Old Wilsonians Lawn Tennis Club

OLD WILSONIANS’ LAWN TENNIS CLUB

MEMBERS’ HANDBOOK 2017/18

HAYES HILL, HAYES BR2 7NH 020 8462 2600 OLD WILSONIANS’ LAWN TENNIS CLUB MEMBERS’ HANDBOOK 2017/18

ABOUT THE CLUB

The Old Wilsonians’ Lawn Tennis Club is one of the individual sports sections under the umbrella of the Old Wilsonians’ Association. The Tennis Club is registered with the Lawn Tennis Association and Kent Tennis and is open to all members of the public. Other sections within the OWA include Squash and Racketball, Netball, Football and Cricket.

Our Club has four carpet courts and two all-weather macadam hard courts, all with floodlights, making tennis playable all year round. In addition there is a multi-sports area providing another full size tennis court. Our facilities also incorporate eight mini red courts and two mini orange courts for our younger members. A practice wall is also available.

The courts are set within a seven acre sports ground with a fine Clubhouse, complete with changing facilities, showers and a bar. The purpose-built tennis pavilion is now open, offering changing rooms, toilets and a fully fitted kitchen, as well as a large meeting room with excellent views of all courts.

CLUB ACTIVITIES

The Club runs several teams in the North Kent League for adults and veterans, playing men’s and mixed matches. In addition, the club enters the Aegon Team Tennis event, which is run by Kent Tennis, fielding several age-related junior teams and also an adult men’s team, which provides for both singles and doubles competition.

Club sessions are held every Saturday afternoon with organised American tournaments being held from time to time in place of general club play. These sessions and tournaments are open to all full adult members and Juniors.

The first event of the 2017 calendar began in February with the start of the Handicap Tournament. The Handicap Tournament runs from mid-February to the beginning of May.

The Club Tournament will start on Monday 19 June and run until Finals Day on Saturday 22 July.

Dates of all other events, both social and tournaments, can be found at the end of the handbook. You are also reminded to look at the notice boards in the club hut, pavilion and main bar for any amendments, changes and additions. Further details will be provided on the website as each event approaches.

Members are encouraged to support as many organised tennis and social events as possible. A drink in the clubhouse bar is a terrific way to round off an evening of sport.

There is an annual ballot for Wimbledon tickets. All paid up members aged nine and above who are members of British Tennis and who have opted in on the LTA website will be entered. The number of tickets allocated to the club is dependent on the number of British Tennis members who have opted in. Membership of British Tennis is currently free.

We also run a “100 Club” in which a prize draw is held every month. The minimum subscription is £1 per month. Please contact Clive Prince for details. SUBSCRIPTIONS

A full list of subscription fees for 2017/18 is given below. Please note a renewal discount is offered for payments received by 31 March 2017. (The subscription includes fees for Open and Handicap Tournaments but does not include the cost of floodlights; see next page for details of how to pay for floodlights.) Further discounts (calculated after the early payment discount if appropriate) are available to members who also belong to other sections of the OWA. A 5% discount is offered to members of one other section and 10% to members of two other sections.

Renewals are sent out via ClubSpark and full payment details are provided.

SUBSCRIPTIONS – 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2018 Discount Full adult membership £190 £5 2 Adults from one family living at the same address £340 £10 Junior member (in secondary education on 1.4.2017 and under 18) £50 £5 Each additional Junior member in the same family £40 £5 Family membership (2 adults and all children under 18) £390 £10 Midweek adult member £135 £5 Student (18 and over in full time education – full year) £80 £5 Holiday student (18 and over in full time education – academic holiday periods only) £45 £5 Colts membership (all children in one family in primary education on 1.4.2017) £40 £5 Visitor – adult per visit (max 6 visits refunded if full membership taken out) £5 N/A Visitor – under 16 per visit (max 6 visits refunded if full membership taken out) £1 N/A Social membership of the OWA £12.50 N/A Members are reminded that play on the courts is at their own risk and that the OWA/OWLTC shall not be held liable in any circumstance for any damage or injury suffered by anyone playing tennis at the club, other than as a result of the OWA/OWLTC’s negligence.

IMPORTANT POINTS

1. Members are expected to wear proper tennis/sports clothing. Beach and leisure wear is not acceptable. 2. Proper tennis footwear is of prime importance in order to prevent undue wear or damage to the playing surfaces. Black-soled or ribbed trainers must not be worn. 3. Food, drink (other than water), chewing gum and smoking are not permitted on the courts. 4. Display boards in the pavilion, club hut and main bar provide details of upcoming events and general information. 5. Considerate behaviour is expected at all times and strong language during play is to be avoided. 6. To prevent disruption to other players, please wait until the end of their game before seeking permission to cross their court. Please use the side gate whenever possible. 7. No sharp-edged objects should be taken onto the artificial grass courts which might cause damage to the court surface. Chairs may be placed on court on the wooden boards which have been provided for this purpose – these can found in the Club Hut.

