Newman Bell - September 30th-October 6th 2024

The Club Handicap Doubles Tournament – The Newman Bell – took place over the week beginning Monday 30th September.

15 Pairs battled it out in qualifying matches throughout the week with 8 pairs making it through to the Sunday for Finals Day.

With handicaps ranging from 48 to 85 and ages ranging from 12 to 78 there was a great mix of shots, tactical play and emotions…

After 27 hard fought matches, many to the wire, there were four left standing.

Gary cunning Mendham and James the power Parsons – handicap 63.2

took on

Benjamin the beast Brown and Merlin the wizard Cork – handicap 60.7

The Beast and The Wizard, with youth on their side, hit the ground running and won the first three games comfortably.

Murmurs from the Dedans suggested a ruthless and swift outcome.

However, Gary, wise enough to know that his early tournament form had realised that the pub was open and taken an early bath, cunningly opened the door for James Parsons to step up and play some of the best Tennis of his tournament.

It was too late though.

The Brown/Cork hill was now too high to climb and the young duo were deserved champions, winning 6/3.

Thank you to all the players and those that supported the event – a great start to the season!

Cheers,

Ben

Michael Jones Trophy - 3rd - 9th June 2024

MICHAEL JONES TROPHY

Club Handicap Singles

3rd - 9th June 2024

There can be only one.

We had a full entry of 32 players and after a week of fierce qualifying boxes from dawn till dusk, 16 players were drawn against each other on a sunny Sunday 9th June in the Finals Day of the club handicap singles tournament.

FIRST SIXTEEN MATCHES - one set to 5

60.9 Jonny Davies v Gavin Wood 68.9

79.7 Hal Finch v Alistair Roy 85.0

68.1 Giles Watkins v Archie Finch 76.9

88.6 Matthew Galvin v Ben Brown 65.4

61.8 Will Kenyon v Michael Edwardes 49.3

66.9 Zoltan Kozma v Eleanor Beale 70.6

60.8 Merlin Cork v Paul Dedman 76.0

87.7 James Galvin v Paul Wilson 65.1

Due to last minute issues, the first two matches were missing opponents - this led to fairly easy victories for both Gavin Wood and Alistair Roy.

The remaining matches set the tone for the rest of the day with the majority of games going to the wire.

________________________________________________________________

QUARTER FINALS – one set to 5

G Wood v A Roy

G Watkins v B Brown

W Kenyon v Z Kozma

M Cork v J Galvin

More fantastic match ups produced more great tennis and close games with some excellent examples of how to cope with large handicap differences.

But as we sprinted into the afternoon, we had found our semi-finalists.

________________________________________________________________

SEMI FINALS – one set to 6

G Wood v B Brown

M Cork v Z Kozma

Two knife-edge semi-finals did not fail to disappoint.

Gavin Wood took a commanding 4/0 lead in the first match and all seemed well. However young Ben Brown must be applauded for staying calm and not giving up.

He managed to bring the match back to 5/5.

A fantastic first semi-final saw Ben Brown taking the deciding game and leaving Gavin wondering what might have been.

The second match saw student Merlin Cork taking on Zoltan Kozma.

Another cracking semi-final saw the match drawn at four games all.

But Merlin’s fantastic retrieving ability and endless energy was too much for a bandaged-up Zoltan as the student won 6/4.

_______________________________________________________________

THE FINAL – one set to 6

Ben Brown v Merlin Cork

A nod to our younger members again as the final saw young Ben Brown (65.4) – the defending champion – take on student Merlin Cork (60.8) – a recent addition here at BRTC.

A full Dedans witnessed some superb quality and drama in The Michael Jones Trophy Final.

Merlin was up, then Ben was up.

Then it was 5 /5.

This was the sixth match today alone that needed a ‘one game wins it all’ decider!

It could have gone either way, but the point that mattered most was won by Merlin Cork, taking the match 6/5.

