. Many thanks to Neil Irving for leading the men’s team so well over several years. Our thanks to Jackie Gumpert, who is not on the committee, but continues to do such a wonderful job making sure all the booking forms are in place. The detailed work previously done by Julie Young on the tournament administration will now be handled by Meryl King. We are sure she will be up to the exacting standards set by Julie!

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Subscriptions for 2010 are now due.   For prompt payment, a discount is available up to the end of March.   Please fill in the membership form and return it to Fred Shaftoe as soon as possible.  Also please advise Fred Shaftoe of any prospective members who would like a copy of the Newsletter.

 The rates approved at the AGM (inclusive of LTA affiliation fees) are as follows:

TEMPORARY MEMBERSHIP

Temporary membership is available on a weekly basis at £6 per adult; £3 per youth/junior.   Contact Fred Shaftoe on 720074.

FLOODLIGHTS

Tokens cost £4.00 for 1 hour's play, and are available from

Chrissie Kenning  - 720086 
Fred Shaftoe        - 720074
John Robson        - 720657
Neil Irving            - 720403
Ian Taylor            - 720660

COURTS
Keys to the courts and the pavilion are available from Fred Shaftoe (720074).  A deposit of £5 per key is required.  Courts may be booked 8 days ahead. Matches are generally played in the evenings and they take priority over other bookings. 

Please note that to prevent damage to the surface, sports shoes with light soles should be worn when playing.

We are arranging a maintenance work party over the weekend 6th and 7th March. If you can help Ian Taylor would be pleased to hear from you (720660).

CLUB TENNIS

Club tennis is on Wednesdays, normally starting at 6.00pm. The summer sessions will start in earnest on Wednesday 5th May.

Club night is free and it’s a great way to meet new players and improve your mixed doubles tennis, so do come along. Players rotate partners and decide among themselves the number of games they play depending on whether others are waiting; usually playing 5 or 7 games at a time.  Committee members make an effort to be there, but cannot always guarantee it.  We continue throughout the winter months, though we usually start later at around 6.45pm to ensure that we have enough stalwarts for a game!

 The Men’s evening, again on a Monday, will also continue to run all year round and normally starts at 6pm. For details contact Neil Irving  (720403).

E-MAIL
It would be helpful for the committee to be able to contact members by e-mail. It would also save time and postage costs.   Please fill in your e-mail address on the application form.

AGM
This event was well attended last year and followed by supper at the Seven Tuns.  As we have changed the company and subscription year to the calendar year as part of our move towards limited company status the AGM will take place early next year. More details will be provided later.

Men’s Team
The Men’s team had a good season in 2009 finishing 3rd in Division 4B and had the added pleasure of being the only team to take 2 rubbers off Oxstalls. This was the last year that Neil Irving captained the team and he would like to say thank you to all who participated and helped during his time of captaincy.

Graham Stock is the new captain and is looking forward to a successful year especially as newer younger players are expected to be available during the season. If you are interested in playing for the club in the League or in other competitive matches and haven’t already made yourself known to him please contact Graham on 01451 860903.

Mixed Team
A new development in 2009 was entering teams for the first time into both the Wilson Gloucestershire Winter Tennis League (mixed doubles) and the ladies Winter Floodlit League (played at East Glos.), which has enabled team players to keep playing competitively through the winter and for players new to matches to gain some valuable experience for the future. We intend to continue playing in the winter leagues. Alison Stock is captaining the mixed doubles team and Claire Watson the Ladies Doubles team if you would like further information.  

Junior Teams
Last year we entered an U14 boys’ team in the National Club Junior League. Our team was in Division one against some of the best in Gloucestershire. Everyone played incredibly well against boys who were 1 or 2 years older but the experience that was gained by the 12 year old boys will put them in good stead for this year. We hope to have one or two teams from the club in this year’s league. It would be great if we could have a girls’ team representing the club in one of the divisions too.

WEBSITE
If you are interested in following the progress of the summer league matches follow the link to the Gloucestershire LTA results page.

COACHING.

