Winter Newsletter 2022/2023 31st December 2022 Dear Members Firstly a very warm welcome to the very end of 2022. We are all thrilled that tennis has been played as normal throughout the year with no more lockdowns. The club is thriving as you can see from the AGM minutes which are available on the website: http://fcsc-tennis.weebly.com/agm-minutes.html
This newsletter is packed with some more updates including: The LTA member Wimbledon Ballot now open Coaching 2023 update - new coach Matt Clark Free Refreshments in the Pavilion Reminder of Frosty Tournament Court 5 and 6 resurfacing in 2023 Fundraising update and how to get involved Subs reminder Message from Bucks Tennis
Andy and Maggie our Captains will be sending out some information on teams in January but a heads up that we are also looking to have some development teams to play friendly matches in addition to the official league games in 2023 so if you have not yet played for a team but might be interested, please do reach out to them via [email protected] or [email protected] or chat to them at a club night.
Enjoy the last day of 2022 and we hope to see you all on the Bank Holiday Monday 2nd Jan for the Frosty Tournament and free Junior Coaching taster afternoon.
FCTC Committee
Wimbledon LTA member ballot now open Our club is LTA registered which means you can now opt in to the LTA Advantage Member Wimbledon Ticket Ballot. The deadline to opt in is the 19th January. To opt in, simply log in to https://www.lta.org.uk/advantage-home/ , go to the “My benefits” page and find LTA Wimbledon Ballot Opt In.
Coaching for 2023 As you have hopefully seen in our announcement email, we have a new interim Coach Matt Clark who starts coaching from January. His initial schedule and contact details are included here. We are pleased that there will be a seamless transition with the Saturday morning coaching schedule for Juniors unchanged. To meet the coaching demand there are also additional weekday Junior and Adult coaching sessions now available. You can contact Matt directly via [email protected] or 07487737520
The club junior co-ordinator Aman Kohli has written directly to parents this week, if anyone has any further questions about the junior section then please do contact Aman directly via [email protected]
Matt will be joining us at the Frosty Tournament day on Monday 2nd January, and will be running free Junior coaching taster sessions as follows for the juniors to get to know him.
1pm - 1.30pm: 5 - 8 year olds (also suitable for reception age) 1.30pm - 2pm: 9 and 10 year olds 2pm - 2.30pm: Ages 11+
No need to register you can just turn up on the day, but if you could let Matt or Aman know if you are planning to attend that would help with planning of numbers.
Free Refreshments including for parents attending Junior coaching The committee has decided to make Tea, Coffee and Squash available free of charge as a gesture to members and parents in order to help you get through the cold and wet first couple of months of the year.
These can be found in the cupboard along with packets of UHT milk. Please help yourself, the only condition is that you ensure you wash and dry your cups after use and dispose of any rubbish. We will reassess this policy once these initial stocks run out.
Frosty Tournament reminder - Monday 2nd January 10am - 1pm Hopefully you all have the 2nd January in your diaries and are looking forward to burning those mince pies off in our New Year social tournament. It will be a fun tournament with a handicap system meaning everyone should end up getting a good game. Open to anyone who can rally including Juniors 14 and over who are comfortable playing with adults.
Thanks to the social committee who will be organising this, there has been a lot of interest on the WhatsApp groups, looks like the event will be very popular so all the courts will be in use. There will also be some tennis themed anagrams to test yourselves with before, after or during the tournament!
Please do remember to register between 10 and 10.30am as we will be starting promptly at 10.30. There will be a small charge of £3 per player to cover the cost of balls and prizes.
And don't forget the free Junior coaching taster sessions that Matt will be leading.
Resurfacing of Courts 5 and 6 in Spring 2023 As part of our ongoing investment program, we are very pleased to confirm we will be doing a full resurface of the bottom courts 5 and 6 which are in need of repair. The intent will be to time the work to minimise disruption, but there will be a 4 week period during which those courts will be unavailable as the new surface sets. Once dates are confirmed we will let you know. Thank you to the main Sports Club for supporting this significant investment.
Fundraising launch As you will see in the AGM minutes, there is a lot of demand for converting Courts 3 and 4 to Tiger Turf and installing floodlights on them. That is not all currently budgeted, and hence we have set up a fundraising committee. We thankful to Tim Needham who has volunteered to lead that.
Subs reminder For anyone that does not pay their annual subscription by Direct Debit, you can now pay your 2023 fees by going to https://fcsc.org.uk click 'join here' and renew subscription. Any questions please let Sue Salmon know.
Message from Bucks Tennis AGM Many thanks to those of you who attended our AGM on the 21st November, it was a highly successful evening and we are grateful that so many people were able to make it. If you have any questions about the AGM, please do get in touch with us at [email protected].
County Safeguarding Officer role: Following the AGM, we are in need of somebody to take on the role of County Safeguarding Officer. While this is a key role, it is not necessarily a time-consuming one. Any club Welfare Officer already has an appropriate level of training and would not need to attend Management Committee meetings, just report on any ongoing issues. Historically, the CSO should also be entitled to purchase a pair of Wimbledon tickets as an additional benefit. If there are any club members who are qualified for the role and interested in taking it on, please get in touch.
And finally! As always, do look on the facebook group for the latest news and why not share some pictures yourselves https://www.facebook.com/groups/2363389568 Stay safe and see you on the courts. FCTC Committee.