September 2024

KATHLEEN SCOTT  TOURNAMENT 2024

We were quite relived that the rain held off on Sunday afternoon, so that we could play the final of the Kathleen Scott competetion as scheduled.

Congratulations to Kay and Austin who won the final and received the cup from the Chairwoman, Lorraine. They beat Lloyd and Julie 6/4, 7/6. It was a close match, and those that came to watch throughly enjoyed it.

We hold various competitive tournaments during the year for all members to enter and for other members and family to watch and enjoy an afternoon of good tennis and a cup of tea.

PICKLEBALL UPDATE

Pickleball is thriving with our membership increasing steadily. The evenings are always a lot of fun, and it is a great way to attract new people to the club as well as offering a low-impact alternative of tennis to our current members.

Sessions are always well attended and we are looking forward to welcoming new pickleballers to our club, 

The Tuesday sessions will now start at 5.30pm to make the most of the light.

There are also  sessions on Sundays between 2.00pm and 4.00pm. 

A huge THANK YOU to Club Secretary, Adam, and Committee Member, Danny, for doing such a great, professional job painting the new Pickleball lines.  The lines bring new life to Courts 3 and 4, along with 15 new members.   Thank you also to Adam, Phil and Lorraine for their efforts in driving this new feature to the club to give us a unique and competitive advantage in the area.

LITTLE ACES UPDATE

Little Aces Outdoor Playgroup held their final session of the year on Thursday 19th September.  It was another beautiful sunny morning (as most of the sessions were this summer), with many young families very sad that this was the final session but understanding of the changing weather forecasted for the following week ahead.  

Over 220 local children attended Little Aces this summer, plus approximately 20 children aged 5-10 attended Phil's Little Aces Junior Coaching sessions.  That's a LOT of famiies who have discovered our beautiful club.  Some even joined as Family Members! 

A very special, heart-warming community was created this summer at our club for many parents, grandparents and caregivers.  As a not-for-profit community amateur sports club, it is great that we can extend the community aspect to a younger demographic and introduce them to the wonderful world of tennis.  Many of the activities at Little Aces incorporated some of the key skills needed for tennis - motor, physical and social.     

A BIG thank you to Lorraine, the supporting committee members and club members who also helped spread the word, invited friends, neighbours, etc. along, helped maintain the club grounds and helping with set-up after the Wednesday club play session.  It has been hugely appreciated.

The incremental revenue Little Aces has contributed to the club will be shared in the AGM in April 2025, along with Messy Club.

MESSY CLUB UPDATE

Following demand for Messy Club to reopen from a number of previous attendees, the Committee welcome a couple more sessions this year for Halloween and Fireworks Night before the clubhouse gets too cold.

Past Events

The next social event is....Scrabble and Pizza Night

SATURDAY 7TH SEPTEMBER 7PM £12 PER PERSON

Open to everyone, including non-members - please come along and support the club

Future Social Events

We are interested in knowing what type of social events would be popular at the club. If any members have an idea for social events they would like to see or help to organise, please speak to a member of our social committee Joanne, Kay and Glynis or email the club; sandersteadvillageltc@gmail.com

August 2024

COURT CLEANING UPDATE 

As voted by the Committee, all courts will be professionally cleaned.  

Courts 1 and  2 were cleaned on Wednesday 14th August and are looking great.   Cleaning on Courts 3 and 4 commenced on Monday 19th August and will be finished on Wednesday 21st 8am - 3pm.  The respective courts being cleaned will be out of use during these times.  The other two courts will still be bookable for play.  

Any questions, please contact sandersteadvillageltc@gmail.com

Club Captain Update

Due to personal circumstances, Matthew Kenny will be leaving the area and sadly will no longer be able to take up his duties with Kay as joint club captain.  Matthew is still a member of the club and we hope he will come to play tennis when he is visiting the area.  Kay will continue to fly solo as our competent and fantastic Club Captain. 

MEMBERSHIP FEE UPDATES

Membership Fees have pro-rata'd and updated here.  

A Full Membership rate for the remaining 8 months of the club year (up to 31/03/25) is £110.   

🎉 30 FAMILY SPECIAL MEMBERSHIPS 🎉

There has been a great response to this year's Family Special Membership.  Here we have two of our latest families joining us - families 29 and 30! Both families are regulars at Little Aces for the outdoor playgroup and summer holiday junior coaching with the club's Head Coach, Phil.  


With so many local residents unaware of the club's existence, seeing the Family Special Membership promotional posters with this fantastic offer whilst out and about in the community, on our social media platforms or when as they've walked up to Little Aces / Messy Club, it has really helped put the club on the map and encouraged more people to play tennis locally at their family friendly club.  That's what it's all about!


