We hope everyone is enjoying their tennis in the recent spell of lovely weather
Below you will find a few items of news:
SPRING TOURNAMENT
Thank you to everyone who played in our Spring Tournament and special thanks to our Organisers, Martin and Steve. It was a very successful few days with lots of good tennis and socialising!
Congratulations to all of the Winners and Runners Up listed below:
Winner
Runner Up
Men’s singles
Karim
Jack Burch
Ladies Doubles
Fiona and Gail
(round robin)
Men’s doubles
Simon & Kevin
Indy & Sean
Mixed Doubles
Simon & Kate
Di & Martin
USA Ladies
Lorraine
Sue P
USA Mens
Kevin M
Narayan
SECURITY
Just a reminder that If you are the last to leave the clubhouse or grounds could you please check all windows are shut clubhouse doors are locked and the gates are shut.
EGM
A reminder that the EGM will take place on Monday 12th at 7pm at the club. Please attend if you can or send a proxy vote. It’s your money that may be spent. More information about the proposal can be found at
The Summer doubles league has started this week. If you would like to come down to the club to support your favourite team, you can find the home fixtures by clicking on the link below.
The Junior summer league starts this weekend. We have 17 teams which is the most we have ever had.
We are holding our “Play Your Way to Wimbledon” event, which is for boys aged 11 to 14 on Saturday 17th May. Please contact Juniors@oadbytennis.co.uk if you are interested.
VE DAY EVENT
Thursday May 8th 11.00am – 3pm
Oadby Remembering the Past. (in conjunction with the Leicestershire & Rutland Family History Society) is organising a drop-in event at the club on 8th May. Members are very welcome to drop in for tea/coffee/cake etc.
There will be a small exhibition from the Oadby photographic archive and if your family goes back in time to Oadby during the Second World War and you have any photos of that time, please bring them along.
In addition, there will be an opportunity to find out how to obtain WW2 servicemen/women’s records for anyone interested, search the 1939 Register for family or perhaps discover family members in the Absent Voters lists for 1939/40 and 1945/6.
As you some members will know, the club was founded in 1946 to perpetuate the spirit fostered during the war/VJ street parties etc – so it seems a particularly significant venue for the event.
The opening season tournament start on 22nd March. All standard of players are welcome and if you lose your first match you will be entered into a consolation draw. We will be running an American tournament/Curry night as ususal on the wednesday evening.
The format has changed so that an event will be held on a single day as detailed below.
Saturday 22 March 12 noon to 5pm Men/Ladies doubles and Parent/Junior tournament
Sun 23rd March – 12 noon to 5pm mixed doubles
Mon 24th March 6pm – 9pm Men’s and Ladies Singles
Weds 26th March – American Tournament & Curry night
Entry is free and if you haven’t got a partner we will try and find one for you, just enter “partner required”.
Please enter using the form that can be found on the link below
Please find below a few items of news including some dates for your diaries.
IMPORTANT DATES
Monday 17th March
Tennis Leicestershire AGM is being held in our Clubhouse at 7pm. Interested members are welcome to attend
Saturday 22nd – Wednesday 26th March,
OGTC Spring Tournament
This is being run slightly differently this year in the hope that entries will increase. Each event will be allocated a day/evening. This will hopefully allow members to enter who would not be able to commit to a whole week’s availability
The proposed schedule will be as below:
Saturday 22 March 12 noon to 5pm Men/Ladies doubles and Parent/Junior tournament
Sun 23rd March – 12 noon to 5pm mixed doubles
Mon 24th March 6pm – 9pm Men’s and Ladies Singles
Tuesday 25th March – Reserve day
Weds 26th March – American Tournament
Refreshments will be available throughout
Watch out for further information about how to enter
Saturday 17th May
Road to Wimbledon Boys tournament
LIFE MEMBERSHIP – PAUL HANDFORD
The committee are delighted to grant Life membership to Paul Handford in recognition for all that he has done for Oadby Tennis Club. Paul was a long standing committee member of over 20 years holding posts as Chairman and Treasurer for many years. Paul was instrumental in driving through the planning permission for lights on courts 1,2 and 3 (which the club had been told we was unlikely) and also a key driver in obtaining the refurbishment grant with Sports England that upgraded the clubhouse and installed the solar panels that generate thousands of pounds of revenue every year for the club. Paul played socially and in various teams over the years and although he is not playing as much as he did we hope to see him at the club still swinging a racquet when possible.
