Keep up-to-date with what has been going on at the club.
Just a quick update on events at Chippenham Tennis Club
Court availability
We have almost completed the summer tennis league fixtures with the last Mixed matches being played next Monday 8th August, more on our achievements in the leagues next week, but this means that there are more courts available at the popular times after 6 pm during the week, a good opportunity for the singles pyramid and the last of the Club Tournament matches to be played and social tennis.
Club Tournament
We still have several outstanding matches to be played in the Covid delayed 2021 club tournament. The Tennis Club Committee has decided that The Finals Day is Sunday 11 September. I have allocated court two for social tennis 10 am to 12 noon but all the other courts are available from 10.00 am onwards to complete outstanding matches and to play the final matches. I will contact the individual members involved and send out an order of play in a few weeks’ time. We will review how we play the 2022 Club Tournament, which is likely to be an indoor event, later in the year.
Tennis Club Room Improvements
We are having a makeover of the interior of the Tennis Club Room, we plan to start this on the 26th of August, with a number of internal alterations and painting, this will take a few weeks to complete but toilet facilities at the side changing rooms or the Sports clubhouse will be available.
Winter improvements
New Coach
We have advertised on the LTA website and our own notice board for a replacement Head coach for Dillon, last applications due on the 14th August. The Coach sub-committee has started interviews and we have had a very good number of applications.
Enjoy your tennis
Charles Gordon
Chairman CTC
Chippenham Tennis Club acknowledges the duty of care to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and adults at risk. The club is committed to ensuring safeguarding practice reflects statutory responsibilities, government guidance and complies with best practice and LTA requirements. A copy of the club’s full safeguarding policy is available on our website https://www.chippenhamtennis.com/welfare/
The Club Welfare Officer, Sarah Armitage, can be contacted on: 01249659876 sarah.armitage@hotmail.com In Sarah’s absence contact the LTA Safeguarding Team for advice and complete the LTA’s online concern form on https://safeguardingconcern.lta.org.uk/
HOWEVER, if you have a concern or need to report anything:
For advice and complete the LTA’s online concern form on https://safeguardingconcern.lta.org.uk/
Outside of office hours then please call the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000.
Or, if someone is in immediate danger, call the police (999).
Tennis Club Activities Last Week
A great couple of nights last week,
The new racquet sport taking the UK by storm is Padel, a mix between tennis and squash, 8 hearty participants played last Wednesday, and we had a great night out although some of us were a bit stiff the next day! many thanks to James for organising the session and look forward to another one later in the year.
5 teams assembled for the tennis quiz on Saturday night and fun was had by all. Thank you to Ada and Chris for running the event with Mike and the winner’s edited speech was from Alex. “Team Sense and Sensibility comprising Kim S, Nathan B, Mike R and myself were the victors at the tennis quiz. We decided that the entry fees should go to the DEC Ukrainian appeal. I was given the cash, so I have donated £50 plus gift aid. The loose change was put in the BHF jar”
More Tennis club socials to follow and enjoy your tennis!
Charles
Chairman
Would you like to Paddle?
The new rage in racquet play is “Paddle” a cross between squash, and mini tennis. New courts are available for play at Royal Wotton Bassett Tennis Club, £12.50 each for 30min coaching session then a mini tournament for an hour (equipment hire included). 9th of March 8.30 pm to 10 pm. Please contact James on jamesbrown030477@hotmail.com . Act now as only 12 places available!
The Quiz is back!
Due to popular demand, Chris and Ada are very kindly setting the Chippenham Tennis Club Quiz, please let me know if you would like to enter, £2 fee for prizes payable on the night, Saturday 12 March 7 pm at the Chippenham Sports Club partners and friends welcome. Contact charles@whatvacuum.com
Indoor Tennis at Bath University
Great opportunity to play indoor tennis at Bath University indoor courts, round-robin tournament and a drink at a pub on the way home. Saturday 26th March 5 pm to 7 pm £16 each for 2 hours play and includes new tennis balls, not the drinks! please let Dean know, first come first serve! At dean.c.cooke@btinternet.com
Please contact us know as soon as you can to avoid disappointment!
