Billericay Lawn Tennis Club Newsletter Winter 2016 Issue 6 Newsletter Sixth Edition Welcome to the sixth issue of the Billericay Lawn Tennis Club Newsletter. In this issue of the newsletter you will find information about the Basildon Draft Local Plan for housing in the Billericay area and how it may affect the tennis club. There is a review of the Annual General Meeting held in November 2015. There have been some changes to the officers of the tennis club. You will also find local league results, forthcoming social events and information about Wimbledon tickets. There is information about ongoing work around the grounds and possible future projects. Billericay Lawn Tennis Club will once again host the Essex Open Tennis tournament and there is some information on that event. At the end of the newsletter you will find a list of key contacts including names and email addresses. If you have any problems at the tennis club or just have a question these people are here to help you. Billericay Lawn Tennis Club Newsletter will be published on a quarterly basis in Autumn, Spring, Summer and Winter. Club website: www.billericayltc.co.uk If you would like to contribute to the newsletter please send your contribution to the membership secretary. Anything of interest you want to share with other members. Achievements, gossip, stories, photos, upcoming events, memories and if it is suitable it will be included in the next edition. We want to make sure all members and parents of junior members are aware of what is happening at Billericay Lawn Tennis Club but if you do not want to receive a copy of the newsletter you can opt out by clicking here BLTC Newsletter Opt Out Page: 1
Basildon Draft Local Plan and Billericay Lawn Tennis Club A number of members have contacted the club about the recently released Basildon Council Draft Local Plan. Basildon Council is obliged by Government to identify and designate a number of sites within the Borough that will be made available for housing, in order to meet the Government s targets for new housing up to 2034. The Council must submit its Plan to the Government by 2017. This is happening across the country, not just in Basildon or the South-east. The draft Local Plan has identified a number of potential sites across the borough where new housing could be built, together with the necessary infrastructure to support the additional population. This includes both green belt and redevelopment of existing brownfield sites. One of these potential sites includes the Billericay Tennis Club and surrounding undeveloped land. In total a possible 180 houses have been earmarked for the site, known as H21, on the Local Plan. Further detail of this site and others designated within the borough can be found on the Council website. http://www.basildon.gov.uk/localplan It is important to note that at present all the sites identified by the Council are potential sites, not all of them will go ahead. However it is also important to note that the Local Plan is a reality and certain of those designated sites will go ahead. The Council has to meet its mandated housing targets and so has to find the available land from somewhere. The Council has announced a public consultation that will run from 28 January until 24 March, 2016. This gives all interested parties, local residents, environmentalists, planners, developers etc. the opportunity to submit their comments, objections and endorsements of each site included within the Plan. Based on the feedback received by the Council it will refine the Local Plan and issue an updated draft Plan. At this point we should be able to identify those sites that the Council think have the potential to be designated for housing. The club has taken some professional advice, together with some of our neighbours who may also be impacted by these plans, to understand the implications of the Local Plan, the options for the club and what we should be doing at this stage. The implications are summarized above. There are 2 basic options for us, (i) to indicate to the Council that we object to the local Plan and are not willing to make our land available for housing or, (ii) we support their proposal and are willing to make our land available. As to next steps, our advice suggests we either respond to the consultation per (i) or (ii) above or, our preferred option, is to acknowledge the inclusion of our site within H21 area and wait and see the results of and feedback from the consultation period before we decide what we want to do. Clearly there are a huge number of factors at play here and it is impossible to determine at this stage which way the Council may decide to proceed. If we go with (i) above it may be that the development of H21 goes ahead without us and we end up as a tennis club in the middle of a housing development. That may not be all bad as we have a large site with no facilities tight against our boundaries, our current floodlight usage should not