2023 Report

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Click Here to Read the 2023 Minutes Report 

Click Here to Read the Chair Report

Wymondham Tennis Club Minutes of 49th AGM Held on Wednesday 15th February 2023

Present: Roger Tudor, Sue Lord, Chris Harmer, Jerry Hazell, Simon Spanyol, Mary Howell, Alison Tennant, Eric Dinar, Keith Wood

Apologies received from: Callum King

The minutes of the 48th AGM held on 5th April 2022 were agreed as a true record, proposed by Chris Harmer, seconded by Roger Tudor and were duly signed by the chairman.

Matters Arising

There were no matters arising

Chairman’s Report

Copy Attached

• Midweek daytime social tennis is to be re-arranged with consultation of members

• The Winter league team is likely to finish mid table

• The Norfolk veterans (over 50) mixed league will be entered this Summer

• We are attracting 3-4 new members / month since the new courts

• A new welfare / safeguarding officer is needed and we thanked Sue Graham for her work in this role

• It is WTC’s 50th birthday this year and we need to plan a suitable celebration

Treasurer’s Report

The annual accounts for the club for the year ended 30th October 2022 were presented by Roger Tudor and approved.

• The council takes 50% of our subs in lieu of rent. We need to confirm if this will increase after the small subs increase this year.

• The money received for floodlights very closely matched that paid to the council

• The biggest driver of our income is the number of members hence the need to drive up membership

• The club currently has a healthy cash balance but this will reduce significantly with the replacement of our clubhouse.

• There is currently no President and it may be desirable to fill this role in the future

• There was a debate about the role of trustees and the provision of financial oversight. The board with agreed roles is probably sufficient for most things but perhaps we should consider how to consult members over significant spending plans such as the new clubhouse?

Membership Secretary’s Report

• The number of senior members has declined from over one hundred (pre-pandemic and with the old courts) to around sixty now.

• The new courts will help drive up member numbers and this is expected to be most noticeable as the weather improves over the year.

• The website and Clubspark have been updated and work continues to get to one Facebook page

• Junior membership rates were frozen and an increase of £10 for senior membership and £5 for additional members were implemented.

• Four honorary life memberships were created for people who no longer play but were instrumental in supporting the club in the past

• There was some confusion about the number of junior members and it would be good to report the numbers of both seniors and juniors in future.

Coaching Report

• There are around 80 juniors playing per week

• Cardio tennis draws on a pool of around 30 people but numbers are capped to 8 / session

• Sam Howlett is still trying to recruit a new coach to replace Michael and over 18 hours a week are instantly available. This job will be re-advertised and until the post is filled the absence of a new coach limits what can be offered.

• Individual lessons continue and an adult class held in October 2022 will be re-started

• Pair and play adult coaching and skills / drills for teams are under consideration

• Any new groups, schools and junior club nights are dependant on finding a new coach.

Election of Officers

It was proposed that Simon Spanyol take on the vacant role of secretary and this was seconded.

Sue Lord - Chairperson & LTA liaison

Roger Tudor - Treasurer

Simon Spanyol - Secretary & South Norfolk / Ketts Park Dev Liaison

Vacant - Safeguarding Officer

Callum King - Member and Website / Social media Liaison

Chris Harmer - Member & Men’s 2nd team captain

Jerry Hazel - Member & maintenance liaison

Sam Howlett - Member and Head Coach

This committee was proposed by Ali Tennant and seconded by Keith Wood

Team/Leagues for 2023

The view was expressed that there should be more open and improved communication on teams and team selection. Only around 20% of members go to club nights and the other 80% and new members who have the desire and ability to play need to be given matches.

To provide better transparency the role of overall team captain to coordinate each of the individual teams was discussed and Ali Tennant volunteered to try this over the next twelve months. This was proposed by Simon Spanyol and seconded by Sue Lord

• There will be two men’s and one ladies team in the summer league and a new veteran’s mixed team

• In the winter league we expect to field one mixed team again later this year

• The Men’s first team captain remains Steven Halls

• Chris Harmer is the men’s second team captain

• Mary Howell volunteered to take on the role of ladies team captain.

