Tennis the magazine for March 2011 In this issue... Awards Evening My Tennis Club News Large turnout from clubs at Tennis Leicestershire’s AGM A well attended and informative AGM was held at the Oadby Granville club on Monday 28th February. The financial report was presented by Treasurer Nick Anstead, who outlined the reasons for the substantial deficit. Over half of the loss was due to provisions necessary to cover our 3 year contractual obligation to underwrite part of the Knighton Tennis Centre’s operating losses. A question was raised about the continuing reported losses for the Junior County Closed Championships. A constructive debate ensued with court hire fees identified as the major cost element. It was also noted that the LTA accounts format does not net off specific sponsorship money allocated to both Junior and Senior Championships. This would result in at least a break even scenario for both events. The Accounts were formally proposed and unanimously accepted. Jean Green from Victoria TC was elected to the Board as a new Director with Tony Jarvis and John Chapman being re-elected. Joyce Wright was nominated and elected as an Honorary Life Member of Tennis Leicestershire. This was in recognition of her 30+ years of dedicated service to County committees and over 20 years in Junior and Senior League Secretary positions. Joyce is now retiring from all County duties and John Chapman thanked her on behalf of all clubs for her outstanding contribution. In a wide ranging key note address from Chairman John Chapman, a resume of the year was given outlining difficulties and successes both on and off the court. The move to obtain charitable status for TLL was proving a little more problematic than originally envisaged and could take many months or years to obtain. A parallel application for a new trust called “Tennis Leicestershire Charitable Trust” is being fast tracked to continue the valuable work of the Discretionary Trust which has disbursed almost £20000 to worthy juniors since inception. John gave an insight to the changing role of the County and increasing budgetary pressures from the LTA and the consequent need to trim costs to achieve a neutral budget by 2012. A feature of the year arising from last year’s AGM was the significant amount of consultation with the clubs resulting in several policy issues, particularly with regard to team competitions, being changed in accordance with clubs’ wishes. Success on the court included recognition of many county juniors, together with the success of County teams, the strong over 35s and Vets section. John thanked our sponsors Charles Street Group, the Everard Foundation, Wilson, Bosprint and Greenshires Group for their continued and valuable support. Paul Sheard was thanked for his commitment and dedication. Tuula Hastings and Yasmeen Underwood were also thanked for their support. Tennis Development Manager Paul Sheard reported that 20 Clubs had now gained Club Mark status with several more working towards accreditation. Charnwood and Knighton have been accredited as Beacon sites and they will now provide an element of free and affordable tennis for the general public without the need for membership. Paul reported on his work with schools and hoped that partnerships could be retained despite school sport budget cuts. Junior competition is still a priority for British Tennis and our county is in a healthy state with 870 juniors competing regularly and over 200 teams entering the Aegon Team Tennis competition. Paul thanked many individuals for their work in the county, including Andy Barnes who will shortly be moving to Warwickshire & Nottinghamshire as TPC. The meeting concluded with the Chairman thanking the Board, all committee members, all volunteers at club and county level for their input, dedication and enthusiasm. Joyce Wright
Transcript
TennisLeicestershire
Tennis
Tennis Leicestersh
ire
TennisLeicestershire Tennis
Leicestershire
TennisTennis Leiceste
rshire
TennisLeicestershire
the magazine for
March 2011
In this issue...
Awards Evening
My Tennis
Club News
Large turnout from clubs at Tennis Leicestershire’s AGMA well attended and informative AGM was held at the Oadby Granville club on Monday 28th February.
The financial report was presented by Treasurer Nick Anstead, who outlined the reasons for the substantial deficit. Over half of the loss was due to provisions necessary to cover our 3 year contractual obligation to underwrite part of the Knighton Tennis Centre’s operating losses. A question was raised about the continuing reported losses for the Junior County Closed Championships. A constructive debate ensued with court hire fees identified as the major cost element. It was also noted that the LTA accounts format does not net off specific sponsorship money allocated to both Junior and Senior Championships. This would result in at least a break even scenario for both events. The Accounts were formally proposed and unanimously accepted.
Jean Green from Victoria TC was elected to the Board as a new Director with Tony Jarvis and John Chapman being re-elected.
Joyce Wright was nominated and elected as an Honorary Life Member of Tennis Leicestershire. This was in recognition of her 30+ years of dedicated service to County committees and over 20 years in Junior and Senior League Secretary positions. Joyce is now retiring from all County duties and John Chapman thanked her on behalf of all clubs for her outstanding contribution.
In a wide ranging key note address from Chairman John Chapman, a resume of the year was given outlining difficulties and successes both on and off the court. The move to obtain charitable status for TLL was proving a little more problematic than originally envisaged and could take many months or years to obtain. A parallel application for a new trust called “Tennis Leicestershire Charitable Trust” is being fast tracked to continue the valuable work of the Discretionary Trust which has disbursed almost £20000 to worthy juniors since inception. John gave an insight to the changing role of the County and increasing budgetary pressures from the LTA and the consequent need to trim costs to achieve a neutral budget by 2012. A feature of the year arising from last year’s AGM was the significant amount of consultation with the clubs resulting in several policy issues, particularly with regard to team competitions, being changed in accordance with clubs’ wishes.
Success on the court included recognition of many county juniors, together with the success of County teams, the strong over 35s and Vets section. John thanked our sponsors Charles Street Group, the Everard Foundation, Wilson, Bosprint and Greenshires Group for their continued and valuable support. Paul Sheard was thanked for his commitment and dedication. Tuula Hastings and Yasmeen Underwood were also thanked for their support.
Tennis Development Manager Paul Sheard reported that 20 Clubs had now gained Club Mark status with several more working towards accreditation. Charnwood and Knighton have been accredited as Beacon sites and they will now provide an element of free and affordable tennis for the general public without the need for membership. Paul reported on his work with schools and hoped that partnerships could be retained despite school sport budget cuts. Junior competition is still a priority for British Tennis and our county is in a healthy state with 870 juniors competing regularly and over 200 teams entering the Aegon Team Tennis competition. Paul thanked many individuals for their work in the county, including Andy Barnes who will shortly be moving to Warwickshire & Nottinghamshire as TPC.
The meeting concluded with the Chairman thanking the Board, all committee members, all volunteers at club and county level for their input, dedication and enthusiasm.
Joyce Wright
The winter tennis season is nearly drawing to a close and after some of the bad weather that we have endured during the last few months I’m sure that tennis players from across the county are looking forward to the summer season with light nights and warmer weather.
Despite the weather it has been a busy few months for tennis in the county. I am sure that all of you who attended the Leicestershire Awards Evening in early February will agree that it was another excellent night and Annabel Croft proved to be a great speaker with some very entertaining stories!
On the club front, I am pleased to report that Charnwood and Knighton have recently been accredited as the first two beacon sites in Leicestershire. Beacon sites are part of a new initiative to broaden the base of people playing tennis. They provide affordable tennis opportunities for the local community and are usually based at a site on local authority or parks courts. There are a number of other sites around the county that are working towards beacon status that we are hoping to accredit over the coming months. I would also like to congratulate Knighton and Desford on achieving clubmark accreditation taking the total in Leicestershire to twenty.
We will be holding a Club Forum shortly that will cover developing the tennis programme at your club or Place to Play. The forum will include advice and resources to support you to attract new participants and programming
support to help you to retain existing participants. The county office will be in touch shortly to confirm the details for the Club Forum.
The new LTA website was launched in January with a range of improvements, so why not log in to the Leicestershire ‘in-your-area’ section which is well worth a look. Tennis clubs can also promote their venue on the LTA website by completing the self service advertising page and the ‘what’s on offer?’ section. To do this simply log in to the website and complete all the relevant details.
There will be a wide range of tournaments taking place in Leicestershire during the spring and summer. We have been working hard during recent weeks to pull together all the details for the Derbyshire and Leicestershire Competition Yearbook. This is now available on the LTA website in the Competitions section and includes details of all tournaments for the summer season.
As some of you will be aware, Andy Barnes will shortly be leaving his post of Talent Performance Co-ordinator for the East Midlands to take up a new role as TPC for Warwickshire and Nottinghamshire. I would like to thank Andy for the outstanding work he has put in during the last three and a half years. He has done a tremendous job supporting the development of the best young players in the region and working with the satellite clubs. I am sure Andy will be a great success in his new role and he will be greatly missed in the East Midlands. A new TPC will come into post over the coming months with the role now covering Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire.
I look forward to seeing you around the clubs this spring and summer and, as ever, if you need my help with anything then please feel free to get in touch.