be affected and we have the potential for new members. There are a number of potential negatives, future planning requests would be more difficult with more neighbours to the site, congestion and parking on site may be an issue, potential vandalism and the loss of our current open views and feeling of space at the club. If we go with option (ii) and the Council decide to go with H21 for housing there is the potential to sell the site for a significant sum of money. This money could then be used to buy more land elsewhere in Billericay (probably greenbelt with associated planning issues) and build a bigger club with better facilities. Whilst this may sound attractive, it is easy to get blinded by the sums of money involved, it would be a massive undertaking, with many potential pitfalls along the way and a lot of work for the club s volunteer committee. Currently, as mentioned above, we are choosing the third way, and sitting on the fence! We hope that this will flush out the thinking of the rest of the landowners in the H21 site and also the ultimate intentions of the Council. If H21 is not chosen then the problems all go away. However, there is a lot of water to flow under the bridge before that decision is made. We will keep you informed of any significant developments as we become aware of them. Chris Judge (Chairman) Page: 2
News Annual General Meeting The Annual General Meeting of the Club was held on Friday, 27 November 2015 and was attended by 29 members. Full minutes of the meeting will be circulated to members in due course but some highlights are set out below. The year ending 30 September 2015 was the first year as a limited company and the club is in a strong financial position. As at 30 September 2015, there was 142,551 in the bank and the overall debt level had been reduced due to repayment of 5,000 to the LTA during the year. The profit for the year was 26,930 compared to 20,383 in the previous year. The award for the most improved player of the year went to Tess Prudence and the member of the year was Jan Lewis, who is always present at working parties and was the driving force in completing the tyre wall at the back of Courts 4-6. There were some changes on the Committee. Chris Clarke stood down as Treasurer and as a director of the limited company and was replaced by John Pulllin. His previous position as Membership Secretary was filled by Liz Brooks. It was also agreed that the President, Les Cambridge, should be appointed as a director. Sylvia Best retired as Midweek Representative after 18 years and Mike Langstone has taken over this role. The position of social secretary is vacant. If anyone is interested in filling this position, please speak to Chris Judge. In addition, Trevor Ward stood down as Men s Captain and was replaced by Lester Galley. The subscription for a full member will be increased by 10 pa to 300 for the year commencing 1 April 2016. The fees for the other membership categories will be increased by the same proportion. The new membership system has improved communications with members and simplified the process of collecting subscriptions. Various improvement works are proposed at the Club and some of these have now been carried out. The kitchen refit and the replacement of flooring to the clubhouse have just been completed. The lighting to the driveway and car park has been replaced with LED lighting. The replacement of Courts 1-3 or 7-8 will need to be considered shortly. The Committee will be obtaining quotes but would like the members views on which surface to use. A proposal should be ready for the next AGM. Chris Judge would like members ideas on how social play could be improved. There are a lot of competitive matches and as a result there is a low turnout to social play, especially on Saturdays. Members are encouraged to sign up to British Tennis Membership and to opt in to the Wimbledon ballot, even if they do not want tickets, as this affects the allocation given to the Club. Our allocation in 2015 was substantially less than in 2014. The Essex Open will once again be held at the Club, starting on Sunday, 24 July. A loss was made on last year s tournament, mainly due to loss of sponsorship but the Club is committed to hold this for another 3 years. A corporate sponsor is needed, who would contribute 2,000. If any members have any contacts who may be interested, please speak to Chris Judge, Martin Capper or John Pullin. Regular enquiries are received from non-members regarding hiring the clubhouse. At present, it is only hired out to members and their friends. It is felt that the clubhouse is an asset so should be used to try and increase income for the club. The meeting agreed that the Committee could investigate this further. The 2016 AGM will be held on Friday, 25 November. Please make a note of this date in your diaries. It would be good to see more members attending. Page: 3