Charles
Chairman
It is great to see Chippenham tennis members back on court and we look forward to the opportunity of playing as much tennis as possible this year.
Club Sessions are as follows:
Tuesday “Fast Tennis” 6pm to 8pm
Friday Club Night 6pm to 8pm
Sunday Club Morning 10am to 12 noon
Coaching
Dillon and his team are back for the 2022 season, please see details of coaching on https://www.beyondtennis.co.uk
enquiries@beyondtennis.co.uk
07584 420350
Winter Team Tennis
The winter mixed league tennis continues this year and if you would like to play then please contact:
Kim. kim_stuckey@btinternet.com
Safeguarding
The Club Welfare Officer, Sarah Armitage,
can be contacted on: 01249659876
In Sarah’s absence contact the LTA Safeguarding Team for advice and complete the LTA’s online concern for on https://safeguardingconcern.lta.org.uk/
Outside of office hours then please call the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000.
Or, if someone is in immediate danger, call the police (999).
New Membership
We have a large number of new members join Chippenham Tennis Club join in 2021 and we welcome new members for 2022. Please see the link below for further details.
https://clubspark.lta.org.uk/ChippenhamTennisClub/Membership
Club Championship
For those still in the competitions please play your remaining matches!
Club Social Activities
We have an annual weekend away playing tennis at the Manor and Ashbury Hotel at Okehampton, Devon the facilities include many sporting activities from swimming, indoor bowls and bowling, snooker and 3 golf courses.
Last November’s Okehampton weekend was enjoyed by all that went. The 2022 date has been set for 18 to 20 November 2022 and if you are interested, please contact:
Kim. kim_stuckey@btinternet.com
We are fine tuning the schedule of social and tennis activities at the tennis committee next week so I will send out an update to follow.
Please make sure you lock the tennis gate after use and avoid playing on the courts if they are icy.
Naturally, please do not play at the tennis club if you are positive for Covid and continue to wash your hands, respect social distancing, and use your own hand gel before and after playing tennis.
Enjoy your tennis!
Charles
Chairman
Please see attached minutes of the Chippenham Tennis Club AGM held on 19 October 2021
Download CTC AGM minutes 19 October 2021CTC AGM 2021 Chair’s report
Download ctc agm 2021 chairman’s reportWill be held on Tuesday 19 October at 7.30 p.m. in the Bowls Clubroom
Nominations for the committee are welcome which should be proposed and seconded by members. Please let Andy Smith, smithav1@outlook.com, have any nominations or agenda items for the AGM by Monday 4 October please.
The agenda and reports for the meeting will be published on the club website in advance of the meeting. All members are welcome to attend.
Many thanks,
Andy Smith
Chippenham Tennis Club, Secretary
Welcome to our new Tennis Coach Dillon Slade
Dillon is taking over Beyond Tennis from Ben Elliott and will be on court on the 6 September 2021 for coaching both Juniors and Adults. Dillon is a very enthusiastic individual with a pedigree tennis career and is highly recommended by his peers.
Please see a synopsis of his career from Dillon and his key objectives
“Tennis coaching has been my career for six years plus already, from which I have worked my way up from an apprentice tennis coach at Team Bath Tennis to an LTA level 4 SCC and county coach of the year for Avon 2018. I have worked in a variety of settings and with people of all ages and abilities, including toddlers, adults, students, disability tennis players and academy players competing on an international platform. I have also worked full-time in two prestigious schools in the UK (Bradfield college and Elstree), which entailed heading up the 10&U performance programme at Bradfield college and running the school programme at Elstree school. During my one-year interim at these schools, I managed to obtain runner up development coach for the county of Berkshire.”
