This Newsletter is ONLY sent by email .  If needed, could you therefore share the newsletter with the rest of the family for whom we may not have individual email addresses!
P.S.  Printing out this Newsletter: background colours won’t print - to save on ink...

Welcome to SPRING TENNIS!

Dear Tennis Club Member,

As we say farewell to a overly snowy and at times, bitterly cold Winter, I feel Spring is just around the corner. Days are already getting longer, which of course means more time for tennis!

I’d like to start by staying a huge thank you to all of the volunteers that help the club continue to be such a happy, thriving and welcoming place - Captains, Committee members, Volunteers. We have more volunteers than ever before doing many different jobs on behalf of the club. If anyone is keen to get involved, please do speak to a member of the Committee – we’d love to hear from you.

It’s been another good year for our competitive tennis teams. With many promotions last year, the name of the game was to step up and be competitive. With so many teams playing all year round, it’s been fantastic to see club members ( and the general public ) stopping to spectate. As we had hoped, I feel the Folly Sports Park has become a Social as well as Sporting place to be.

The Junior Program is going from strength to strength, with the addition of Tom Wilsdon to compliment Matt Williams, who works alongside Mark Thomas to deliver a fantastic Junior Development Coaching (JDC) Program. Watch out for more communication around this.

After many years of all year round service to the club, Alan Elbourn finally rested for the Winter. Guy and Max Mobey have been doing a sterling job of helping out to cover his classes under the watchful eye of Matt Williams. Hopefully Alan will be back on Elbourn Arena soon.

Again, we have a ‘New Season Social’ ( Saturday 21st April) based on the success of similar event in the past two years. Please do come and join us for a drink, meet fellow players in a social setting, and sign up for more tennis! You’ll be able to sign up for teams, Club Championships and coaching. As ever, we’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas for the future of the Club.

Looking forward to seeing you on court!

Mark      

DATES COMING UP IN 2018:

• Weds 4th April - 1pm - Battle of the Sexes - Film in Corn Exchange
• Sat 21st April – 4-6pm New Season Social – cricket pavilion
• Mon 23 Apr - Start of Summer JDC Programme
• Wed 25 Apr - Start of Mens Performance Coaching
• May – Sep – Club Tournament Championships
• Tue 1 May - start of new subscription year
• Tue 8 May – 6.30-8.30pm – Tennis + Wimbledon Draw
• Tue 5 June - committee meeting
• Tue 12 June – 6.30-8.30pm – Pimms & +Prizes
• Tue 10 July – 6.30-8.30pm – Summer Slam Social
• Tue 4 sep - committee meeting
• Sat 8 Sep – 1pm – Club Championships Final
• Fri 21st Sep - AGM & Quiz!
• Sun 28 Oct – 10.30-12.30 – Monster Smash, Halloween
• Tue 4 Dec - committee meeting

Chairman: Mark Mobey
Treasurer: Steve Perry
Secretary: Susanna Hunt

Committee Members:
Alan Elbourn,  Juliane Spiers, Kate Haysman, Steve Pugh,  Matt Williams, Sjoerd Vogt, Sam Bannister

Winter / Summer Match Secretary:  Adrian Noke

For contact details of all Summer and Winter League captains, see HERE

Other Responsibilities Maintenance Alan Elbourn Sjoerd Vogt Roger Starr Wimbledon tickets Alan Elbourn Social Activities Susanna Hunt Juliane Spiers Website & membership Sjoerd Vogt Consumables restocking Anne Sawyer Welfare Officer Juliane Spiers Press Officer Adrian Noke Competitions Organiser Steve Pugh Steve Wright Juniors Alan Elbourn Susanna Hunt Mark Mobey

WHY TENNIS COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE ….

My mentor in tennis--a saint--
Had a system that had not a taint.
"You won't lose at all
If you hit every ball
At a spot where the other guy ain't.

A recent feature article in the British Journal of Sports Medicine followed more than 80,000 people over an average period of nine years, to find out if certain sports protected them against early death....

CLICK HERE TO READ ON!

NEW SEASON SOCIAL

Sat 21st April

at the Cricket Pavilion

4-6 pm

MEET your members and SIGN UP for EVENTS and TEAMS and TOURNAMENTS and COACHING and WIMBLEDON DRAW

Cream Teas & Bubbly

NOT TO BE MISSED!

