Maresfield
Lawn Tennis Club
Batts Bridge Road, Maresfield, East Sussex
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Maresfield
Lawn Tennis Club
Batts Bridge Road, Maresfield, East Sussex |
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Clubmark Status We are happy to be able to tell you that Maresfield has achieved Clubmark Status, one of only 5 clubs in Sussex. * * * * * * * * * * * * * The AGM will be held on Wednesday, 28th January 2009 at the Bowls Club at 8pm. Liz Thornton is retiring after ten years on the committee and nominations are sought for her replacement, to secretary@maresfieldltc.co.uk before the meeting.
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Court Bookings A small note - can all members please make it clear when they are booking courts where their booking starts and finishes - thank you! * * * * * * * * * * * * *
We received a note of thanks from Nick Eldridge to all members............................................................................................. “I am just writing a note to thank every one at the club who contributed to make our Tennis Fun Day a great success. Despite the poor weather there was a very good turnout and people showed real enthusiasm to enjoy the tennis as well as the day. We were able to raise a staggering £900 for the Early Birth Association which far exceeded our expectations. If possible we’d appreciate it if you could add a couple of lines in your next newsletter expressing our gratitude As the rain stopped play at lunch time I will be arranging to replay the singles on a date later in the year. This will be a slightly more low-key affair, as I will contact individually all the players who signed up to play, but new entries will still be welcome. I will put a note in the clubhouse advertising this. Also a special thank you to Richard, who was pressed into action as one of the barbeque chefs at the last minute, as well as contributing new tennis balls, prizes and plenty of wine. So all in all we thought it a very worthwhile event, both as a fitting tribute to Daniel and as a fund-raiser. Thank you once again for your continuing support.
Nick Eldridge “
* * * * * * * * * * * * * EGM Thank you to everyone who turned out later on despite the weather on the 17th May for the EGM and Wimbledon Draw. Next year's Wimbledon tickets will be allocated on the basis of how many club members are also members of British Tennis by 30th November so do join up now - it is still free till 2012! Ring 0845 873 7202 or log on to www.lta.org.uk/membership. Wimbledon tickets will be allocated on the basis of how many members of MLTC are also members of British Tennis by November 2008. All juniors aged 9 upwards will be eligible to enter the draw.
Mixed Doubles Tournament and Men's Singles Sunday, 13th July 2008
we had a great Mixed Doubles Tournament and congratulations to the winners, Chris Hanford and Biddy Pilling who won. (Runners Up: Nick Eldridge and Alison Buchanan)
The weather was kind to us and after a great barbecue lunch we were treated to tremendous singles finals between Phil Amos and Gary Davies. Congratulations to Gary who won in the third set of a hard fought match.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * We had a really good turnout for the Ladies' Doubles tournament on 15th June - rescheduled after the washout of l7th May.
A slightly smaller number turned out for the Men's Doubles and congratulations to the winners, Chris Hanford and Chris Baily. * * * * * * * * * * * * * Floodlight Tokens The Committee have reluctantly had to increase the cost of floodlight tokens to £3 (per half hour). This is due to the further increase in electricity prices. Having investigated other local clubs this seems to be in line with most and it is a problem we are all facing. The club is classed as a business user and therefore faces far steeper price increases than domestic users. This will take effect as of 1st January 2008.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * Letter from John York to members:
Maresfield LTC Batts Bridge Road Maresfield
Dear Member, 21/07/08
We would like to update you on a number of issues that have occupied the Committee’s time over the past few months. British Tennis Membership [BTM] and Wimbledon TicketsFaced with lots of protests from smaller clubs like ours about their intent to charge club members a fee from 2009 onwards as being another “stealth tax”, the LTA have recently had a change of heart and agreed that subscriptions to BTM by members of affiliated clubs will remain free of charge until 2012 [by which time we hope they will have come up with a better way of handling the matter]. However , they are still standing by their original proposal that the Wimbledon ticket allocation to affiliated clubs for the following year will still be determined by the number of BTM members clubs have on their books by the end of October of the current year . Junior members aged 9 and over will also have to be included from next year in club draws if they have taken out BTM, which could increase the number of aspirant attendees compared to previous years. This change of position by the LTA requires a positive response by us if we are to maximise our allocation of Wimbledon tickets from 2009 onwards. So far only about 25% of our adult membership have taken out BTM so if you wish to be in next years draw and have not so far subscribed, you should do so as soon as possible. Even if you are not personally interested in going to Wimbledon, we hope you will help those who are, by taking out BTM whilst it remains free for the next 3 years. Signing up is extremely simple through the internet on the LTA website [see their recent circular on BTM attached] or you can obtain entry forms from Alison Buchanan by contacting her on 01825 762391 or via email at secretary@maresfieldltc.co.uk . We would like to take this opportunity of reminding members how the Wimbledon Draw operates at MLTC since the LTA are tightening up their own regulations each year to prevent illegal trading in tickets. If you wish to participate in the Draw, you must complete that section on the membership renewal form, inform the secretary before the due date or add your name to the list of aspirants which is posted in the clubhouse about a week before the Draw date. You must then be present on the day itself with a cheque or cash to pay on the spot and sign an LTA declaration that you will not participate in ticket “trafficking”. If for good