Dillon’s main objectives for Head Coach at Chippenham Tennis Club are:
– To be a full-time ‘front of house’ coach at the club, providing members a friendly experience both on and off the court
– Continue with the already well-established coaching programme setup by my ex-colleague Ben Elliott
– Offer more daytime coaching via 1-1 individual lessons and group sessions such as ladies’ mornings and toddler tennis
– Offer inclusive tennis for all disabilities
– Consistently run tournaments on the weekends throughout the calendar year
– Improve the overall ‘performance’ of the tennis across all age groups and potentially create players that can go on and receive scholarships / academy positions at Bath University
– Ensure that the adult programme is thriving by offering all avenues of tennis, including social and competitive tennis.
– I’m certified in cardio tennis and thoroughly enjoy these sessions so I would like to incorporate this into the programme
– I’m also a certified racket stringer”
Dillon is open for business and you can book lessons with him via the following links:
Mobile 07584 420350
Email enquiries@beyondtennis.co.uk
Charles
Chair
Minutes of the AGM held on 20 October 2020
Download CTC AGM minutes 20 October 2020Our AGM this year will be held on Tuesday 20 October at 7.30 p.m. Due to Coronavirus restrictions this will be held using Teams. To join the AGM call at that time sImply click on the link below.
Reports for the meeting plus the Agenda and 2020/21 committee nominations are available on the website and can be found under ‘Our Club’ and ‘Key documents’. These cover the Chair’s report, Treasurer’s report and accounts and the team captains/league rep report. Our website can be found at
http://www.chippenhamtennis.com/club/
I look forward to welcoming as many members as possible to the AGM call.
Many thanks,
Andy Smith / Charles Gordon
The Tennis Club AGM will be help on 20 October 2020. Notice of the meeting is on the club Noticeboard and is attached below.
The agenda for the meeting and committee nominations will be published on the website in advance of the meeting together with joining instructions for the online Teams meeting.
Download AGM 2020 NoticeDear Chippenham Tennis Club Members,
We are open for Tennis.
Your committee has had a number of discussions by email on the latest position on Coronavirus and we would like to keep the club open. We believe outdoor tennis can be conducted at a distance from one individual to another and we trust this will keep us fit and healthy.
Please note that the recommendations made in this note are based on the current information provided by the UK Government / LTA and will be immediately super ceded by any new announcements from our Government.
Chippenham Tennis Club have in place hand sanitizers in the club room, paper towels and already have posters with instructions on washing your hands.
We strongly recommend washing your hands on arrival before going on court and again after finishing the session, please also maintain a distance of 2 meters from other individuals, do not shake hands and whilst playing try to avoid touching your face, especially the eyes, nose, or mouth.
We can only keep a safe environment if you keep to the instructions above but also if you feel unwell or have been in contact with people who display any of the symptoms of COVID-19, sorry but please do not visit the club.
On a more humane note, this is a time to look out for each other, including our friends in the tennis club. If anyone needs help getting food, medicines, etc. or would like to chat please let us know. Also, if anyone is willing to assist someone who would like help, please let us know and we can help put people in touch’
Keep Healthy,
Charles
Dear Chippenham Tennis Club Members,
Despite all the rain and windy conditions, the Chippenham tennis teams have been active in the Chippenham Winter District League and the Swindon Winter League please see the update from Kim Stuckey our Mixed Team Captain “We are catching up on the various matches postponed during the wind and rain of this winter but some outcomes are becoming clearer.
In the Swindon League Team A still have a chance of winning Division 1 but need Devizes to slip up in their last match. The B team have confirmed their promotion from Division 3, their third promotion in a row,
In the Chippenham league the A’s look ok to remain in Division 1, but disappointing after winning the league last year. The B’s are struggling in Division 2 but the Cs have a chance of winning Division 3 in a close tussle with Biddestone” Looks like an exciting finish to the season.
With spring in sight, we would like to invite you to renew your subscription for the new tennis season 2020/21 which starts on the 1 April 2020. The Committee decided to freeze the increase on the subscription for the coming year and we have a new way to re-join. Linda Roberts has been a super star and has managed to move the manual system of administering the clubs’ membership to an LTA run system called Club Sparks. No more filling in manual forms, sending cheques or transferring monies, just log onto http://www.chippenhamtennis.com/membership/ and follow the instructions. If you pay before 31st March you get a £10 refund!