FTC AGM HELD 22nd SEPT 2017

Reporting on the new record membership of more than 300 members, the very successful Club tournament ( with more than 60 members taking part), and the multiple teams now taking part in match leagues, this was very positive AGM, taking place almost exactly three years after the relocation to Folly Sports Park, and was made all the more enjoyable by one of Alan’s inimitable Quizzes.  

All officers and committee members kindly agreed to continue in their current roles.

See HERE for full reports and AGM minutes

Do remember that all members are very welcome to come to any committee meeting. Meeting dates going forward are posted HERE, where you will also find minutes from previous meetings.

Next Committee Meeting is Tuesday 5th June - and Committee Meetings start at 7pm.  Remember - it’s your club and your views that matter!

ADULT CLUB TENNIS
 

Social Sundays

Tennis Tuesdays

Friendly Fridays

All sessions are open to all full adult members, students, and juniors with passports.

FRIDAY evenings are ROOKIE NIGHTS ; mainly for beginners and intermediates who feel they first need to build up a bit of confidence - but ALL are welcome! Rookie Nights start at 6.30pm

SUNDAY sessions are from 10.30am-12.30 , and TUESDAY sessions run from 6pm-8pm. .

Simply turn up. Balls provided.  See HERE for more details.

WIMBLEDON TICKETS 2018

We are expecting to receive our allocation of tickets from the LTA  any day now. As happened in previous years, the selection form will be emailed so that members can tick their preferences for dates.  Members DO need to have a BTM (British Tennis Membership) number and to have registered for the Draw to qualify. 

The DRAW will take place on Tuesday 8th May , at 8pm in the Clubhouse.  WATCH THIS SPACE FOR FURTHER DETAILS!

RENEWING YOUR SUBSCRIPTION FOR 2018-2019

 See HERE for more details.  Forv the 2nd year running, Subscriptions have again been frozen at last year’s rates; ensuring that your subscription offers even better value for money than ever before! You will shortly be emailed the  renewal form for all the individuals living at your address. There are MASSIVE discounts if you renew before 1st May, and there’s even BIGGER discounts if you take out FAMILY membership! The Subscription Year runs from 1st May 2018 through to 30th April 2019. 

There’s also two categories of membership for those who want to support their children or enjoy the social side - but aren’t necessarily players themselves.  ONCOURT PARENT allows the parent accompanying their child or children to play with them. And NON-PLAYING SOCIAL MEMBER speaks for itself!

IN THE PRESS!

MANY thanks to our Press Officer Adrian Noke, who does sterling work in ensuring that the Faringdon community gets to hear about our tennis-related exploits on a regular basis. And it’s always fun to look through the old press cuttings!

ROOKIE NIGHTS!

Friday evenings ( 6.30-8.00pm) are the SPECIAL SESSIONS for those beginners and intermediates who feel that they first need to build up their confidence before coming to the Sunday or Tuesday Club Sessions!

Open to all full adult members and students

JUNIOR EVENTS COMING UP!

OUR COACHES ARE AGAIN PUTTING TOGETHER A SERIES OF EVENTS AND MINI-TOURNAMENTS FOR JUNIORS.   DETAILS TO FOLLOW!    Here’s a good explanation of the Mini Tennis Ratings system.

Following another successful JUNIOR DEVELOPMENT COACHING (JDC) winter programme, there will again be a rich range of different JDC courses over the summer  - starting 16th April. WATCH THIS SPACE.

Adult SUMMER LEAGUE Match Tennis (playing other Clubs)

We had 8 teams (4 womens, 4 mens) battling through the winter in the Oxfordshire Babolat league with our womens A and (possibly, with a final push!) our mens C to be promoted.

Summer beckons, and we now have a ‘club record’ 10 teams on show - 3 womens, 3 mens, 2 mixed in the weekend league and 1 womens, 1 mens in the mid-week league. All matches are doubles format with 2 pairs in each team. Weekend matches usually start at 1pm and the mid-week games in mid-morning. If you are interested in getting your competitive juices flowing, why not contact one of our SUMMER TEAM CAPTAINS. Matches start on 21 April and will run through to September.

