Spring newsletter 2019
Longer and lighter days are with us
Welcome to the new season! As the weather (hopefully!) warms up and the evenings get longer and lighter, there’s a buzz of expectation around tennis clubs up and down the land, including Wells. Whether you’re looking forward to Wimbledon, playing league fixtures, or just dusting off your racket for a knock about with friends or family, it always feels a bit better playing with the sun on your back. At the time of writing the courts are getting a well-deserved clean and a new colour scheme that will help them stay in good condition for a few more years while we continue to work with Wells Rugby Club on our proposed relocation.
Good luck to all our leagues teams this season. As defending champions of the men’s league, it’ll be a tough ask to repeat last season’s success, especially as we’ve lost a few key players. Nonetheless, both the men’s and ladies’ squads look competitive and in good shape.
And finally, we’ve also reviewed membership fees and continue to work to ensure you get great value from being part of Wells TC, including new reduced rates for younger members. We’ll be hoping to promote these and build our numbers at open days and coaching offers through the summer.
Thanks to you all for your renewed or new membership and support for your local club. If there’s anything else you’d like the committee to address do let me know, and in the meantime enjoy your tennis!
Dan Cooke, Chair Dapc1967@gmail.com/01749 677365
Relocation to Haybridge
Thanks to a dedicated working group on our proposed relocation with Wells Rugby Club we’re now anticipating that a design should go forward for public consultation later this year. Lots of work has gone on behind the scenes to prepare a clear business plan to get to this stage, during a lengthy period when the Rugby Club have been seeking to secure a developer for their sites to enable the whole project to proceed.
We’re optimistic that the move will go ahead in the long-term, but there’s lots of work to do to secure planning consent and match-funding for our proposed indoor courts. This would help to elevate Wells Tennis Club to becoming a real hub for tennis activity in mid-Somerset.
We’ve agreed outline plans for the new pavilion and outdoor courts and we’re currently working with the rugby club to formally agree the first stage of the development agreement. This can only happen with a confirmed housing and construction partner for their current and new sites – we understand that this should be progressed soon.
Once the Rugby Club is able to move forward we’ll hold a weekend pre-consultation event for our members where more detailed drawings and plans will be shared for comments. These can be taken into account ahead of the formal planning consultation process and before we make any final commitments. In the meantime if you have any questions about the proposed relocation please contact Dan Cooke or Colin Blatchford Brown on the committee.
New membership structure
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Diary Dates May Sunday 19th – Grade 5 Junior tournament Monday 27th – North Somerset League Calvados/Liz Yeo Mixed Doubles (age 40+) at Woodlands TC Start of The Road To Wimbledon (date tbc) June Saturday 8th – Grade 5 and Grade 4 Junior tournament Thursday 9th – North Somerset League mixed doubles at Bridgwater TC. July Sunday 14th – Grade 4 Junior tournament Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st – Nature Valley Big Tennis Weekend August Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th – Grade 5 Junior tournament |
We now have a new lower price for adults aged 18 – 25 to help attract and keep young people in our club. For just £60 (or £6 a month) all young people can enjoy the club and will hopefully stay for many years.
New membership secretary We’re delighted that regular player Clare Mather is on board as our new membership secretary. She’ll be the first point of contact for any new members and to keep on top of queries and payments. You can contact Clare at wellstennismembership@gmail.com
New visitor fees
Please note that visitor fees are now £5 for adults and £3 for juniors, still great value for friends, family and those just passing through. We would prefer that visitors consider becoming members after three visits in any season and would appreciate the help of our members to boost our membership in this way.
Nature Valley Big Tennis Weekend
This year we’re hosting our Open Day as part of the national Nature Valley Big Tennis Weekend on July 20th and 21st. Saturday will have events aimed at children, teenagers and families and Sunday will be for adults. The aim is to encourage new visitors to the club with drop-in tennis tasters with raffles and refreshments. If you think you might be able to help on either day – this could be helping to run sessions, welcoming visitors or serving refreshments – please contact Marcus Fisher on marc.fisher@hotmail.com or 01749 672603.
News from our captains
It has been a wonderful year for the Wells TC ladies! The courts on a Ladies Tuesday Night have been full, even over the winter months, which is great to see and ladies of all ages and abilities have been enjoying their tennis. The 2018 Summer League was very successful for all our Ladies Teams, with the A Team finishing 3rd in Division 2, the B Team 4th in Division 3, the C Team 2nd in Division 5, gaining promotion to Division 4, and the D Team 3rd in Division 7. During the Winter months the ladies and men joined forces for the Mixed League and both As and Bs had a successful season with really exciting matches. I would like to thank all players for their enthusiasm and great tennis over the last year! If there is anyone who would like to take part in the League Teams then please contact me, as I am always happy to welcome extra players of all levels. It is lovely to see so many players on court and I wish all members of Wells TC happy tennis in the coming year!
Julia Nest, Ladies Captain juliagromit@gmail.com Tel: 01749 870716
As the North Somerset Summer League fast approaches Wells is in full swing getting all four teams match fit for the coming season. With last year’s roaring success to live up to Wells A will be looking to galvanise their place at the top in division 1. Wells B are ready to face tougher opponents after promotion to the 4th division and once again, the C and D teams will be battling it out in division 6. As ever I’m happy to chat to anyone who thinks they’d like to give league tennis a try this year.
Dave Mills, Men’s Captain dave.mills11@btinternet.com Tel: 01749 347870