Paul SheardTennis Development ManagerLeicestershire and Derbyshire
TennisLeicestershire
Tennis
Tennis Leicestersh
ire
TennisLeicestershire
Issue 11 March 2011’Vantage is the publication of
Tennis Leicestershire
Design & Print by Bosprint Ltd, Units 38-40
Hastings Road Ind EstHastings Road, Leicester, LE5 0LJ
The MyTennis programme at Loughborough University continues to grow from strength to strength. Launched in September 2010, we have enjoyed a very positive and productive first term and a half with a huge amount of time and energy invested behind the scenes to ensure the long-term sustainability of the programme and the business.
The MyTennis School provides the opportunity for ambitious and committed junior players aged 10-16 to combine a full-time tennis and physical training programme with on-site academic education. It has been a very exciting period for the 10 members of the school who are now recuperating and taking stock from a significant and sustained competition phase, with the opportunity for many to represent GB and compete in some of the most prestigious arenas on the European junior circuit, including Teen Tennis in Bolton and Les Petits As in Tarbes, France. This has been a fantastic learning experience and will serve to inform our practice into the next training block as we head towards Tennis Europe events in Nottingham, Rome, and Latvia.
For those that have chosen to pursue a conventional academic route at a school within striking distance of the centre at Loughborough the MyTennis Performance Programme provides evening and day-time training opportunities that will allow players to further their tennis ambitions and compete at a county, national, and international level. We currently provide programmes and opportunities for over 30 players from throughout the Midlands region.
The re-launch of our Senior Player Programme in January represents a partnership with Loughborough University to provide training and competitive opportunities for players aged 16+. An integral part of this programme is the LTA Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence initiative. This excellent scheme arguably does not receive the profile it deserves offering as it does the opportunity for older juniors to access 10 hours per week of government-funded tennis and physical training scheduled to fit harmoniously with higher education (A-Levels, BTEC etc) and the opportunity to take LTA coaching qualifications. Lead coaches David Ireland and Tom Rushby are working closely with John Pankhurst
(Loughborough University Head Coach) to provide a seamless and motivational pathway for the student athlete at Loughborough.
The MyTennis Superminis programme, headed up by Mike Peel, continues to lead the UK trend in 10U performance coaching. We fully anticipate a record 14 of our Superminis to be selected to attend LTA National Talent ID
this year- more than most regions! There is a real buzz around the centre after 4pm and a very encouraging trend towards and emphasis on local homegrown talent with Leicestershire players currently training as part of the programme and players like Alex Lunn and Anna Chesca excelling at a national level. Mike’s infectious enthusiasm and passion for the game continues to inspire the next generation of national and international competitors.
We have also been very keen to use this period to reengage and foster positive and productive relationships with the local Leicestershire coaching community. We have a genuine commitment to working closely with Tennis Leicestershire, the local LTA Talent Team, and the community of Leicestershire clubs and coaches to explore ways in which the MyTennis programme can act as a cohesive force for good within the county performance landscape by;
✓ providing coach education and development opportunities
✓ forging tangible and meaningful links with local clubs and coaches
✓ contributing to and driving a functional and transparent player development pathway and talent ID structure across the county
✓ contributing to continuing efforts to drive the standard in Leicestershire county tennis and to the success of the junior county teams
If you get the chance please check out the MyTennis website www.mytennisuk.com to keep up-to-date with all the latest news and developments in the world of MyTennis. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter or contact us at:
MyTennisCHARNWOOD TENNIS CLUB ACHIEVES NATIONAL RECOGNITION
The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) and Tennis Foundation have announced that Charnwood Tennis Club in Loughborough, one of the area’s leading tennis sites, has been awarded ‘Beacon’ status as part of the AEGON Parks Tennis programme in recognition of their high quality, affordable community tennis programmes.
The announcement was made as the club was presented with their prestigious Beacon plaque by Tom Harlow, LTA Development Director.
The club joins 94 sites across the country to achieve the national accolade which recognises the best community-focussed facilities offering free and affordable tennis as part of the AEGON Parks programme.
To achieve this status, facilities must also offer access to quality, affordable coaching as well as regular competitions for all ages and abilities.
Tom Harlow, LTA Development Director, said: “I am delighted to present this Beacon plaque to Charnwood Tennis Club. It is testament to the team here of the hard work they are putting in to promote tennis to the local community that they are now recognised on the AEGON Parks programme.
“Tennis is a sport for everyone and the AEGON Parks programme is helping to spread that message and deliver tennis to all in the local community. Charnwood is a great example of that and we look forward to seeing the programme here grow and develop over the coming years.”
To mark the occasion, children from Watermead Day Nursery in Loughborough were invited to Charnwood Tennis Club to take part in a mini-tennis session lead by Club Coach, Matt Wilford.
Wilford said: “Charnwood Tennis Club is delighted to be awarded Beacon status by the LTA and Tennis Foundation.”
“We are committed to making tennis accessible to all ages and abilities and hope this will help develop our programme and continue to grow tennis in the local community.”
AEGON Parks Tennis aims to increase community access to tennis in parks and communities nationwide. Delivered by the LTA and Tennis Foundation, AEGON Parks Tennis is a key programme in British tennis’ drive to increase participation and grow tennis at all levels. The long-term aim is to have an AEGON Parks Tennis site acting as a centre of community tennis excellence in each of the local authority areas in Britain.
To find your nearest place to play tennis visit www.lta.org.uk/playtennis.
For more information about Charnwood Tennis Club, contact Matt Wilford (Coach) on 07976 923 391 or visit www.charnwoodltc.yolasite.com
2
’Vantage makes every effort to ensure that the editorial is factually correct at the time of going to press. We cannot accept responsibility for any subsequent errors. ’Vantage, and Tennis Leicestershire Limited (The Publishers), are not responsible for any unsolicited material, nor for the views of the authors of articles which remain theirs alone. We always ask those submitting material to make sure that it is in compliance with the appropriate legislation including the Copyright Act and Child Protection Law and ’Vantage only accepts material for publication if we have been given reasonable assurances that this is the case. If we have reason to believe, or we consider that the article is, in any way, defamatory or is needless publicity for a defamatory matter or is in contravention of current legislation we reserve the right not to publish such material. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from the publishers.
The next edition of ’Vantage magazine is due to be published in June 2011. Please submit articles to be included by 28th May to [email protected]
2 3
LEICESTERSHIRE
Held at:
The Leicestershire Lawn Tennis Club & Knighton Tennis Centre
18, 16, 14, 12 and 10& U singles Staggered draws Sign-up consolation 18, 15 and 12 & U Doubles Mixed Doubles
And:
The Dan Maskell Centre (Loughborough University)
8 & U Mini Red 9 & U Mini Orange Both events: Round Robin
Tennis Leicestershire held its 4th annual awards evening on Thursday 3rd February. This highly enjoyable night, which is fast becoming a popular highlight in the Leicestershire tennis calendar, took place in the appropriately named ‘Honours’ conference suite in Leicester Tigers magnificent new stand.
Players from clubs all over Leicestershire and Rutland came together for an evening of celebration for league winners and for those recognised with special awards. It was standing room only at the back as over 350 came together from far and wide on a cold winter’s night.
Continuing the tradition of having an entertaining guest presenter from the world of tennis, former British No1 now turned television presenter, Annabel Croft, delighted all those present with a wide ranging talk on her own career and her thoughts on the
game today. Annabel included humourous insights into the normally closed world of the Wimbledon changing rooms and her thoughts on how we could improve junior coaching by adopting some of the very successful Spanish training techniques.
Our own Mark Cox, former British No1 himself and current President of Tennis Leicestershire, also gave an entertaining resume of the state of British tennis and was a consummate joint host for the evening in tandem with John Chapman, chairman of Tennis Leics.
We were also honoured once again to have president of Leicester Tigers and vice president of Tennis Leics, Mike Harrison, on hand to make the special awards.
Amongst those chosen for special recognition by an independent panel were former Tennis Leics chairman Alison Picken, who was given
the ‘Lifetime Achievement award’, Joyce Wright of LFE, ‘Volunteer of the Year’ for her years of sterling work for others, Zara Jurenko of Desford retained her special disablity award, Paul Bradfield of Kibworth was ‘Coach of the Year’ for the second time in 3 years and Leics Men’s Vets team, captained by John Ison and including vet of the year Steve Brett, won the prestigious ‘Team of the Year’ title.
