Maresfield Lawn Tennis Club              

Batts Bridge Road, Maresfield, East Sussex

CLUB NEW

 Upgrading of Practice Courts  

The Committee has spent a lot of time over the past 12 months reviewing how we might bring this about in a fashion that optimises their value to the Club whilst minimising our out-of-pocket expenditure.  This communication is to tell you what has happened since publishing the Annual Report and what decision we have now taken as a result of further consideration.

We looked very hard during the early part of this year at a tri-partite scheme involving MLTC, Le Tennis and the LTA combining to convert the practice court behind the Clubhouse into a full-blown mini-tennis court on which LTA-approved junior tournaments could be held. However, after a series of meetings and exchanges of financial information and forecasts , the Committee has concluded that such a scheme , whilst perfectly feasible physically and desirable in concept, would not bring sufficient benefit to MLTC to justify the incremental expense involved. There are several reasons for that decision.

[ 1 ]  The technical specifications laid down by the LTA for the court itself were significantly more onerous financially than those we consider sufficient for our needs .

[ 2 ]  After the collapse of the Uckfield project , Le Tennis are in no position to make a capital contribution to the scheme .

[ 3 ]  Wealden DC insisted we needed planning permission for the relatively modest structural changes and could not be persuaded to indicate informally in advance whether that would eventually be forthcoming before we started incurring costs on the application process

[ 4 ]  The LTA insisted that the lease be re-negotiated [although it still has 15 years to go , longer than the potential life of the mini-court] . Whilst Wealden had no objection to a lease extension, they insisted all the legal costs involved should be for our account and they would have to have been incurred before the LTA would fully evaluate the overall project

[ 5 ]  The LTA would not say at this stage what proportion of the final cost they would contribute and in what form ie grant or loan ,  and wished to set exacting “targets” against which their ongoing contribution would be evaluated . We were unsure whether they were achievable and if not, what the consequences would be for MLTC.

 

We have therefore decided to more or less go full circle and revert to a slightly modified version of the scheme we drew up in the middle of 2008, viz

[ 1 ]  Resurface and paint the 2 existing practice courts , without any structural alterations , to the same standard as the 5 playing courts

[ 2 ]  Paint and mark up both sides of the practice wall , including painting  “targets” on the wall , which can thus be used for training purposes by both adults and juniors

[ 3 ]  Mark out a red-level mini-court on the practice court immediately behind the Clubhouse . Whilst the run off spaces behind each end will be insufficient to meet LTA requirements for matches, LT deem them perfectly adequate for training purposes and to introduce youngsters to the game and will  use them in that fashion as soon as the work is completed . A mini-court net belonging to LT will be kept on the premises which can be erected in seconds, so the court will be multi-purpose in nature.

[ 4 ]  Lines in yellow will be painted on Court 3 , allowing it to be used by LT for junior orange –level  training and matches, whilst still usable for ordinary tennis.

 

We are sorry that it has taken so long to come to this conclusion but the Committee were anxious to get the “ best bang for a buck “ in spending the Club’s financial resources . The total cost will be approximately £6000 plus VAT and will be essentially financed by Gift Aid refunds for 2007 [already received] and 2008 [on its way to us, we are told]. The work will be carried out in September by 4 Seasons of Tonbridge, who have worked with us since 2001 on all the previous court refurbishments. There should be no adverse impact on the use of the playing courts whilst it is carried out but there will be some minor inconvenience to members as materials are ferried to and from the site along the garden path, with which we hope you will bear.

 Site Security

The Committee have been concerned for some time about the security of our site. Its location is the envy of many clubs but currently we have no defences against intruders who can gain unhindered access up to the Clubhouse itself and into the Clubhouse or onto the courts in the event that they are left open, which happens far too frequently for our peace of mind .  We had a serious burglary a few years ago which cost MLTC and LT together well over £1000 , petty thefts are regular occurrences and there have been 3 attempts this year alone to break into the Clubhouse and adjoining storage units . It can only be a matter of time before we have a major incident involving serious damage to the Clubhouse / courts.