32 had become 1

Congratulations to young Merlin – his name now on the BRTC walls for all of time.

Thank you to all who competed and made the whole tournament an overwhelming success culminating with a brilliant Finals Day.

Cheers,

Ben

P.S. Please note the lack of Wizard references      #restraint #fallenatthefinalhurdle

BRTC V The Old Cliftonians - Sunday 26th May 2024

BRTC V The Old Cliftonians

Sunday 26th May 2024

In a quiet little village in Abbots Leigh in North Somerset, there lies an unassuming rectangular building which the little BRTC gnomes call home.

On Sunday 26th May, under greying skies, this peaceful place came under siege from what I can only describe as a dastardly traitorous bunch of fiends who, at other times, call themselves members.

Others describe it as the annual BRTC v Old Cliftonians fixture.

THE PLAYERS                                           THE TRAITORS

Guy Rawstorne                                        Henry Lidington

Janine Mendham                                    Peter Ashmead

Gary Mendham                                       Miles Buckinghamshire

Elliott Watkins                                        John Grice

Giles Watkins                                           Tim Meunier

As the melodic sounds drifted across from the festival at Ashton Court, battle commenced with a fantastic match between Guy Rawstorne and current Club Champion Henry Lidington.

The Drum and Bass from the ‘Love Saves The Day’ festival was a fair soundtrack to the furious tennis between these two.

However, love was definitely not saving the day.

4/6 6/3 meant a third set.

With Guy 4/3 up in the decider, Henry, the traitor, used some very underhand tactics and drilled a forehand across court into Hazard First Gallery and demolished Guy’s water bottle.

Clearly deliberate and very ‘Un-Cliftonian’ in my opinion.

This obviously unsettled Guy and diminished his ability to rehydrate.

So 5/5, 40 all in the decider it was…..with Henry trying to beat better than 6.

A long rally ensued, and Guy will rue his chance to leave a ball that would have won him the match….instead, the traitor was victorious.

Well played both – especially Guy.

The second match saw The Mendhams against Peter Ashmead and the leader of The Old Cliftonians, Miles Buckinghamshire.

Gary and Janine, having survived the Saturday, were flying the flag for BRTC again this day but they came up against a very impressive doubles pair from that place over the bridge.

In a terrific first set, Peter and Miles were inspiring as they took the first set 6/5.

The writing was on the wall.

However, despite having Gary with her, Janine managed to overcome this huge handicap and moved through the gears to help the BRTC duo cruise through the next two sets 6/2 6/3.

Well played all – especially the Mendhams.

With the match poised at one match each, BRTC turned to it’s younger legs in order to steady the ship.

Everything was in place for the pupil to take revenge on the teacher.

I was confident that nothing could stand in the way of the young and talented Elliott Watkins, certainly not the Ex-Clifton teacher John Grice.

I had not accounted for the fact the young party – and party late.

School, it would seem, was still in session.

Whilst Elliott was still apparently in bed, John flashed through he first set 6/1.

It looked like this would be a brief encounter.

But no! Perhaps the distant sound of Pink Floyd stirred the rebellious fires in Elliott as he woke from his slumber and destroyed John 6/1 in the second set – gotta love Real tennis.

Elliott continued his comeback as he went 3/1 up in the deciding set but Mr.Grice had not finished his lesson, taking the third 6/5 in another fantastic match.

Well played both – especially Elliott – another brick in John’s wall.

So this brings us to the final match of the day and what an EPIC duel it was.

The rain had set in and most players had had to leave the arena and join other festival goers on a damp journey home.

So there were only two left to witness this final match.

Both myself and young Elliott remained to watch Giles Watkins (Elliott had to stay) against another ex-teacher, Tim the Traitor Meunier.

Like all the other matches today, this match went to three sets.

Tim took the first 6/5, Giles the second 6/4.

These two sets took just under two hours so we (I) agreed to start the third at 3 all.

