February 2023
This should be quite a week! It’s amazing to think that this weekend marks the 25th Anniversary of the official opening of Bristol and Bath Tennis Club by H.R.H. Prince Edward, the Duke of Wessex.
We’ve since ‘morphed’ into the Bristol Real Tennis Club and the D of W is still doing his bit for real tennis and, in particular, the Duke of Edinburgh Awards Scheme. Bristol was one of his first ports of call on his D of E United Kingdom tour a few years ago, and I was actually at the Merchants Hall official dinner when a young Bristolian got his “Wessex” and “Sussex” mixed up in an otherwise perfect thank you speech. The wry smile from the Duke was a hint that he knew about news of a famous pair still to come!
Ben Taylor-Matthews and Ben Coleman have excelled themselves in organizing the 25th Anniversary Doubles Tournament – so professional and impressive, just what we hoped for when we appointed Ben T-M a year ago. 64 players from all over the UK will be playing from Thursday 9th to Sunday 12th February, in group then knockout matches, culminating in the Final on Sunday afternoon.
There will be a Welcome Reception at the Club on Friday evening and a splendid 25th Anniversary Dinner at the Clifton Club on Saturday night. Members of the Organizing Committee have been working very hard to prepare for these events and I am especially grateful to Jan Fuller (our Social Secretary) and Charlotte Wilsher (our Membership Secretary) for giving up their time and expertise. I am sure it will “go well on the night!”
Our new President, John Newman has been very enthusiastic and active, and I would like to thank those who have generously donated auction items and raffle prizes. I hope members and guests will be very generous at the auction (both ‘silent’ and at the dinner) so that we can raise plenty of funds for our Youth Development plans.
I am sure you will agree that the Club is thriving from a tennis and social point of view. The two Bens have continued with a high court occupancy and there is a big emphasis on junior development, supported financially by the Club. The new Monday Members’ Club Nights represent a popular initiative, and students from Clifton College are making regular use of the court on Wednesday evenings and at other times.
At the BRTC Committee meeting in December we decided that we should consolidate our efforts on Real Tennis and not to risk putting the Club into debt for the Padel court development in the current economic climate. However, with Clifton College’s support, this is something that could be revisited in the future.
We would like to make some relatively small renovations to the Club by creating a social and court viewing area behind the Dedans seating area, as often seen at other clubs. The viewing of the court from the reception and Bretten Room areas could also be improved. This will be an objective over the next couple of years.
Even for these relatively inexpensive initiatives, we need your help to find new members in order to generate Club funds for use beyond ‘financial survival’. Our Secretary, John Dixon has several ideas for incentivizing current members to encourage their friends and the next generation’s friends to join (please note that you should be 18 years or older to imbibe Champagne!).
I am very pleased to announce that Giles Watkins has kindly volunteered to be our new Treasurer. Giles has an impressive commercial background and has lots of ideas for the way forwards. The timing of this Chairman’s Update also allows me an opportunity to thank the other enthusiastic members of the Committee for their time and support for a Tennis Club that we all care about enormously!
Have a great weekend of Tennis!
Very best wishes
Clive