Competitions Stock Winter Floodlit League Stock Winter Floodlit League is currently underway and the current league positions are shown below. In Mens Division 1 Billericay Mens 1 are in first place and looking to be champions In Mens Division 3 Billericay Mens 2 are in first place and Mens 3 are in fourth place. In Mens Division 5 Billericay Mens 4 are in third place. In Mens Division 6 Billericay Mens 5 are in sixth place but have some games in hand. In Ladies Division 1 Billericay Ladies 1 are in fifth place. In Ladies Division 3 Billericay Ladies 2 are in third place. In Mixed Division 2 Billericay Mixed 1 are sadly propping up the table and likely to be relegated. In Mixed Division 4 Billericay Mixed 2 are in second place. The full results table for the Stock Winter Floodlit league can be found on the website http://stockleaguesec.wix.com/tennis American Tournament Please sign up for the first event of the year. There will be an American tournament on Sunday 28th February starting at 10.30am. Entry fee for the American tournament is 3.00 and includes soup and fruit crumble after the tennis. Essex Vets Tennis Starting in 2016 the Essex Vets season is now February until the second week in November. The format of vets matches will now be 2 sets and if one set all a championship tie break will be played. Bill Hawes Trophy & Mike Thurlow Trophy The Bill Hawes is a doubles tournament open to mixed pairs whereby their combined age must add up to 80 or more. The pairs are separated into two box leagues with each pair playing each of the other pairs. The top two pairs in each box qualify for the semi-finals. The Bill Hawes Trophy final will be at 1.30pm on Saturday 5th March Mike Thurlow Trophy The Mike Thurlow tournament was introduced this winter for the men. Again it is a doubles tournament for mens pairs whereby their combined age must add up to 80 or more. There is one box league and the top 2 pairs will play in the final. The trophy is in memory of Mike Thurlow who for many years was a popular and very active member of our club. The Mike Thurlow trophy final will follow the Bill Hawes Trophy final at 3.30pm. Page: 4
There will be a 3 course dinner on Saturday evening 5th March at 7pm after the Bill Hawes Trophy final and the Mike Thurlow Trophy final. This is to get everyone together at the beginning of the season and to present the prizes for the Winter tournaments. The dinner is open to all members and partners. Please sign the list in the clubhouse or contact Isabel Holmes by e mail. A vegetarian meal can be arranged if so required. Menu Trio of Smoked Salmon, Parma Ham & Melon *** The Shah s Chicken Curry Or Fisherman s Pie *** Selection of Deserts Coffee & Mints 12.50 per head Essex Open Tournament Although it is some months away, please note that Essex Open Tournament is taking place at the club starting Sunday July 24th until July 30th. As usual we will be organising a working party on the 23rd to prepare the club and ground for the tournament and we will be seeking volunteers to help in the car park, kitchen and bar during the week. If you can help the club to put on a much acclaimed tournament like we have done in the past, please put the dates in your diary and contact Martin Capper. As in previous years we are offering the opportunity for members to individually sponsor an event. If you would like to do so please contact Martin Capper. Wimbledon Ticket Ballot & Opt in The LTA will once again be running a ballot for Wimbledon tickets in 2016. The number of tickets allocated to the club will be based on the number of opted-in British Tennis members we have. If you opted-in last year you will have to opt in again this year, it will not carry forward. You can do this from now until 19 th February 2016 at which point the club s allocation will be determined. Below is a link to the LTA website where you can login to your account and opt-in to the ballot. The more members we have opted in the more tickets we will get allocated in the ballot, so even if you do not want to go to Wimbledon, please opt in and the club will get a bigger ticket allocation. If you do then get offered tickets in the ballot you can decline and the ticket will get allocated to another club member. https://www.lta.org.uk/member/ The same link will also allow new BLTC members to join British Tennis (select the free membership option) and link their membership to BLTC. You can then opt in at the same time. This link also works for junior and mini tennis members. Although Under 8 s are not eligible for the Wimbledon ballot, please register anyway as this benefits the club in other ways. If you are having trouble with the website, or cannot remember your login details you can call the LTA direct on +44 (0)20 8487 7000 Page: 5