The evening ended with trophies and certificates being awarded to the various winning teams of the summer and winter leagues together with knock out cup winners.
To end, John Chapman took the opportunity to consult with all those attending as to whether they would wish to keep the awards format the same next year. As this was greeted with an overwhelming ‘yes’ we can only finish by saying - HERE’S TO NEXT YEAR!
350 FLOCK TO SENIOR AWARDS EVENING HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL NIGHT OF CELEBRATION AT THE TIGERS GROUND
Jack Simpson -
Anthony Hunting Cup
Alison Picken - Lifetime Achievement
Paul Bradfield - Coach
Zara Jurenko - Special Disability
Joyce Wright - Volunteer
Tom Kisiel - Senior Player
Helen Thorpe - Junior Girl
Charlotte Griffin - Greenshires Cup
Steve Brett - Veteran Player
Barnaby Thorold - Junior Boy
County Mens over 35 team - Team Award
98
Annabel Croft presenting the Browning Cup and the Sports Mercury Cup to members of the Leicestershire Lawn Tennis Club. The ladies team retained their summer league Champions title and the mixed team won the prestigious Sports Mercury Cup for the third consecutive year. They also picked up two mixed league and one Veterans title
Annabel Croft and Mark Cox presenting the Charnwood Lawn Tennis Club with the Tennis Leicester Cup, Martin Newmark Cup, Chadwell Cup and the Thurnby Cup. They won a total of 7 titles in 2010
TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP WINNERS 2010
Annabel Croft and Mark Cox presenting the Leicester Forest East Tennis Club with the Tennis Leicestershire Cup, Brown Cup, Sadd Cup and the Men’s Premiership Champions Cup
Oadby
Market Harborough
Loughborough Greenfields
Hinckley
Hamilton Hamilton
Kibworth
Gynsill
Carisbrooke
Desford
Syston Northfields
Ashby
Oakham
Like most other clubs, winter tennis was badly affected by snow-covered courts and weeks of wet weather. Fortunately we managed to complete all Winter League matches, with our Men’s 1st team (captained by John Braint) winning Division One and collecting the Martin Newmark Trophy at the recent Leicestershire Tennis Awards Evening. Our Men’s 3rd team (captained by Simon Howse) and Ladies 3rd team (captained by Diane Zarins) were both 2nd in their respective leagues and so have gained promotion for the next winter season.
At the club’s AGM Chairman Katie England announced the award of two new life memberships - to David Straker and Dennis van der Byl. Between them they have been members for 66 years and during that time have been involved in many aspects of running the club and helping to develop what we have today. Both continue to be strong supporters of the club today, especially during tournaments and throughout the match season. Congratulations to both members.
In January, over 50 members past and present gathered at the club to celebrate Nev Watkin’s 90th birthday. Nev has been a member of the club for 50 years and continues to come to the club each Sunday morning to have a couple
of cups of coffee, watch tennis and enjoy a beer once the bar is open !
Off court a recent quiz attracted a good entry, the eventual winners being Alpha Beta (Katie E, Angela B, Sue L and guests). They knew (guessed ?) that Bjorn Borg never won the US Open but, like many others, were not sure whether whales sleep vertically or horizontally !! Runners up were the Greenwoods/Zarins and Ali C. Thanks to Louise, Jenny H and Jenni for asking the questions and making sure the marking was done correctly !!
The club is now preparing for its annual Opening Season Tournament where matches consist of one set (to 9 games) in preparation for the summer season. A
reverse draw in all 5 events means that a large number of players stay in the tournament until the semi final stage.
10 11
TennisLeicestershire
TennisTennis Leiceste
rshire
TennisLeicestershire
Club News • Club News • Club News
TennisLeicestershire
Tennis
Tennis Leicestersh
ire
TennisLeicestershire
Club News • Club News • Club News
Oadby Granville Birstall Watermead WHEN it comes to winter there is no doubt about it, club tennis players are a dedicated, stoical bunch!
How else can you explain why so many members turn out in all weathers – often coming off court at the end of a match looking like drowned rats.
For players at Birstall Watermead T.C., like others countywide, it has been a winter of rain, sleet, snow and – oh, yes, dazzling sunshine! However, members just got on with it and played through it all with a minimum of complaint.
The annual Winter Team Shield competition has proved as popular as ever, with six teams of four players braving the elements. Various permutations of doubles were arranged, with players rated one to four.
Final rounds of matches were due to be completed by the end of March, and the club is indebted to the efforts of coach Laura Morley who organised the tournament.
One of the ideas behind the event, which began back in January, is to keep the playing momentum going from autumn into winter.
The club already has regular floodlit sessions throughout the winter weeks, so if anything,
the courts are busier in winter than the summer months! This has been particularly the case this year, with committee member Mark Dearden creating a Singles Super League.
Mark felt that with the club geared towards doubles, it would be good to feature a singles competition for a change. Judging by the response, it has already proved a great success.
So congratulations to the first winners – Division One: Ciaran Bibby; Division Two: John Salisbury; Division Three: Daryl Hill, and Division Four: Spencer Wesson.
So, all in all, it has been – with apologies to Shakespeare – a real Winter’s Tale!
Every year, the club committee is keen on generating plenty of social events, and this year is no exception. At the start of February, a Wii games night was held at the club.
The event was organised by Rachel Chalmers and Laura Morley and a great time was had by all, with the accent on fun and laughter.
Then, on March 18th, members took part in a Comic Relief tennis fund-raiser, with the theme being Heroes and Villains. So there was plenty of scope for fancy dress!
On March 30th, a Pay and Play tournament was held, social tennis to kick off the spring and summer season, followed by chilli and jacket potatoes, plus a chance to rejoin the club at a discounted rate before the April 1st payment deadline.
Among other events lined up is the traditional Strawberry Lunch tournament. This year, instead of it being on the eve of Wimbledon, it will be held on Men’s Final Day.
And for those worried about missing the final, a television will be in place – and who knows, hopefully a certain Andy Murray will be holding the trophy aloft!
Ashby CastleAshby have had a busy winter season in spite of the wintry weather conditions. Lots of clearing of courts took place only to have another snowfall making it look like a Winter Wonderland.
The AGM in November was well attended as was the Christmas Party in the Club House in December. Our Social Secretary, Laura Bryant, has planned some exciting social events for 2011. A successful Post Christmas Market was held in January and Claire Bridges organised a Winter Warmer competition in February which was great fun. On March 12th we have a Quiz Night and on March 26th we had our fabulous Annual Dinner Dance.
The senior winter league teams did well, the Ladies’ second team gaining promotion to Group 2 and the Men’s second team coming top of Group 5.
The junior section, under the head coach, Jonathon Lawton, goes from strength to strength with a full coaching and competition programme. 2010 saw ten juniors take part in a tournament trip to the Grade 3 Swansea Open. This was a great trip in terms of awareness of standards and motivation for the players. Thirteen players have signed up for the trip in 2011.
Ashby Castle LTC hosted the NWLSSP Primary Schools’ Event. This was a very successful day
with over 140 children attending who took part in various matchplay exercises, drills and coordination zones.
The club obtained sponsorship from NFU Mutual for the 2010 season to provide player bursaries for our talented junior players. This agreement will continue into 2011. The coaching programme continues to expand, and to keep pace with this the coaching team has grown with Tom Hall successfully completing his Level 2 and both Alex Guzder and Rich Beesley obtaining their Level 1 award. For 2011, to provide more internal competitive opportunities, a House Point System has been introduced.
The club will again be hosting the Ashby Town Tournament from Saturday 10th July to Sunday 18th July 2011. The event has been upgraded to a Grade 4 and categories run from mini red through to veterans. Application forms can be downloaded from the club website www.acltc.co.uk or by contacting Jayne Mansfield on 07946 438904.
For any information about future events or membership go to the club web site www.acltc.co.uk or contact Membership Secretary, Ashby Castle Lawn Tennis Club, South Street, Ashby De La Zouch, LE65 1BQ, Telephone : 01530 414807
GB Vets Club of the Year
A super-successful campaign in the National Vets Club championships at Dudley in November culminated in the Club being awarded this star national accolade in December.
The Club had no less than 8 teams competing as finalists, winning 5 championships in the Men’s +35, +45 and +55 events along with Mixed Doubles events at +45 / +40 and +55 / +50 age groups, while losing two and getting a walk-over in the last. The winners in the Men’s events will be invited to represent GB in Europe this August and September along with the Ladies’ +40 and Men’s +50 teams who were finalists in their respective events. The Leicestershire’s flag should be flying high over courts foreign this summer.
