Stella Tournament

This years tournament was delayed but was thoroughly enjoyed by the record number of members that were able (and willing) to participate. The traditional quantity of Stella (lager and cidre) was consumed, thus slightly (!) reducing some of the quality of the tennis. Nonetheless the tennis was competitive and fun. The final was contested between Jeremy Hyde & Bradley Young and Bill Beadles & Tony Barabas, with Bill & Tony coming out victorious.

After an evening meal of fish & chips for everyone, some enjoyable fun tennis erupted of a much more light hearted nature.

Hopefully, we will be back to normal next year and we will have even more competitors!

Primmett Cup

Despite the delay, todays tournament was competed for by a record 22 entrants. Great fun was had by all with the winners of the two groups (Lin Bell & Chris Young and Lucy Godfrey and David Johns) contesting the final. Lin and Chris finally won the cup after a very close match, winning the tie break 12 - 10.

Coaching update

Although the LTA have stated that coaching for adults and juniors can recommence, they are restricting numbers considerably. Therefore, it has been decided that unfortunately we will not be holding any club coaching sessions for adults or juniors this year. However, we will be back bigger and stronger next year with lots to offer. Please keep an eye on the website and club emails in Spring of next year for more details.

Tournaments

The revised dates for our tournaments are as follows:

Primett Cup - Mixed Doubles - Saturday 25th July (2pm)
(Just turn up - we will arrange partners on the day)
Stella Tournament - Doubles - Saturday 1st August (2pm)
(Please email tournaments@hemingfordstennis.org.net to let us know you would like to participate (or let Chris know)
Anyone over the age of 18 can play but please remember there is alcohol involved!
Pairings will be decided on the day)
Thomas Cup - Mens Singles - Saturday 8th August (2pm)
(Just turn up)
Bergen Trophy - Ladies Doubles - Saturday 15th August (10am)
(Just turn up - we will arrange partners on the day
Mike Hale Trophy - Mens Doubles - Saturday 22nd August (2pm)
(Just turn up - we will arrange partners on the day)
Allington Trophy - Mixed Doubles - Sunday 30th August (2pm)
(Arrange your partners beforehand - we will arrange the draw)

Track and Trace

The LTA are requesting that in order to assist the NHS (and all of us), anyone using the courts should register their attendance with immediate effect. To that end, anyone playing, practicing or warming up on court must sign in. There will be a book on the table in the clubhouse together with pens and hand sanitisers. Please ensure you sign in whenever you are on court, it is in all of our interests.

This information will be held for a maximum of 21 days.

Club Sessions are back

The LTA (following guidance from the government) have now stated that we can start running club sessions again. Therefore, from Sunday 19th July we will once again be holding our club sessions on a Thursday evening from 6:00 and Sunday afternoons from 2:00. All adult members are welcome, in fact they are encouraged to come down once again for some very sociable tennis (& a sociable drink afterwards now the bar is open). All new members should try and come down when they are available to find out for themselves how sociable we are! There is no need to arrange anything beforehand, we do our best to put doubles matches together of a similar standard, but on occasions do add in some more challenging tennis if you wish.

There is also a seniors session on a Tuesday morning from 9:30 until 11:30. This gives priority to senior members of the club, but allows other members of the club to use any courts that are not being used for the session. This also applies to the adult sessions on a Thursday and Sunday.

The clubhouse will reopen but no equipment (such as spare rackets or balls) will yet be available to members. However, the fridge will be switched on so that you can store cold drinks should the weather require it!

New Doubles Tournament

Unfortunately it has now been confirmed that there will be no league competitions this year. We also have the lockdown rules in place, meaning that we can not yet gather to play one of our annual tournaments. Therefore, we are planning to organise a new competition that will span over the next few weeks.

We cannot give you all the details until we know how many entrants we have. However, the initial details are:

• Pre-organised doubles partnerships; mens, ladies or mixed

• Any level of ability of player

• Open to all full adult or student members 

• A knockout competition with the losers in the first round going in to a plate competition, and losers in the second round going in to a bowl competition 

• Depending on the number of pairs entering, it may be split in to two tournaments

• It will be a one set match. Normal rules apply (not Fast4). 

• Matches for each round will have to be played within certain dates 

If for any reason you cannot organise a partner but would still like to play, please reply to this email and we will try and pair up members of a similar standard so that you can enter.

Most importantly, this is a fun tournament, it is not about winning. That is why we are hoping to have three competitions in one so that everyone gets at least three matches. For those who usually play in the teams, it is a chance to play some competitive doubles again. For those that are new to the club, it is a chance to play with and against some other members of the club that you may not have met before.

In order to get this up and running we will need teams to enter as soon as possible. Therefore, we would appreciate it if you could reply to this email with your pairings by Saturday 11th July.

Dusk til Dawn cancelled

This year’s inaugural Dusk til Dawn event has been cancelled.

It’s a great shame, as we had great expectations for this new event for the club. Starting at sunrise (4:30 am) and going on until sunset (9:30pm) there were to be events throughout the day, as well as food and drink at appropriate times during the day.

Everything being back to normal, we will be holding this event next year on Saturday 26th June

In the meantime please stay safe.

COVID 19 UPDATE - OPENING AND USE OF THE COURTS

Following the government's update and further clarification, together with advice from the LTA, we are now pleased to say that the courts will be reopened for limited use from Wednesday 13th May. The use of courts is limited to singles play only with doubles play only allowed with members of your own household, there are no exceptions.