A record number of chases set were interspersed with some remarkable rests but the cry of ‘Change Ends Please’ was never far away.

It would seem that the turncoats from Clifton College were destined for glory that day as Tim took the decider 6/3.

Again, well played both – especially Giles.

And that was that.

Another great day at BRTC but I will never be able to trust some of our alleged members again after the Old Cliftonians took the day three matches to one.

Thank you to all the players (especially BRTC), to Giles watkins for the catering and it was also lovely to see David Mander coming in to offer his support.

A special thank you though to Miles Buckinghamshire for leading the OC’s.

This is his last match as the manager for this fixture so we wish him all the very best and thank him for all his selfless work in supporting the OC’s.

Bravo.

I’m going home to put some music on – it calls for some 70’s punk rock and more Pink Floyd.

Turn it up.

Cheers,

Ben the Broken

BRTC v LRTA - Saturday 25th May 2024

Dear Member,

Only the fearless should read on….

Blue skies and cotton wool clouds greeted the LRTA today as they took on the might of BRTC.

The calm of the outside was in total contrast to the carnage taking place inside as the Bristol Court bore witness to some merciless gladiators savaging one another in a series of bloodthirsty encounters.

The Players:

Tom Fuller 58.31 v  Lucie Grosset 52.7

Jonny Davies 60.9  v  Jacqui Siu 61.5

Trish Morris 79.9  v  Barbara Bush 87.3

Janine Mendham 76.7  v  Angela Probyn 70.7

Tom Fuller had already had an hour on court before the French invaded.

He got off to a flyer and some incredible blows were exchanged.

Shot of the day came in this first battle as an overhit thump from the service end came off the main back wall, bounced onto the ledge of the winning gallery and hit the post before ringing the bell.

I had to explain the bad news to Tom that this was actually a hazard chase.

This act of mental cruelty was perhaps too much to deal with and Lucie seized the moment and her game just got better and better.

A fantastic match saw Lucie winning 6/4 6/4.

The second match was no less entertaining.

The first set swayed one way and then the other as Jonny and Jacqui traded blows.

Jacqui managed to take the first set 6/5 but it looked as though it had taken everything from her as she went down 6/1 in a lightning fast second set.

The last laugh was hers though as she pulled herself back off the canvas and won the third 6/4.

Incredible match.

The third brawl was gruesome.

I cannot possibly describe the majority of the events from this encounter as this is a PG rated article.

Suffice to say, that despite the valiant and occasional incredible shots from Barbara Bush, our very own King of Gladiators, Trish the Merciless Morris, lived up to her reputation as she carved up her opponent in a 6/1 6/0 massacre.

The main event of the day brough two titans of the arena together as Janine Mighty Mendham and Angela the Power Probyn faced off in a bare-knuckle extravaganza.

Limbs were torn and flung to all corners of the court.

The sound of thunder echoed around the court as these two bruisers set about each other.

The cries of anguish will forever be a part of this court.

This brave young marker watched through stinging tears in order to accurately report on this furious battle.

Angela knows her way around a Real Tennis Court and this, along with some fantastic volleying, proved to be the difference as she struck Janine down 6/3 /64.

Despite the brutality and occasional decapitation, you may be surprised to hear that there were no actual fatalities.

A good day then at our beloved BRTC.

So… as the dust settles and I mop up the blood and sweep the remaining bone fragments from the court, I am left contemplating this epic occasion.

All that is left to say is thank you.

Thank you to Angela Probyn for catering and Gary Mendham for his moral support in the Dedans.

But mostly to the players who survived the day.

You shall not be forgotten.

Cheers,

Ben the Brave

BRTC V LRTA - SATURDAY 13TH MAY 2023

  The sun shone and 4 LRTA members came to take on the might of BRTC.  Sadly that might didn’t stand up to the invaders who played excellent tennis throughout the day and came away with a win of 4 matches to 2.