"I've loved coming to the club for Little Aces every week.  Lizzie and her mum Gerie have encouraged me to pick a racquet up again as i've watched my daughter join in the tennis coaching with Phil (whilst i've been trying to teach my two year old how to play swingball at Little Aces - still work in progress)! 


The friendly Chairwoman, Lorraine, introduced herself to me at one of the first Little Aces sessions and originally informed me about the Family Membership.  It's been a good 20 years since i've played tennis but I can't wait to bring my husband and children along to play together (and burn some of their summer holiday energy!).  The summer holidays are so expensive and the Family Membership is such a great offer.  It gives us something fun and healthy to do locally and outdoors."  - Danielle, Caterham

The following documents have been updated / created and can be found on the new Club Policies page.  LTA templates and guidance have been used as reference:

2024 Club Rules 

Anti-Bullying 

Code of Conduct

Complaints Policy 

Safeguarding Policy 

July 2024

Little Aces Summer Holiday Junior Tennis Coaching (Ages 5-10)

Following the success and great feedback from the parents and children who attended the first of the Summer Holiday Junior Tennis Coaching sessions with Phil, there is demand for a further session next week (Thursday 1st August 9.30am).  Booking can be made online via www.littleaces.co.uk Spaces limited. 

Club Policies Update

The Club's Complaints Policy and Safeguarding Policy have been created and added to the website here.  

U18 Junior Finals

Congratulation to Anand & Rohan for an entertaining match on our Junior finals day.  The were some great points and the match swayed between them both.  Anand was the winner - well done!  Thanks to Kay for umpiring.

Junior Finals Day 2024

It was a lovely Saturday morning at the club for the Junior Finals on Saturday 13th July.  It was great to see so many children enjoying tennis. The U14 round-robin matches went on longer than expected as they were all so close.  Thank you to one of our experienced juniors, Lowen, for umpiring.  Congratulation to Hamish who just beat Chloe in the final match.   


Thanks to Tony and Matt for giving all the children there a great morning.  We will miss you Tony and are sure Matt will continue to do a great job inspiring kids to enjoy tennis.


Thank you to Lizzie for surprising us with lollies and ice cream, courtesy of Little Aces who will be hosting a Summer Holiday Special Junior Tennis Coaching session with new Head Coach, Phil Vivian, on Thursday 25th July 9.30am-10.30am for ages 5-10 (£6.50).  If there is demand, this will be a regular session during the summer holidays and a great way for local families with children from age 6 months - 10 years to spend the morning together having fun at our family-friendly club - what it's all about. 

June 2024

A note from your new Chairwoman, Lorraine Oakley

I was delighted to be appointed Chairwoman of the club having been a member here with my family for over 30 years, I am committed to see the club thrive.  The  clear message from our AGM is that the main focus this year is increasing membership in all areas, with special focus on bringing in younger members to ensure the future of the club and bring the benefits and fun of playing tennis to many people.

To encourage a welcoming, positive environment for new and existing members we have introduced a competitive family membership, the opportunity to play pickleball, membership outside of group sessions and the addition of two under 5 toddler groups, Little Aces, and Messy Club.  All of these initiatives are raising awareness and bringing new members to the club.  More details are below.

I would like to thank my fellow volunteer committee members for giving up their time, energy and expertise to help drive all these measures forward:

Treasurer: Trevor Lowe, Secretary: Adam Oakley, Club Captain: Kay Liu, Lizzie Knights, Joanne Williamson and Glynis Martin.

Welcome to our New Members

Since April, we have welcomed  2 full members,  Austin Young and Matthew Kenny. 

We also now have  23 family members who have joined this year.  We are offering a really competative rate for families, it is lovely to see our courts being used more outside of club sessions, and great to offer parents and children the chance to play tennis.  We are sure the courts will be appreciated in the summer holidays. We have such lovely grounds hidden away, it is great that people are now experiencing  them and enjoying the great game of tennis, whilst growing our club.

Please spread the word about our Family Tennis Special Offer. 

All category of members can be added to the SVLTC WhatsApp group to arrange play outside of club sessions and be kept informed about events at the club in real-time.   Please email the Club Secretary, Adam, if you would like to be added to the WhatsApp group;  adamtennisclub@gmail.com.

Lifetime Member - Andy Hardy

At April's AGM, former Chairman, Dennis, recognised Andy's longstanding membership, contribution and dedication to the club with a Lifetime Membership.  Andy joins former longstanding Chairman and still active club contributor, Malcolm Nicholls, in the Lifetime Member Hall of Fame.  And not forgetting Doreen Nicholls for her ongoing efforts.  

The Committee would also like to thank Andy and Malcolm for their donations made to the club.