Junior Coaching
Junior coaching for members starts again on Monday 1st March and will continue during school term time. The first session will run for five weeks until the school Easter holiday which starts on 2nd April. During this time we may re-assess players ready for the Summer term which then starts Monday 19th April in two blocks of six weeks. Coaching will be carried out by Philippa and Graham with the assistance of Carole, Chrissie, Dan and Sandra on the following days.

If you are unsure which group to attend then please give Graham a ring. In the meantime for those who are at senior school (teenagers) we will run coaching sessions on Tuesday afternoons for boys (12 – 17 years) 5 – 6pm and Saturday afternoons from 5pm to 6pm for the girls (12 – 17 years). We will from time to time have adults playing to give you the experience of playing with members of the club.

It’s now time for you to register for lessons. Please call Graham Stock on 01451 860903 / 07710 868206 (e-mail grahamstock@aol.com) if you require further information.

We managed to increase the number of juniors attending coaching sessions to between 70-80 juniors each week in early summer. This year we would like to maintain this or increase these already high numbers without impinging on club sessions and open play.

Adult Coaching
Adult coaching for members will continue throughout 2010 with Hillary Swan coaching on Tuesdays 9:00 – 10:30, Thursdays 9:00 – 10:30 and Fridays 9:30 – 11:00am. Graham Stock will continue the Monday morning 9:30 – 11:00 sessions using a mixture of coaching and playing games to improve your standard. For more information or for individual coaching you can contact Hillary Swan on 01242 890213 or Graham Stock on 01451 860903.

EVENTS FOR THE SEASON

Play Tennis Event – Saturday 24th April from 10-12pm
The 2009 Play Tennis event attracted another 30 children and the coaching team made it a fun event concentrating on attracting children who were not in the mini-tennis programme.  The BBQ after the event proved an ideal way of providing non-members with information about the club. 

Mixed Doubles Tournament- Saturday 8th May
In 2009, this late Spring event had more ladies than men entered, hence some pairs were ladies only. The standard of tennis was just as high and the event winners were Rosemary Scott-Smith and Sandra Chambers.

Road to Wimbledon.
Last year we ran this event on our courts and Danny Bridgeman went through to represent us in the county finals. If more players, including girls, aged 14 and under enter then we may be eligible to put two players through this year. Look out for the poster and entry form in the club house in April and the event will be run in May.

Coln Valey Tournament – Saturday 12th June
See details below.

Adult and Child Tournament - Sunday 27th June
The 2009 event was again just as competitive as ever, depending on your view, with adult and parent partners giving great support to the children. The winners for 2009 were Jacob Pudifoot and his partner James Legerton. The tournament format really does encourage the younger children to compete and the jockeying for partners before the event really has become an important part of the tournament.  Remember, the event is free and open to children under twelve years and their adult partner.  This is a closed competition, so everyone needs to be a member. Contact Graham Stock on 01451-860903 or John Robson on 720657 for more details of this year’s tournament on Sunday 27th June. 

Junior Closed – Sunday 11th July
The Junior Closed fared much better with the weather and the numbers remain remarkably high. Around 30 children took part with the medal presentation and Bar-B-Que taking place at the courts straight after the finals. A similar format is anticipated for this year.

Singles and Doubles Championship -11th & 12th September.
After a damp summer, the sun came out for both the Men’s’ and the Ladies 2009 club championships. The men’s doubles winners were Dan Heaps & Graham Stock with Jamie Francis & Robert Barker as runners up. The men’s singles competition was as keen as ever with Thomas Emerson the winner over Jamie Francis in a thrilling final on what may have been the hottest day of the year. Sandra Chambers was a clear winner of the Ladies singles final with Chrissie Kenning as the runner up. The ladies doubles produced a high standard of tennis with Sandra Chambers & Sue Savin the event winners with Julie Young & Sue Francis as runners up. The opportunity to play singles should not be missed and the whole competition is completed in half a day. The dates for this year are 11th September- Men and 12th September- Ladies.