In line with T&RA guidelines the home team played with an extra handicap of 2points against them.

Fiona Rugg found Jacqui Siu’s hard accurate hitting difficult to cope and despite a spirited defence lost 3-9

Angela Probyn and John Grice’s doubles match was fast, furious and hard hitting against Jacqui and Trudi Machin. Because of the discrepancy between John and Angela’s handicaps (51 and 69) they decided to play one up one back in traditional doubles style.  Luckily Angela’s volleying was on song for once and John’s nimbleness, excellent boasts and accurate hitting meant they won 8-3 so 1-1 and plenty to play for.

Trudi, maybe spurred on by her defeat in the previous game but whatever the cause,  upped her game and played almost flawless tennis which John could do nothing about. Trudi won 1-9. 

Next Alison Trujillo played Sophia Lewis.  Alison took a little time to find her form but it turned into a close match which Sophia finally took 5-9.

Alison then paired up with Felicity Sargent to take on Estonia’s finest, Ulla Petti, and Sophia.  Again the LRTA ladies were too strong for the home team taking it 3-8 and finally Felicity played singles against Ulla and having dashed to a reasonable lead was pinned back until finally winning 9-6.

Thank you to Ben C for all the marking, and to the LRTA ladies for making it here and giving us all some really good tennis.

Angela Probyn

BRTC 25TH ANNIVERSARY

On the weekend of February 10th, the club celebrated 25yrs of the courts existence by hosting a National Team Doubles tournament which was a sell out at 32 pairs. Bristol teams from Bristol were paired up with a visiting team to create an overall team of 4 players. Everybody was split into round robin groups with each doubles pair recruiting points for their team in order to qualify from their group and move onto the knockout stages.

A special mention in the group stage should go to Giles Watkins, Elliot Watkins (Bristol), James Scott and Philip Wilson (Hatfield) for getting through their group with a perfect record of nine points, a flawless group stage!

Sunday’s knockout stages followed a superb dinner on Saturday evening at The Clifton Club, with over £9000 raised to go towards the thriving junior development fund at the club, so well done to everybody for their contributions.

Two of the Quarter Finals were straightforward with 2-0 victories, with the other two being tied 1-1 and going on games countback to determine the winners.

The first semi final saw the young gun Bristol team of Felix Wigzell and Thea Berry taking on Reggie Williams & Charlie Grubb, also Bristol. The youngsters came flying out of the blocks, winning the early games. Poor Reg & Charlie had too much work to do and couldn’t get back into the match. The final score was 6-0, putting Felix & Thea’s team in pole position for the match. Their partners, Charlie Wells & Rachel Hollington (Leamington) knew that all they had to do was get one game against their local rivals Henry Bryan & Rob Stewart (also Leamington). They did win the first game, so the tie was over. However the four of them then played out a superb match which went game for game, all the way to 5-5 before Henry & Rob were able to get over the line and take the moral victory! Felix, The, Charlie & Rachel progressed to the final.

In the bottom half of the draw, the undefeated father/son pairing of Giles & Elliot Watkins (Bristol) took to the court to face Ian Hawkey & Brian Muir (Prested). The Watkins pair had been invincible so far in the tournament, and showed that yet again with Elliott in particular playing well beyond his years at 16yrs old and playing superbly. He was able to be the running legs for the father/son pairing and retrieved very well for the team. Ian & Brian were doing their best to break down the wall, but unfortunately to no avail and went down 6-2. The Watkins’ teammates James Scott & Philip Wilson then took to the court knowing 2 games would be enough to win the tie. They were up against Simon Berry & Nigel Pendrigh (Petworth). A wonderful battle of styles versus handicap took place, with Nigel able to dominate proceedings and open up a lead for them. As well all know with handicap, games can flash past you. James & Philip were able to get to 3-5, meaning the tie was over, and then reeled off two very quick games to get us deadlocked at 5-5. Nigel refocussed and put in a flawless game, beating two chases of better than 2 within that game to win the rubber 6-5, but it was Watkins x 2, Scott & Wilson that progressed through to the final.

