January 2018 Newsletter

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL AT BLTC! 

Seasonal Membership Offer

Here is a reminder of the great seasonal deal we are once again offering on membership. From January 1st, pay for the whole of 2018/19 season and you can become a member straight away – that’s up to 3 months extra free!  Please contact our membership secretary Judy Williamson on membership@barnetltc.org for more details. 

Don’t forget our referral scheme for membership. Introduce a new full member to the club and you will get a £20 voucher to take off your own renewal fee.

Courts Resurfacing

We have been told recently by Lee West, the LTA's technical consultant, that courts 1 to 4 only have another 12 to 18 months of playability. Over the past year a sub-committee has been working on planning for resurfacing and this has included play testing of various court surfaces. We have narrowed the choice down to between 2 or possibly 3 choices and are receiving quotes from contractors on these surfaces. Fortunately, Lee West has advised us that the general surface is quite flat and the small dips that have appeared in places can be individually repaired rather than needing a new layer of macadam. That will help a great deal with the budget as a new layer of macadam would have added approximately £30,000 to the cost. We have also been advised that the work should take place in the summer rather than spring and the work would take approximately 4 weeks. We are therefore looking at August this year as the most favourable time to go ahead with the resurfacing. We will confirm the court surface and schedule of works as soon as these are known. 

Weekly Adult and Junior Coaching Groups

The Spring Term for our junior and adult weekly courses begins from this weekend. If you click the link below you can download a course form from the coaching page of the club website. The courses cater for a range of ages and abilities, and there is a mixture of technical and tactical training. 

http://www.barnetltc.com/coaching/#course-info

Bob’s Big Birthday

Bob Price, one of our long-established members, recently celebrated his 80th birthday. Bob not only continues to play regularly but also carries on helping out at the club with a host of duties – many of which go unnoticed – such as emptying and putting out the bins, repairing the scorers and other odd jobs. The club wishes Bob many more years on court and send him their very best wishes.

Ballot for Wimbledon Tickets

Another reminder that you have until February 23rd to opt in to the BLTC Wimbledon Ballot. This is important for two reasons. Firstly, the club’s allocation of tickets will be based on the number of its members doing this. Secondly, as a club member you will only be eligible to be entered into our draw if you have completed the opt in process. You will need your BTM username and password to sign in.

https://www.lta.org.uk/major-events/grand-slams/wimbledon/ballots/btm-ballots-home/

Dates for Your Diary

Saturday 7th July - Club Finals Day

23rd July - 28th July - ‘Lofty Lofts’ Open Tournament

Saturday 13th October - Autumn Finals Day