Hill and Valley Mixed Club Challenge – Saturday 25th September.
The new mixed doubles Hill and Valley Club Challenge was played for the first time on 3rd October 2009 and was a great success.  Thirty people took part and played on courts in Northleach, Coln Rogers, Fossebridge  and Calmsden. The strong winds made playing conditions extremely tricky for all, but the superb two course lunch and afternoon tea fortified the players for their afternoon exertions.  The finals were played on the club courts, with Sue and Jamie Francis winning the Challenge cup, beating Hilary Swan and Danny Bridgeman. The plate was won by Stephen and Rosemary Scott-Smith with Carol Bailey and Simon Craske the runners up.  

WIMBLEDON TICKETS
The club gets an allocation of tickets for the Wimbledon Championships, based on the number of your club members (adults and juniors aged 9 and over) who have signed up as a British tennis members by the 30th November 2009.

From 2010 Wimbledon tickets through the club ballot will only be available to British tennis members and only club members who are signed up as British Tennis members will be eligible for the tickets. If you hadn’t signed up by 30th November 2009 you will not be eligible for Wimbledon tickets.  Tickets will be balloted at the courts on tennis club evening on Wednesday 12th May at 7.00 pm.  Those interested should attend or send a representative.  Those unable to do either should contact a committee member.

PLEASE REMEMBER that all tickets MUST be paid for at the ballot and you MUST be a BRITISH TENNIS MEMBER and bring along your membership number.

BRITISH TENNIS MEMBERSHIP
If you wish to become a British Tennis member and the club would encourage you to do so (especially as our Wimbledon ticket allocation is determined by it) or have any queries about membership please ring 0845 8737202 or access their website www.lta.org.uk/membership.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

I hope that you can support your club; we are dependent on an active membership.   On behalf of the committee I wish you all an enjoyable tennis season. Lastly as a reminder of warmer times I attach a melange of photos compiled by Claire Watson as an Adobe file which will be easier to view if you rotate the images clockwise (on some versions use the button adjacent to help).

Fred Shaftoe
Hon Secretary Hill & Valley LTC
February 2010

THE COLN VALLEY ANNUAL TENNIS TOURNAMENT
Saturday, 12 June 2010

TENNIS ALL DAY FOR EVERYONE!

TWO TROPHIES - THE SPEKE CUP AND THE PLATE

The Hill & Valley Lawn Tennis Club invite you to enter the Coln Valley Annual Tennis Tournament and to take part in a day of fun and good sport.  The purpose of the event is to raise money for club improvements and the churches of Coln St Dennis, Coln Rogers and Chedworth.

The day is structured to ensure that all players enjoy a whole day’s tennis. Those who qualify for the Speke Cup competition from the morning groups will play a further group “round robin” session in the afternoon. Those not in the Speke Cup will play in groups to compete for the Scott-Smith Salver. Both afternoon sessions will lead to knockout finals. The Tournament will take place on the club courts at Chedworth Village Hall and on private courts in surrounding villages, kindly loaned by their owners.  The finals are held at the club courts.

The competition is a mixed doubles event, which except for the final, is played to a sliding handicap so that players of all standards will be able to play an enjoyable game of tennis.  Morning coffee, lunch and afternoon tea and cakes are included in your entry price.

On the day, please ensure that you arrive by 9 am for enrolment at Chedworth Village Hall, where you should also collect your tickets for the day’s events. If you are organising a party of several players please make sure they are aware of the arrangements and that they arrive promptly. Please note that we will have to start the morning groups on time and if you are late this may mean you are unable to complete all your games, resulting in fewer points.

The Tournament has become a day of great enjoyment and spirited tennis with both trophies keenly fought for. We hope that you will be able to come and we look forward to seeing you.

Stephen Scott-Smith,

Please print and complete the entry form and return by Saturday 29th May with your cheque made payable to The Hill & Valley Lawn Tennis Club to:

Meryl King (Tennis Tournament),
Springfield,
Lower Chedworth,
CHELTENHAM,
Gloucestershire
GL54 4AN  
      
Tel: 01285 720273