Spring Newsletter 2009

Dear Members,

Following the AGM last week I’m writing to let you know what is proposed for the tennis club during 2009.

Firstly, the membership is being maintained at a very healthy level but if you know of any potential new members, please put them in touch with our membership secretary, Charlotte Webb. The court is also in good playing condition and thanks go to those who helped to sweep it on the two maintenance sessions held over the winter. It would be very nice to see a few more of you at these sessions and some different faces!

It was decided to keep membership rates at the same very reasonable level, (£35 for family, £25 for adult, £10 for junior membership) and for those of you who are not on a standing order and have not yet paid could you please do so without delay, posting the fee to Charlotte Webb at Stonegarth, Crosthwaite LA8 8HT. Guest fees also remain the same at £2 which should be put in the honesty box before playing.

Coaching will be taking place this year and Dan Shiels is just finalising the details so you should be hearing further about this very soon. If you are interested please sign up promptly as it is always popular and places are limited. The coaching will probably finish in June with a social event for all members which will be publicised nearer the time. A barbecue is also planned for Sunday 6th September from 1pm and the Recreation Field Strawberry Tea will take place on Sunday 12th July so I’m giving you plenty of early warning that I shall be pestering you for raffle prizes please!!

For those of you who have benefited from the coaching, or maybe you were already a good player, how about joining the mixed team to play in the Kendal mixed doubles league? We need 3 pairs of players and our home matches are at Windemere St Anne’s School. Matches start in April, running through to July and you do not have to play every week. If you require more information please contact Wendy French.

Wimbledon tickets are being distributed by the LTA in a different way this year as they have sent us an allocation based on the number of club members who have joined British Tennis and they are available only to British Tennis members. Our allocation is as follows: Thurs 25 June, court 2, 2 tickets £80 per pair; Friday 26 June, court 1, 2 tickets £110; Monday 29 June, 2 tickets court 2, £100; Wed 1 July, 2 tickets, court 1, £140 and Thurs 2 July, 2 tickets, court 1, £92. If you are interested please inform me by Friday 20 March including your British Tennis membership number and which dates you are interested in. Following the LTA guidelines for distribution of tickets, your names will then go into a club ballot and you will be informed whether your application was successful by Sunday 22 March.

Some new cupboards have been erected in the pavilion for the tennis club to store equipment away a bit more tidily.

Finally, at the AGM Patrick Boggan and I both stated our intention to stand down as Chairman and Secretary at the end of this year after 8 years. If anyone is interested in taking over either of these posts, which do not require a lot of work, please let us know. Don’t worry that you might have to do the job forever as we are considering a revolving system with a maximum of 2 years in any post. It would be great to have some new faces on the committee and support from those of you who play fairly frequently.

Here’s hoping for some dry weather to make 2009 a good tennis season,

Best wishes from Charlotte Denton 10.03.09