The Hill & Valley Lawn Tennis Club’s 2012 Junior Championship took place on Sunday 15 July. The weather enabled most of the championship to be completed with only the 12 and Under Girls’ Singles and Doubles competitions to be finished in the first week in September.
Club coach Graham Stock commented: “There were one or two juniors missing for various reasons but the turnout was pretty good and we saw exciting tennis played throughout the day – the standard just gets better and better. Playing the finals of the Coln Valley Annual Mixed Doubles Tournament mid-way through the afternoon made for a great event for players and spectators, with many of the adults remarking on how many talented juniors we have for such a small club”.
Pictured here (left) is the Reverend Stephen Goundrey-Smith, Vicar of the benefice of Chedworth and District, accepting two cheques from Hill & Valley Lawn Tennis Club’s outgoing Chairman, Stephen Scott-Smith. In addition to raising funds for the tennis club, last year’s Coln Valley Annual Mixed Doubles Tennis Tournament raised £530.00 for local churches which was shared between St Andrews Church, Chedworth and the valley Churches of Coln Rogers and Coln St Denys. The presentation was made at the club’s AGM and social evening which was held recently in the Seven Tuns, Chedworth.
This year’s Coln Valley Tournament takes place on Saturday 11 June and Hill & Valley LTC anticipates welcoming back players who take part year after year, both locals and those from much further afield. They also very much hope to encourage new players to enter. Those nervous that the standard may be very high are urged not to be daunted by the word ‘tournament’.It is indeed a day of spirited, competitive tennis, but it is also a very social one, and the sliding handicap in the morning rounds is designed to even out the differences between the better players and those who are not so expert!
The event continues to retain its appeal with competitors thrilled at the prospect of playing on beautiful courts which are so kindly loaned for the day by local residents. Players are expected to wear whites in keeping with the traditional spirit of the occasion and as a courtesy to the court owners. The club is delighted that Far Frontiers Travel and Arcturus are again sponsoring the competition for 2011.
Interested parties should note that this year the club has introduced a significant discount for prompt entries: Tickets for a full day’s tennis, morning coffee, an excellent two-course lunch and afternoon tea with cakes are just £26.00 for those whose entry forms are received by 14 May, after which date the price increases to £30.00 – still amazing value. The final closing date for entries is Saturday 28 May.
For more information contact Meryl King on 01285 720278 or email meryl@merylking.com.
Hill & Valley Lawn Tennis Club has double cause for celebration this year – not only will it be marking its 25th anniversary but the club was recently awarded Tennis Clubmark status by the Gloucestershire LTA – something which only 12 of Gloucestershire’s 45 tennis clubs have achieved to date.
The accreditation recognises that Hill & Valley has achieved excellent standards and that the LTA endorses and supports its management, policies and procedures, tennis programme and development planning. Members of the committee were on hand to receive the prestigious Clubmarkcertificate and plaque from Joe Morris, the LTA’s Tennis Development Manager for Gloucestershire, Herefordshire & Worcestershire on Wednesday 16 February, and they will be on permanent display inside the pavilion for all to see. Making the presentation, Joe said:“It gives the LTA great pleasure to present you with the Tennis Clubmark today in acknowledgment of the effort which the committee puts into all aspects of running the club. We are very impressed with the level of commitment and excellence that Hill & Valley has demonstrated”.
Introduced in 2002 by Sport England, Clubmarkis the only national cross-sports quality accreditation scheme for clubs with junior sections. More than 10,000 clubs in around 35 diverse sports are currently Clubmark accredited or ‘working towards’ the award.
Graham Stock, Hill & Valley Club Coachsaid: “This award means a great deal to our club and we are thrilled to have attained it. We are one of just a dozenGloucestershire clubs to have Tennis Clubmark, including Oxstalls, East Glos., Cirencester, Painswick and others much larger than ourselves. It is an important step in building a sound foundation and a bright tennis future for the juniors and adults of Chedworth”.
Clubmark Leader and Club Secretary Fred Shaftoe added: “Members and potential new members can be confident that we have a proper framework in place to manage the club systematically and effectively, which will be helpful in retaining and attracting new members in the future. Despite being a small club we have high aspirations, and this award also means that Hill & Valley is now eligible to apply for LTA financial support. This will be important in our aim to develop a third court and for any other improvements planned for the future”.
To this end, several members of the committee then had a meeting with Joe and Gloucestershire LTA’s Facility Project Manager, Donna Bickley, regarding theadditional floodlit court, should the Parish Council agree to lease an additional area of land behind the existing courts.
New members are always very welcome and it is Hill & Valley’spolicy to keep its membership fees affordable for all.
Fred Shaftoe; Chairman Stephen Scott-Smith and Graham Stock.
Thirty five enthusiastic tennis stars of tomorrow honed their skills in the Spring sunshine at Hill and Valley Lawn Tennis Club on Saturday 24 April at the annual Play Tennis morning. The event heralds the start of the junior tennis season and this year attracted around 35 children aged 11 and under from Chedworth and primary schools in local Cotswold villages. The two-hour session was led by Hill & Valley club coach Graham Stock, with help from tennis assistants Carol Bailey and Daniel Heaps and several parents.
After completing several warm up drills designed to improve agility, balance and coordination, participants were put into teams of four and shown how to complete each game station on the courts. Best individual scores were recorded and the team totals added up at the end. After two hours everyone had won a prize and the winning team were rewarded with prizes too. The scores achieved this year were higher than last which demonstrates that the competitive spirit is very much alive in Chedworth! Everyone enjoyed a tasty barbecue afterwards.