We are aiming to start the new tennis season in a clean and fresh manner so please may we have some volunteers for the maintenance day on Saturday 14 March at 10.30 am to help tidy up the courts, tidy up the old green side netting and a clean-up in the club house.
Ben and Hetty have been active with their coaching through this winter and are naturally keen to provide individual lessons but also group lessons, please contact Ben on 07508 363186 or email benelliottcoaching@gmail.com or https://www.benelliottcoaching.com/
to improve your game.
Ben has started the singles pyramid, which is located on the club notice board, looks great fun even for the ones at the bottom!
Our recent Delta evening last month was won by both mother and son, Linda Roberts and Mike Roberts, well done to you both especially Linda who had us all running around the court. Thank you to Kim Stuckey for organising a great evening with lots of tennis and a refreshing visit to the Hungry Horse afterwards.
Next club event is the Chippenham Tennis Club Quiz which is being held at the Chippenham Sports Club at 7pm on the 14 March, you will be in the capable hands of Ada and her husband the quiz master Chris and it will be a fun evening. Please let Ada know your attendance.
Despite the weather, club nights have continued in the right spirit and I am pleased to let you know that the anchor man of these nights Alex Ralton has had his hip “done” and was recently seen playing snooker and will no doubt be at the quiz and the tennis courts soon.
Further events coming up are the Seagry Cup on the 5th of April, more information later and Pizza night on the 24 April at the local delights in Chippenham.
Enjoy the new season and look forward to seeing you on the tennis court.
Charles
Our new clubroom doors have been installed and the kitchen area relocated. It looks fantastic and is a great improvement to our facilities. Further options are being considered to make our clubroom even more welcoming and friendly – please let Charles Gordon know of any thoughts or suggestions on ways we can make things even better for all our members.
Dear Chippenham Tennis Club,
My first circulation “From the Chair”
I would like to thank Helen for running a very successful tennis club, and the support provided by all the committee members and to the retiring committee members June, Linda John and Chad.
We just completed our latest Chippenham Tennis Club (CTC) Committee meeting last Thursday and we have agreed to support the following 4 aims.
!) To Be more Inclusive:
We have a fantastic club which is very successful in the district leagues and has been run exceptionally well, I think it is time to build on this and add more focus to ensure that ALL our members gain the full benefits of the club. In terms of team success and numbers of teams participating in the Mens league this is functioning very well however I don’t think we have enough Woman and Mixed teams, I believe we should really focus on recruiting more ladies players to the club and ensure that they get the full backing of the whole club.
2) To boost Club Nights
Another task the CTC has set, is to boost the club night attendance and be more inclusive to all our players, we are currently working on a number of ideas which I will update you in due course but we have started a new policy of New Babolat tennis ball on every Friday Club night!
We have also introduced a club afternoon at 1pm on a Thursday afternoon, all members welcome.
3) Boost the social side of CTC
We are currently in the process of updating the club room to add trifold glass doors which will open out towards the courts and work starts on the 25 November, to move the sink, dishwasher etc and the table tennis table will be removed to another room in the social club.
The committee has agreed to look at a phase 2 of this project to improve the rooms facilities and make the room more welcoming, Some of the ideas are being looked at include removing the current chairs and replacing them with more comfortable sofas, chairs and tables, and possibly a coffee machine. The aim is to have a club room where you can relax and meet up with fellow members.
Please can I ask you for any ideas on how you would like to improve the club room.
4) Review our Communication
The CTC also looked at how we can communicate to ALL the members in a more effective method than long emails like this!
Links
Events coming up
November 29th
CTC Christmas Dinner is being held at the Gladstone Arms and sorry is now fully booked!
December 29th
Christmas CrackerJack event. More details to follow.
Ben Coaching
I am sure you all will agree with me that Ben has integrated very well with the club and has an exciting coaching program for the Juniors and Senior members.
