Oadby (Granville ) Tennis Club – October Newsletter
Chairman's Message from Katie England
Thanks to everyone who has played tennis at Oadby this summer, whether it be socially in the many mix-ins we hold, by being part of a team, by entering the tournament or by giving touchtennis a go! It's been a busy summer!
There's still lots happening in the next few months as you will see from our calendar and with winter league matches now underway. I hope see you all at the AGM in October (details below) which is your chance to review the year at Oadby through the club accounts and committee reports.
Nomination sheets for team captains and committee posts will be on display at the club from the weekend. There are a number of committee vacancies (eg. Bar, Tennis Secretary, Vice Chair) and hope that we have club members who would be interested in getting more involved with the running of the club. Rather than give a job description for each in this newsletter, can I ask that anyone interested has a word with (or e mails) myself or Sue and we can outline what is involved for each. If you are interested in getting more involved but have other areas of interest, then please have a word too as we really are keen to use people's expertise!
Those of you who were at the EGM in April will know that, having voted to change the dissolution clause at that meeting, I confirmed that the committee would start work on a rewrite of the full club constitution. This is well underway but having had the refurbishment work to manage over the summer, we are not quite as far ahead as we had hoped. We will be completing the rewrite, together with a review if the club rules over the next few months, prior to presenting it to the membership at an EGM.
Clubhouse Refurbishment
The main refurbishment work is now complete. We are pleased to report that Sport England has approved all invoices/buildings requirements and the full grant has been paid into the club’s account and our contractors have been paid.
Blinds on the three side windows have been installed this week and we are currently looking at floor coverings and stackable furniture for hirings. Bar improvements are not included in the current refurbishment project but we hope to upgrade this area next year.
Costs are as follows :
Preparation/demolition work £00.00
*Central Heating £8,966.71
*Lighting £6.318.95
*Windows £5,792.00
*Plastering £6,006.11
*Solar heating £18,900.00
Painting £978.90
Roof/joinery/brickwork £2,035.97
Loft insulation £1,302.00
Flooring (men’s changing rooms) £466.20
Blinds £123.54
Contingencies £00.00
Total to date £50,890.45
*Sport England grant £45,698.00
Club contribution so far £5,192.45
AGM
The club's 2014 AGM will place on Wednesday 29th October at 7pm.
Committee reports and accounts will be available from 6.30pm. Recent AGMs have lasted no longer than half an hour so there will plenty of time for those who like to play on Wednesday nights to attend the AGM first and then play from 7.30pm
Any apologies to Sue Lester please.
2014 Club Tournament
93 people entered our annual tournament and it was especially good to see a number of our newer members taking part, together with more juniors than usual. Many thanks to Gary van der Byl and Andy Parker who scheduled the matches throughout the fortnight, to Louise for coordinating all the catering helpers, to Sally for organising bar stock and rotas and to all those who came down to watch even when they weren't playing. Our tournament continues to be one of the most well supported in the county!
Trophies have now been engraved and shields bought for those who requested them. Available for collection any Sunday morning.
Results are below:-
Winners
Finalists
Men's Singles
Ben Minski
Dan Poultney
Men's Doubles
Phil Harris & Hussein Khan
Ben Minski & Dan Poultney
Ladies' Singles
Kate Wood
Caroline King
Ladies' Doubles
Katie England & Anna Randall
Rosie O’Connor & Kate Wood
Mixed Doubles
Anna Randall & Ben Minski
Katie Wood & Dan Poultney
Men's O35 Singles
Dan Poultney
Andy Noble
Ladies' O35 Singles
Katie England
Jacquie Greenwood
Men's O45 Singles
Tim Watts
John Zarins
Men's Vets Doubles
Steve Ireland & Mike Minski
John Braint & Martin Shenton
Mixed Vets Doubles
Anna Randall & Paul Heighton-Towers
Angela Bewick & Martin Shenton
Reverse Draw
Winner
Finalist(s)
Men's Singles
Phil Marsh
Paul Facer
Men's Doubles
Oliver Priestley & Eddy Smart
Steve Colver & Jon Stone
Ladies' Singles
Rosie O'Connor
Charlotte Hovell
Ladies Doubles
Gail Pick & Lorraine Summers
w/o
Mixed Doubles
Iona Irvine & Jon Stone
Sammy Godsmark & David Straker
Men’s O45 Singles
Mark Fletcher
Tony Pick
Men’s Vets Doubles
Ather Mirza & David Straker
Mark Fletcher & Clive Marsh
Mixed Vets Doubles
Helen Jones & Harish Chauhan
Fiona Burrows & Tony Pick
Touchtennis tournament
The club has recently hosted a touchtennis tournament with 38 players taking part, coming from as far away as London and Newcastle, and including four players from the UK top 10. A number of Oadby players also took part, having had several opportunities to practice in recent weeks with Ben Minski.
It was a very successful day and Oadby members who watched were impressed! Entry fees covered the cost of four nets and Ben is now keen to organise more opportunities for Oadby members to play.
Courts in Use
Please refer to the calendar on the website for details of courts in use at weekends. There is one match most Saturday afternoons, leaving four courts free for social play and/or juniors/parent players. On Sunday afternoons there are two matches most weeks, leaving two courts free.