NEW IMPORTANT OADBY TENNIS CLUB INFORMATION WHATSAPP GROUP
We are creating a WhatsApp group for members that will be a one way feed of important information regarding running of the club. Members can join the group by clicking on the link below or by scanning the QR code
SOCIAL TENNIS RELAUNCH
Call out for DAYTIME SOCIALLERS – Thursday mornings – 10.00 – 12.00
We are relaunching the Thursday morning social group for those wanting some more social tennis in the daylight (in addition to Sunday)
Each week there are now 4 sessions of club social doubles; (all welcome)
Sun 10am-12noon
Mon 6pm – 8pm
Weds 6pm- 8pm
Thursday 10am – 12noon
All welcome- Hope to see you soon
TEAM TENNIS
Mens’ match practices will be held on the following dates:
15th March, 5th and 12th April. – 2pm-4pm.
Anyone interested in playing team tennis is welcome, it would be great to see some new faces!
The Ladies captains will also be organising some team practices. More information to follow.
COMMITTEE NEWS
We are pleased to announce that Steve Park has joined the Committee as Vice Chairman
Here’s wishing you all some great tennis now that the Spring is on its way,
Thank you to all who have renewed so far. A reminder that the discount is available for payments made by 31st January after which time the full fee is payable
Clubhouse Hire
Rainbow Care Group who offer dementia care at the club have requested another days hire on Friday – starting this Friday. This is as a result of a referals by Leicestershire Adult Mental Health following a visit and appraisal of the care which was considered to be excellent. The Committee are happy to support Rainbow Care Group and they provide the club with circa £17,000 per year. Also, for the next 5 weeks the Baby Sensory Group are using the clubhouse on Thursdays. Alternative tea and coffee areas are being explored for members and we will report back soon.
Gates
just another reminder about we closing the gates when entering and leaving the premises to deter any unwated visitors especially if you are the last to leave at night.
Junior Toiurnament
We are holding another junior tournament between 17th and 21st February. Courts will still be available for social play and we will updtae members nearer the time when we know numbers of entries.
Our popular Tinsel Tennis event will take place on Sunday December 15th and will replace the usual mix in on all 6 courts. £2 to enter, no partner needed.
It is open to all seniors and junior team players. Festive clothing always good! To sign up, please text Louise M. on xxxxxxxxx.
Filled rolls/festive snacks on sale after the tennis – all welcome ! Hot drinks available all morning.
Metal Entry Gate
In the interests of safety and security, please could members ensure that the metal green gate is closed when leaving
GROUNDS / COMMITTEE POSITION
After many hard years of hard work, Paul Heighton-Towers will be stepping down from his role on the committee looking after grounds, in January 2025.
Paul has worked tirelessly over the last few years and his given many hours of his time to help maintain the fantastic facilities we all enjoy. From everyone at the club I would like to say a massive thank you to Paul.
With Paul leaving this does leave a role available on the committee that we are looking to fill. The role would be to work alongside other committee members to help with general maintenance and up-keep around the club. This doesn’t mean doing the work yourself but helping to organise work parties and liaising with contractors (court maintenance company, electricians etc) if any work is required. Paul has very kindly offered to help the new person and give an overview of everything that he covers.
If anyone does have a few hours to spare and would be keen to get involved, then that would be great! We would love to see some new faces join the committee and help us maintain the great facilities we have. If you can help, please get in contact with us ASAP at info@oadbytennis.co.uk
I am sorry to bring you sad news about the passing of one of our club members.
Shirley Sanderson, a life member, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly last Saturday.
Shirley joined the club in 1985 and during her time at Oadby Granville was very active in the running of the club. Shirley helped to manage the Friday evening Junior Night, was Ladies’ 3rd team captain and was instrumental in setting up the Tuesday and Thursday morning social tennis sessions. Shirley organinsed many social events for this group over many years and was always concerned about the wellbeing of the group.
Shirley will be missed by everyone who knew her and our thoughts are with her family
Funeral information will be forwarded when we have it.
Minutes of the Oadby (Granville)Tennis and Social Club AGM Held on Wednesday 30th October 2024 7.30pm in the Clubhouse
Present : Martin Burch, Sue Lester, Pippa Braint, George Milne, Paul Heighton Towers, Alex Brown, Sue Platt, Honor Gascoigne, Ben Minski and 8 club members.
Agenda 1.Chairman’s Welcome
Martin Burch welcomed members to the Club’s 78th AGM.
2. Apologies for absence
Gary van der Byl, Ronney Panerai, Jayne Stephenson, Fiona Borrows, Karen Chapman, Mike Minski.
3. Acceptance of the Minutes of the 2023 AGM
The Acceptance of the 2023 Minutes was proposed by Steph Wood, seconded by Honor Gascoigne. 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 have had a chance to read through the individual committee reports, which have been circulated to you in the last couple of weeks.
If you have not had a chance to read these then I would suggest having a read through at some point as they will provide you with a great overview of where the club is currently along with ideas we have to move the club forward.