Senior Club Championships The senior club championships finals will be held on Saturday 10 th September, the same day as the junior club championships. Entry forms will be sent out to all members by email. If you do not receive one and would like to enter the tournament send an email to Isabel Holmes (Club Captain) Entry is FREE. If you will not be available to play on finals day should you get to a final please do not enter the competition. Summer Team Squads The team squads for the Essex Leagues and the Brentwood & District Leagues will be chosen soon. Keep a lookout for an email asking whether or not you want to play competitive tennis in the summer. Notices will also be on the website and on the notice board. Page: 6
Junior Section Schools Outreach Dani is currently working regularly in the following schools Sunnymeade After School Club South Green After School Club Stock Primary Breakfast Club Stock Primary After School Club Nicki also has a very active role but some of the schools are less regular St Johns Curriculum Activity Great Berry Curriculum Activity LTA Tutor delivering to School Teachers and activators in Education Sector This is what Dani has to say about her role delivering in Schools Working in school can be a challenging job but one that is very rewarding too,with different year groups, abilities and behaviour to contend with, but it's a job that I love to do. I coach breakfast and after school clubs at 3 different schools in the Billericay and stock area. With each new term new kids join my club but I also have the same faces back who love the sport and with so many activities they do during the week it's the only time they get to do a tennis lesson. We have had many kids who have come to after school clubs that have joined our club or regularly come to camps during the holidays with their friends. Which in turn then join our after school or breakfast clubs. I feel that our input into the local schools round our area has helped us build a strong junior section down the club but also has given many children a chance to have a go at tennis and learn a new skill and become active. WE NEED YOUR HELP At its peak our schools program was delivered in to 10 local schools however over recent years the lack of funds, school time (schools priorities), competition from other sports and other Tennis Clubs our program has become smaller but as Dani says in a lot of cases this is for a lot of children there only exposure to tennis and we do convert a great deal of participants in to active club members So this year we would like to expand this program and this is where you come in Do you have a contact within a local school who would be keen to see tennis delivered? If your Children use the After school Club network why and what should we be aiming to deliver, when & where? Have you any ideas or existing projects you think we may benefit from? Any information please E mail to Colinaclay@btinternet.com Page: 7
MISS HITS LAUNCH Nicki with Judy Murray. Miss hits is a program aimed at encouraging more young girls to participate in tennis and Nicki has already set up groups at the club. For more information contact Nickiwaring@btinternet.com Page: 8
UNDER 8 COUNTY TEAM CONTENDERS Alex Winder, Daisy Edwards, Miguel, Nicole Tidder All of these Players play at Billericay and have been Invited to the County Team Trials for Under 8s JUNIOR PRESENTATION NIGHT A great Night for all our junior players Sir Trevor Brooking presented the prizes and a big thank you to Billericay & Mayflower Round Table who contributed to player bursaries TENNIS LEADERS A scheme that we run every year for 14 year old members, the course involves showing youngsters how to help out in coaching sessions and tournaments. Many of these skills we use within the delivery of the club program. Gregg Hibberd and Jon Payling helping out at Camps last year. One of our leaders helped out at Wimbledon and met their favourite player. Who knows it could be you but you have to be in it to win it for more details contact colinaclay@btinternet.com or nickiwaring@btinternet.com Page: 9
Playing tennis in America Our varied coach backgrounds often identify situations where there pathway proves very interesting as you will see from the following. Rebecca Wright went out to the states at the age of 18 to pursue her interest in tennis, this is what she had to say: A sport is a way of life in the USA and college sports in some ways is bigger and more popular than professional sport. When you become part of an American University you take on a new identity and form part of a family that is proud to be part of that university for life. I was lucky enough to be given a full tennis scholarship to the University of Memphis between 2000-2004. Since I started at Memphis I became and always will be a Memphis lady Tiger. The tiger is the school mascot each university has one so having attended university there I will always be recognised as a Memphis tiger. I left for the USA at age 18 having never travelled further than France, ready to continue my tennis career and also work towards a university degree. Make no mistake, as important and popular as sports are in the USA, academics are the priority at