There must however, be some further guidance and restrictions placed on the use of the courts:

• The clubhouse will continue to stay locked and should not be used

• The net adjustment handles have been removed from all nets

• You should bring, and only use, your own racket and marked balls

• You should bring your own hand sanitiser and wipes for contact points such as the gate

• A first aid kit will be left outside the clubhouse

• Members under the age of 15 (below year 10) must be playing with an adult member

• If members are waiting to play, the pairing on court for the longest time should finish their set and vacate the court

• Members waiting to play should not wait inside the club fencing, only on the edge of the football pitch, having made their presence known to those on court

• If there are any issues with court usage or waiting times please email info@HemingfordsTennis.org.uk
  
  

  Due to the guidelines and restrictions there will be no club sessions (adult or seniors) for the time being. We will however, be reinstating the Fast4 Singles league with immediate effect, so if you wish to join these please email Fast4@HemingfordsTennis.org.uk

Membership fees are now due in full at the current rates, as stated on the website (http://www.hltclub.net/membership2-1). We will review the impact of the pandemic on the financial position of the club at the end of the year and include it in the decision on next years subscription rates. 

We will keep you updated as and when we get further information and recommendations as to when we will be able to open the courts up further.

We looking forward to seeing you all on court in the not too distant future

Covid 19 Update

In view of the latest announcement by the government and the LTA we have no choice but to close our courts with immediate effect. We are sure you will be as disappointed as we are about this situation.

We would like to thank all our members for supporting the club and we look forward to the time we can re - open and get everyone enjoying tennis again.

Spring Clean Up Morning

A huge thank you to all those that came along this morning.

They say many hands make light work and that was certainly true this morning. The clubhouse and surrounding area are now ready to enjoy sitting watching a summer of tennis, lets hope we can!

Covid 19

Following the advice that has come out from the Government and the growing concern around the current health situation, the club has been forced to make the following decisions:

• Club sessions on a Tuesday morning, Thursday evening and Sunday afternoon have been cancelled for the foreseeable future

• The first block of junior coaching: 25th April to the 23rd May has been cancelled

• Adult coaching sessions scheduled to start in April have been postponed

• Match practice sessions have been cancelled

A decision on what will be happening after the end of April will be taken towards the end of April. Full consideration will be taken of the current situation at that time.

The courts will stay open to members at all times for the use of members should they want to organise their own sessions.

The Clean Up session this Saturday 21st will still go ahead as planned.

Coaching 2020

ADULT TENNIS COACHING 2020

This year we are again planning to offer adult tennis coaching, and the good news is that we are able to move it back to evening sessions.

This season we are moving the sessions to a Tuesday night. The plan is to hold four sessions initially over six weeks starting on Tuesday 7th April. These four sessions will consist of:

4:00 → 5:00 Year 9 & above

5:00 → 6:00 Rusty Rackets

6:00 → 7:00 Rusty Rackets

7:00 → 8:00 Match Doubles

The first session will be for Junior members who are unable to attend the Saturday morning sessions.

The Rusty Racket sessions are for any club member (including seniors) who wish to improve their tennis skills.

The Match Doubles sessions are for those hoping to be in a team this season, to improve their doubles play.

The cost of the 6 week block will be £40 for members & £60 for non members, and is payable in advance.

In order to ensure that the coaching starts on Tuesday 7th April please could you reply by return, as soon as possible, to say that you are interested in the coaching and which time you would prefer.

Hopefully we will have enough interest and all the sessions will go ahead. We will then send out an email asking you to book and pay for the block of lessons.

Wimbledon ticket allocation 2020

We have received our ticket allocation for the 2020 tournament. Thanks to all that Opted In on the LTA website. All of you will be entered in to the draw on Sunday 26th April at (approx) 3:30, during the afternoon club session.

Wednesday 1st July
Centre Court
Number One Court

Thursday 2nd July
Number One Court
Number Two Court

Friday 3rd July
Centre Court

Saturday 4th July
Centre Court

Tuesday 7th July
Centre Court
Number One Court

Wednesday 8th July
Number Two Court

Thursday 9th July
Number One Court

Saturday 11th July
Centre Court

Sunday 12th July
Number One Court

End of Season Dinner 2019

A tremendous and very enjoyable End of Season Dinner was held in the Chris Page Room in the Pavilion.

After a very enjoyable dinner the season trophies were presented. In addition to those trophies won during the season Chris Young won the Winter Shield for contribution to the club and Dougie McKee won a very deserved Player of the Year.

2019 AGM

The AGM was held in the Chris Page Room of the Pavilion. A swift, successful meeting with many things discussed and decided.

The minutes of the meeting can be found on the AGM page.

Bergen Trophy 2019

A hard fought but very enjoyable ladies doubles tournament was held in the morning sunshine. Linda Dingle and Liz Miller coming out triumphant.

Allington Trophy 2019

A very well attended and very enjoyable tournament. Finally won by Babs Moore and James Moore.

Stella Tournament 2019

This years infamous tournament was very well supported with a large number of competitors.

Despite the demands put upon all the competitors Vernon Reuter and Chris Young came out on top.

Primmett Cup 2019

A great tournament was won by Liz Miller and David Johns