I am sorry to bring you sad news about the passing of one of our past members, Ivan Imlay, whom some members will remember well and with fondness.
Ivan joined the club in 1977, and was a big part of Oadby Granville social life (along with his wife Pat) . He went on a number of the club camping weekends away during the 90’s and helped bar profits for many a year whilst supporting the Oadby team ‘s match play. He also ran the club tournament for many years from the late 1970’s – being instrumental in changing the format to a 2 week event which was the envy of Leicestershire Tennis clubs! He was also Chairman of the Club.
He was Men’s third team captain for a number of years and helped in the development of our younger players in team tennis. The whole family were active at the club – Wife Pat and sons Graham and Scott.
Ultimately had to give up playing tennis due to injury but continued playing golf for many a year.
Ivans funeral is on Friday 27 Feb 11.30 at Great Glen Crematorium and afterwards at Glen Gorse Golf Club. People are welcome to attend one or both of the above.
Many thanks to all those who have renewed their subs and benefited from the early payament discount. If you have paid but haven’t receievd a confirmation email from Jenny or myself please email me at membership@OadbyTennis.co.uk so that I can check your membership has been updated on our system.
A reminder that fees must be paid by this Saturday (31st Jan) to receive the early payment discount. IMPORTANT Please email membership@OadbyTennis.co.uk when payment has been made.
The Committee are pleased to advise that we are keeping the membership fees the same as last year and have reduced the rates for helper members further. This is due to the good financial position that the club is in, which will be helped in the coming year by hire fees of around £25,000.
We encourage more members to be helper members which is why we have increased the helper discount – For this discount volunteers must do a minimum of 10 logged hours on grounds,/gardening, tournament help , events , catering /bar or team captain. We will subsequently advise on how to log your volunteer hours.
As usual we are offering a discount on the membership fees of approximately 20% if the membership fee is paid by the 31st January 2026. The fee payable is highlighted in red on the form.
We are no longer running the 100 Club.
Where possible please pay by bank transfer and email the following information to Jenny at info@oadbytennis.co.uk when payment has been made. This is important so that we can update the records correctly.
Name(s):
Membership type(s):
Fees (separately):
If paying by cheque, please post to the club or leave at the club in an envelope addressed to the Membership Secretary. Once payment or cheque has been received you will receive a confirmation email within a couple of days.
The membership form is attached and can also be found by clicking here
Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday season and Good Luck in 2026
On behalf of OGTC I am delighted to send seasonal felicitations to all members and their families
What a year OGTC had in 2025 – with Leicestershire league division winning teams :
Mens 1st team
Mixed 1st team
Ladies 2nd team
Over 60s Mens team
In addition, our Juniors are the premier performers across all of the clubs in Leicestershire with great team and individual success. – Well done players, Coaches, George and supportive parents!
And on top of this!
Our Ladies 1st team won the Premier Division – the first time in the Clubs history
and
Our Mixed 1st team won the Mercury Cup – also the first time in the Clubs history
these two historic wins are celebrated on special plaques in our New Garden Room – opened earlier this month and built by OGTC member Dean Zarins
Let us hope we are as successful in 2026!
Wishing all members and their families a peaceful Christmas and a super New Year
Enjoy your tennis
Steve P
Chairman – of the best, & friendliest, tennis club in Leicestershire
Oadby Granville Tennis Club
THE NEW GARDEN ROOM INFORMATION, HOUSE RULES AND ETIQUETTE
• Garden room – opened Dec 2025 and built by Dean Zarins – OGTC member
• Access – key safe on garden room patio pillar
• Code 1947
• Key is for SIDE door – please replace in the key safe on the pillar
• Key for the FRONT facing door will be left in the lock on the inside for ease of access
• Coffee and tea will be available – milk should be in the fridge
Please wash and dry up mugs and put away in cupboard
• Please ensure the last person using the room switches off lights and heater and locks up
• The room can be opened in the morning by first user and left open until the afternoon – no cash, valuables
are left in it. But please put the key back into the key safe until it is needed to lock up
Please leave the room as you would wish to find it.