Felix and Thea were first up to play Giles & Elliot Watkins. The Watkins’ used their handicap advantage to open up a 2-0 lead. Felix & Thea were then able to find their feet and dig in, getting a game on the board, and then a second. At 2-2, the momentum shifted towards Felix & Thea. This was the first time during the tournament that the Watkins pair had been under sustained pressure, with Felix playing near faultless tennis. The rallies were plentiful, but Felix just had that one extra shot in his back pocket, and was able to grind down Giles & Elliott. First blood to the university students 6-3.

Their teammates Charlie & Rachel then played James & Philip. Another great match with plentiful rallies and an entertained dedans took place. Charlie was able to stamp his authority as the lowest handicap player on court and dictate the points. They opened up a lead and were able to keep their noses in front by a game or two throughout the set. A resurgent James & Philip were then able to dig in, and force a few errors. It had looked like Charlie & Rachel were going to get the set with a 6-3 scoreline but James & Philip forced us to a 5-5 grand finale, a fitting way to end the tournament. Charlie & Rachel dug in, and got the job finished, winning 6-5, giving their team a 2-0 win the in the final.

A huge thank you goes to so many people for making the tournament go ahead, and were kindly thanked at various points over the course of the weekend, and again, thank you from the Pro Shop for all of your hard work. Thank you to all of you who played. Without the enthusiasm of you players, the tournament wouldn’t be played, let alone successful as it was. We really enjoyed hosting you all, the club was busy all weekend, and to all of the visiting players, thank you and we really hope you enjoyed your weekend at the club.

The Bens!

MICHAEL JONES TROPHY - Club Handicap Singles

The Club Handicap Singles, played for the Michael Jones Trophy was played the week commencing Monday 13th June. We had a very strong entry of 32, split into 8 boxes, played throughout the week to suit availability, culminating in the knockout stages on Sunday.

After a busy morning playing the round of 16 matches, we got to the Quarter Final stage just after lunch.

Bruce Newman and Tom Morris took to the court to kick us off. After a very bright start from Tom, Bruce was then able to get control of the match and apply constant pressure, forcing Tom into errors that he hadn’t made earlier that day. Having grasped the handicap, Bruce ran out a 6-2 winner.

Next up was Angela Probyn and Jan Fuller, who played out a superbly friendly competitive match! Lots of laughs and some good rallies, meant for a very enjoyable match, with Angela playing her way into an early lead. She was able to keep her neck in front, and took the match 6-3.

Paul Beanlands and James Gareh then played out a superb 6-5 match! Neither player was able to create any daylight during the whole match, and whilst it was James who got to 5 first, it was Paul who got to 6!

Nick Geere & Oliver Rigby completed the Quarter Final line-up and shared the first 4 games in a very close start. Nick was then able to pin Oliver down and take control of the set, reeling off 4 straight games to make his way into the Semi Finals with a 6-2 victory.

The Semi Finals saw both ends of the handicap scale being played out. Angela Probyn played Bruce Newman, with a handicap difference of rec 30, owe 40 - 1 serve banned tambour, quite the mountain for Bruce. Having hit the tambour in the first game, he realised that that strategy was destined to fail, and started getting the ball into the winning gallery corner. Adapting your game and fighting everything that comes naturally to you is a very difficult task, but unfortunately for Angela, Bruce was adapting extremely well and produced a practically flawless display. Angela was trying desperately to get the ball into the galleries to get the serve, but couldn’t quite find her target and Bruce punished everything that didn’t go in. 6-2 to Bruce and he was our first finalist.