university. In order to fulfil my scholarship and compete at tennis for the university I had to pass various entry exams and after acceptance had to maintain high grades in all my classes in order to stay allegeable to compete and train. The schedule is hard work. You start lessons early at 730/8am and finish about 12/1pm then practice starts about 2.30-4.30 and then you have conditioning and strength workouts with a trainer till about 5.30pm. If you re lucky you can then head home to study and relax if not you go to night class depending on when various classes are offered. Then there is the travel. In the autumn we competed in tournaments around the country about once a month. In the spring you are playing within a conference or league against all the other universities in the region so you play most weekends some home some away. At the end of the season is the big all conference tournaments which you are away for about a week and compete each day to try and win the conference. That's all the hard part but my love of tennis and competing made all that easy. It's a busy schedule but well worth it. You are given the best coaching and training and as student athletes you are treated like stars. I got to travel the USA and abroad to Bermuda on one trip. I met people who I now regard as family and friends for life. I achieved a first in my degree and got to continue my tennis which is hard to do in the UK past 18 unless you go pro. But above all I gained so much life experience and independence as I prepared to return home to begin coaching after my degree was over. There was also the opportunity to continue on and gain a master s degree but after 4 years I was ready to return home. It was certainly the best decision for me and so glad I did it. Page: 10
Social Events We have held a number of events since our last newsletter. Comedy Night October 24 th 2015 Once again this was a very popular evening and was sold out. It was wonderful to see so many members supporting this event. Christmas Party 5 th December 2015 This year we decided to do something slightly different for the Christmas party. For the entertainment we organised a professional vocalist, Glen Cooper, to get the party started. Glen provided the lights, the music and sang some old classics, some soul and some dance music. Everyone agreed he was a very good entertainer. If you missed it, you missed a great party. The party was well attended and it was great to see everyone up and dancing. Once again, thanks to Richard Lehman and Steve French for decorating the tree and getting the clubhouse looking festive. Also thanks to Isabel and Luisa French for preparing all the lovely food. Page: 11
Burns Night 23 rd January 2016 The club held its first Burns Night and I think it was agreed it was a great evening and a huge success. A massive thanks to Jan Lewis for organising the event, there was a selection of 10 Single Malt Whiskies to try along with a traditional Haggis with Neeps and Tatties and Steak baguettes. Congratulations to Alex Rouse for winning the Single Malt Quiz. Dates for your diary Quiz Night on 12 th March 2016 The quiz night is always a well attended night so get your names on the notice board as soon as possible. Tables are going fast. The tennis club needs a social secretary to organize social events. If you would like to help run social events for the tennis club please contact Chris Judge. If you are interested in trying Pilates there is a Pilates class every Friday morning in the clubhouse. See the website for details. If you are interested in playing Bridge there is a Bridge session every Friday afternoon in the clubhouse. See the website for details. Page: 12
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Clubhouse and Ground Development Improvements at the Club I am sure that many of you have noticed the improvements made at the club recently. LED lighting has been installed along the access road and in the car park. A brand new kitchen has been installed. Tiling will be done on Sunday 21 st February and the painting soon after. New flooring in the hall / bar area has been laid. It would be appreciated if any spillage on the carpet could be cleaned up as soon as possible. If you have any suggestions as to what other improvements you would like to see please email Martin Capper via the Club website. The Clubhouse On a number of occasions recently the heaters in the clubhouse have been found left on with nobody in the clubhouse. It is difficult to know how long they have been left on for, possibly overnight in some cases. As we all know, electricity is expensive and this is a complete waste of money. Please can anyone who sees the heaters left on, with nobody around, turn off the heaters. If you are the last to leave the clubhouse please check that the heaters have all been turned off before you lock up. On a similar note, the clubhouse doors have also been found to be left open or not properly locked. Again when