100 Club draw
Congratulations to the 9 winners
1st Prize £100 The Morjaria family
2nd Prize £75 – Cyril Woodruff
3rd Prizes 3 @ £50
Pippa Braint
Sue London
Steve Colver
4th prizes 4 @ £25
Jacquie Greenwood
Steve Parker
Jenny Howse
Jon Ford
Those winners who haven’t yet received their prize, please contact Pip Braint on treasurer@oadbytennis.co.uk
Tennis comedian coming to Leicestershire
Pauline Eyre, a comedian and former Wimbledon line judge is touring her show, Anyone For Tennis, across the UK throughout 2026. There’s more information below:
She’s coming to Leicester on Sat 7th Feb (also Lutterworth on Fri 13th Feb)
Come and enjoy a light Christmas buffet and Festive drinks provided by the club and the OPENING of the Garden Room.
We will also be presenting the trophies to the winners of our Annual Tournament, and celebrating the Ladies Premiership win and Mercury Cup win
ALL MEMBERS are welcome to attend for nibbles and drinks
LOST PROPERTY
There is a lost property box outside the patio doors. All lost property will be placed in there and it will be emptied every six weeks and taken to a charity shop
The next date for emptying this is 13th December so please retrieve any items from the box prior to this date
CLUB CLOTHING
I am pleased to tell you that we now have a new range of Oadby Tennis Club clothing available. You can view the items and submit your orders from the club website, oadbytennis.co.uk, by selecting “Clothing” from the menu.
There is still time to get orders to arrive in time for Christmas with the cut-off date for placing orders being 15th December.
The ever-popular Tinsel Tennis will be held on SUNDAY 14TH DECEMBER from 10am until 12 Noon – Dress to Impress!
It will be followed by a light Christmas buffet and Festive drinks provided by the club and the OPENING of the Garden Room.
We will also be presenting the trophies to the winners of our Annual Tournament, and celebrating the Ladies Premiership win and Mercury Cup win
Tinsel Tennis will be open to signing up on the Social Whatsapp Group on 1st December, so if you are not a member of this group and wish to play, please email secretary@oadbytennis.co.uk before this date
It is £2 to enter and places are limited to 26 due to the format of the tennis.
ALL MEMBERS are welcome to attend for nibbles and drinks
see details below
Congratulations to the winners of the annual tournament as follows:
Mens Singles – Jack Minski
Ladies Singles – Rosie O’Connor Minski
Mens Vets Singles – Dean Zarins
Mens Doubles – Ben & Jack Minski
Ladies Doubles – Chloe & Charlotte
Mens Vets Doubles – Simon Leavy & James Kelly
Ladies Vets doubles – Jayne Stephenson & Katie England
Mixed Doubles – Ben & Rosie Minski
Mixed Vets Doubles – Simon Leavy & Sheila Colver
We hope to see you on 14th December to present you with your trophy
RE-STRINGING BOX
This is a note to let members know that the re-stringing box has been moved to just outside the disabled toilet
LOST PROPERTY
There is a lost property box outside the patio doors . All lost property will be placed in there and it will be emptied every six weeks and taken to a charity shop
CHEWING GUM
Please kindly note that chewing gum is not allowed at the Club. It can damage the court surface
We look forward to seeing as many people as possible on 14th December!
Held on Wednesday 29th October 2025 7.30pm in the Clubhouse
Present : Martin Burch, Pippa Braint, George Milne, Sue Platt, Honor Gascoigne, Ben Minski , Jenny Howse, Steve Parker , Gary Van Der Byl and 8 club members.
Agenda
1.Chairman’s Welcome
Martin Burch welcomed members to the Club’s 79th AGM.
2. Apologies for absence
Sally Radford, Robert Radford, Cyril Woodruff, Fiona Borrows, Sheila Colver, Steve Colver, Ayman Hassan, Karen Chapman (A complimentary email from Cyril Woodruff was read out, regarding the healthy situation of the club)
3. Acceptance of the Minutes of the 2024 AGM
The Acceptance of the 2024 Minutes was proposed by Honor Gascoigne and seconded by Katie England.
