newsletter - Southsea Tennis Club

N E W S L E TT E R
SUMMER 2014
Editor: Amanda Freeman
24hr Summer Solstice Charity Tennisathon
On the hottest and the longest day of the year, without a druid in sight, the
STC Tennisathon achieved its objective of uninterrupted play from 1pm on
Saturday to 1pm on Sunday. A total of 101 people took part, inspired by the
desire to raise money for the local charity “Sam’s Haven” and the enthusiasm
of the organisers Ann Clark, Ian Kemble and Dawn Dewilde.
Sam and his family came down to the Club to give their encouragement to
players, the local paparazzi taking full advantage of the photo opportunity.
The proceedings started with a Ladies Doubles, followed by a visiting team from St
George’s Junior School.
A Clash of the Titans ensued with Lewis
Cockram and Alex Moss playing singles for
an awe-inspiring 6 hours, Lewis eventually
managing a record-beating continuous 8
hours of tennis!
The Tennisathon commences!
The St George’s Crew
Early evening brought a Battle of the Clark
Generations followed by a mixed doubles,
the 4 planning play until midnight. However as the light faded, panic set in when
the floodlights failed, but even then the
chain was not broken with 20 minutes of
tennis being played in complete darkness.
The Overnight Teams were all in good
spirits, fuelled by the best bacon butties on
the South Coast, provided by Ben and
Harley who kindly kept the Pavilion Café
open all night. PGS Boys were followed by
the Skinner’s Four and then Martin Finch’s
Merry Men, with daybreak being celebrated
in style by the Ladies First Team with
strawberries and champagne.
Chairman
Martin Finch
Club Website
www.southseatennis.com
Head Coach
james@generationtennis.
co.uk
07746408181
Inside this Issue
The Tennisathon:
1&2
Coaching:
Tournaments, Team
Updates and Social
Events:
2
3
Pavilion Café and
Roland Garros
4
The Sunset Squad
Sunday morning lie-ins were foregone by
the Clark, Gillon and Dilger families playing
from 5am, followed by the STC Senior
Ladies and the Stafford family.
The 2-4am Gentlemen
Family Fun at 5am
The end of the Tennisathon saw all 8 courts
burgeoning with mix-in players. Everyone involved agreed that the event had been a resounding success and grateful thanks must undoubtedly go to Ann, Ian and Dawn who
notched up nearly 20 hours of play between
them but with zero hours sleep!
The 4-6am Ladies
The sleep-deprived but immaculate
Tennisathon Queen
Page 2
Sam’s Haven-the STC Tennisathon Charity
It’s not too late to donate!
Sam’s Haven www.samshaven.com is a local charity set up by Sam’s
family so that children like him with life-limiting conditions can have a short
break, free of charge, away from the stresses and strains of their medical
care at Queen Alexandra Hospital Children’s Unit, but be close enough to
return in the event of an emergency. The static caravan at the Haven Holiday
Park near Chichester provides these much needed holidays but it desperately
needs a ramp to make it easily accessible for children in wheelchairs and also
more electrical sockets so that severely ill children can have their many
pieces of medical equipment plugged in safely. We are therefore hoping to
raise £5000 to cover these costs.
So far donations on the website www.justgiving.com/southsea-tennisclub have raised £1,130, with nearly a further £2,000 promised from sponsorship forms. It’s not too late to donate if you haven’t already!
Boogie Night for Sam’s Haven
The Boogie Night is a twice-yearly disco of hits from the 60s and 70s, which raises money for local charities. It’s
a chance to dance for those who don’t do clubbing any more, held at the Irish Club where the drinks are cheap!
The next Boogie Night takes place on Saturday, 18th October and the proceeds will go to Sam’s Haven. Come
along to have a good time and to support a very worthy cause. Tickets are £5 and will be available from STC
Member Dinah Walters nearer the time. If you would like more information, please contact Dinah:
dinahwalters@gmail.com.
The Generation Tennis Coaching Corner
The wonderful weather has ensured that the coaching programme
at STC has gone from strength to strength with increased numbers
at both the Ladies’ Friday Morning and the Tuesday Evening Beginners’ sessions. We hope that many of these players will join the
Club, which has plans to start a “Rusty Rackets” Mix-In Session.
