SCANDAL AND GOSSIP ABOUT THE COMMITTEE
Right, now I’ve got your attention, I’d like to welcome you and every one of our staggering 214 members – the most we’ve ever had – to the new season. And those who can walk straight.

We are hoping for better weather than last year’s washout as the price of fake tan has gone up massively. Sorry, I meant so we can all play lots more tennis. We especially ask you to cross your fingers for good weather on July 5th, the date for this year’s tournament which is always a great day out for players of all standards and ages.

Details, and how to enter, on the Events page.

COMMITTEE IN NEW TREASURER SHOCK

StJohn Dickson has resigned as Treasurer after so many years none of us is really sure of the exact number. It’s certainly more than he wished to do. He has done a truly excellent job and we are all very grateful, plus now he’s explained that the money was just ‘resting’ offshore. What we really mean is thank you very, very much StJohn. We will miss your invaluable expertise which has been a major reason the club finances are reassuringly healthy today and none of us is in prison for accidental tax fraud or any other financial blunder. (StJohn remains as webmaster consultant.)  So, Tracey Richards, our new Treasurer, no pressure then.

Lucy Taylor has also sadly stepped down as a full committee member. We have persuaded her to remain as our contact with the brand new Ardington Tennis Club which she and her henchpeople have impressively managed to get up and running for this season. Lucy has also agreed to remain our coaching consultant.  Lucy, thank you for your many years of energetic commitment to Hendreds Tennis Club. Lucy has also made a major contribution to the club’s healthy finances, playing a significant part in organising our fundraising events as well as strategic decision-making. We will miss your clarity of thought and careful judgements backed by experience plus (and this is a big one) the fact that you were one of the people we could reliably count on to help clear up at the end of all those fundraisers.

Family  £70
Adult     £40
Junior    £10

There is a (genuine) reduction for stumping up the dubblies before May 31st. Membership forms are enclosed. Please remember to include your email address so we can email you entry forms for the tournament and any other notices. (By the way, I put my form in yesterday and have decided to donate £70 to the club. So the rest of you are too late to join free.)

We have abandoned the idea of locking the courts in the hope that people attempting to retrieve stray footballs etc will use the door rather than tearing holes in the fence. So, no keys necessary.

ANNUAL TOURNAMENT 2007 IN THRILLING UPSET
Last year it was once again a great day out for players of all standards and ages with the exciting finals actually drawing crowds of spectators, instead of the traditional couple of ‘tipsy’ members hiding from their children.

Adults
Congratulations to David Richards, surprise winner of the men’s singles, who appears to have won through sheer strength of will and competitiveness, sorry that should read fitness and skill. What an inspiration to all of us. We’re all really grateful that one of our newest members has waltzed in and shown us all how it should be done.

Well done, again, Lucy Taylor, who won the ladies’ singles. Three cheers for Bod (Edward Boddington), and Harry Kenyon-Slaney, for winning the men’s doubles. And, a round of applause please, for Sally Boddington and Bridget Spurgeon, who won the ladies’ doubles. The heroes of the mixed doubles are Lucy Taylor and James Spurgeon. Well done you.

Juniors
Congratulations to Tommy Geach, who won the Junior Singles and to Harry Shortis and Ben Boddington who won the Junior Doubles against Rupert Boddington and Katie Simmons. It was a fiercely contested match on Court 1, again attracting a number of spectators (no, not just their parents).

Well done to Alice Raban who played valiantly and demonstrated a refreshingly sporting attitude in her tennis for which she was awarded the Mackinnon Salver.

The rest of us are all losers. But as there are more of us than there are of them, they need to tread very carefully and not get bigheaded.

PLAYERS BEAT BANK HOLIDAY BLUES
A good party of members turned up on 5th May to play in the 2008 American Doubles tournament despite typically dismal bank holiday weather. As the players warmed to their game so did the temperature. Basking in the sunshine and the glory at the end of the three round tournament, with the highest number of games to their name, were Helen McAlister and Simon John. And so as not to break with club social tradition, some of the players reflected on a thoroughly enjoyable morning down at the pub!

WORLD NEWS

Friendlies
Sally Boddington is spearheading our effort to arrange a series of friendlies against other local clubs. So far we have a fixture with Uffington TC. There will be a home match at   the Hendreds TC on Thursday 5th June at 7pm and an away match at Uffington TC on Tuesday 1st July at 7pm.

The matches are a mixed 3 pair matches, so we need 3 men and 3 women for each fixture. You don’t need to play in both. Indeed it would be good to involve as many members as possible. Anyone interested please contact Sally on sally@oldfarmhouse.tv or call either 833659 (home) or 0780 3951029 (mobile).

Ardington Tennis Club Ladies’ Tournament
This will be held on Wednesday June 4th. Contact Helen McAlister five.mcalisters@virgin.net or call 832926.

Ardington Tennis Club
The committee unanimously voted to donate £250 to Ardington Tennis Club. Our club will clearly benefit from the extra court during tournaments as well as reduced pressure on our courts during peak season. We wish Ardington TC all the best for the coming years.

COACHING
The Ladies Coaching sessions on Thursday mornings go from strength to strength and Lucy Taylor reports that, having run this group for 18 months now, she is really pleased with the way many players have developed. The fact that it is such a fun sociable group is a bonus - and there is always a good natter over coffee afterwards.  With a squad of around 12 in the 9.30 group it has been officially full for some time:  as a result a second group (12 noon - coffee first if you want to catch up with 9.30 group!) has been set up.   The second, smaller group (held at Ardington) offers more technical coaching and is ideally suited to anyone coming back in to tennis or who is having difficulty with specific areas of their game.

A children's mini tennis course was held in West Hendred Village Hall in Jan/Feb, was well attended, enjoyed by the players but left the coach exhausted!   If you would like some group coaching for your child/ren in the summer term please log your interest with Lucy Taylor, lucy@school-house.co.uk and she will then keep you posted. 

For individual coaching, Lucy is available mostly during school hours and John D'Alton (and his new hip) is also available after school and at weekends.  John's phone number is 835079.

TENNIS BALLS
We will again be selling these through East Hendred Village shop. At £5 a tube they are at least £1 cheaper than the high street, plus they’re on your doorstep and the sales raise money for the club and the shop.

WEBSITE
We have decided to simplify our excellent website by removing rarely used pages such as the ‘forum’. It seems members are telephoning each other and even meeting for coffee or drinks if they want to arrange tennis matches or talk about tennis! Who would’ve guessed?

FREE LITTER RETRIEVAL
Please put your litter in the bin. Should you ‘forget’, however, don’t worry! We will return it free to your front garden!