• Ali Tennant agreed to captain the mixed and mixed veteran’s teams as this fits neatly with the overall captain’s role

Clubhouse Replacement/Ketts Park Development

• The current proposal is for a replacement new “portacabin” style building with more glazed areas protected by roller security shutters.

• Quotes have been received and this requires planning permission which will be sought.

• Disposal of the old building needs to be considered and PACT were suggested as a possibility.

• Simon Spanyol will develop a fully costed plan and timeline for approval.

• Sue Lord will follow up sponsorship / fundraising

Items from members

Balls: The issue of club balls for social tennis was again raised. Having fewer teams means less match balls are available.

• Roger Tudor confirmed that new balls are available and Ali Tennant agreed to take on the role of ball monitor to ensure sufficient balls are available for play.

• We should get a ball bin for disposal of old tennis balls more formally.

• Sam Howlett suggested that Babolat Gold are a more suitable ball for the winter months as they last longer.

Mud: The footpaths at Ketts are very muddy and a suitable mat needs sourcing for the court entrance.

Chair Report

Main event of 2022 was the court refurbishment which was disruptive as the courts were closed for 10 weeks from early July to mid September but the new courts were worth waiting for. The committee appointed club member Simon Spanyol as project manager & council liaison officer in the early summer; he did a brilliant job of overseeing the project. He was co-opted on to the full committee in September.

While the courts were closed South Norfolk Leisure enabled club members to use courts at their Framingham Earl Leisure Centre for free, club nights & matches were also played there. The staff gave members a warm welcome, were helpful & friendly even joining in with celebrating match wins. The club passed on thanks & good wishes to the staff at Framingham Earl when we said good bye.

The courts re-opened mid September; unfortunately the planned official opening was postponed due to the passing of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II; we hope to have this in the spring of this year. There was some delay with the lights but these were completed in November. Attendance at club nights was excellent after re-opening with all 4 courts often being utilised, it has tailed off slightly with the winter weather. A daytime midweek session was held on Thursday mornings, with reasonable attendance, until Christmas; one issue is which day do you pick?

Three teams played in the Norwich City League, 2 mens & a ladies. Men’s A won their division & will be promoted to Division 1, men’s B struggled to get wins. The ladies finished second in their division & so should be promoted. There is a team in the mixed winter league, last year they were relegated & are managing to stay mid table so far this season. The club are always looking for opportunities to play in leagues & hope to resurrect the Veterans mixed team this coming year.

Roger Tudor will give more details but we have retained many members & have had a constant stream of new members throughout the year especially once the new courts were completed. I would like to thank Roger for the work he does on membership administration & club sessions booking management.

Sam Howlett will report on the coaching programme but I would like to thank him for his input to the club. Getting new coaches to assist is proving difficult for him but we hope for some new faces soon.

Some further thanks: to the committee for their support, in particular; Jerry Hazell for maintenance matters, Chris Harmer for running teams, Callum King for his input with the website, Simon Spanyol for his work with the new courts & now on the club house. Plus thanks & congratulations to Steven Halls & Ali Tennant, the successful team captains. Finally, in 2020 Sue Graham took on the role of safeguarding officer; she has decided to step down, I would like to thank her for the work she did setting up the policy document & wish her well for the future. This does mean the club is looking for someone to take this job on.

With the new courts & an ever expanding population in Wymondham there should be a new chapter for Wymondham Tennis Club which is coinciding with the club’s 50th birthday, it was started in 1973. Like all volunteer run organisations members are needed to get involved with a range of things which make the club work; if you have the time and/or a particular talent/skill which you think the club can utilise please let the committee know.

Here's to a good year of tennis in 2023

Sue Lord

14th February 2023