Junior coaching remains ever popular with impressive numbers of
Minis and an exciting programme planned for the two Summer
Tennis and Sports Camps which this year, with access to the
marquee, will not be weather-dependant. The camps are for 5-16
year olds with children being able to bring their own packed lunch
for the week, or for £4 per day, have lunch provided by the Pavilion
Café. More details available from James Bone, Head Coach
Tennis for all the family at STC
Exciting Developments at STC
Dates for your diaries
It has been a busy few months since the last newsletter and the
STC Board has been working hard to improve facilities for all members. The promotional drive headed up by Ian Kemble is beginning
to have an impact, and it has been gratifying to see many new
faces on court. We now have an online booking system, a marquee
available for hire for parties at reduced rates for members, and the
resurfacing of Courts 9 and 10 will start in mid-August. The social
programme organised by Paul Stretton continues to be popular,
and the barbeque during Wimbledon Week provided great food and
plenty of laughter with nearly 30 members attending. A Wine Tasting is planned for October, with the opportunity later in the year to
dress up for a glitzy Christmas dinner-dance.
Yonnex Tournament: Saturday 2nd
August
Singles Tournament: Sunday 7th
September
Doubles Tournament: Sunday 21st
September
Junior Camp weeks: 28th July and
11th August
Junior Summer Party: 25th August
Page 3
SOUTHSEA GRAND SLAMS
THE GRASS COURT TOURNAMENT
Canoe Lake Leisure hosted a tournament on their grass courts on a
gloriously sunny day. 26 players had their 5 game matches scored on
an individual basis with a final between the top scorers Gill Stainton
and Harry Prytherch vs Amanda Freeman and Andy Brannen.
Amanda and Andy’s ritual humiliation was thankfully largely ignored
by the spectators who had sensibly gravitated towards the delicious
BBQ generously provided by the CLL Team. John Cooke reminded
everyone that the grass courts are available at any time to STC members at a subsidised rate or free for a one-off nominal fee. Ann Clark
and Angela Stafford were thanked for yet another impeccably organised tournament.
THE SPRING MIXED DOUBLES TOURNAMENT
Due to adverse weather conditions, the tournament had to be rescheduled and unfortunately a number of
members were unable to play. However, replacements were quickly found, including Katie Steele who had only
joined STC the previous day, making a total of 32 entrants. Partners were randomly allocated and some top quality tennis was played in perfect conditions with no less than three finals as those who lost in the first and second
rounds were given the opportunity to play on in a round-robin format. The Grand Final was closely fought between Ashley Law and Stan Marlow and Karen Claeys and Seb Sorohan. Ashley and Stan were victorious, the win
being all the more impressive given Ashley’s recent return to tennis following treatment for breast cancer. The
Final was watched whilst consuming the mouth-watering tea provided by the Pavilion Café Team and the new
“Jim Skinner Mixed Doubles Challenge Trophy” was presented to the winners by the man himself.
THE MARCH SOCIAL TOURNAMENT
The inaugural STC “Social Tournament” was expertly organised as always by Ann Clark and Dawn Dewilde. Extreme tennis was played in high winds and ultimately, driving rain. However, solace was found in the posttournament fare provided by Watkins and Faux in the Café and the large chocolate Easter Bunnies awarded to
the winners Chrissie Chresta and Harry Prytherch. More social tournaments are planned for later in the year.
TEAM RESULTS
ROLL OF HONOUR
Men’s 1st: Played 4 Won 3
Spring Mixed Doubles Winners: Ashley Law and Stan Marlow
Men’s 2nd: Played 2 Won 2
2nd Round Losers’ Final Winners: Nicky Skinner and Terry Garnett
Men’s 3rd: Played 3 Lost 3
1st Round Losers’ Final Winners: Gill Stainton and Andy Brannen
Women’s 1st: Played 5 Won 3
Grass Tournament Winners: Gill Stainton and Harry Prytherch
Women’s 2nd Played 3 Won 2.5
Social Tournament Winners: Chrissie Chresta and Harry Prytherch
UP AND COMING SOCIAL EVENTS
BEMBRIDGE BIKE RIDE: Sunday 13th July
WINE TASTING: Friday 10th October
BLACK TIE CHRISTMAS DINNER DANCE:
Saturday 6th December
More details available from Paul Stretton
STC Tour de Hayling Island
Page 4
PAVILION CAFÉ TASTINGS
Ben and Nell aka Watkins and Faux celebrated their first
birthday in May and continue to provide sustenance to
hungry Club members with locally sourced food, most notably for the entire 24 hours of the Tennisathon! They now
have a licence to serve alcohol to the public from midday to
6pm with wine, cider, beer and of course Pimm’s on offer.