you are locking up the clubhouse please check that all the doors, in particular the backdoor leading to courts 7 to 10, are secured with the deadbolt, as the door may not be locked even though the alarm has been set because the door is closed. Floodlights Please can members turn off the floodlights on their courts as soon as they come off the courts and return to the clubhouse. Often these lights are left on long after the play has finished. This applies equally to club matches as well as to social play. Often the floodlights are left on after the junior coaching is finished as the coaches are not able to turn the floodlights off as members want to play immediately after coaching. The floodlights will be set to FREE. This does not mean they are free. Can we remind all members that in this case they should pay for their floodlights in the box behind the bar or by feeding the appropriate fee into the floodlight meter box in the clubhouse even if the meter is not in use. Page: 14
Volunteers needed The tennis club is run totally by the members and relies on volunteers to help out in various ways. If you can spare the odd hour to help out in any way it would be most appreciated. There are many small jobs and routine maintenance to be done on the club grounds and facilities all throughout the year. If you can help out occasionally, those jobs will get done and the club will continue to look its best. Again, no special skills required just a little bit of your time. For the bigger projects the club may require volunteers with particular building or maintenance skills. Again if you can help please contact Martin Capper. Social Secretary needed The tennis club desperately needs a social secretary to organise social activities for tennis club members and guests. We normally have four main events per year and a few smaller events spread throughout the year. It would be a shame if the club s social activities were to stop so if you can spare some time to help out in any way it would be most appreciated. Fixture Secretary needed Season s greetings! Winter is here but on the bright side Spring is not too far away. On behalf of the management committee and the tennis committee try to enjoy the cold and wet weather but most importantly enjoy your tennis. Rebecca Gent will be stepping down as Fixture Secretary and the club needs a replacement urgently. The role involves attending the fixture meetings of the Essex League, the Brentwood League in January and the Stock League in July. At the fixture meetings the fixture secretary arranges the club s tennis matches against other clubs. During the season the fixture secretary rearranges any matches cancelled mostly due to bad weather. No special skills required just a little bit of your time. Newsletter Writer needed Now I have taken over the role of Treasurer I will have much less time to write the newsletter and I am looking for somebody to take it over. Most of the information will be provided by other members of the club. You just have to collect it and put it all together. If you fancy exercising your literary skills contact me John Pullin Page: 15
Here is a list of the main tennis club contacts. These people are here to help you if you have a problem or just a query. Key Contacts Chairman Chris Judge chairman@billericayltc.co.uk Treasurer John Pullin treasurer@billericayltc.co.uk Membership Secretary Liz Brooks membershipsecretary@billericayltc.co.uk Club Secretary Debbie Gent clubsecretary@billericayltc.co.uk Fixture Secretary Rebecca Gent fixturesecretary@billericayltc.co.uk Social Secretary socialsecretary@billericayltc.co.uk Facilities Manager Martin Capper facilitiesmanager@billericayltc.co.uk Catering Secretary Isobel Holmes cateringsecretary@billericayltc.co.uk Midweek Representative Mike Langstone midweekrep@billericayltc.co.uk Club Captain Isobel Holmes clubcaptain@billericayltc.co.uk Mens Captain Lester Galley menscaptain@billericayltc.co.uk Ladies Captain Catherine French ladiescaptain@billericayltc.co.uk Head Coach Colin Clay headcoach@billericayltc.co.uk Finally, just to remind you about hire of the clubhouse and 100 Club Clubhouse Hire Don t forget the clubhouse is available for hire by tennis club members. For details contact Martin Capper. Billericay 100 Club The BLTC 100 Club produces approximately 650 per annum for the club. We are trying to achieve our target of 100 shares. This will not only yield 1,000 pa for the club, but will also increase the prize money for the lucky winners. The 100 Club gives you a chance to win cash prizes 15 times a year. If you are interested in joining the 100 Club, particularly any new members who may not have been aware of it, please contact Graham Bruce by email and he can give you the details of how to join. You may pay a full year by cheque or cash and we really hope you will join for the coming year. Cheques should be made payable to BLTC 100 CLUB. Many thanks in anticipation of your support. Page: 16