 

We therefore intend to take advantage of the presence of 4 Seasons on the premises to make significant improvements to site security. Chain link fencing, similar to that around the courts and of similar height, will be installed from the bottom end of Ct 5 to the top of the bund to join up with the existing fencing already in place. A similar stretch of chain link fencing will installed from the bottom corner of Ct 3 [where the notice board hangs] across the path leading up to the Clubhouse and joining up with the fencing surrounding the adjoining garden . A door with a spring lock similar to the one on the Clubhouse will be installed in that piece of  fencing to provide access to the path,  and the lock on the door allowing access to Ct 5 from the Gym Club side will be replaced by a similar spring lock. The same security code that operates the Clubhouse door will be used for both these doors.

These measures will not make the site impregnable and we will still be looking to see what further steps we should take to make it safer, but they should act as powerful disincentives to potential trouble makers. They will not absolve members from the need to lock up the Clubhouse and the Courts as a second line of defence! The total cost will be about £1500 plus VAT; we will decide at the time of drawing up next years budget and looking at  the current state of our finances whether we can absorb it or need to make a one off modest “security levy” on all members to cover it.

 

John York, Chairman, on behalf of the Committee

 

Mixed Doubles and Singles Finals Day

We had another lovely day and a great morning of mixed doubles play.  The final result was a draw as even after the finals the top two couples couldn't be separated and the barbecue was beckoning!  So congratulations to Sharon, Roger, Liz and Chris.

The Men's finals were played in the afternoon and congratulations to Gary, and the runner up Chris.

Men's and Ladies' Doubles Day

We had a lovely day for these tournaments and although the mens tournament was somewhat depleted because of league matches a great afternoon of tennis was had by all.  Congratulations to Chris Baily and ..... who won and runners up Mick Barr and.......   The Ladies' Doubles was fiercely contested in a very level playing field and congratulations to Jane Laidlaw and Biddy Pilling, also to runners up Melanie Carponen and Claire Brett.  

Clubmark Status

We are happy to be able to tell you that Maresfield has achieved Clubmark Status, one of only 5 clubs in Sussex.

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At the AGM Chris Baily and Ros Hawthorn were elected new members of the committee and Liz Thornton stood down after ten years on the committee.  Many thanks to Liz for all she has done for the club and welcome to Chris and Ros.

John York also reported to members that the committee were looking into refurbishing the practice area and turning one side into a mini tennis court.  He is in discussions with Sussex LTA regarding funding for this.

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JUNIORS

Maresfield Juniors have had a great year with several MLTC and squad juniors representing Sussex.  Congratulations to Kyria Dunford who became National Doubles U14 champion, as well as winning Tennis Europe events in France, Belgium and Malta.  She also won her first Tennis Europe Singles title.  Well done also to Jane Lavender who won the U16s and U18s county singles titles.  Elspeth Griffiths and Jack Burkill also took county titles in the U14 and U12 age groups.

Maresfield has been awarded Satellite status which is a great tribute to all the work Tim and  Le Tennis does with the juniors. 

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    WEDNESDAY CLUB SESSIONS

Following the success of the coaching and club and grub evenings these will be repeated in 2009.  From April to October there will be a coach attending the club sessions and on the last Wednesday of each month during this time there will be Club and Grub sessions with a hot dog and glass of wine/beer afterwards.

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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!

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WIMBLEDON TICKETS

 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.  

Only MLTC members who are also members of British Tennis will be eligible to enter the Maresfield Club draw for tickets.

 All juniors aged 9 upwards will be eligible to enter the draw.

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Mixed Doubles Tournament and Men's Singles Sunday, 13th July 2008

Thank you to everyone who came and played, helped and supported us on Sunday

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.

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We had a really good turnout for the Ladies' Doubles tournament on 15th June - rescheduled after the washout of l7th May. 

Congratulations to the winners, Jacky Wardbooth and Alison Buchanan and the runners up, Biddy Pilling and Shelley Clarke.

A slightly smaller number turned out for the Men's Doubles and congratulations to the winners, Chris Hanford and Chris Baily.

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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.

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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 Tickets

Faced 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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