Dear Member,
My apologies for this being a little late.
CLUB MATTERS
Date changes
I will start with some important date changes for two events next
month and one later in the year and they need to go into your diaries now!
The Ponsford Plate – the Club Handicap Mixed Doubles will now
take place on Sunday 1st March. This is always a great
tournament to play in and KK and Ben will always find you a partner – so please
put your name down.
The next Chairman’s Sunday Doubles with lunch will
now take place on Sunday 15th March.
And the Club’s 33rd Annual General Meeting will
now take place on Wednesday 6th May, starting at 6.30 pm and
followed by wine, canapés and an Exhibition Match
Court utilisation - Ben is doing a great job in
encouraging you all to play just a little bit more and the booking sheet
continues to look promising. However illness and injuries are still creating
significant problems – so please take note of his rallying calls and get your
name down to play.
TENNIS
MATTERS
We started the month off well with a home match against the Hyde on 1st
February. Ironically we were due to go to the Hyde on the same weekend last
year but had to cancel because of the severe weather, so it was good to see
them in Bristol!
Ben managed to maintain the momentum and a select group of parents and offspring
had a fun Doubles Day on Sunday 2nd February.
On Sunday 9th February we are at home to the MCC. It
looks as if we have a full team for this and it promises to be a good day of tennis.
On Saturday 15th February we will be playing an away match
against Oxford. I understand from Ben that he has a team lined up, which
is great news. The court at Oxford is in the grounds of Merton College and it’s
slightly smaller than other courts – so home advantage definitely counts!
There is a Taster Session from 2 to 4 pm on Sunday 16th February
– so if you have any friends or relations that would like to try the game, have
a word with KK and Ben. Ideally the maximum number for taking part in a taster
session is six but the boys are more than happy to arrange additional Taster
Sessions for fewer people, as long as the court is free – just get in touch
with them.
On Tuesday 18th February we have the Ron Brown Trophy – the
Club Ladies Open Singles. All lady members are invited to participate and
the winner’s name goes on the Trophy Board!
Finally the morning of Saturday 22rd February sees the first box of
the Six Nations event. This will be followed at12.00 noon by the return National League match against Canford and Bridport. Tom and Ben would
very much appreciate your support and it will be an opportunity to see some
very hard fought tennis. Tea and cake will be provided.
SOCIAL
EVENTS
There are no social events planned for
February but Jan is organising a quiz night on Thursday 2nd April –
another date for your diary.
MATCH RESULTS
January turned out to be a rather bleak
month for match results. It was a low entry for the Hangover Doubles
with initially eight players, dropping to seven on the day because of illness.
Doubles with an odd number of players is something of a challenge but KK was
more than up to it and partners and handicaps kept changing throughout the day.
The winner was deemed to be the player who won most games overall – with
congratulations to Miles Farren!
The inter-club match against Middlesex
had to be postponed, with a new date in May, and the match against Oratory
was cancelled. The Yearling Cup for members who had played for less than
12 months was also cancelled due to lack of participants.
However the match against the Hyde was a
great success. There were five singles and two doubles matches played, all
strongly contested. The final singles between Nigel Harradine and Al Clark was
particularly hard fought and very close, with a lot of encouragement from the
dedans. The final result was 5-2 to the Hyde was well deserved and everyone had
a very good day.
There are lots of things to look forward to and
plenty of tennis in the forthcoming weeks.
With best wishes,
Claire