The second Semi Final was Paul Beanlands v Nick Geere. Nick had been able to get chases out of the corners against his previous opponents, but Paul was flying around the court volleying as much as he possibly could, and volleying it well. The time pressure that Nick was under started to show as a few uncharacteristic errors crept in, seeing the scoreboard tick over in Paul’s favour. Playing with the freedom of receiving handicap as well, Paul took control of the match, playing very positively, and making his way into the final with a 6-2 victory.

The handicap in the final  was in Paul’s favour, receive ½ 30, owe 15. Bruce adopted the same strategy that he’d used for the whole day: Get to the service end, stay there, and soak up all of the pressure. It had worked all day so far, so would it work again? Things couldn’t have started any better for him as he won the spin and elected to serve! Bruce was able to dominate the service end for the entirety of the match. Paul was cutting balls off, volleying into the corners and putting Bruce under pressure, but his retrieval was superb. Paul was not playing badly, he just didn’t have an answer to Bruce’s reliability from the service end. In a very good final, the scoreboard didn’t do it justice as Bruce Newman became the 2022 Michael Jones Handicap Singles Winner 6-1.

A big thank to everybody who played throughout the week, it was a very well supported event and we hope that that is a sign of things to come for the club events moving forwards!

Peter Probyn (PJ)

We are very sorry to report that Peter (PJ) Probyn, the Club’s President, died peacefully in his sleep .

PJ was one of the very first players to join the Club after its formation in 1985, and was active as both a player and as an enthusiastic recruiter of new members in the years leading up to the building of our court in 1997.

He served as a member of the Club committee and as a Director of the Limited Company (which owns the court building) for many years.

He took on the role of Chairman in 2002, and served in that role for four eventful years which saw the Club develop and grow under his expert guidance.

Peter continued to participate in many of the Club’s activities in subsequent years, and was elected as President in 2018 in recognition of his prolonged and significant contributions to the Club for over 35 years.

He will be sadly missed, and we send our deepest sympathies to Angela and the rest of his family

NEW YEARS DAY HANGOVER DOUBLES

Saturday 1st January 2022

This year we had five couples contesting the Hangover Doubles, a handicap event that is played not too seriously on New Year’s Day.

Each pair plays the others in a first to six game set, with two additional rules -  players wearing hats to receive a bisque (i.e. a point that can be claimed once in the set) and serving to be done from the hazard end.

Everyone came with a hat and perhaps there should have been a prize for the best – or worst – one!.

The first pair needed to be away by lunch time so had to play all of their matches consecutively. This meant that they were able to hone their serving and receiving skills as they went along, making them the overall winners in absentia.

The other pairs learnt as they went along, with calls of ‘bisque’ being made at regular intervals and some very classy returns of serve as players gradually got more used to the twists and turns of the ball.

A great time was had by all and a very big thank you to Chris Ronaldson for organising and all the marking. 

Sam Beale

Following Sam’s recent and hugely sad death, this piece is being written for the primary benefit of members and friends of the Bristol Real Tennis Club, but it must include some thoughts about wider aspects of Sam and his life.

To start from the personal, I owe my participation in real tennis – and indeed in rackets – very largely to Sam. One windless day on Hayling Island when Lyn and I were staying with Sam and Ellie, and windsurfing was clearly off the menu, Sam lead us along to the Hayling Island club and baptised us into the allure of realers and the mysteries of its scoring system. The seed of interest was very firmly planted and we consequently joined BBRTC which was then a club in search of a court and a cause which we were keen to be part of.

I am sure we were amongst many who were drawn to the game and sustained in their participation by Sam’s great enthusiasm and skilful advocacy. Sam has been continually industrious and highly effective at supporting and promoting the game in a wide range of ways. Passion is an overused word, but it must surely and thoroughly apply to Sam’s involvement in real tennis. His thoughtful and organised action consistently bore fruit, both within our club and on a wider canvas including the T&RA. This has resulted in more enjoyment for many people and a stronger club and sport than would otherwise have been the case. As just one example, he was for many years a key part of the success of the annual Boasters weekend which brought talented and enthusiastic players from the rackets court to enjoy and appreciate the pleasures of real tennis.  Whilst mentioning rackets, his low-key but hugely successful initiative in sourcing an inexpensive and excellent ball for rackets is typical of the man and the name ‘Beale ball’ should endure as a fitting tribute.