This achievement was followed by further great results at The National Indoor Championships held at Dudley. Richard Tutt was British + 65 champion, beating Keith Bland in the final. Richard and Keith then paired up to win the doubles. Jeremy Trafford lost in the final of the + 55s on a third set tie-break. Shirley Fox reached the final of the Ladies + 60s event.
Richard Tutt with Keith Bland then went on to win the European + 65s Indoor Doubles Event for the first time of entering.
Steve Brett and Richard Wayman have been selected to represent England in their respective age groups in the forthcoming Home Internationals.
Finally, Jeremy Trafford was in the Great Britain + 55s Team playing in the World Team Championships in New Zealand in February.
Feat of Clay
In the last edition we trailed the pending installation of our first artificial clay court. Well, it’s now in - and a roaring success. Everyone loves it, to the extent that we’ve had to put in a booking system as people queue up to play on it.
We organised an official grand opening with a formal naming ceremony followed by an invited mixed doubles exhibition match. Having decided to call it the “Steve Cloke Court” in memory of our much-loved coach of many years, it was only appropriate that Jonny Cloke, partnering Jo Horne, came out narrowly ahead of David Ireland and Claire Seal.
But it is not only the Club’s hotshots who like this surface for its good approximation to the continental clay experience. The Club’s middle ranks, young and old, also like the contrast with the “savannahs” that we’re used to or our new macadams. The little bit more time plus slightly higher bounce give longer rallies, and everyone of all standards and ages comments on how kind the surface is on the knees and ankles.
Now all we need to complete the continental feeling is some sun, (although the court stood up very well to the winter - snow, frost and all).
No lemons in our squash
As a side light on the other facet of life at the Leicestershire, where our newly-refreshed squash section has had a very lively season as our teams get re-established in the leagues, junior member George Parker is now ranked national No.1 at under-15, and is travelling internationally with the England squad.
We have also introduced racketball and have a regular coach to teach us the intricacies!
On-line booking
We are currently trialling a system to pre-book squash and floodlit tennis courts on line via our website. This has proved very popular as members can book in the comfort of their home without having to make the journey down to the club. By the end of March we should have finalised any teething problems in readiness for the floodlit season starting again in October.
Outlook showery
The next phase of our club development programme is about to start.
Over the last few years we have increased our lit courts by 50%, converted our last three grass courts to macadam, re-built the ladies changing room, made over the kitchen, modernised the heating system, including solar panels on the water supply, installed a viewing grandstand in the squash courts and laid our first artificial clay court.
The men’s shower room is next in line for the treatment. Work should start in March and be complete in time for the start of the summer league season. Apart from a general make-over, the objectives are to increase separation of showers from toilets, increase the number of showers to four and provide a disabled toilet with wheelchair access.
We look forward to welcoming visiting teams and the County championships to our glossy new facilities this summer.For details about our club and its facilities, please ring Liz Harris on 0116 2708813 or visit our website www.leicestershire-tennis.co.uk
Leicestershire
Opening of The Steve Cloke Court. October 30th. 2010
Jo Horne
David Ireland
Claire Seal
Jonny Cloke
Opening of The Steve Cloke Court. October 30th. 2010
Jo Horne
David Ireland
Claire Seal
Jonny Cloke
Opening of The Steve Cloke Court. October 30th. 2010
Jo Horne
David Ireland
Claire Seal
Jonny Cloke
John Braint (right) and Paul Nettleton collecting league certificates from Annabel Croft
TennisLeicestershire
Tennis
Tennis Leicestersh
ire
TennisLeicestershire
Club News • Club News • Club News
TennisLeicestershire
TennisTennis Leiceste
rshire
TennisLeicestershire
Club News • Club News • Club News 13
Imagine the horror and surprise that greeted LFE members early on Saturday morning ? January when they were confronted with the sight of our much-used Dome (seen here) in a state of collapse! It was thought that the recent high winds were the cause of the trouble. But Leon Hillard led a team of volunteers, and, ably assisted mainly by Tom Barratt and Matt Chilton and, thanks to their determination and hard work, the Dome was back in play on the following Monday. I’m told Joyce Wright was also helpful in holding up the door while they worked! Well done to everyone concerned! Incidentally, you could book our Dome via Helen Prior, telephone number 07775938640. There are some slots available, and you don’t have to be a member. Could be very useful with the bad weather we’ve been having recently!
At the recent Tennis Leicestershire Annual Awards Evening we won four cups and awards for team events this year, and Steve Brett - already top player in the Country’s Men’s Over 45s last year, won the Senior Player award for Leicestershire. Congratulations to Steve, and also to Joyce Wright for winning Volunteer award . In addition to these accolades, Steve will be
captaining the England over 45s in the Four Nations Tournament at Cardiff at the end of April. Well done, Steve!!
With the departure of Sam Preston, we’ve recently appointed another Tom - Tom Kisiel - as Head Coach, to join Tom Barratt, who’s already established, very popular, and doing a splendid job. It could be difficult having two Toms, so they’ll be known as Tom K and Tom B respectively . I’ll let Tom speak for himself:
Tom Kisiel 23 Years OldCurrent Men’s County CaptainLeicestershire Men’s County Champion 2008,09,2010Senior Performance Coach QualifiedLeicestershire Senior Player of the Year 2009,2010
As a junior I played at a National standard reaching the last 16 of Nationals on two occasions. As well as being successful in winning 3 National Club League titles and representing the county from u10 – u18 culminating in representing and captaining the current Men’s county team.As a coach I have worked as part of the
successful Satellite Accredited Performance program at Charnwood Tennis Club for the last six years working alongside juniors competing at county, regional and National standard.
I very much look forward to the challenge in front of me at Leicester Forest East. We are looking to increase the numbers both in the coaching program and members of the club at both junior and senior level. We are looking to build the club through a strong mini tennis program and build a new competition program. On the adult front we are looking at new initiatives to bring ladies into the club, as well as running cardio tennis and tots tennis sessions.
For further details contact Tom Kisiel – 07834 787726
We have various social events throughout the year to which non-members are welcome. There was a Barn Dance on Saturday, 5 March at Glenfield Memorial Hall. Tickets were £10 each and this included a buffet supper and live band. Another Barn Dance will take place on Saturday 12 November at Kirby Muxloe Village Hall. For more details contact Sylvia Cleaver (01162322188), Audrey Barnes (01162392621) or Diane Noon (01162831855). Join us – you’ll be very welcome!
From an idea by Chris Bull we’ve been holding two Bridge Drives a year - a Strawberry Bridge Tea in the Summer and a Mulled Wine & Mince Pies Bridge Tea towards Christmas. These are proving to be very popular and, from these, donations are given to various charities - the last one being the Marie Curie charity.
We are all lit up! After finally receiving planning permission in October work went ahead straight away and new floodlights were quickly erected on courts 3 and 4. Evening play has increased and it has certainly aided coaching by enabling us to work with smaller groups. The lights were officially opened with a tournament and club supper in February.
Many members joined in with the School of Excellence led by Head Mistress Alison Ison, held through the autumn. It was interesting to see a whole range of players trying to adapt to new ideas after a very long time of playing it their way! The squad are finishing the winter with some evening tournaments. We will see if they return to type or make the changes suggested.
Over the winter club members were entertained with a very competitive Quiz Night in which John Kavanagh and Natasha Davies managed to return to winning ways with a new team! Christmas was celebrated
with around thirty members attending a Dinner Dance at the Marriott Hotel on a very cold, snowy weekend. One member came up from Surrey and took around 12 hours to get home on the Sunday.
February saw Roundhill’s fine dining experience continue with a “Cruise down the Nile” evening. The clubhouse was transformed into a Nile cruise ship with decorations designed by Captain Barbara Williams and a wide variety of food based on a Middle Eastern theme produced by the Social Committee. Members responded with suitable attire including a bravely worn
“belly dancing” outfit. Unfortunately the dancing didn’t take place!
The AGM saw Treasurer Sadie Pollard leave her post after several years. She has been replaced by club stalwart Howard Thornhill. It is good to have volunteers ready to move into such important positions.
Looking forward to the new season we are hoping that the Senior teams consolidate the progress they made last year. Many of the less experienced players and the Juniors will be able to shine again. The Ladies NCL team, who reached the Regional Play-offs last season, will be breaking new ground with a fixture against Cardiff, who are newcomers to this group. At least the match will be at home. The Juniors will be entering six teams this season in the Leicestershire AEGON Leagues. This will include a 10 and under team for the first time. They are looking forward to competing against other clubs.