Remember you can book a lesson with him and join him on the team practice sessions on Wednesday and Thursday nights
General admin
Just a reminder that the Club provides floodlights for club nights, matches and Ben’s group coaching sessions. At other times please use the coin slot meters to pay for floodlights – it’s only £1 for a court for an hour and is great value!’
Likewise please ensure that guests enter their names in the visitors book and their payment in the letterbox provided in the club room.
Enjoy the rest of the year and any issues or ideas you might have please contact me directly.
Cheers,
Chas
We were blessed with fine weather. Marshfield and Chippenham Park had kindly lent their courts. 32 pairs entered. Becky Park and her team from Wiltshire Search and Rescue provided a fabulous lunch. Thank you to everyone who provided homemade cakes, auction items and raffle prizes, and to all our players. Together we raised over £1,800 for Wiltshire Search and Rescue. The winners of the Ladies doubles were Sylvia Gilmore and Becky Kearns from Trowbridge TC, with runners up Lynne Gill and Louise du Toit, and ladies plate winners Jo Williams and Rosie Zhang. The winners of the Mens doubles were Shane and Dan Horsell from Cirencester TC, with runners up Jeremy du Toit and Alun Robinson, and mens plate winners Philip Price and John Anderson.
Mens singles; Winner – Ben Elliott, Runner up – Jake Williams
Ladies singles: Winner – Hannah Carter, Runner up – Tham Hong-Davis
Mens doubles: Winners – Jeremy Dutoit and John O’Meara, Runners up – Andy Smith and Kim Stuckey
Womens doubles: Winners- Tham Hong-Davis and Jan Smith, Runners up – Hannah Carter and Helen Stuckey
Mixed doubles: Winners – Ben Elliott and Helen Stuckey, Runners up – Mike Roberts and Tham Hong-Davis
Thank you very much to Ben for organising the competition, and Alun, Gary, Linda, Charlotte, Ada and Andy for helping with the BBQ.
Huge congratulations to Ed Opie who won the Wiltshire Men’s County Championships singles competition held at Marlborough this weekend. Meanwhile, at the club, 8 ladies and 8 men enjoyed our social doubles Seagry Cup competition – the leading ladies were 1st – Hannah, 2nd – Helen, 3rd – Tham, 4th – Wendy. and for the men; 1st – Mike, 2nd – Kim, 3rd – Charles and 4th – Alun. I wont mention the winner of the wooden spoon!
Download Seagry Cup 2019 winnersThis is now available through iProSports and includes various designs of short sleeved tops, half zip top, cowl neck top, hoodie, shorts and skirt.
Several members have already received their kit and are very pleased with the quality , materials (cotton, Sports-dri and Coolfit), colours (mainly purples and greys) and designs.
To order your kit go to: https://www.iprosports.co.uk/club-zone/chippenham-tennis-club/
15 teams entered our quiz evening on Saturday 26th January. Ada Walker’s husband Chris was the quiz master and had devised some very tough rounds! Who knew the periodic table symbol for tungsten, or who won the Nobel prize for literature in 2016, or could recognise a picture of a ring ouzel? Well done to everyone but particularly 1st Team – The Cabbages (with Sue Pulleyblank and Linda Roberts), 2nd Team – The Horticulturalists (from Chippenham Park TC) and 3rd Team – The Passingshots (Kim, Nathan, Mike and Al). Particular thanks go to Chris and Ada for organising the quiz.
If anyone would like to play the occasional game of singles please add your details to the sheet on the clubroom notice board. Adam Jeffcoat (Tel 07800667850) has kindly volunteered to set up a “CTC Social Singles” Whats App group so that you can exchange availability to play
Chippenham C took on the daunting challenge of the Swindon League Division 6, widely recognised as one of the toughest tests in Men’s World tennis. After a cautious start, a close win and heavy defeat in the first two matches, the team blossomed and won all bar one of the remaining matches to secure the Division title playing some great tennis along the way. Now we’re looking forward to the even tougher challenge of Division 5 next season. Many thanks to Andre, Daniel, Charlie, Rob, Dave, Kim, Andy, Alun and James, particularly those of them saddled with me at various times during the season.