Sam was liked and admired by everyone. He was, of course, a pleasure to be with on court, where his high level of skill was clear but, endearingly, his lack of significant concern about maximising the number of points and games which his skill could have earned was also always evident. A higher priority for Sam was that everyone should have enjoyed their time on court. This charm and talent extended to all aspects of his personal and professional life and must have contributed to the high level of responsibility and consequent influence which he achieved within the aerospace industry. His thoughtful, analytical, yet empathetic and somewhat self-deprecating manner was a pleasure to experience and very effective at getting things done.

Throughout a long marriage, Sam was blessed with Ellie as a steadfast and loving companion. Few lives escape some tests and obstacles and Ellie has always been a provider of loving and practical support. BRTC members and Clifton Boasters will have seen and benefited from Ellie’s hard work for the Boasters weekend and their family game of tennis every Christmas Day which commemorated where Sam was (playing realers with his father-in-law) whilst Ellie was otherwise engaged in the birth of their firstborn Sarah, must have always been a very fitting and fun occasion. Latterly, Ellie and her family have been with Sam through the most testing of times as he displayed his characteristic dignity, positivity and humour during his final illness. Everyone who knew Sam will miss him. It was a life very well lived.

Nigel Harradine

The family have set up a fund raising page at St Peter's Hospice for anyone who feels like making a donation in memory of Sam.

https://www.stpetershospice.org/tribute-funds/tributes-for-sam-beale/

TIER3 RE-OPENING - Wednesday 2nd December

 We are delighted to be open again in line with Government and T&RA guidance.

 COVID-19 safety measures are in place for our Tier 3 category, but we welcome players who are in their own household bubble or who would like a private lesson with Ben. 

 Please ring Ben directly to book yourself in. 

 We can’t wait to see you!

WE ARE OPEN AGAIN!! WOOHOOOOOO!!!

Hi All,

Just wanted to welcome you all back!

The court is now open so please contact the club to book in.

We are fully Covid compliant and the policy and risk assessment are available to view under the ‘useful links’ section.

Hope to see you soon.

SIX NATIONS TENNIS

Our inaugural Six Nations Tennis tournament took place on the weekend of 7/8th March.

It was a hugely successful and busy weekend with 22 entrants in a handicap singles format .

Thank you to all who made it such great fun.

And although Tom Lewis (handicap 21) gave it all, he lost in the final to James Dron (52) 4/1 4/0…

James impressed in and off the court…

Looking forwards to next year already!

Ponsford Plate - Sunday 1st March

Our annual handicap mixed doubles was contested by 6 pairs in a very full and enjoyable day!

Congratulations to all, but especially David and daughter, Lucinda Pigott, who came out as overall champions.

She definitely carried him through….

Ron Brown Trophy

The Ron Brown Trophy – the Club Ladies Open Singles – was
held on Tuesday 18th February, with just three entrants (Eleanor
Beale, Barbara Coates and Sarah Bryan). They played each other in a round
robin, with Sarah emerging victorious having won both of her matches with some
excellent tennis.  She was duly presented with the Ron Brown Trophy, which
is a beautifully carved slab of white marble.

What's On in February 2020

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

February Fun

Just a few photos from February so far…including the visit from The Hyde and our National league visit to Petworth House…

What’s On and Newsletter for January 2020

Dear Member,

A slightly belated Happy New Year – and I hope you all enjoyed a good
Christmas.

CLUB MATTERS

Court utilisation for December was
46%, with court utilisation overall for 2019 at 45% - slightly better than the
year before but still well below our optimum target. Ben is doing his best to
get more members on court more often but it can be an uphill struggle with
illness and injuries – so please take note of his rallying calls and get your
name down to play.