Another important task undertaken through the winter was the upgrading of the Club website. ( www.roundhilltennisclub.co.uk) This was undertaken by Az Rahman with assistance from Geoff Williams. There are still some “tweaks” to make but it is an improvement on the original site which was set up ten years ago.
We are looking forward to the new season, and to meeting many old friends from around the County on the court.
Roundhill
A wonderful evening & excellent cuisine by the friendly staff at The Manor at Quorn.
We are always looking for new members
ladies, men, juniors & families for social or adult league team tennis. So if anyone is thinking of moving into our area you’d be most welcome.
This year our Open day will be Sunday 10th April. It starts at 11am till 2pm.
Also, we offer a free once only trial any Sunday at 2.30pm till 3.30pm
Photographs taken at the Sileby Tennis Club Annual Presentation Dinner for the club championships.
Sileby
Leicester Forest East
Tennis has continued throughout the Winter. Club nights on a Tuesday have been very well attended and several new members have joined in.
Good news that long term member Norman Thomson who has had a serious operation is recovering and has even been and had a game in club sessions.( Still nothing wrong with his eyesight when calling balls out! )
Ken Carter and Mick Edens have put
in a lot of work, armed and dangerous with a petrol cutter each in cutting down the hedge around the courts. This has resulted in a considerable saving to the club.
Pod West is going to organize a breakfast tournament in March which is always good fun and everyone can join in. We also hope to have a skittles evening soon Robert Humberstone
WigstonThe GSM LEISURE Team joined MYTennis for a team training session at Dan Maskell Tennis Centre. The session was tutored by Larry Jurovich who is head of coach education at the LTA.
Tim Stanton, Matt Wilford, Brady Glennon, Tom Lewis, Chris Mears, Tom Kisiel, Tom B
GSM Training Day
12
1514
TennisLeicestershire
TennisTennis Leiceste
rshire
TennisLeicestershire
Club News • Club News • Club News
TennisLeicestershire
Tennis
Tennis Leicestersh
ire
TennisLeicestershire
Club News • Club News • Club News
Stoney StantonAfter much hard work from the committee and in particular Dan Cosgrove, Stoney Stanton have been awarded Clubmark accreditation. At the AGM in January the club were sorry to receive the resignation of Bill Kittle as club chairman. Bill had served on the committee for several years and his dedication to the club has been much appreciated. However we are delighted to announce the first lady chair of the club, Dianne Stevens, who has also been a long serving member of both the club and its committee. We wish her every success for the future.
In February we were pleased to welcome Dan Cosgrove as the new coach at the club. Dan has been a member at Stoney Stanton for many years and has served on the committee in a number of roles. As new coach he is looking to promote more social events for members along with his commitment to junior coaching on a Saturday morning. Dan has a number of ideas for continuing to promote the club (see the club’s website for more information and details at www.ssltc.org.uk). Dan is looking forward to working with the newly appointed committee and the two Assistant Coaches, Kieran Groom and Ryan Thompson, who have recently completed the new LTA Level 1 Coaching Qualification.
To kick start the new season, the club will hold its open days on Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd April. Saturday will be for juniors who can come down between 9 and 12 for a free lesson trial and Sunday for seniors to come and enjoy some social tennis with the opportunity to try new racquets and meet the coach and other members. More details will be found on the club website soon.
August 1st-6th will see the junior ratings tournament held at the club and sponsored for the second year running by MulliganWilliams Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors, who are based on Long Street in the village. This tournament gives juniors from all over the county the opportunity to play competitively against opposition of a similar standard. In the past this has been a highly successful event and we look forward to a large number of entries, and good weather! Entry details can be found on the website.
Wednesday nights at the club have been a hive of activity, despite the weather, for ladies coaching. Even in the depths of
winter when the temperature has only just got above zero, the ladies of the club have turned up for coaching sessions with Dan. Emphasis has been on cardiovascular and techniques to improve everyone’s game. Elements covered so far include serving, volleying, placement and control. We are hoping that by the start of the competitive season we will be able to implement all we have learnt and continue with the impressive winter league win of the ladies first team last year. The club put out seven teams last year and is keen to welcome new members in order to boost their numbers and continue to support competitive play for those members who want it.
Finally, thanks to organisation by Jennifer Birkby, we started the year with a skittles evening at The Red Lion in Huncote. All had an excellent evening, and if you are looking for an entertaining evening out, which isn’t expensive, we can strongly recommend it. More social events to follow throughout the year, keep an eye on the website.
New Chair, Dianne Stevens welcomes new coach Dan Cosgrove
Kieran Groom and Ryan Thompson, who recently passed their LTA, Level 1 Coaching Qualifications
Trust supports Olympic and Para Olympic athletes and wanted to involve athletes of the third member of the Olympic movement – the Special Olympics. The DKH Legacy Trust is helping World Class Athletes from all sports and disciplines build on the experience they have gained as elite performers. As they transition from competition to a new career, the trust helps them to further develop their skills. In return for this support, the medallists work with young people on charity projects, allowing the youngsters to benefit from their experience. Zara is now training for this year’s INAS Global Games in Italy in September. The club was a runner up in the Community Impact Award in this year’s Leicester Mercury Sports Awards at a gala dinner held at the Walkers Stadium. The certificate was collected by Secretary Gillian Jurenko and Coach Alec Matty.
The club received their Tennis Clubmark plaque at an event held in January. The Deputy Mayor of Hinckley & Bosworth, Councillor Mr Rob Mayne, accompanied by the Deputy Mayoress, said he was delighted to be at Sport in Desford for the presentation of the Clubmark Award. He was amazed how the club had grown and developed since it had only started two and a half years ago and achieving this award in two years was fantastic. He paid tribute to the committee and the coaches at the club. There were child safeguarding measures in place so that parents knew that their children were playing tennis in a safe environment with coaches and volunteers who have been vetted, on premises that had been inspected for health and safety. This gave parents peace of mind that their children were in a safe place. On congratulating the club he said that he looked forward to watching their progress over the coming years. In response Gillian Jurenko thanked over 40 people present, for contributing to Clubmark by becoming members, attending coaching sessions, joining in competitions and teams. The club could not have operated without the numerous volunteers, either behind the scenes or at coaching, events and keeping the courts and surrounds in good order. She also thanked all at Sport in Desford, Tony Blackburn – Coach, Graeme Chilvers of Hinckley & Bosworth Council and Bruce Tarran and Liz Harris at Leicestershire LTC for supporting the club through the process. The club was built on the basis that she wanted to treat others as she would like to be treated – friendly and welcoming. There were lots of firsts last year, team tennis, competitions, fun and charity events, an inclusive day and the club produced its own coach - Jennifer Fryer. In 2011 there will be more firsts, with additional teams, daytime group tennis coaching and cardio tennis starting in March.
Members of Desford Tennis Club were out in force at the Tennis Leicestershire Annual Awards. The Ladies Team Captain, Annette
Fryer, received the Summer Division 7A winner’s certificate. The team were nominated in the Team Award Category. Zara Jurenko pipped her coach Alec Matty to win the Special Disability Award. Alec Matty was also a nominee for the Coach Award.
The club once again came up trumps at Hinckley & Bosworth Local Sports Alliance Awards at the presentation evening held in February. The Club was nominated for 5 awards, and won 3: Disabled Sportswomen of the Year – Zara Jurenko. Zara has had another wonderful year representing Great Britain at Tennis in the Special Olympics winning the most gold medals ever for a female player at the Special Olympics. She is not only a great ambassador for Team G.B. but is a wonderful asset to this club in its quest to make tennis inclusive to all.Unsung Hero Award – Harry Matty – Harry was most appropriately rewarded for his commitment week in week out in supporting our coach Alec. He is not only generous with his time on a voluntary basis, but his cheerful personality and encouragement to all is wonderful.
Club of the Year (joint with Barlestone F.C.) – Desford was praised for making such rapid progress in the short time since it was first established. Membership has grown beyond expectation, and Clubmark has been achieved. Perhaps the most significant award was made at the end of the evening when Gillian Jurenko (our Secretary) and Karen Hollings (Barlestone F.C. Secretary) were asked to take the stage again, to be acknowledged by the Alliance for their hard work in making their clubs so successful.
Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council honours not only the achievements of individuals and teams but also the contribution made by the volunteers who help to run many of the clubs in the borough. Sue Houghton, Chair of Hinckley and Bosworth Local Sporting Alliance, and Graham Chilvers (Sport Health & Wellbeing Manager) announced the awards and the guests for the evening. Donna Kellogg (European Badminton Gold Medallist) and Rob Mayne, (Deputy Mayor) presented the trophies and certificates.