They hosted another charity fundraiser for Cumberland
House Natural History Museum and have been busy every
weekend with functions, including a recent wedding blessing
in the Rose Garden at the back of the Café.
Watkins and Faux Seasonal Recipe
The BBQs have been very popular at the Pavilion Café and
our top tips for a great Summer Barbie are GREAT MEAT,
GREAT SALADS! The burgers we use are 100% beef from
The perfect party venue
the Isle of Wight, and the sausages contain award-winning sage & onion Hampshire Pork. When using other
cuts of meat (like the steak we did for the wedding) we marinated the meat in red wine, garlic & herbs for 4
hours, and then flash-cooked on a hot grill. We try to create a theme with the salads matching the meats - so
with the steak, chargrilled vegetables are fantastic. Try Aubergine/ courgette/ red onion/ red pepper on skewers and splash on some balsamic vinegar while they are still warm, finishing off with some torn basil leaves delicious! You could also add some grilled halloumi to make a tasty vegetarian BBQ dish.
Ben and Nell
OUR FORMER CHAIRMAN CHARMED BY THE GAULS!
Although I have been lucky to be able to get to Wimbledon most years, even if
it was just to queue for a ground pass, I have never experienced one of the
other Grand Slams. This year for the first time and thanks to the generous STC
members who contributed to the collection marking my retiring as Club Chairman, Nicky and I decided to go to the French Open.
How would it compare with the intoxicating experience of visiting the hallowed
grounds at SW19? If Wimbledon is all about those perfect grass courts and
the soft sound of tennis shoe and rifled tennis ball, then Roland Garros is
louder with the more frequent grunts of effort as the slower clay courts bring
longer and more pulsating rallies.
But clay has its own magic too. We arrived on our first day in a familiar drizzle and made our way to court 6
where James Ward (you know, the other British player!) faced Spanish veteran Tommy Robredo. Play was delayed by the rain and we sat huddled on wet seats amongst a handful of other British fans scattered about the
temporary stand. French fans had more sense and were presumably staying dry and enjoying an extended petit
déjeuner.
Then the rain stopped and some surly-looking ground staff came and swept some of the standing water from the
flimsy looking cover. Then, for me, a magical moment as the cover was gently peeled back to reveal the most
pristine clay court imaginable. At that moment, I realised where I was and that I was going to see the French
Open live in front of me. It was a quickly passing moment of bliss, one which I must have experienced as a boy
when I first passed through the Wimbledon gates and smelt the ever so green grass.
The next day on Lenglen, the equivalent of Wimbledon’s Number One Court the weather held and the tennis was
great: Li Na knocked out by the promising French youngster, Kristina Mladenovic; Gasquet comfortable against a
badly out-of-form Tomic; and Murray through a tough opener against the Kasack, Golubev. Later in the day, we
watched an enthralling encounter between Sara Errani, a feisty Italian and former runner-up here, and one of the
many upcoming Americans, Madison Keys. Well, that’s enough name-dropping.
What is Roland Garros like? How does it compare? The grounds are a similar shape to Wimbledon, a sort of elongated triangle, but smaller and a bit cramped for space as a result. The Roland Garros stewards are not cut from
the same military cloth as the sergeant majors operating at Wimbledon. They are keen to close the gate on you,
but not so eager or concerned about getting as many spectators onto the court at change of ends. This explains
why there seem to be so many spare seats on the show courts on the TV. The people are there but are stuck in a
long queue outside the court.
But I guess this is all part of that indefinable Gallic charm and Roland Garros has the same inexplicable buzz that
also inhabits Wimbledon during its fortnight. I’ve convinced myself, therefore, that it must take a few visits to
find your way round Roland Garros and that I have to go again next year to do the place justice. Anybody got
any spare Euros? Once again, thank you for your kind gift.
Jim Skinner