Elliswick LTC Newsletter – March 2023
Dear Members,
Welcome to our March Newsletter. This month, following the clock change, the midweek evening sessions are commencing. Tuesday is Men’s Night, Wednesday is Ladies Night and Thursday is Club Night (mixed doubles tennis). All start at 6pm. All members, regardless of playing standard, are very welcome to come along. You can even have refreshments at the bar after the sessions.
Amending Elliswick’s Articles
Many thanks to all of you who provided comments on the draft amended Articles circulated on 17 March. The Board will now consider the feedback and arrange a General Meeting for members to vote on the proposed changes.
Club Tournament
Please schedule your matches well in advance of the deadlines in case they get postponed due to inclement weather or other unforeseen circumstances. Best of luck to all the entrants!
Clubhouse and Grounds
A 3-phase electrical energy monitoring system has recently been installed, to record electrical energy consumption 24/7 for each of the 3 phases. Phase 1 supplies the clubhouse, phases 2 & 3 the floodlights. The data will be used to help us to obtain a more detailed picture of energy use at Elliswick, and to size the installation of a new solar PV and battery system, to reduce energy costs.
More gravel has been added to the surface of the car park at the rear of the clubhouse.
Team Tennis
Ladies tennis
Winter season has now completed, results are:
Elliswick 40’s A – came 5th in Div 3A – Good hold in that division!
Elliswick 50’s A – came bottom in Div 1 – Tough division!
Elliswick 50’s B – came top in Div 4A – Well done !
Elliswick 60’s A – came 2nd in Div 2B – Only a few points off the top, good result !
Summer Leagues:
Hot rackets captains are busy scheduling matches with their respective teams and in the Herts League, we are waiting fixture dates to start organising teams
Ladies Nights:
Don’t forget it you want to join Wednesday ladies nights (which is now up and running) please ensure you are in the What’s App group “Ladies night” Victoria has kindly offered to arrange the 4’s each week Please text Victoria 07429581034 or email your mobile number to [email protected] if you wish to join
Any questions – please reach out to our Ladies Captain [email protected]
Ladies Friendlies
Many thanks to Lynn for organising these again this Summer. If you would like to participate in playing friendlies matches and have fun with the ladies, please contact Lynn at [email protected]
Mens Team
Men’s Practice Sessions
The 3x Men’s coaching sessions are now complete and were very well attended. A big ’Thank you’ to the all the coaches for all their time and advice. Everyone who had the chance to come down really enjoyed the sessions and hopefully learned a few things that they can try and implement in the matches ahead.
Herts League
The fixtures for the upcoming season should be available to organise with the opposition shortly. We are awaiting the confirmation from the Organiser and will share this with the squad captains when it arrives.
Mixed Team Tennis
The Herts Winter Mixed competition, in which we have 6 teams competing, is drawing to a conclusion. The final positions are shaping up as follows:
1st Team – Have finished mid table in the top division. This team is run by Kate Curson.
2nd Team – Are currently just behind the 1st team in the top division and look likely to stay up. This team is run by Rob Gardiner.
3rd Team – Have come top of their division having won four and drawn two matches. This team is run by Tony Ward.
4th Team – Have finished playing their games and just missed out on promotion finishing 3rd in their division. This team is run by Steve Hall.
5th Team – Currently mid-table having played 5 of their 6 matches with the final match against the bottom club. This team is run by Rachel Hoddinott.
6th Team – Have finished playing their matches and are joint second. If the top team wins its last match, the 6th team will get promoted. This team is run by David Kendall.
Here is a link to the LTA website for our Winter Mixed teams: Herts Winter Mixed
The Summer Datchworth competition is due to commence on 17th April and run for 14 Monday nights until the 17th July. This is a mixed team format with one lady (playing two mixed games) and two men (playing one mixed and one men’s doubles). We have entered a new fourth team this year which is playing in the lower leagues initially but we hope to get this team promoted. We’ve contacted everyone who has previously played in the Datchworth league and asked for their availability but, if you haven’t previously played and would be interested, please contact Tony Ward via [email protected]
The Mid Herts Mixed League (historically called the mixed friendlies) starts up in April. For many it is an introduction to competitive tennis. If you are interested in playing in these friendly matches, please do not hesitate to contact Andree Haxton at [email protected].
Membership
A big welcome to all our new members – 54 full adult members, 14 non- playing adults and 57 juniors. We wish you many happy hours on and off court in the coming years, and hope to meet as many of you as possible at our New Members’ Day on May 14th.