• Mens A   Adrian Noke  07960726606   adechrisnoke@gmail.com
• Mens B   Mark Kiff        07966 387034   markkiff@mac.com
• Mens C David Crawley  07881 934030‬    dcdesignit@aol.com‬
• Womens A   Susanna Hunt  01367 241452   asmi.hunt@talktalk.net 
• Womens B   Carol Hand     07785 583215     carolhand7@yahoo.co.uk
• Womens C  Andrea Bedggood 01367 242669/ 07545148997 albedggood@gmail.com /
                     Sian Starr 01367 241164  sianstarr@btinternet.com
• Mixed A       Juliane Spiers   01367 241432   jspiers@kaacademy.org
                     Or if JS n/a Steve Pugh  01367 244582 07921023094 steve.023@hotmail.co.uk  
• Mixed B       Chris Noke     01367 241909   adechrisnoke@gmail.com 

MATCH PRACTICE SESSIONS take place for LADIES ON WEDNESDAYS (from 7pm-8.30pm)  and MEN ON MONDAYS (7pm-8.30pm) .  If you’re a full adult member of the Club (or Student member, or Junior-with-passport)  and are interested in playing in matches, then you’re very welcome. Simply turn up to the Men’s Wednesday Session;  for the ladies please phone the relevant captain first. 

MENS/LADIES OLTA MIDWEEK LEAGUE

Interested in a bit of competitive tennis during the week? Matches are usually on a Wednesday, starting 10am - home and away.  There are matches approximately every three weeks. The format is similar to the normal summer/winter leagues - with two pairs competing against each other.  DO contact the relevant captain below if you’re interested!

• Ladies Midweek Captain:     Anne Sawyer   01367-870285 asawyer-buckland@waitrose.com
• Mens Midweek Captain :      Steve Perry     07585-602436  steveperry414@gmail.com    

Coaching at Faringdon Tennis Club

We’re very fortunate to have seven Licensed LTA Coaches as part of the Club:

• Alan Elbourn (07774) 037862
• Susanna Hunt (01367) 241452
• Matt Williams (07749-249555)
• Mark Thomas (01793 782542)
• Tom Wilsdon (07729-283603)
• Guy Mobey  (07507-377858)
• Paul Miller    (07939-463230

CONGRATULATIONS to Guy and to Paul who have both become level One coaches just in the past week! This means that we are able to offer a VERY rich programme of coaching - for all ages and abilities. 

• All sessions take place up at Folly Sports Park unless otherwise specified.
• “JUNIOR DEVELOPMENT COACHING” (JDC) programmes are all booked through ClubSpark. Click on relevant link above .  JDC Participants do also need to be a member of the Club. Junior Membership costs £20 and covers up to end April 2018. See Membership page.
• The JDC programmes are run by Matt:
• For questions re Matt’s sessions (Weds/Thurs)  please email matt@acedpsychology.co,uk or tel: 07749 249 555
• Each of the four JDC programmes takes place over 13 weeks (Summer school term - starting 16th April) - with a break for half term = 12 sessions total.
• Alan’s contact details for mid week squads are: info@heasmanandsadler.co.uk  Tel: 07774-037862
• For details of Susanna’s sessions please email asmi.hunt@talktalk.net or tel: 01367 241 452
• Tom can be contacted on 07729-283603 or email tomjwilsdon@hotmail.com
• Susanna’s sessions run during term time only and details of course dates and costs will be forwarded each term. 
• Guy’s Saturday sessions are pay and play sessions which run all year, including school holidays.  
• In general all group coaching sessions work out approximately £5 per hour - apart from the CARDIO TENNIS - which is £8 .
• All children who wish to attend coaching need to become members of the club (£20 for the year) and fill out an Emergency Contact Form
• Any adults who wish to attend only the coaching sessions and are not yet club members need to pay £20 for the year to cover insurance.  They then automatically become “coaching only” members. See Membership page.

THE FARINGDON CHAMPIONSHIPS 2018!

Over the course of the summer we will again be running Adult tournaments for Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles – culminating in a Glorious Finals Day on Saturday 8th September to rival the SW19 event!

SIGN UP AT THE NEW SEASON SOCIAL EVENT ON THE 21st APRIL

Faringdon Tennis Club also has a page on Facebook ( www.facebook.com/tennis4all ) - but it’s not used much! It’s completely open. Anyone can post to it. If you’re into FB - why not LIKE it; post photos, match results, anything else worth sharing?  (And if you’re into twitter:  Follow @10is4all  hashtag  #10is4all )

p.s.   please don’t worry in the slightest if you’re NOT into facebook or twitter or snapchat or instagram or ...  you can also survive very happily without - as long as you’ve got your tennis!

TENNIS BALLS: Are provided during official Club sessions. Tubes of high quality branded balls can be purchased at the Club house from Alan Elbourn 

Remember: To get into the Members’ Area of the website (you’re in the Members’ Area at the moment!) go to the homepage ( www.faringdontennis.org.uk )  - or any other page for that matter - and click on the cloud just to the right of the Folly Tower (top left of page) .