All were in favour.
4.Matters arising from the Minutes
There were no matters arising from the Minutes.
5.Chairman’s Report
Martin Burch gave his report to the meeting : –
Hello everyone.
I hope you’ve had a chance to read through the individual committee reports that were circulated recently. If not, then I recommend taking a look as they give a great insight into everything that’s been happening across the club and some ideas that we have for the future. A big thank you to all the committee members for putting these together in such detail.
In summary, the club continues to be in an excellent position both on and off the court. In regards to the clubs finances, our net profit for the year was £18,073, up from £4,854 last year, which was mainly due to increased clubhouse hire, memberships and coaching income. Our cash reserves now stand at £154,093, which means we’re in a strong position to fund future court replacements, planned for around 2030–31, without the need for loans. Thanks to Pip and John who again have done a great job this year keeping this all in order.
Membership remains very strong at 571, just below our record high, and it’s fantastic to see so many new faces joining and getting involved in club activities. The junior and primary sections continue to flourish, with 287 young members — a testament to our excellent coaching programme. Thanks to Gary for keeping on top of all things membership related and with helping with so many other bits around the club.
On the court, for our seniors it’s been another fantastic year. We entered 16 teams in the summer leagues, with several divisional winners including the Men’s 1st, Ladies’ 1st and 2nd, Over 60’s Men’s, and Mixed 1st team, who also made history by winning the Mercury Cup for the first time. The Men’s Regional and Ladies’ National teams both achieved great results too — congratulations to everyone involved.
Our junior section continues to go from strength to strength. All 28 weekly coaching sessions are full, with around 180 children regularly attending and over 20 representing the county — an incredible achievement. We have also had an increasing number of juniors representing our senior teams in leagues matches, which is great to see and really encouraging for the future. Huge thanks to Ben and Zaheed for all of their work on the court and a special mention to George, whose time, organisation and dedication to junior tennis at the club are simply outstanding and we are very very lucky to have you.
The grounds and facilities have also seen major improvements this year, including the completion of the new Garden Room building, made possible thanks to the income from the dementia group hires. It’s a fantastic addition to the club and will officially open in mid-November. A big thank you to all the volunteers for keeping everything looking so good around the grounds and a special mention to PHT and Simon who give up lots of time to keep the club looking great. Also a big thanks to Dean Zarins for his exceptional work building the new garden room. The clubhouse refurbishment is the next big item on our list, which is planned for 2026.
Socially, the club remains as lively as ever. Events like Tinsel Tennis, the Quiz Night, and our popular American tournaments and curry evenings have been well supported and are great fun. Huge thanks to everyone who helps with catering, the bar, and general organisation of all of these — these events really add to the friendly, community feel that we have at Oadby and it is lovely to see them being so well supported.
As many of you know, I’ll be standing down as Chairman this year. I’ve really enjoyed my time in the role, it has been a bit strange at times with us being closed for COVID and with various other challenges that we have had to deal with over the years but it has been privilege to be part of such a fantastic club and to work alongside such a dedicated and supportive committee, who in reality do an awful lot more than me! During my time as chair there has been lots of projects, starting way back with the fence to block off the car park from the courts. We now have a new garden building, pergolas, viewing areas, LED floodlights and lovely plants and flower beds and lots more. I think looking around the club now we can collectively feel very proud of what, as a group of members and committee we have managed to achieve and so thanks again to everyone who works so hard to make this club the success it is.
Now you are finally got rid of me, I am delighted that Steve will be taking over as Chairman. Steve has been great as vice chair and I know he will do a brilliant job in leading the club forward and making more and more improvements.
Finally, I’d like to thank the entire committee and all of our volunteers for their amazing efforts once again this year, the club simply couldn’t run without you. Oadby Granville remains a friendly, family-orientated, not-for-profit club that depends on its members’ enthusiasm and willingness to help. If you can spare a bit of time, please do get involved as it really does make a huge difference.