The reports are very thorough and a big thanks to the committee for putting these together and for their hard work during the year.
In brief summary, the club continues to remain in a very strong financial position. We are well placed to be able to replace the courts without having to obtain an LTA loan when the time comes. The courts remain in very good condition and so this expected lifespan of 10-12 years should be very realistic.
The main project completed this year has been the installation of the LED floodlights, which has been great and along with other projects has really helped to improve the facilities around the club.
Our strong financial position is under pinned by a record year for membership. As always it’s nice to see new members at the club with many of these getting involved in social mix ins
and adult coaching and a few have actually now represented the club during league matches. Social mix ins continue to increase in numbers and it has been great to see these well attended as well as the American Tournaments which get busier and busier each time.
In regard to our Junior programme we continue to be the leading club in Leicestershire with all of our sessions being pretty much being at capacity and with record membership numbers.
We are incredibly lucky to have Ben, Zaheed and Jack as coaches at our club. Just like last year I would like to say a really big thank you to George who does an amazing job for the club to organise all of the junior sessions and league matches, this really is a massive job and he gives up an awful lot of his time to keep everything running smoothly.
We have continued to transition through some of our junior players to represent our senior teams and have some great success with having numerous county champions and a large number of children representing Oadby in club matches.
The clubhouse and grounds continue to be kept in excellent order and many thanks to Paul, Dean and all of the members that have come along to help us keep everything neat and tidy. The club looks great and we aim to continue to make improvements as we move forward.
We have a couple of long-standing committee members that are standing down this year. Firstly Alex Brown who has helped the club in obtaining grants and offered great advice and help with the club policies and, of course, the many hours previously spend on the constitution. Secondly there is Sue Lester, who has been secretary for a number of years. Sue has given up so much time for the club and is always on hand to help. On behalf of everyone at the club I would like to thank you both for your hard work. I would also like to thank Jackie Rossa who continues to help and advise the club in her position of Club Safeguarding Officer.
Overall I am pleased to say that the club is in a strong position. Oadby Tennis Club is a family club which aims to provide a safe and fun environment for us all to enjoy our tennis.
Our club has always been a not-for-profit club and relies heavily on volunteers who kindly give up their time to help us enjoy the fantastic facilities we have at Oadby. It feels like I have been saying this for a few years now but it really would be lovely to see some new faces to get more involved at the club. If you have any spare time it would be great to have you involved!
Many thanks to everyone’s support and here is to a successful 2025.
Sue Lester then asked to say a few words as she stood down as Secretary. She commented that when she first took on the role of Secretary 25 years ago, it was a relatively easy role – no emails, no internet, no WhatsApp groups, but how things have changed !
Simon Leavy once told her that the role was ‘typing and tea’ but somehow it has seemed a bit more than that !! She has seen the club change and develop in so many ways – overall
membership has doubled, junior numbers have quadrupled, there are far more teams, there have been several lots of court resurfacing, the clubhouse and grounds have been revamped and the club has celebrated its 60th and 75th anniversaries. Oadby Granville has gone from being just one of Leicestershire’s tennis clubs to a leading county club, winning Club of the Year back in 2021 and not only having premier teams but also county singles champions.
It has been great to be part of the committee during this time, working with 12 different chairs and lots of different committee members. There have been a few challenges along the way of course but overall it has been a very rewarding and enjoyable experience, getting to know a lot of club members and making some strong friendship along the way that probably wouldn’t have happened if she had not been Secretary. Thank you.
6.Committee Reports
Pippa Braint gave an amendment to the Treasurer’s Report : Under ‘Expenditure’ the first line should read ‘Coaching Expenditure.’
7.Acceptance of Accounts
Martin Burch commented that Pippa and John Braint have done a great job with the accounts again.. The Acceptance of the Accounts was proposed by Paul Heighton Towers, seconded by Tim Greenwood.
All were in favour.
9. Election of committee for 2024/2025 Martin Burch read out nominations for committee posts : –
Position
Position
Candidate(s)
Proposed
Seconded
Chair
Martin Burch
John Braint
Philip Want
Vice Chair
No Candidiate
Secretary
Jenny Howse
Jacquie Greenwood
Sue Lester
Treasurer
Pippa Braint
Jacquie Greenwood
Simon Leavy
Tennis Secretary
Honor Gascoigne
Barbara Clarkson
John Noble
Membership
Gary van der Byl
Simon Leavy
Philip Want
Social
No Candidate
Juniors
George Milne
Martin Burch
Zaheed Essof
Grounds
No Candidiate
Bar
Sue Platt
Jacquie Greenwood
Sue Lester
Clubhouse
Dean Zarins
Paul Heighton-Towers
Martin Burch
Projects
Bhavesh Desai
Martin Burch
Zaheed Essof
The election of the new committee was proposed by Katie England, seconded by Steph Wood. All were in favour.