Please see the Club’s Code of Conduct, which is displayed in the Club Hut, in the bar and on the website.

FLOODLIGHT TENNIS All courts are floodlit. You will need to buy pre-payment cards to operate the floodlight controls. Cards are available in denominations of £1, £5 and £10. Floodlights cost £5 per hour on the hard courts and £6 per hour on the carpet courts. Put another way, £1 will buy 10 minutes of floodlight time on the carpet courts and 12 minutes on the hard courts. It is the responsibility of players to ensure they have the requisite supply of cards in advance of their planned play under floodlights. Details of where to obtain the pre-payment cards are displayed in the Club Hut.

All floodlight sessions must end no later than 22.00.

TENNIS BALLS

Tennis balls are provided by the Club. The condition of the balls is reviewed regularly and they are replaced as necessary. Members are asked to take only four balls onto court to allow a sufficient supply for all seven courts. Members of all ages are reminded to collect up and return to the Club Hut any balls that have escaped from the court area – whenever it is safe to do so.

WELFARE OFFICER

As an organisation that works with children, we have a duty to ensure the children benefit from a safe, enjoyable environment and are protected from abuse. This applies to all children, regardless of their circumstances or identity, and safeguarding measures need to take account of whether children have particular vulnerabilities or support needs. This means having systems in place to promote and maintain the highest standards possible, and to respond quickly to any problems or concerns. Judy Evans is our new Welfare Officer – she will ensure that the correct measures are in place. Please feel free to contact her on 07908 842700 if you have any concerns about anything you see or hear affecting the wellbeing of our youngsters.

COACHING

Jake Johnson joined Old Wilsonians in 2009 and was named Coach of the Year 2015 by Kent LTA. He has over 19 years coaching experience and oversees the fast-growing junior coaching programme at the Club under the name of RAW Tennis. He provides coaching on a 1-2-1 basis, as well as group sessions. Coaching is available to adults and children, whether novices or experienced players. Jake provides curriculum coaching and runs after-school programmes at several local schools during term time. He also runs highly popular tennis and multi-sports camps at OWLTC during the school holidays. If you would like to book a lesson with Jake, please phone him on 07974 741430. For all other enquiries, please e-mail the Bookings Secretary, Charlotte at [email protected] .

WEBSITE

The tennis club website (www.oldwilsonians.com/tennis/) provides an excellent source of information, including league fixtures, results, newsletters, details of all club events, etc. The club’s Policies and Procedures are also available. The website is particularly useful for last minute news, eg events being cancelled due to bad weather.

COURT USAGE AND ONLINE COURT BOOKING SYSTEM

An online court booking system is available. All new and existing Adult and Junior members are automatically provided with an online link to register for the system. Colts’ parents are asked to opt in.

The system is very versatile, allowing members to see at a glance the court availability at any time on any court for the upcoming two weeks and then to book for their chosen date and time. All league matches, coaching sessions and Club events will have been pre-booked on the system so the courts required for these will show as unavailable.

It is important to note the following:

 Bookings will ALWAYS take priority (except bookings which have been made by Colts playing with non-member parents or by anyone playing with a visitor). Members are therefore encouraged to secure the court of their choice by making a booking, even if this is just before travelling to the Club.

 Colts with parents who are not playing members may only book hard courts. Out of respect for the fee paying membership of the tennis club, we would ask that Colts parents play only with their own children and to vacate the hard courts if club members are being displaced.

 Colts, Juniors and Adults have an equal right to make a booking on all courts as long as they are playing with another paid up playing member.

Members should be free to question the status of any other player that they do not know and, equally, members should not be offended to be asked. The membership now numbers in excess of 450 and therefore no-one can know everyone else.

If no court booking has been made, general priorities are as follows:

1. League matches 2. Junior coaching 3. Tournament (including Club and Handicap) matches 4. General club play (Saturday) 5. Arranged games 6. Other general play

IMPORTANT NOTE: IF OUR COACH, JAKE JOHNSON, FEELS THAT THE HARD COURTS ARE DANGEROUS FOR HIS YOUNGEST PLAYERS IN COLD OR ICY WEATHER, HIS COACHING SESSIONS ON WEEKDAY EVENINGS AND SATURDAY MORNINGS WILL TAKE PRIORITY ON A MAXIMUM OF TWO OF THE ARTIFICIAL COURTS. OLD WILSONIANS’ LAWN TENNIS CLUB OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS

HONORARY PRESIDENT: LES WILKS 01689 857602

CHAIRMAN: NIGEL JORDAN 020 8776 2360 [email protected]