Our adult membership is now full, and we continue to have a long waiting list. However, having increased our junior quota this year, we still have some junior spaces available. Please encourage any parents whose children might wish to join to get in touch.
Just a reminder about VISITORS. Please sign in any guests in the book in the clubhouse foyer BEFORE playing. There are small envelopes available for the visitor fees of £3 per adult and £1 per junior. Alternatively, you can pay online in advance (Elliswick Lawn Tennis Club Limited. Sort Code: 20-74-12. Account number: 13075737). Please use the reference “Visitor Fees”.
You may bring up to 4 different guests per year; each guest can play up to 3 times per year.
Socials
March has been a packed month for socials at the club. Ross and Vicky played to a busy clubhouse on the 11th and it was a fabulous night. The theatre trip to see the Abba tribute band at the Eric Morecambe Theatre was a great success. With Dugie opening up the bar at the clubhouse for the six nations rugby Saturday matches, it has been a busy month! Pub Night on Friday 23rd March was well attended and we have arranged the next one of these for 25th May (see below).
Supper Night – Thursday 20th April
Our first supper night of the year is going to be held on Thursday the 20th April at 730pm at the clubhouse. Marsha and David Kendall have agreed to cook up Dijon Chicken, rice, salad and brownies for pudding. All at £8 per person. And don’t forget, bar will be open from 7pm.
Bank Holiday Tournament – 10th April – 10am to 2pm
The Bank Holiday tournaments are organised for Intermediate 16+ up to senior players and are a great way to meet and play with new people and have some fun! There’s even a chance to win prizes! This tournament also provides an opportunity for members to enjoy a buffet style lunch after their friendly matches. There are still a few spaces left so please e-mail Jane if you wish to take part [email protected]
Jazz Night – Tuesday 25th April.
Due to popular demand, our Jazz Jam Team (including Dave Pankhurst, Tim Sutton, Michel Timmins and Louisa Philips) are back on. This event is free of charge, however, they would appreciate donation which will go to “The Trussle Trust” which is a charity that supports food banks and campaigns to end the need for emergency food in the UK. Do come along with your family and friends, relax and enjoy the music and the ambience at the club.
Just the heads up for a few of other big events to put in your diary.
Pub Night Out – Thursday 25 May at The Old Cock Inn
Queen tribute band at the Eric Morecambe Theatre on 14 June
Please sign up at https://forms.gle/uerPzbEybUvcTYD76
Wine Tasting Evening – Saturday 3 June
Get your name down early for Barrie and Alison’s ever popular wine tasting which is scheduled for. Early sign-up is a must. https://forms.gle/tqLMJRti8si1Ejzz7
Juniors
Junior Nights – Starting on Friday 21st April after the Easter break (during term time)
These popular evenings are organised and run by one of our coaches and are aimed at mixing junior players of all abilities and ages and are FREE to all Junior Members.
Times are as follows:
4:30-6pm for young juniors (Primary School age), who must be supervised by a parent or adult.
6-8pm is for older juniors (Secondary School age). Whilst they do not need to be accompanied by a parent or guardian, we do need to ensure we have adult supervision. Unfortunately to date we have not received any volunteers. This session will only go ahead if we have adequate volunteers. If you can kindly offer some help, please email our Junior Captain, Pierre Oliviere at [email protected]
Tuck shop (run by one of our Junior Members, who is raising money to go on a World Challenge expedition) with snacks, hotdogs/pizzas, sweets/crisps and homemade cakes are available for our juniors to enjoy, and the bar is also open for the adults whilst watching your juniors enjoying themselves playing.
Team Tennis
We have entered 3 teams in to the Herts National League Summer League, which will start in April. Thank you to the Junior Team Captains for liaising with the clubs and players.
U12 Boys – David Brocklebank
U14 Boys – Amy Martin
U16 Boys – Melissa Sweeney
Easter Egg raffle
The purchase of numbers seems to be fairly slow at the moment, and we really need to sell at least 100 (£100) to make a worthwhile contribution to the charity. We could draw the winning number on Easter Saturday (8 Apr) or Easter Monday (10 Apr). Attached is another photo of the giant egg. The sign-up sheets have been moved onto a table next to the serving hatch for the kitchen so that it would be more noticeable.
Helping Ukrainians
David Kendall received a number of responses from members offering furniture and other household items for a Ukrainian family who are now all set to move into their new accommodation. Many thanks to all who offered help.
Kind Regards
Elliswick LTC Committee
PS, Don’t forget to keep up to date with events at our website http://www.elliswickltc.co.uk and follow our Facebook page as well.