Paul Opie
Mens Swindon League C team captain
The Ladies A team was determined from the start of the season to gain promotion to division 1. Although they started strong at the beginning of the season; losing more sets than winning during the mid season meant they dropped from the top of the table quickly. Solid play in matches at the end of the season held off close rivals Marshfield ladies A gaining promotion. The ladies are delighted to be promoted with Landsown ladies A to division 1.
Linda Opie and Sue Pulleyblank, Ladies A team captains
It was a slightly less frenetic season this year, due to only having 6 teams in Division 4, and thus only having to play 10 matches in total. The matches took us from Malmesbury in the north to Frome in the south.
We had to travel down a very narrow lane in Malmesbury to reach their courts; we went to school in Melksham, to the park in Frome, to the pub in Biddestone and competed with the bowling club for parking space, and eating space in Trowbridge! Along with this we entertained our guest teams to certain defeat in Chippenham, and sandwiches and chips at the bar afterwards! There was one exception to this rule, the team from Trowbridge who refused to lie down, and instead forced us to run out of light so they could steal half a set, and this turned out as our only loss of the season!
Although I am not as comical as Judge Ralton, I agree with his sentiments on Texit. Unfortunately Trowbridge’s exit will be upwards to Division 3, and we may well follow, deal or no deal!
Our players, who played a big part in playing well, were: Wicked Wendy, the Hon Secretary, June, Helen “What a woman” Stuckey, most improved 2017 Sarah, and well-travelled Melanie. We were ably helped by Alison, 1st wedding, Smith, Linda, 2nd wedding, Roberts, and Helen, 3rd wedding, Stuckey, or have I mentioned her before?
At times we were required to play beyond our means, and capabilities, I speak for myself, for our A team, but managed to stay complete as a B team and come out on top, apart from Trowbridge, who we trounced 6-2 on the second occasion, as was only right and just!
So now we go on to new adventures and pastures next year, maybe in Division 3, maybe not.
Linda Roberts
Ladies B team captain
The Ladies C Team finished a close second to Calne B so hopefully we will go up next year. However it was a little disappointing as we were leading at the half-way stage. Calne finished 51 points and we were only 4 points behind on 47 points. A definite improvement on 2017. Results: Played 10; Won 5; Lost 4; Drawn 1. All four defeats were by the slimmest margin of 3-5.
Ada Walker, Ladies C captain
Very praiseworthy efforts. our first outing into mixed tennis was for the first half of the season very successful with the team leading the division. our matches produced some exciting tactics from both the back of the court with rallies lasting twenty shots and the net which saw some winning shots from the middle of the strings and occasionally the frame, still they all count. The second half of the season was not quite so good partly due to our oppositions good play and also their team selection, one club i remember, membership 1000 strong fielded their best lady player who while a delight to watch proved to be too strong for our team. We finished a very credible third and i would like to take this opportunity to thank all who played for their fantastic contribution which has definitely caused a resurgence of interest in those who want to play mixed tennis. Very well done. John Shipp Mixed C Captain
Players should go on to the courts in the order of arrival – but ideally in mixed pairs. All players should mix in.
Players should rotate after each set or when the next doubles finishes.
The winning pair stays or moves towards court 1. Pairs should then split so they play each other.
This format should provide a balance between inclusive social tennis and tennis at the appropriate standard of competitiveness as the club session progresses
If players are waiting matches should stop at first to 5 games (tiebreak at 4-4) and then waiting players should feed in to substitute the losers.
Singles or American doubles should be played if there is an odd pair and a court free
Please spread court usage to avoid wearing out the closest courts i.e. 1 and 2
The Club Session Roster on the clubroom noticeboard shows the committee member allocated for each club session, who will guide play.
This approach has been agreed by the committee, but we are open to feedback!