Thanks and here is to a successful 2026.
6.Committee Reports
There are now two extra members since the report was written – now 573
7.Acceptance of Accounts
The Acceptance of the Accounts was proposed by Steve Parker and seconded by
Sue Lester
All were in favour.
9. Election of committee for 2025 /2026
All voted in favour of Steve Parker as the new Chairman .
The incoming Chair Steve Parker said a few words about Martin’s excellent and long Chairmanship. The keypoints being:
*He has been the longest serving Chairman – 6 years consecutively * Provided strong leadership during Covid * Great years of success on court and for the Club – Club of the Year 2021 * And personally, always fair, well respected and a genuine good guy
Steve Parker read out nominations for committee posts : –
Position
Name
Proposed
Seconded
Chair
Steve Parker
Martin Burch
Rich Evans
Vice Chair
Secretary
Jenny Howse
Martin Burch
Katie England
Treasurer
Pippa Braint
Steve Parker
Justin French
Tennis Secretary
Honor Gascoigne
Martin Burch
Kevin Rossell
Membership
Gary van der Byl
John Braint
Veena Lakhlani
Social
No nomination
Juniors
George Milne
Richard Maddock
Dr Raj
General committee position
Veena Lakhlani
Steve Parker
Justin French
Clubhouse
Paul Heighton towers
Gary van der Byl
Steve Parker
Bar
Divyanshu Lakhlani
Karen Chapman
Rich Evans
The election of the new committee was proposed by Katie England, seconded by John Braint. All were in favour.
10.AOB
Veena suggested that she knows someone who is IT skilled who might be able to contribute to the committee. We have already had a specific volunteer but all names welcome. Also she suggested a sub-committee for IT/club-spark who can then feed back to the Committee.
Clubhouse premises officer is another skill set that we require, ie ordering supplies, dealing with lettings
Martin wanted to acknowledge the Safeguarding work that Jackie Rossa does. It is invaluable
The garden room is nearly finished and we will create a sub-committee for décor and furnishings.
Suggestion of a garden room opening event maybe combined with a Christmas event.
The LTA venue registration can have any club volunteer registered next year.
Sue asked who would be writing the nomination for Club of the Year
Sue also mentioned that the Club is 80 next year
The question was raised about whether to keep the Winners boards in the clubhouse- this will be decided when the clubhouse refurbishment is done
*Please note under the club’s new Constitution, any committee member who has been in post for seven years will not be re-elected if anyone else is nominated for the post they hold. This year, this will apply to the post of Juniors (George Milne) and Gary van der Byl (Membership)
An informal forum with follow the AGM.
LTA Approved Box League matches
Information below about Junior and adult box league matches that we have been asked to circulate to our members
However, we would like to advise that any Oadby home matches should only be played during mid-week daytimes, or weekend afternoons. Midweek evenings are not possible
—————–
“I am running some official LTA Box Leagues for Leicestershire players which will start in January, adults and juniors, singles and doubles. All results will count towards players WTN. Please share with your membership. This is a great chance for adults and juniors who don’t play many matches, as well as experienced players as groups will be done based on WTN numbers. It is also much cheaper than tournament play, only £12 to enter.
*Please note under the club’s new Constitution, any committee member who has been in post for seven years will not be re-elected if anyone else is nominated for the post they hold. This year, this will apply to the post of Juniors (George Milne) and Gary van der Byl (Membership)
An informal forum with follow the AGM.
TENNIS BALLS
Please note that the balls purchased from our club are £6.00 per tin
LOST PROPERTY
Please ensure that your children take all of their belongings home with them. There is a huge number of items left each month. Please ask George or one of the coaches to show you where these are if you have lost something. We will now only be holding on to lost property for a matter of weeks due to space.
UPDATE FROM TENNIS LEICESTERSHIRE
Please click on the link below for an update from County Tennis