reason you cannot be present [ sickness , travel etc ] then you may appoint a proxy to act for you with the approval of a Committee member provided you pre-sign the declaration form [ an LTA- imposed requirement ] and empower him/her to make a choice for you and pay over the appropriate amount on the spot in your name . Finally, if you were a recipient of a ticket in the previous years Draw, you will be excluded from the first round of the current year’s to ensure tickets are distributed as widely as possible to members over time [an MLTC-imposed requirement]. These same rules will apply under the new method being used by the LTA to allocate tickets to clubs and they will furnish us with a list of eligible BTM members who can go into the Draw and check afterwards that we have not transgressed, so once again IF YOU WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN FUTURE DRAWS, OR HELP FELLOW MEMBERS TO DO SO, SIGN UP FOR BTM NOW OR AT THE VERY LATEST BY EARLY SEPTEMBER!! Tennis Clubmark Accreditation [TCA]To the best of our belief, both MLTC and Le Tennis have completed all the necessary documentation for us to make a joint submission, since neither party is likely to succeed without the other. We are now looking to find a date for an informal meeting with the Sussex LTA to review the assembled paperwork to check everything is in order before making our official submission. Our target date for Accreditation is end of September which if achieved will make us one of the first clubs in the county to qualify. Recent Questionnaire/ Where do we go now?As mentioned in our previous briefing document about TCA , over 50 members responded to the document with a pretty wide spectrum of views , not all of which we can take up from an economic or practical stand point but some of which we certainly wish to pursue [a] Social Activities About half the respondees indicated they did not take much interest in the social side of the Club and/or did not seek any particular changes. Of those looking for change/improvement, the overwhelming majority favoured “gingering up” the Club Sessions. Most respondees would like to see more people attending ; we can’t force people to attend , we can only induce them to do so and a number of respondees felt that increasing the social aspect of the sessions and maybe throw in a bit of coaching would attract greater numbers . We have decided therefore that during September, as an experiment, we will have one of the Le Tennis coaches present for an hour on Wednesday Evenings to help individuals with their game or organise some drills and that after 2 of them, on 3/9 and 24/9, we will organise a sausage in a bun and a glass of beer or wine for participants to increase the social aspect. The Club will absorb the cost of the coach’s presence for this limited period and charge only a notional amount for the food/drink on the “Club and Grub” evenings , in the hope that more members will come and benefit from what is going on . If this provokes greater interest/a higher attendance then we will try to introduce regular sessions of a similar ilk in 2009. [b] Future Developments Two thirds of respondees felt that we should continue to manage a tight ship and hold down subscriptions to a competitive level, so we will not be installing gold taps in the cloakrooms! However, there was strong support for bringing the practice area behind the clubhouse, which has fallen into some disrepair, up to the standard of the courts themselves, both from the point of view of external image and in order to encourage children and newcomers to the game to try it out. The cost of resurfacing and painting both of the existing courts and the wall in between would be about £6000, which we feel we could justify taking out of the Court Refurbishment fund without ruffling feathers at the LTA. However, before making any commitment we are further investigating whether there would be room to mark up one of them as a mini-tennis court, which would make a stronger case for bringing about the improvement, and how much extra that might cost. We will also be improving the lighting alongside the path from entrance to clubhouse before the onset of winter, which is necessary on safety grounds and will cost about £500. The other area in which about half the respondees, including all the Committee, feel there should be improvements, is the Clubhouse although views varied on what those improvements should be. We cannot convince ourselves that there is a compelling case to extend it physically by, for instance, installing changing rooms/showers or a separate meeting room, and we would need planning permission which could be wearisome and potentially expensive. We can however de-clutter and spruce it up if we:- [1] Store the training aids [balls, mats etc] outside the main building. The wooden shed already there is insecure and depressurises the training balls. We are investigating the feasibility of building or purchasing additional secure and damp-proof storage space between the back of the Clubhouse and the edge of the practice court to store the training aids and also possibly the spare seats which are now rarely used. [2] Dispense with or refurbish the benches running along the rear wall in the Clubhouse. [3] Replace and change the layout of the notice boards in the Clubhouse [which will probably be needed any way by the demands of TCA]. [4] Plaster and repaint the interior walls of the Clubhouse and possibly install a new floor. [5] Replace the more antiquated pieces of plastic furniture. It is unlikely we will be doing all these things simultaneously as we haven’t got a complete costing at present and, without raising subscriptions significantly, we will be dependent to a considerable extent on the incoming cashflow from Gift Aid refunds for 2007 and 2008 for which we have applied but have no idea when they will be forthcoming. However, we hope that the above re-assures members that we have taken up some of your ideas and that 12/18 months down the track we will have improved premises of which we can be proud.
John York, on behalf of the Committee
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Maresfield Lawn Tennis Club Calendar 2008 Teams Juniors Club News Le Tennis |
Thank
you to everyone who came and played, helped and supported us on Sunday
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Congratulations
to the winners, Jacky Wardbooth and Alison Buchanan and the runners up, Biddy
Pilling and Shelley Clarke.