Finals Day 2024

On Saturday 29th June the annual Ladies' and Mens' Singles, Mens' Doubles  and Mixed Doubles were played.   We had a lovely sunny day and the spectators enjoyed a great afternoon of good tennis, tea,  cakes and many laughs. Thanks to Joanne and Glynis for making us lovely cakes, they were much appreciated by everyone, you can't beat homemade cakes.  Hope you can spot our colourful SVLTC T-shirts, I think they can see Terry's orange one from space! More colours are available, even white. 

This year, the Men's singles were comprised of adult and junior members to increase participation and collaboration throughout the club.   The idea was well received by all and some lovely feedback was sent from one of the junior parents thanking the club for this opportunity for her son, as it enabled him to play with a diffent  range of players.  The great thing is, that  the Juniors really felt they  benefitted from match play and many seniors said  they would like to play more singles.  We will set  up singles tournaments for those that want to participate, a round robin competition has been suggested.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the tournament and a special thank you to the club's Captain, Kay, for all her efforts in organising the tournament. 

2024 Finalist Trophy Presentation

Ladies' Singles

Julie Bradbury v Kay Liu

Winner Julie Brabury

6.1   7.5

Mens' Singles

James Womack v Matthew Kenny

Winner Matthew  Kenny

 6.0   6.3

Mens' Doubles

Geoff Gear, Austin Young v Terry Ford, Adam Oakley 

Winners

Terry Ford &  Adam Oakley 

6.1 6.2 

Mixed Doubles

Geoff Gear, Julie Bradbury v Kay Liu, Terry Ford 

Specators sitting in the shade, still a great view from the club house.

Winners

Geoff Gear & Julie Bradbury

7.5  4.6,  7.6 (TB10.6)

Court Maintenance 

Our courts have been booked in to be cleaned and moss treated  since April this year (before the AGM). Our court cleaner has been delayed because of  the constant rain earlier in the year and is still playing catch up with his list of cleaning and painting jobs. He assures us he will get to us ASAP.  He predicts later in July.

Court Booking Etiquette

To avoid disappointment and ensure fair access to the courts, please ensure everyone is using the online court booking system to check availability and / book a court outside of Club Group Play sessions.  Please note, you are unable to cancel bookings on this system yourself as we are using the free version of the software to keep costs down.  

Thank you to our head coach, Tony.

As many of you will already be aware, Tony will  stopping his coaching duties at the club at the end of July.

His last Junior session will be on the morning of Saturday 13th of July, which is the Junior Finals event.  Please come along to watch the Juniors and say goodbye to Tony officially around 1.20pm. 

His last Adult Coaching session is Thursday 18th July 7-8pm.

Tony has been with us for several years, providing 5-star tennis coaching to adults and juniors. We are all grateful for the enthusiasm, encouragement and fun he has shared with us.

We hope it is not really goodbye and Tony and his family will continue to be a part of our club.

Welcome Phil Vivian (New Head Coach)

We welcome Phil Vivian as our head coach, Phil has vast experience in coaching tennis and is also a pickleball coach. He is available for individual coaching and will be holding family coaching sessions  and also pickleball coaching sessions on some Sunday afternoons, details will be shared  on our whatapp group and social media platforms. 

Junior coaching will now be run by Matt Womack, who has been assisting Tony in the role for many years. Matt came through the coaching system from a junior and some on the older juniors are now assisting him, so it is hoped the circle will continue. Mark Love from MDL coaching will ensure that additional help is giving to Matt for the busier sessions  when the Juniors return in September.

Introducing Pickleball

Invented in 1965 by American businessman and politician Joel Pritchard, Pickleball is often described as a cross between tennis, badminton, and table tennis. It can be played as singles or doubles.  A video on How to Play Pickleball can be viewed here.

At the beginning of the month, the club's new Head Coach, Phil Vivian, held an Introduction to Pickleball coaching session that was great fun and well attended by members and non-members.  Courts 3 and 4 were marked out with temporary tape by the Club Secretary, Adam.  

The Committee have agreed to have the Pickleball lines painted on to Courts 3 and 4 as this proves to be a new, high demand sport that is attractive to all age groups.  It's a great way for the club to welcome new members and be one of the few clubs to offer this sport in the local area.  A Pickleball membership has been introduced at £40 per year.

Courts 3 and 4 will of course remain as tennis courts, with Pickleball lines added to increase options for members.

Adam is driving the Pickleball events at the club.  He has initiated a pickleball group club session on Tuesday evenings from 6.00pm.  All membership categories of the club include pickleball, or a special membership just for pickleball can be taken for £40.00 for the club year. Courts 3 and 4 can also be booked for Pickleball outsude of group club play tennis sessions.