TREASURER: BOB WEST 020 8776 0210 [email protected]

SECRETARY: Vacancy

MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY: JUDITH HEAYBERD 020 8650 1702 [email protected]

FIXTURES SECRETARY: HAZEL GRACE 020 8650 4114 [email protected]

JUNIOR REPRESENTATIVE : Nick McGarey 020 8462 8919 [email protected]

CLUB COACH: JAKE JOHNSON 07974 741430 [email protected]

COMMITTEE: JOHN DRABWELL 01689 851313 [email protected]

MOIRA FRENCH [email protected] 020 8462 1906

NORMAN HOLMES 020 8313 1981 [email protected]

NICK MCGAREY 020 8462 8919 [email protected]

CLIVE PRINCE 020 8663 3633 [email protected]

KIM REYNOLDS 01689 850508 [email protected]

WELFARE OFFICER: JUDY EVANS 07908 842700 [email protected]

OLD WILSONIANS’ TENNIS CLUB SOCIAL DATES AND TOURNAMENTS 2017 PLEASE PUT THE DATES IN YOUR DIARIES

MONTH DATE EVENT TIME ORGANISER JANUARY Saturday 21 January American Tournament – Points Race 1 2:00pm John Goskie FEBRUARY Saturday 11 February American Tournament – Points Race 2 2:00pm Steve Drew Monday 13 February Start of Handicap Tournament N/A Derek Seston

Week commencing Half-term Tennis Camp 9:30am- Jake Johnson Monday 13 February 2:00pm MARCH Friday 24 March Quiz Night 7:30pm John Drabwell

Saturday 18 March American Tournament – Points Race 3 2:00pm Clive Prince APRIL Saturday 1 April Brian Morley Trophy and Wimbledon 2:00pm Richard North & Ballot Judy Evans Monday 3 April – Thursday Easter Tennis Camp 9:30am- Jake Johnson 14 April 2:00pm Sunday 9 April Old Wilsonians’ Open Men’s Singles 10:00am External Referee & Tournament Nigel Jordan Saturday 15 April Road to Wimbledon (Junior Club Nigel Jordan Tournament) begins Friday 28 – Sunday 30 OW’s ClubForce Working Weekend N/A N/A April Sunday 30 April Completion Date for Handicap Tournament N/A N/A MAY Sunday 7 May Open Day 10:00am Nigel Jordan and Jake Johnson Saturday 6 May American Tournament – Points Race 4 2:00pm Chris Gurr Tuesday 30 May – Friday 2 Half-term Tennis Camp 9:30am- Jake Johnson June 2:00pm JUNE Sunday 4 June George Rice Trophy and Tea 2:00pm Jim Hallums

Sunday 11 June Road to Wimbledon Finals – Juniors N/A Nigel Jordan

MONTH DATE EVENT TIME ORGANISER JUNE Sat 17 June American Tournament – Points Race 5 2:00pm Brian Rodgers Monday 19 June Club Tournament begins N/A Chris Gurr JULY Sunday 9 July Open Day: Parent and Child Event 10:00am Nigel Jordan and Jake Johnson Saturday 22 July Club Tournament Finals Day 12 noon Chris Gurr

Saturday 29 July American Tournament – Points Race 6 2:00pm Norman Holmes AUGUST Sunday 6 August American Tournament and BBQ 2:00pm A & M French and/or T & R Clark Jake to advise Summer Tennis Camp 9:30am- Jake Johnson 2:00pm Sunday 13 August TBC Old Wilsonians’ Open Men’s Singles 10:00am External Referee & Tournament Nigel Jordan SEPTEMBER Saturday 9 September American Tournament – Points Race 7 2:00pm Rob Kingdon & Martin Partridge Friday 22 September President’s Evening 7:30pm Hazel Grace

Tuesday 26 September Ladies Charity Inter-Club Tournament 9:00am Margaret Barker OCTOBER Friday 6 October Quiz Night 7:30pm Jan Jenkins

Saturday 7 October American Tournament – Points Race 8 2:00pm Martin Partridge & Rob Kingdon Week commencing Half-term Tennis Camp 9:30am- Jake Johnson Monday 23 October 2:00pm NOVEMBER Saturday 11 November American Tournament – Points Race 9 2:00pm Margaret Buck Tuesday 14 November Annual General Meeting 8:00pm

DECEMBER Sunday 3 December Christmas Tournament followed by mulled 10:30am Kate Crossley wine and mince pies or 12:30pm Thursday 21 and Friday 22 Christmas Tennis Camps 9:30am- Jake Johnson December 2:00pm Sunday 24 December OWA’s Christmas Gathering 4:00pm N/A Everyone welcome onwards