March Newsletter

The weather has definitely taken a turn for the better over the last few days, signs of spring are on the way which means the tennis season is fast approaching! There’s been lots of changes since the last AGM which will be summarised in this month’s newsletter if you didn’t catch the WhatsApp updates. As ever, if you have any points of view that you’d like to share with me feel free to get in touch at any time.

New committee roles:

Chairman: Steven Capewell

Treasurer: Andrew Dunning

Secretary: Marilyn Angles

Coaching: Sasha Taylor and Andrew Long

Committee member: Steve Packer

Committee member: Lucy Dennis

All can be contacted by email: info@riccalltennisclub.com or WhatsApp or phone at appropriate time of the day.

Court developments:

Tennis Court Care visited last week to complete stage 1 of our court care programme. All 4 courts were treated for moss and over the next 3-4 weeks a deep clean will take place as well as cracks and holes being filled in. Following this, the courts should be looking in the best condition they have been for the last 5 years.

Booking courts and floodlight use:

As our club continues to grow, we now have the issue of court availability (which is a good problem have!) Over the last few years generally there has been courts available at any time. However as coaching, interest in teams, singles play and social tennis is growing then we need to relaunch the importance of our court booking system. This can be found on our website and should be used at all times for all sessions.

Regarding floodlights, as we all know the cost of electricity has rocketed for us all including the tennis club! That said, our policy is still to offer the use of the floodlights for a minimal voluntary donation of £1 per person per hour which is very good value compared to other clubs. As a result you’ll start to see signs appearing at the club reminding everyone of that together with the clubs bank details to make payments. Can you also ensure only one court is lit if only one court is being used as well. Hopefully we can continue to offer this and won’t need to go to an automated system like some other clubs do

New Men’s Team Captain:

Congratulations to Steve Packer who has taken on the role of men’s team captain for this year. He has a wealth of knowledge and experience in captaining teams and is full of enthusiasm! We’d like to thanks Craig for carrying out this role previously and has kindly offered his full support to Steve. If you’re keen on representing the men’s team this year let us know and we can add you to the appropriate group.

Club Championships:

4-6th April –

Mixed doubles (Sat PM and Sun PM)

Ladies’ doubles (Sat AM)

Men’s singles (Sun AM)

Friday night may also be used depending on entry numbers. Please send your entry to Steve Packer (enter as a pair or request a partner) by Friday 7th March entry is £2 per person. Drink and snacks will be available to buy all weekend.

Friday night Easter family event:

Our Spring Social for both members and non-members is scheduled for Friday 25th April (start time tbc). Burgers and sausages will be on the bbq and available free of charge (donations to the club greatly received). We’ll also have some music playing and plenty of opportunities to get on court to either try tennis out for the first time or simply have a bit of fun. It’s hoped the Regen Centre bar will be open as well but will confirm this. Remember, this is open to both members and non-members so bring your friends and family along!

Club night balls, family event balls:

Providing quality balls for club nights and our family events are a priority for the coming year. Once matches begin we will have a weekly supply of balls to use for club nights and Ben has kindly offered to manage this. We’ll have appropriate storage to ensure this is as easy as it can be! Over the Autumn and Winter the club are committed to buying balls for club night so there will be a plentiful supply available. Craig helped out with this issue this year and we are very grateful for this however need a proper club policy for this going forwards. We’ll also ensure a supply of junior balls are available for family events as well.

Membership fees:

At the AGM it was agreed that the fees for next year (2025/26) will remain the same however the difference between an adult and family membership was discussed in depth and will be reviewed for 2026/27.

Junior coaching:

Junior coaching with Sasha and Andrew has continued with some new juniors joining over the winter. Junior classes are as follows:

· Mondays 9:15am – 10am: Tots tennis (2-4yrs)

· Mondays 4:45pm – 5:30pm: junior mini red alongside mini orange and green ball

· Mondays 5:30pm – 6:15pm: yellow full ball coaching (11yrs+)

· Wednesdays 4:30pm – 5:15pm: mini orange and green ball

· Wednesdays 5:15pm – 6pm: mini green and yellow full ball (11yrs+)

· Saturdays 8:15am – 9am: mini orange and green ball

· Saturdays 9:30am – 10:15am: tots tennis (2-4yrs)

· Saturdays 9:45 – 10:30am (11yrs+)

Adult coaching:

Sasha and Andrew continue to offer adult coaching as well as the extremely popular cardio tennis session on a Friday night! It’s a great workout if anyone’s fancies joining in! Days and times are as follows:

· Mondays 10am – 11am: Walking tennis

· Mondays 11am – 11:45am: Cardio tennis

· Mondays 12:30 – 1:30 Adult beginners and rusty rackets

· Wednesdays 5:30 – 7pm: Disability tennis

· Thursdays 1pm -2pm: Adult coaching

· Thursdays 2pm – 2:45pm: Cardio tennis

· Thursdays 5:30pm – 6:30pm: Walking tennis

· Fridays 6:30pm – 7:30pm: intermediate and advanced drills

· Fridays 9:15am – 10am: Cardio tennis

· Fridays 10am -11:30am: Ladies only coaching

· Fridays 11:30 -12:30: Adult beginners and rusty rackets

· Fridays 6:30 -7:30: Adult beginners and rusty rackets

· Fridays 7:30 – 8:30: Adult coaching

· Fridays 8:30 – 9:15pm: Cardio tennis (juniors welcome as well).

· Alternate Sundays 2pm – 3pm: Adult coaching

· Alternate Sundays 3pm – 4pm: Walking tennis

***Get in touch with Sasha on 07540 062281 to enquire about these sessions.***

LTA Girls under 12’s final in Ashby De-La -Zouch:

Evie managed to secure a runner’s place in a grade 3 two-day tournament in the East Midlands over half term securing 114 ranking points. This should move her towards the top 100 players in the country at under 12’s which would be a great achievement. Alexander managed to secure a runner up spot in a closely fought final in Barnsley having had championship point so was a tough one to lose.

That’s all for now, keep an eye on our website and social media for lots of coaching updates and club developments. Don’t forget, club night is on a Wednesday evening from 7pm, we’d love to see more members down there. Don’t worry about your level of tennis, we can easily match ability levels from total beginners to seasoned match players!