Owing to the bad weather, the Desford Tennis Club tournament season eventually got off the mark at February Half Term. A Junior American Tournament was held in damp, drizzly conditions. Although not ideal conditions, the ten players were keen to start and play carried on throughout the day uninterrupted. The tournament was won by 11 year old Matt Field and runner up was Cameron Brannan (14). The newly formed Youth Committee launched the club’s page on Facebook, which is proving very popular as a means of keeping up to date with all the events and competitions in 2011.
Photo shows Coach Alec Matty and some members of the Division 5A under 14 boys winning team Matt Horne, Will Shields, Joe Brewster and Alex Grewcock
The clubs representatives at the Leicester Mercury Awards
Photo shows young players enjoying the Clubmark evening with the Deputy Mayor
Ladies Captain Annette Fryer receiving the league winner’s certificate.
The club entered two teams in the 2010 Leicestershire Junior Winter Doubles Leagues. The under 12 team of Daniel Carnegie - Wilson, James Walters, April Matty and Jessica Platts drew 2 rubbers each at Hinckley. The under 15 team of Sam Field, Alex Grewcock, Victoria Cooke and Abi Clarke narrowly lost 3 rubbers to 1 on a tiebreak at Loughborough. It was an amazing performance as Victoria and Abi, in their first season playing together, had to play an experienced older pairing. At Carisbrooke, the under 15 team of Peter Cook, Sam Field, Victoria Cook and Abi Clarke lost 3-1. Victoria and Abi lost narrowly on a champions tie break in the third set. Sam and Abi won their mixed doubles rubber. On the same day the under 12 team of Angus Stembridge, Matt Field, April Matty and Jessica Platts beat a depleted home side 4-0. Angus and Matt won the only rubber that could be played. Overall the club had mixed fortunes. The under 12s lost two, drew one and had a walkover. They finished a creditable third out of five in Division 2, winning 50% of their sets and 47% of their games. The under 15s lost four and had a walkover. In their final match they lost to a much stronger Oadby, Bruce Tolley and Will Shields taking one set off their opponents. Twelve year old Victoria Cooke partnered Abi Clarke. They settled in fourth position out of six in Division 2B winning 40% of their sets and 49% of their games. April, Jessica, Victoria and Abi are products of the club’s drive to encourage more girls to play tennis and Head Coach Alec Matty said he was very pleased by their excellent performance in their first season of competition. All players have performed very well and continue to enjoy representing the club. Abi came to the club through their outreach programme in Hollycroft Park, Hinckley on Thursdays after school during summer months. This is due to start again in March.
This summer the club is entering seven junior teams, including, for the first time a girls’ team and a mini green team for the under 10s, in this summer’s AEGON Junior leagues. There will be an under 12 boys’, two under 14 boys’ and two under 16 boys’ teams. The seniors are entering the summer mixed doubles for the first time as well as the ladies’ and men’s divisions.
Over 20 juniors, families and officials attended the Leicestershire Team Tennis Junior League Presentation Afternoon at Leicester Grammar School. Alec Matty said “It was superb for the club to receive formal recognition and everyone now knows who we are”. Ross Mannion, under 12 team member and Desford’s Most Improved Player of 2010, was mentioned in the nominations for ‘Team Player of the Year’ as being a junior player contributing most to the team through attitude, dependability and helpfulness.
Great Britain Special Olympic Athlete Zara Jurenko met with Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust athlete mentor Sarah Winckless. The
Desford
Kibworth Junior Team – Best Leicestershire Junior Club of the Year for the 2nd Year running!!!
Braving snow and freezing cold conditions, over 300 parents and junior players attended a presentation at Leicester Grammar School sports pavilion on November 29th. The occasion was to celebrate the team achievements of the winners and runners-up of the various Aegon summer leagues and last winter’s junior leagues.
For the second year running Kibworth took the major honours at the Leicestershire junior tennis presentation, as they retained their Club of the Year trophy.
Team players ranged in age from under under 8s to under 18s. Having been crowned champions of six divisions and runners up in another, Kibworth again found themselves as the most decorated team in the county.
Kibworth tennis coach Paul Bradfield said: “We are delighted to win the team of the year trophy for the second year running. A big thank you has to go out to all the players and parents involved with the club for this fantastic achievement.”
Kibworth won the 8 and under mixed divisions two and three, 12 and under boys division three, 14 and under girls division two, 16 and under boys division 3, 18 and under girls division one and were runners up in the 12 and under boys division five A.
Earlier in the day, a presentation had been made to Alison and Michael Picken to thank them for their sterling work in entering all the junior team results on the LTA’s results system.
The event was hosted by the President of the Leicester Tigers and Vice President of tennis Leicestershire, Mike Harrison. With the President of tennis Leicestershire, John Chapman, presenting the medals to each individual winner.
Back Row – Paul Bradfield (head coach), Eloise Bradfield, Dan Wooley, Lorna Grubb, Jordi Kelly, Rich Phillips, Harry Davies, Jamie ShortFront Row – Callum Cox, Thomas Binnie, Ben Ridgway, Alex Glyn Smith, Zach Parsons, Leah Denning
AWARDS SUCCESS FOR KIBWORTH TENNIS CLUB
For the second time in three years, Kibworth tennis coach Paul Bradfield (pictured with Annabel Croft) celebrated winning coach of the year at the Tennis Leicestershire Annual Awards Evening, held at The
Leicester Tigers’ Clubhouse.
This award backed up the great success Kibworth had at the junior tennis presentation in November, where they retained the club-of-the-year trophy.
Bradfield said: “It’s great that a village club can achieve so much and that is thanks to all of the loyal players being so passionate about tennis.”
“It was a great honour to win coach of the year again, but that is just the icing on the cake after getting junior club of the year.”
As well as the honours at the junior awards, Kibworth’s Men’s First team also won Winter Group Three and Summer Group One. In total four Kibworth teams got promotion with the Men’s First Team now competing in the top county division.
“It’s fantastic that two men’s teams managed to win their divisions but well done to all four teams that got promotion,” said Bradfield.
“It shows the club’s improvement and dedication to now have a team in the Premier League representing Kibworth.”
Kibworth entered the highest number of teams out of any club in the county, showing their commitment to players of all standards.
Bradfield said: “We’re lucky to have so many players of all ages and abilities that want to play for our club.
Without all of these players that put in so much hard work week in, week out, we would not be in this position, so I would like to thank them all.”
Lifetime Achievement Award
The Lifetime Achievement award went to Kibworth’s Alison Picken for her outstanding contribution and commitment to the club and tennis in general.
Bradfield said: “I would like to congratulate and thank Alison on behalf of the club. She has been a fantastic ambassador to us and to tennis and I am glad that all of her exceptional work has got the credit it deserves.”
Alison received the biggest ovation of the night.
County Call UpBen & Tom Nevill of Charnwood Tennis Club were both recently selected to represent Leicestershire in the under 14 sixteen counties event at Corby Indoor Tennis Centre. Both found the going tough as Leics were in group 1 but gave 100% throughout the day. Ben came out with a big win against a boy 3 ratings higher.
The Boys & Girls teams were captained by GSM Leisure Head Coach Matt Wilford & Paula Horobin of My Tennis.
Charnwood Tops LTA League TableCharnwood Tennis Club, Loughborough has once again come out top in the LTA’s table for clubs based in Leicestershire and Derbyshire. The table looks at clubmark status, British Tennis members, regularly competing juniors, licensed coaches and young competitions organisers. The coaching programme is run by GSM LEISURE.
Charnwood Tennis ClubSeveral members attended the Leicestershire Tennis awards night, thoroughly enjoying the entertainment from the fabulous guest speaker, Annabel Croft.
The Club collected their record haul of 7 trophies from last year’s various league competitions including the women’s Aegon league division 1 title.