Phil has set up an SVLTC Pickleball WhatsApp Group to arrange play and updates.  If you would like to be added to this group, please email adamtennisclub@gmail.com

Use of Club Balls

Club Maintenance

Following the AGM and departure of member Peter who regularly cut the grass, members have since formed a grass cutting rota.  Thanks to Dennis for leading on this and cutting the grass in the last couple of months.  It looks wonderful.  

Thank you to Glynis for planting the summer pots which will soon add a bit of colour to the club grounds and for spraying the weedkiller around all of the courts.  Your contribution is very much appreciated. 

The clubhouse cleaning rota remains in the clubhouse.  Thank you to all volunteers.  We have a new addition to the cleaning cupboard - Henry the Hoover.  Replacement bags are also stored in here. 

The next social event is....Scrabble and Pizza Night

SATURDAY 7TH SEPTEMBER 7PM £12 PER PERSON

Club Captain, Kay, will be hosting Scrabble and Pizza Night.  Everyone is welcome, including friends and family.  Further details to follow in due course.  If you would like to attend, please email sandersteadvillageltc@gmail.com or let Kay know. 

Future Social Events

We are interested in knowing what type of social events would be popular at the club. If any members have an idea for social events they would like to see or help to organise, please speak to a member of our social committee Joanne, Kay and Glynis or email the club; sandersteadvillageltc@gmail.com

Club Lottery Bonus Ball

Recent winners have been Glynis Martin (28), Joy Hoffman (32 and 40), Sheila Clark (9), Julie Bradbury (10), Doreen Nicholls (37), Lorraine Oakley (22) and John Ingram (5). 

Thanks to all those club members who take part in this weekly fund raising event.  There are still some numbers available so if you would like to join in then please contact Trevor Lowe (Treasurer) at lowies@aol.comIt costs £1 per week and half the money is paid out to the winning number and the other half goes into club funds.  Further information can be found here.

SVLTC is now on Instagram @svltc_

In addition to our Facebook page, we continue to strive to grow our club and communicate events in a modern digital and sustainable way, we have created an Instagram account.  This will enable us to reach and communicate with the local community.  The account is managed by Committee member, Lizzie.   

Follow us and share with your friends and family here

Lizzie also promotes the club and it's events on her Little Aces social media pages to reach a greater local audience. 

Supporting the local community

This summer the club has proudly supported the local community by donating a Family Special Membership to the Atwood Primary School Summer Fete and The Gruffy Fair raffles.   The club has featured in their online promotional activity and programmes which is great to see and be a part of.   Thank you Trevor for helping with this for the Gruffy Fair and for Lizzie for creating the Gift Vouchers for presentation to the winning families.  We look forward to welcoming two new families to the club. 

WELCOMING LOCAL YOUNG FAMILIES 

Little Aces outdoor playgroup for under 5's launched at the club at the beginning of June on a hiring basis as many other local sports clubs do.  This brings in incremental revenue for the club to support club maintenance and improvements.  

Members, Lizzie and Gerie, created Little Aces when new mum Lizzie realised the need in the local community for more activities for young families with under 5's and the absence of any form of investment in this space by Croydon Council in the local area.  They recognised this need aligned with the club's - to welcome more families and the next generation to future-proof the club.  Their mission is to create a community for young local families in a safe, welcoming, inclusive environment and to introduce them to their local family-friendly tennis and pickleball club.  So far, it's been a great success.  Over 175 young families / caregivers have attended the colourful and imaginative Messy Club and Little Aces sessions since launching in March (Messy Club is currently paused for the summer).  

At the Little Aces launch, the club's new Head Coach, Phil Vivian, provided coaching for older siblings who are home educated (ages 5-10).  The aim is to hold further sessions during the summer holidays, subject to demand and coach availability.  There's already been interest and Phil is happy to support this. 

We also welcomed two local four-legged friends, from nearby Fickleshole Farm - The Pocket Ponies.  


Little Aces provides a diverse range of outdoor play activities, including multiple tennis-related activities to introduce the little ones to the equipment from a young age.  Such include a practice net, toddler racquets and some of the club's old tennis balls set up as fun stations to develop their fine motor skills, wellbeing and social skills. 


Already we're seeing a lovely community being formed.  A positive and great thing for the club to be associated with.  


Special thanks go to Lorraine, Kay, Phil, Dennis, Adam and Jon N for supporting Little Aces in their individual ways in the initial weeks.  

SVLTC's Chairwoman, Lorraine, cutting the ribbon at the launch of Little Aces

Head Coach, Phil Vivian, coaching Home Ed siblings (ages 5-10) at the launch

Welcoming four-legged friends The Pocket Ponies from nearby Fickleshole Farm

Two Little Aces' fixing the brick wall around the patio ;-)

For any questions or enquiries, please email sandersteadvillageltc@gmail.com where your email will be picked up by the Club Secretary, Adam.