More mature players are invited to enter the Coln Valley Mixed Doubles Tennis Tournament which takes place on Saturday 12 June in Chedworth. This annual event has become a favourite in the local sporting calendar and is open to non-members and players of all standards. Matches are played on courts kindly donated for the day by local residents in the villages around Chedworth with the final rounds played on the Hill and Valley LTC club courts. Tickets are £25.00 per head which includes coffee, a superb lunch and afternoon tea and the chance to win one of two prestigious trophies. If you would like to enter, contact Meryl King on 01285 720278 for more information, or print off the entry form at www.chedworth.org.uk/tennis.
The club always welcomes new members, whether young or adult, and strives to keep its membership fees as affordable as possible. For more information about what is on offer contact Fred Shaftoe on 01285 720024.
It was smiles all round last week as Hill and Valley Lawn Tennis Club celebrated a year which saw membership rise, several successful tournaments and promotion for both ladies’ teams. The icing on the cake was the news that the club was runner-up for Gloucestershire LTA’s Club of the Year Award announced on 7 December.
Over the past year, junior membership grew by more than 30 per cent from 55 to 72 members, whilst the adult numbers increased from 163 to 191, up by 17 per cent. Hill and Valley LTC champions junior and youth tennis in the area, both in Chedworth and through the club’s partnerships with St. Andrews Primary School, Chedworth and Bibury Primary School. Its policy is to keep its fees among the lowest for tennis clubs in Gloucestershire and affordable for everyone in the area. There are now three club coaches helping to develop players: John Robson, Graham Stock and Hilary Swan, and among its most promising young players is five year-old Joseph Kenning who was accepted into the Oxstalls Tennis Academy and recognised as a talent for the future.
A number of adult and junior tournaments were held in 2009 including the annual Coln Valley Annual Mixed Doubles Tournament in June. Among the 108 entrants (the highest number for some years) was a sizeable contingent from Cirencester LTC and other Wiltshire and Gloucestershire clubs. The year also saw the launch of the Hill and Valley Club Challenge, a mixed doubles tournament for members along the lines of the Coln Valley event.
In the Wilson Gloucestershire Summer League both the ladies’ teams finished first in their divisions to receive promotion for 2010. The first team finished top of Division One, the first time in the club’s history that it will have a team playing in the Premier Division. The ladies B only dropped three points all season, notching up an incredible 37 out of a possible 40 points, achieving promotion to Division Four, having only recently entered the league. The men’s team too had their most successful season for some years.
Another first has been entering teams into both the Wilson Gloucestershire Winter Tennis League (mixed doubles) and the ladies Winter Floodlit League played at East Glos.
The club hopes to add two more hard courts in the future and outline agreement has been given by Chedworth Parish Council to make land available adjacent to the existing courts. The additional capacity will enable further development of the coaching programme, improvement in the organisation of tournaments and allow more teams to take part in league tennis. The objective for 2010 is for the club to achieve the Tennis Clubmark excellence award.
More than 50 enthusiastic tennis stars of tomorrow gathered at Hill and Valley Lawn Tennis Club on Saturday 28 April for the curtain-raiser to the junior tennis season. The Fun Tennis event is held each year for children aged 11 and under from primary schools in local Cotswold villages.
Led by Hill & Valley club coach John Robson, the event was the perfect opportunity to celebrate the fact that mains water has now been laid to the pavilion thanks to a grant from the ‘Awards for All’ scheme. This will make a huge difference when it comes to providing refreshments for league matches, tournaments and social tennis events and is one of a series of enhancement the club has made over recent years.
More mature players are invited to enter the Coln Valley Mixed Doubles Tennis Tournament which takes place on Saturday 16 June in Chedworth. This annual event has become a favourite in the local sporting calendar and is open to non-members and players of all standards. Matches are played on courts around Chedworth with the final rounds on the Hill and Valley LTC club courts. Tickets are £20.00 per head and include coffee, a superb lunch and afternoon tea. If you would like to enter, contact Julie Young on 720398 for more information.
HILL & VALLEY IS NUMBER ONE!
Chedworth’s Hill & Valley Lawn Tennis Club has just been voted Club of the Year for 2004 by the Gloucestershire Lawn Tennis Association – the first small, two-court village club to win the award. Announcing the accolade at the Gloucestershire LTA’s AGM last week, Christine Rivers, County Development Officer, attributed the club’s success to its achievements on several fronts and said it was a good example of what can be accomplished by a two-court club.
Runner-up for the title for the past two years, Hill & Valley has increased its membership by 20% since 2002 and has considerably upgraded facilities. A new pavilion was erected in 2000, new netting in 2001, both courts were resurfaced and the first set of floodlights were installed in 2003 and the second set will be added before the 2005 season commences. John Robson, Club Coach, and tennis assistant Carol Bailey have greatly encouraged participation by juniors and mini-tennis players (5-10 year olds) with 40-50 youngsters now regularly involved throughout the year. As a result the club has been awarded mini-tennis status by the Lawn Tennis Association and juniors now regularly take part in District and County events.
Success was in the air throughout the season with the men’s team finishing top of their division undefeated in all ten matches. The under-11 mini-tennis boys’ team (Hill & Valley Hawks) also won all their matches and topped the National Junior Club League in their first season!
Stephen Scott-Smith, Chairman of Hill & Valley LTC said: “This award is a tribute to the vision and hard work of the club’s committee members. We recognised several years ago that the club would not prosper without its own coaching resources and youth development programme. Our coach John Robson’s work in this area has been outstanding as evidenced by the increase in youth (and adult) members and the achievement of the youngsters in local and county competitions. We are not a large club but we have invested significant sums over the past five years in improving our facilities. We thank Gloucestershire LTA for this award and for their support”.