10.AOB
Martin Burch explained that Sue Lester has minuted the AGM but will then hand over the role of Secretary to Jenny Howse, as elected tonight.
Honor Gascoigne asked a question (on behalf of a member) as to whether the car park lines could be repainted. Paul Heighton-Towers replied that this has been investigated but at a cost of several thousand pounds it was felt to be very expensive. Another option would be to do it ourselves. The car park is busy and closure of key sections would need to be taken into account. Paul agreed to obtain further quotations and will then refer this matter to the Finance Committee.
It was mentioned that a disabled parking place is needed and a better base to the car park extension area.
A question was asked regarding vehicle entrance/exit. The speed bump has slowed traffic but cyclists on the footpath with no awareness of the entrance are a concern. An OWBC council contact would be useful. Bhavesh Desai offered to get involved and it was agreed to discuss this matter at the next committee meeting. A pedestrian walk in via a separate gate was suggested.
Sue Lester thanked Martin Burch for his work as Chairman over the year. The meeting closed at 20.05
Just getting in touch with a reminder that the Club’s Annual General Meeting, open to all senior members, takes place on Wednesday 30th October at 7.30pm. We have already sent out the agenda, Minutes of the 2023 AGM and Annual Accounts and we are now attaching the Committee Reports. An informal forum will follow the main meeting for anyone wanting to raise any matters or ask questions which don’t pertain to the official business of the AGM. Any apologies to secretary@oadbytennis.co.uk, please.
The next USA tournament will take place on Wednesday 6th November, with a 6.30pm start. Open to all seniors, 20 spaces. £1 to enter, no partner needed. Book by posting in the social mix in What’sApp group or by texting to 07708883147. Curry (optional) to follow.
Lastly, our popular Tinsel Tennis event will take place on Sunday December 15th from 10am and replacing the usual mix in. Small fee to enter, no partner needed. There will be a sign up sheet nearer the time at the club.
We are getting in touch to let members know that a major piece of court maintenance work will be carried out being on Courts 5 and 6, week beginning 11th November. This will take up to 5 days depending on the weather, although hopefully it won’t take this long.
We have been monitoring a dip in the court surface on Court 6 for some time and, after recent consultation with the company who laid the courts, it has been decided that we should take action now to rectify the problem before it becomes a safety issue for members.
We appreciate this will have an impact on playing opportunities during that week but as a club we have a responsibility to make sure we are providing you with facilities that are safe. We will of course notify members as soon as the courts become available again.
Also on grounds work, we have recently had a maintenance gate installed in the mini court so that work can be done to clear over hanging trees/reduce the amount of leaves falling into the courts.
Next, with half term next week courts are free for booking during the usual junior coaching time slots (4-6pm Monday – Friday and all evening on Friday).
Lastly, a reminder that our 2024 AGM takes place on Wednesday 30th October at 7.30pm. We have already emailed out the annual accounts and are now attaching Minutes from the 2023 AGM which were also emailed out last November. A copy of the agenda and nomination sheets for committee posts are on the noticeboard in the entrance area at the club.
The annual club tournament finished at the weekend, with some closely fought finals. Thanks to all those who played, came to watch and especially to Dean Zarins and Gary van der Byl who managed all the complexities of scheduling over the 8 days. Thanks also to Jenny Howse for organising the catering, all those who made all the lovely cakes and everyone who helped out in the kitchen/on the bar, ensuring food/drink was available throughout.
Results are –
Men’s Singles – Winner Jack Minski, Finalist Ben Minski
Men’s Doubles – Winners Ben/Jack Minski, Finalists Gordon Armstrong/Hussein Khan
Ladies’ Doubles – Winners Chloe B/Tabitha Homes (round robin)
The Howse Fair Play Cup was awarded to Dean Zarins.
We also ran a Parent/10 U child tournament on Finals Sunday, with 10 pairs taking part and some great tennis. Congratulations to winners Ahmed and Ibrahim and finalists Parag and Veer.
Looking ahead, weekday evening tennis now returns to the normal court allocation. At weekends we have senior winter league matches with four teams in total (two pairs per team). We are still needing one men’s captain (any offers ??). Thanks to Philip Want for taking on the other team.
Junior winter league matches also run from late September to Christmas and we have a record number of teams entered, including four teams of four players at 8&U which has never happened before. We hope they all have a great match season.
Lastly, a reminder that the club’s 2024 AGM will take place on Wednesday 30th October at 7.30pm in the clubhouse. Accounts and all other AGM documentation will be sent out nearer the time.