TennisLeicestershire
Tennis
Tennis Leicestersh
ire
TennisLeicestershire
Club News • Club News • Club News
TennisLeicestershire
TennisTennis Leiceste
rshire
TennisLeicestershire
Club News • Club News • Club News16
Kibworth
17
VICTORIA TENNIS CLUB REFLECTS UPON CENTENARY YEAR
Both Senior and Junior members rallied round last year and enjoyed a full programme of monthly events to celebrate the club’s Centenary year. The varied programme meant there was something to interest all members and included a theatre trip, launch party, Tennisathon, themed dinners, a jazz evening, quiz, adult junior tournament, BBQs and lots more ; indeed our annual Play Tennis Day was themed ‘through the ages’ and included amongst other things costumes depicting the 10 decades and a balloon release race. We have had the most tremendous fun which culminated at Christmas with a Centenary Dinner and Christmas Party. 100 members and their guests were in attendance and we boogied the night away to live music at Scraptoft Golf Club. Regrettably our speaker, Mark Cox, was unable to attend because he was snowed in at his London home but by the wonders of e mail he sent his speech and this was delivered by Henry Doyle who was Mark Cox for the evening!
This year will undoubtedly be a lot quieter on the social side but upon reflection the whole experience has focused the club and as a result we now have an updated funky website, (check out the great photographs in the gallery at www.victoriatennis.co.uk ) a history book about the club, a club cook book, centenary polo shirts, customised diaries and the juniors were all given Centenary caps. Thanks to everyone who sent in their best wishes for the club including many past members, and for
the greetings received from local clubs. We have also had tremendous support and sponsorship from local businesses and without this help we would not have been able to have done many of the ventures. All in all a very exciting year….phew!
Also in July we held our 10th Sanctioned Open Summer Series Grade 3 Tournament. It attracted over 100 entries with many players from other counties. Tom Knowles bt John Thompson in the Final of the Men’s Event and Cassandra Dix bt Monika Kondratowicz.
This year’s event will be held at the Club from 16 to 24 July. Details can be obtained from the Tournament Organiser, Michael Page on (mob. 07845547207 or email at [email protected]) and in due course entry forms can also be downloaded from the website. The Finals day on 24 July would be a time to see some really good quality tennis played and the bar and kitchen will be open throughout the tournament in the evenings and at weekends
VictoriaCharnwood
STRAWBERRY & CHAMPAGNE TOURNAMENT 13 JUNE 2010
SUMMER EXTRAVAGANZA 3 JULY
CENTENARY DINNER 18 DECEMBER 2010
Summer Series Finalists 2010
Summer Series Finalists 2010
many of the youngsters are involved in regular competitive play in the Junior Aegon leagues. The highlight of last season was the 18 & Under Boys who succeeded in coming 1st in Div 1, but other teams came very close to winning their divisions too. Aegon Junior Leagues 2010 final positions8 & U Mixed A - 4th Div 1 B 5th Div 1 C - 5th Div 39 & Under Mixed A - 2nd Div 1 B - 3rd Div 110 & Under Mixed 5th Div 112 & Under Boys 2nd Div 314 & Under Boys A - 6th Div 1 B - 5th Div 216 & Under Boys 5th Div 218 & Under Boys 1st Div 114 & Under Girls 3rd Div 1 Hamilton Junior Presentation EveningNottingham Forest Star Paul Anderson was the Guest of Honour at Hamilton’s Junior Presentation evening held in September. Locally born Anderson was given a rousing reception by the hundred plus juniors and their parents at the Club’s Annual Awards evening and was on hand to present the trophies and awards to the successful juniors. This year the top award of the evening, the ‘Shane Hughes Shield’, given to the junior who was considered to have made an outstanding contribution to the club’s junior programme, went to Ryan Parmar. Ryan also collected the ‘Players Player Award’, voted for by the juniors at the Club and made it a hat trick when he shared the ‘Coaches Award’ with Charlie Perriam.
The ‘Audrey Thorpe Memorial Award` for the Best Junior was this year won by Charlotte Griffin. On hand to assist Paul at the presentation were Mike Thorpe and daughter Helen who had donated the trophy in memory of Audrey who was tragically killed in a car crash earlier in the year and who had been a huge supporter of the junior section at the club for many years.
The BAC Electrical ‘Competitor of the Year award’ went to 9 year old Alexander Lunn who had played a staggering two hundred and thirty matches in the past twelve months. Awards also went to: Oliver Aley Lawrence Automotives ‘Best Mini Award’ Amy Douglas Melcom Systems ‘Most Improved Girl Award’James Rowe ‘Most Improved Boy Award’, sponsored by Elaine & Bernie GackowskiJosh Wilson ‘Fitness Award’ Junior Tournament Winners:Boys U-8 Oliver Murch Boys U-9 Alex Lunn Boys U-10 Alex Lunn Boys U-12 Alex HorobinBoys U-14 Ryan Parmar Boys U-16 James Rowe Boys U-18 Ben Catlin Girls U-14 Amelia Coltman
U-14 Open Doubles Boys Ryan Parmar /Joe Perriam Girls Amy Douglas /AmeliaColtman
Fallows Cup Hamilton’s U-18 mixed team claimed the Fallows Cup when they overcame Loughborough LTC in a tightly contested final held at the Dan Maskell Tennis Centre. The win gave them the trophy for the third successive year and once again outlined the club’s superb junior coaching set-up that has seen the youngsters win this trophy ten times in the last nineteen years and provided a number of excellent County junior players.
This year’s squad was made up of Charlotte Griffin, Helen Thorpe, Beth Lowe, Ryan Parmar and brothers James and Tom Rowe. The team reached the final against Loughborough after close wins against Ashby Castle and Leicestershire. An injury to James Rowe on the eve of the final saw Ryan Parmar step into the team to partner Tom Rowe but they found things difficult in their match against Vasya Kusmartyk and Matt King, losing in straight sets. Once again the girls pairing of Griffin and Thorpe hit back to level the scores with a resounding straight sets win over Rebecca Donald and Georgia Thorold. The Loughborough mixed pair of Kusmatyk and Donald was chosen to take on Hamilton’s Thorpe and Rowe in the deciding rubber and the Loughborough pair started well. Both the Hamilton youngsters made uncharacteristic errors which resulted in their losing the first set 6-4. Despite a better start in the second set, Hamilton quickly found themselves 3-5 down and facing a match point against them. Saving the match point, the pair rallied to play some of their best tennis to take the set into a tie break and once again force a match tie break decider. With the momentum now with the Hamilton youngsters, they kept their nerve and finally ran out 10-8 winners ensuring that the trophy returned to Hamilton for the tenth time.
The Leicestershire Junior OpenThe Leicestershire Junior Open Tournament, sponsored by Dodfrey Engineering, reached a successful conclusion at Hamilton in July with the finalists in 21 events coming from as far afield as Lancashire to Avon and Lincolnshire to Hereford. Winner of the boys under 18 singles was Sam Thorold from Loughborough LTC who won 15-13 in a final set tie-break and Yasmina El Sayed from Charnwood LTC won the girls under 14 and under 16 singles titles. The top performing player from Hamilton was Ryan Parmar who won the under 14 boys doubles with Adam Bowen from Hereford. He was also runner-up in the boys under 14 singles to Josh Wilson from Beds, and winner of the under 16 boys consolation event against Ryan Baxter from Staffs. Other Hamilton representatives in the finals were Tom Rowe who won the under 18 boys doubles with Alex Zaman (Charnwood LTC) 22-20 in a nail-biting third set tie-break; Alex Lunn who lost to James Huby (Yorkshire) in the under 9 boys; Amelia Coltman who won the under 14 girls consolation and Ben Catlin who won the under 18 boys consolation.
Chance of a Lifetime - by Amelia ColtmanIn February 2010 I entered a competition to become a Ball Kid for the ATP World Tour Finals at the 02 in London. I went to the regional trial in Cambridge and got through to the national final in London, where I was tested on agility, endurance, ball skills, balance, speed and team work to see if I had the talent to rub shoulders with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
I was surprised when I received an email 2 weeks later telling me that I was chosen as one of the 30 Ball Kids. I had to attend training sessions around the country and a five-day base camp in Southampton. Pat Cash, Richard Gasquet, Boris Becker and Mansour Bahrami helped us with our training and as well as hard work it was great fun. Once we had finished all of our training we were ready for the big event. The day before the tournament we met at a hotel in Greenwich, near to the 02, and we were kitted out with our uniforms, tennis rackets and freebies. We were all very excited but nervous about meeting the stars and appearing on TV and being watched by over 43 million viewers. The first day arrived and we watched Federer warm up and then carried out some training on the practice courts. I was in the first team to take to the court and, once on there the nerves went as I had to concentrate on making sure the players had everything they asked for. We were split into 5 teams of 6 Ball Kids and we were on court for an hour at a time as it was very intense and tiring. I was lucky to be Andy Murray’s Ball Kid when he played Raphael Nadal in the semi-finals and it was one of the best matches ever played. It was amazing but also scary when Murray got cross right in front of me. But the best part of the whole experience was being on court in the final, to watch Federer beat Nadal. It was an amazing honour to be inches away from 2 of the best players in the world, playing their best tennis. I feel so lucky to have been given such an amazing experience and will never forget it. I made lots of friends from all over the country and although I am not allowed to enter the competition again, I have been asked to help with this year’s search for the next Barclays Ball Kids.