Courts for Ladies' Vets League matches
Just a reminder that courts for vets matches should be booked via Katie E please in case of any issues with matches/courts already in use. As noted above, Saturday afternoons (after 12 noon) are good times for matches as four courts are free. If you need a key for the clubhouse, please get in touch with Sue a few days ahead so that can be organised. If you are playing in the daytime, please be aware that the clubhouse isn't available on Mondays (except between 12 and 1.30pm), Wednesdays before 12 noon or Friday before 1pm. Thanks.
Floodlights
A reminder that if you are playing at a social session on Monday or Wednesday and the court is not needed again, please make sure that one of your four collects the key and switches the lights off. Please don't rely on someone else to do it. If you are not sure how to do this, please ask. If your four is the last to leave the club, please could you also walk past the front door and ensure it is shut.
Also, just a reminder that if you are paying for floodlights, try to put the money in before the lights go out - otherwise there is a 10 minute 'warm up period' which is unavoidable. Thanks.
Key Audit
We are in the process of checking the allocation of keys to all captains, coaches etc. as we have had a few new captains for the winter. We do occasionally need to lend keys for junior matches, vets matches etc. and as we are short of spare keys we may need to reclaim some keys from summer captains until next season. Thank
100 Club
The following were successful in the recent draw :-
£50 Kath Bishop
£40 Di Monk
£30 Sue Lester
£10 Alan Cobley
£10 Sheila Cobley
£10 Joseph Bloomer
Prizes will be handed out over the next week if not already received. The next draw will be held at the Tinsel Tennis event.
Social News update from Louise
Following the tournament I’d like to pass on my thanks to all the helpers who supported in the kitchen be it serving, cooking or baking. Once again we managed to offer a full catering service with very few complaints (!!) and make some profits for the club.
American tournaments have started again and weather permitting will carry on throughout the winter on the first Wednesday of each month – sign-up sheets will be posted on the club notice board a few weeks ahead of the event.
Looking ahead we are planning to mark the club house refurbishment with a “sparkly luncheon celebration” - full details to be confirmed but it’s likely to be on Sunday lunchtime at the end of November.
We’re also planning to hold Tinsel Tennis again in December which believe or not isn’t that far away! Again full details to follow.
In the meantime has anyone got any ideas for events that we could hold? Please let me know.
Event
Date
Time
Notes
USA Tournament
Wednesday November 5th
6.50pm
Sign-up sheet to follow
Clubhouse Opening event
November
TBC
Details to follow
USA Tournament
Wednesday 3rd December
6.50pm
Tinsel Tennis
Sunday December
10am – 1pm
Date TBC
Fundraising
Many thanks to everyone who baked cakes and/or who came along to support our recent coffee event in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. We raised £175 - an impressive total.
Our next charity event is a raffle in aid of Glenfield Heart Centre which is being organised by Sheila Colver. A number of our members and their families have had experience of the wonderful service provided by the centre. There are already prizes to the value of over £200 and more are being added. Sheila will be selling tickets over the next two months and winners will be drawn at our Tinsel Tennis event in December. Please contact Sheila if you can help with prizes or ticket sales. A poster is attached and/or on display at the clubhouse.
Kitchen equipment - missing!
A number of items have disappeared from the kitchen over the last few months. These include a large white oblong dish (which we use for lasagne etc.) and, most recently a number of mugs! Very mysterious!
If you have taken items home following a match or borrowed items, please return them asap.
Bar
Thanks to everyone who helped on the bar during the recent tournament, especially those who restocked the fridges and helped to wash up when the bar was quiet.
If you have not yet done your nine hours of bar help, we will be getting in touch to organise.
Membership
We currently have 380 members, the second highest total in the club's history. We to have enquiries on a weekly basis from both adults wanting to join and parents keen to get their children playing. Membership for the remaining weeks of the year is still possible if you know anyone wanting to try tennis at the club without having to commit to a full year's subscription.
Grounds
There will be a work party on Saturday morning 18th October & Saturday morning 25th October.
Grounds helpers - please attend on either of the days that suit you best. If not available on either (and owing hours), please contact me so I can allocate a job to you to ensure that you have completed your minimum 9 hours by the end of the year. Hedges at the back of courts 1 to 3 and junior courts need trimming and there is more fence painting needed before winter.
Thanks,
Tim Greenwood.
Juniors news from George
Coaching sessions are being well attended, with some new sessions having been introduced throughout the week.
Congratulations to our junior players who performed so well in the senior tournament. Special mention to our youngest pairing of Matt H and Lilia B who won three rounds, before eventually coming up against the No. 2 seeds in the semi-final. Also to Eddy S and Oli P who won the Reverse Draw Men’s Doubles.
County Junior Winter League matches have now started. We have five teams taking part: 10 & under “A” and “B” teams, boys 12 & under, boys 14 & under and girls 14 & under.
The Fallows Cup (county 18&U) event has also started. We won our first round match away at LFE. Well done to Aditi, Charlotte C, Eddy and Oli P. Our next match is the quarter-final against local friends and rivals, Carisbrooke. It is a home match, on Sunday 26th October at 4pm. Everyone is welcome to come along and support the team, you will see some great tennis.
The annual County Junior Tennis Awards day is on Sunday 9thNovember at 2pm in Leicester Grammar School. We will be picking up awards for winning two divisions of last year’s winter league and two runners-up awards for last summer’s AEGON league.
