Dear Members,
I thought it would be good to update you on all the things that have happened recently and those that are not far around the corner and some other news.
I would you all to give a warm welcome to our new member of staff in the Sports Centre. Tom Phipps resides is Aylesbury and has a very strong squash and racket-ball background. Aged 22, Tom has already taken to Real Tennis quickly, and has settled in nicely with the rest of the team. Please introduce yourself to Tom next time you are in the club.
UP COMING EVENTS
In the Hat Doubles – Saturday 6th September
There are a number of upcoming events in September for you to enter and come along and support. The season opener is the “In the hat” doubles which takes place on Saturday the 6th September. This tournament will take place on the Saturday only due to the LRTA’s Mothers and Daughters event the next day.
Oratory v Holyport – Sunday 14th September
The first inter-club match takes place at home against Holyport. We already have a number of people interested in the match, so please register your interest quickly to be involved.
Hardwick v Oratory – Sunday 21st September
The re-introduction of the Oxfordshire derby between Oratory and Hardwick is welcomed warmly onto the calendar for this season. As above, a number of people have put their names forward, so please get in touch if you would like to be involved.
ONLINE BOOKING SYSTEM
The new system is now up and running and it’s great to see some members already taking advantage of it. You can still book as normal via telephone or by popping into the club; we thought it would be good to have this extra option of booking your courts. There will soon be a screen etc in the reception area of the club so you can view the booking sheet easily. If anybody has any queries about the system please get in touch with Ross at the club.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
The new National League season is around the corner, and I now have the entry forms for the new season. Anybody who wishes to enter a team please get in touch ASAP so we can get ourselves organised. We are hoping to enter two teams into the 30-35 division, but we need the numbers, so please let me know if you would be available to play, even if it would be a limited amount of matches.
HOWDLE SINGLES
The Howdle Singles is slowly coming to its conclusion. We have the finalists in the North section, where Peter Harding will play David Fox. In the South section, we are still waiting on Andrew Woodward and Peter Buckley to play their quarter final match. Hopefully this match can be organised so we can push on with the rest of the draw. The other semi final is between Tim Green and Alan Wagner. If this match could also be organised, it would be greatly appreciated. It is hoped that we can play both the finals, along with the Club Championship final (Horatio Cary v William Maltby) on the same evening.
SUMMER LEAGUES
Some of the Summer League matches have taken place, however there are a number of leagues that are yet to kick off. I will send a separate email to the players in each group to remind of the players in your group.
To finish off, I hope everyone has had a good summer and is looking forward to the forthcoming tennis season. I feel this season is going to be a cracker. The club is entered into the Brodie Cup once again, and I am hoping that we can have a good run in the competition.
I’m looking forward to seeing you all on court soon.
Yours in tennis
Ross Brown