www.hamiltontennisclub.co.uk
Hamilton
18
TennisLeicestershire
TennisTennis Leiceste
rshire
TennisLeicestershire
Club News • Club News • Club News
TennisLeicestershire
Tennis
Tennis Leicestersh
ire
TennisLeicestershire
Club News • Club News • Club News 19
SeniorsIce and snow over November and December did little to dent the enthusiasm of Hamilton Club members and the club nights on Tuesdays and Thursdays continued to be well attended, with all six courts in use most of the time. Players of a wide range of abilities enjoy the social play but can also be quite competitive, especially in the once a month Club Night Tournaments. These remain very popular and the entry list is filled within a few days of being put up on the board. A buffet meal is provided after each tournament and prizes given for the men’s and ladies’ 1st and 2nd places. This year the enthusiastic players in the popular Christmas tournament embraced the Christmas theme and two of the men really got into the swing of things in complete Santa outfits! Justin Horobin and Amelia Coltman finished the evening as worthy winners.
Back in the summer the club managed to hold its annual Championship Tournament over two weeks in September and, despite some cold and wet weather, seventy six members took part with one hundred and fifteen entries in all the events. Youngsters James Rowe, Tom Rowe and Charlie Griffin dominated the Championships this year. James won the men’s singles title, making him one of the youngest ever to take the prestigious singles trophy, while brother Tom joined forces with Peter Thorpe to take the men’s doubles title and with Charlie Griffin to win the mixed. Charlie was also clearly in fine form, adding the singles title and partnering Di Burdett to take the ladies’ doubles and win the Triple Crown. The well supported handicap tournaments proved to be more open and, for the first time, included men’s and ladies’ competitions. Nigel Crymble and Gary Coltman came out eventual men’s winners with Hazel Crymble and Eileen Merrison winning the ladies’ event. A close final in the mixed event saw
David Wyles and Jude Plumb win 6-3 to take their first handicap title. Trophies were presented at the well attended presentation evening in October.
League Tennis
Hamilton Tennis Club’s league results have been better than for some time. The summer brought deserved success for the men’s teams. The 1st team completed their season undefeated and won group 3A by a considerable margin. Remarkably the same six players played in every match and look forward with confidence to playing in group 2 next season. The men’s 2nd team also secured promotion from group 5B and the 4th team gained promotion after their unbeaten run in group 7B. They are already relishing the opportunity to compete at the same level as the 3rd team this season.
Similarly, success was achieved by the Ladies’ 4th team who completed their unbeaten season with a victory against Enderby 3 to clinch promotion from group 6B. The Men’s and Ladies’ 4th team celebrations were reported to go long into the night!! The other ladies teams maintained their positions in their current divisions with Hamilton’s 1st team performing consistently well to finish 4th in Group 1, despite the high number of reserves being called upon throughout the season. Di Burdett was the ever-present player but was well supported by Charlie Griffin, Helen Thorpe and Beth Lowe.Finally, to round off the summer, Hamilton mixed 1st team gained promotion when they beat Oadby Granville 2 by 7 sets to 2.
After the successful summer, the momentum was maintained during the winter season and, despite losing to top team Market Bosworth, the ladies’ 3rd team achieved promotion to Group 8. The men’s 1st team clinched promotion to Group 2, coming second in their Group and the men’s 3rd team were the beneficiaries of a concession by Loughborough Greenfields 3 to ensure that they were promoted to Group 8.
Leicestershire LTA Presentation NightHamilton enjoyed a night of great success with awards for players ranging from teenagers to senior citizens! The Tennis Leicestershire annual awards evening was held at Leicester Tigers ground and the guest speaker, who also presented the prizes, was Annabel Croft, Britain’s number
one tennis player in 1985. Individual Trophies were presented to Charlie Griffin, who received the Greenshires Trophy, and Helen Thorpe who won the trophy for Leicestershire Junior Girl of the Year. Team awards were also presented to the Men’s 1st team, who won the Sutton Salver as winners of their division in the summer league and the Mixed 1st team, who won the Mercury Cup. Awards were also presented to the Men’s 3rd winter league team and the Ladies’ and Men’s 4th teams, who were unbeaten in the summer league. These teams are now promoted to a higher division for the forthcoming season.
JuniorsHamilton’s junior membership remains strong with coaching sessions well attended throughout the summer and winter, together with the Parent /Child Tournament, Sports Day, Junior Fun Day, Open Weekends and the three week-long Coaching Camps. The healthy numbers can in part be attributed to Laura Morley and assistant Andy Douglas for the excellent Schools programme they run, which now covers fourteen Primary Schools throughout the area during both summer and winter. We are indebted to June Roper and the late Kate Thomas for their support of the programme which runs Schools Red, Orange and Green Tournaments with Trophies all sponsored by June & Kate. The follow up to the Schools sessions are a series of talent ID days headed up by Di Burdett at which youngsters are invited to attend Performance Groups or follow on sessions.
For the first time a new project ran at Hamilton Tennis Club at the end of the summer in conjunction with Melton Borough Council. The sessions provided free family tennis coaching at Hamilton and were aimed at families in Melton to encourage them to engage in positive activities together.
Junior Road to WimbledonWith only the boys taking part in the Junior Road to Wimbledon this year, it was good to seeRyan Parmar going through from Hamilton to the County Finals and continuing his good form to win the County section and earn himself a place at Wimbledon. He had a memorable time at Wimbledon, making the first round proper before losing to the No 6 seed and also getting through to the 2nd round of the doubles. Well done Ryan.
League TeamsWith such a strong junior section to the Club,
Hamilton Retains the Fallows Cup
I had the privilege of refereeing the 2010 Fallows Cup Final, played between Hamilton and Loughborough at the end of November. Charlotte Griffin, Helen Thorpe, Ryan Parmar and Tom Rowe played for Hamilton and Rebecca Donald, Georgia Thorold, Vasya Kusmartsev and Matthew King played for Loughborough. At the end of the Boys’ and Girls’ Doubles the match was level and the mixed doubles needed to be played to find who would win the 2010 title. The match was incredibly exciting with Loughborough taking the first set 6-4, but Hamilton managing to level the match, taking the second set 7-6. Hamilton maintained the momentum of the second set to go on and win the match tie break 10-8.
Although Hamilton won the Cup a special mention should go to Loughborough’s Vasya Kusmartsev, who played some exquisite tennis.
Penny McCrorie
The Hamilton team. From left: Helen Thorpe, Tom Rowe, Charlotte Griffin and Ryan Parmar
Rothley Open Day
Rothley Ivanhoe Tennis Club are holding an Open afternoon on Saturday 26th March from 1.30 to 3.30. New members are welcome and if you join on the day there is a discount available and coaching vouchers to try out coaching which is available for both juniors and adults. The club has plans in place for the season for team practices, a coaching programme, Sunday afternoon tournaments, winter competitions and social events including a walk, bike ride, quiz and barn dance - there is always something to get involved in at this friendly club. ‘Vantage readers can get a 20% discount on membership up to the 17th April by getting in touch and quoting the “Vantage Magazine” offer. Call our membership line 0775 7833 360 or see our web site at www.rothleytennis.info. Anne MumfordPublicity Officer
Rothley Tennis Club and GSM Leisure are delighted to announce the appointment of Tim Stanton as new Head Coach. Starting in early March Tim will be running a range of coaching activities for all ages and abilities. Tim comes from Sutton Coldfield and was previously Head Coach at Penns Lane Tennis Club. he is also a Coach Education Tutor for the RPT.
The club is thrilled to have such an experienced coach to help build upon the already successful programme.
I
Connor Glennon Scholarship
i am currently looking to go out to an American University; I feel it’s a great opportunity for me to extend my competitive tennis. I will be able to train on a full time basis whilst still getting a good degree at the same time. I have been to visit a university in Memphis which was amazing, and I will be flying out to America a couple more time this year to visit a couple more universities. The facilities are awesome. Its like being involved in professional sport, watching college football whilst sitting in a stadium with a capacity of 102,000! I would recommend anyone to consider going over to America. No matter what level you are at there are colleges out there for every level of player.
