February 2018 Newsletter

Barnet LTC – February 2018 Newsletter

Whist Night – 17th February

On Saturday 17th February we will be holding another Whist Drive. Our last two have proved to be really popular evenings. Please arrive at 7.15pm for a 7.30pm prompt start. Cost is £4 per player, including nibbles. For those already familiar with the game, it will be a progressive format with plenty of prizes along the way! All standards, including beginners, welcome. There will be practice sessions after Friday evening social tennis for those who wish to hone their skills. Any questions, please contact Mike or Linda Searles on 07973 834797.

 Ballot for Wimbledon Tickets

A final reminder that you have until February 17th 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 in to our draw, and therefore win tickets, if you have completed the opt in process. Even if you don’t want Wimbledon tickets yourself, you will be helping your fellow members by opting in.

You will need your BTM username and password to sign in.

https://www.lta.org.uk/member/login/

Any problems, phone LTA on 020 8487 7000

The draw will be made at our Easter Monday American Tournament on 2nd April.

Team Tennis Update

With just a few matches left, there is currently a clear leader – Mike Searles’ ‘Hit & Miss’. However, anything could happen….

Team                                               Matches            Sets               Games          Total

1. Hit & Miss(C)                                5    4    1         22      8           166    106          21

2. Smith’s Smashers (E)                 4    2    2         11      13            93     99           13

3. Slam Dunks (D)                          4    2    2          15      9            118     84           12

4. Looney Legends (B)                  5     2   3           8     22           108    156          12

5. Rice’s Rock n Ralliers (A)          4     1    3          10     14             90    105           8

Team captains are reminded to collect the £5 fee from each player and hand it in to our Treasurer, Isabelle Ridgewell, once all monies obtained.

Singles League

The Men’s Singles League gained some momentum near to the 31st January deadline. John Hall is extending the deadline till Sunday 11th February in order to hopefully get even more matches played. There won’t be any more extensions after that, whatever the weather. After this new divisions will be formed. The ladies and juniors have a bit longer to play their leagues, as there are more in their divisions.

Courts 1-4 - update

The sub-committee, tasked with overseeing the project to resurface courts 1-4, have been busy over the last two months. The Play Test process is largely complete and we are in receipt of consultant Lee West’s Report, following a study and site-survey of the sub-ground. A number of quotations have been received - and on-site meetings at BLTC have subsequently taken place with those sub-contractors leading the Tender process. A meeting of the Committee has confirmed the surface of choice to be artificial grass, as opposed to synthetic clay.  A choice of sub-contractor is soon to be made, so that we may be in a position to reserve a slot to commence works to the project in August. Watch this space for more details!

Court Priority

Our courts can get very busy, particularly on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Here is a reminder of the club’s rules for court play. Please try to avoid these times when arranging singles league matches.

q  Please note that with the exception of competition matches, courts must be vacated at the end of each short set (first to six games, tie break at 6 all) if there are other members waiting to play.  If players are practising rather than playing points they must vacate the court after 20 minutes.  This applies to ALL courts (including the Junior Court(s).

q  Please note, except during tournament play, no singles play is allowed when ALL courts are in use and two or more members are waiting to play.  This also applies to the Junior Court (s) when other Juniors are waiting to play.

It is also worth noting that when court 7 (junior court) is being used for coaching, court 8 becomes the designated junior court, so if juniors are waiting to play, please vacate.

Lights and heaters

Another reminder to make sure that if you are locking up the clubhouse, all heaters and lights are turned off, including the ones behind the bar.

Recycling tennis balls

Our ladies captain Su Pryor is still recycling used tennis balls to raise money for the club. A few members have asked if a bucket could be placed in the shed for times when the clubhouse is not open. There is now one there, as well as just inside the clubhouse door. Thank you for continuing to support this initiative.

 Don’t forget to opt in!