TENNIS MATTERS

The Hangover Doubles on 1st January attracted a small entry of only four pairs, which became even smaller
on the day because of illness – but the seven players still standing had an
entertaining time changing partners throughout the day to a considerable amount
of barracking from the dedans!  KK did a champion job in calculating
handicaps as well as doing all the marking.  The overall winner, based on
the number of games won, was Miles Farren, who duly received a bottle of liquid
refreshment to take home. 

Unfortunately the home match against Middlesex, scheduled
for Saturday 11th January, has been cancelled as they could not get
a team together.  Likewise the trip to Bordeaux has been further
postponed – the court apparently is built
but the nets have yet to arrive!

On Saturday 18th January there is a Taster Session
in the morning – the first ‘official’ taster session of the year. This will be
followed in the afternoon by the Secretary’s Invitation Singles, which
is open to all handicaps.  So anyone attending the Taster Session will be
able to stay on and watch some singles.  And remember KK and Ben will be
more than happy to arrange additional Taster Sessions, as long as the
court is free – just get in touch with them.

I am hoping that we will have a sufficient number of new members, who
have been playing for less than 12 months, come along to take part in the Yearling
Cup on Sunday 19th January.  Don’t be shy as this is
a very good way of meeting other new members and playing different people.

Then on Saturday 25th January, Chris Willows will be
leading a team to play against the Oratory, which is near Reading and onSunday 26th January there is the Chairman’s Sunday Doubles,
which is open to all handicaps. Unfortunately the Chairman and her spouse will
not be playing but they will still be providing a light lunch!

I would also like to get a plug in for Saturday 1st
February when we hope to be hosting a team from the Hyde.

SOCIAL EVENTS

There are no social events planned for January, but we are looking to
hold an event for new members to meet the Committee in March.

And Ben is looking to run a handicap singles tournament alongside the
Rugby 6 Nations in February/March, which will include a lot of social
activities!

MATCH RESULTS

The Beale Trophy and Exmoor Horn – Under 18 Club Championships

These were contested by two of our juniors. Henry Taubman won the Beale
Trophy 9-3, played off level, and Dominic Bruton won the Exmoor Horn 9-3,
played off handicap. So congratulations to both of you.

The boys also went on to play in the Peter Lucke-Hille Cup at
Oxford. I understand that they had great fun but limited success – so better
luck next time

With best wishes,

Claire

PLH Cup v Oxford

7th December 2019

The Bristol Juniors took on Oxford Juniors in the first round of the 2019/20 Peter Luck-Hille cup. Bristol were playing away at Oxford and during the knock up were intrigued to play on the Oxford court for the first time, with the court different in several dimensions and feeling rather smaller than at home.

In the first singles match Henry Taubman (65) took on Julius Gasson [70] but despite a close match, with many of the games going to game point, Julius won the match 9 games to 2. Dominic Bruton (85) then played Merlin Kavenna [ 85] in the second singles match but this game was also going to Oxford, Julius winning 9 games to 1.

The final match was a doubles game which again was close with the final score in Oxford’s favour 9 games to 3, both the Bristol boys struggling to adjust the length of their shots.

The match was scored by Craig Greenhalgh who ensured that the matches were played in friendly and sporting spirit and helped the Bristol pair learn a lot about playing in different conditions. Afterwards the hosts laid on an excellent tea with an appropriately Christmassy flavour, which was appreciated by all.

Oxford beat Bristol – 3 -0 and go through to the next round.

The Hangover Doubles 2020

It was a low entry this year and became even lower on the day because of illness –
but seven contenders battled it out, changing partners at regular intervals.

Great fun was had by all and the overall winner – as calculated by KK – was Miles
Farren, who duly received a suitable bottle of sparkling wine.

A big thank you to KK for calculating some complex handicaps and doing all the
marking – and also to Bob and Claire for doing lunch.