Frequent Asked Questions
Q. If I join will I be made welcome?
A. Yes. All new members are made welcome and on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Saturday and Sunday afternoons you will be invited to join in friendly doubles sets. We try to ensure everyone gets plenty of games and we have reasonably matched fours. Often on Sunday a senior member is on duty to ensure a good mixing in. This is one of the most friendly and least ‘cliquey’ clubs in the area. There are lots of social activities to join in too.
Q. Will I be asked to ‘play in’?
A. Yes. Everyone is offered 3 free sessions and then will be asked ‘play-in’ by joining in a four with officers of the club. The basic standard is that you need to be able to serve, volley and hit forehands and backhands. If you are not considered ready to become a full member, we will refer you to the coaches and off peak sessions to build up your skills and try again. The ‘playing in’ is to protect the standards of club tennis and to ensure that experienced players get a reasonable game and don’t have to play regularly with novices.
Q: Is there any group coaching available during the day? What if I am not a member? Can I join the session?
A: Yes off peak coaching is available every Wednesday from 11.00 - 1 for members and non members with an end of term tournament. Contact our Head of Coaching Development Andrea Costello for further details on 07747108131 or email zippycostello@yahoo.co.uk
Q. How do I get in the teams?
A. Approach one of the captains who will invite you along to a match practice if he/she thinks you are good enough. With 4 men’s teams and 3 women’s teams in the Middlesex summer leagues, there is always an opportunity to get competitive tennis against other clubs if you are a competent player. Obviously you may have to wait to get in a team and may need to work your way up.
Q. How do I book a court?
A. Booking is done by contacting the court coordinator through email. The booking sheet is updated on a weekly basis
Q. Is there a good social scene?
A. Yes. Our Social and Fundraising Committee organise events around the year. These vary from quiz nights, race nights, parties through to ‘auctions of promises’ where we bid for one another’s services. Also planned this year are wine-tasting, poker nights, table tennis evenings etc. Our well-stocked bar and wine racks add to the fun. In the summer we hold regular BBQs to round off a day or evening’s tennis.
Q. Are there competitions I can enter?
A. Yes. We have open men’s and women’s singles and doubles and mixed doubles competitions in early Summer and handicapped tournaments in the Autumn. We also hold regular American Tournaments played out in an afternoon. In the winter we hold very competitive singles leagues (and play-offs) before and after Christmas.
Q. Any plans to improve the facilities?
A. Yes. There is a very serious plan to resurface the courts in the Spring of 2011. We are testing out different surfaces, but are sure we want a surface that is somewhat faster and kinder to the knees! We recently rebuilt our clubhouse so we hope that won’t need serious attention for a while. We are also in discussion with the school about refurbishing and making more use of their courts in the medium term.
Q. What about juniors?
A. We have a thriving junior section with regular weekly sessions, junior teams and regular tennis coaching camps in the school holidays. Ask Chris Davis or one of the coaches for more details. Older juniors are invited to play with the adults and a number have progressed into the adult league teams.
Q. Can I get involved in the administration of the club?
A. Of course. The club is run almost exclusively by volunteers so there are always tasks to be done. This could be helping the facilities committee, the fundraising committee, helping with the juniors or even helping develop the website. We are actively working towards ‘Clubmark’ at present so are working on a number of policies and other documents. Ask any Committee member if you want to get involved or have a particular skill to offer
Q Is there a limit on membership?
A. Yes our maximum adult membership is about 120. Although we have over 100 members we have not so far found it necessary to deploy a waiting list (being London there is a natural ‘churn’). Similarly we have been able to accommodate all the juniors who have asked to join so far (over 80 members). We are a local club for local people and hope to be able to offer tennis to most if not all local people who approach us.
Q. Are there opportunities to play/hit with other club members during the week (other than arranging individually)?
A. Yes, there are 2 weekday social sessions at the club: Thursdays 12 noon-3 pm and Fridays 10 am-12 noon when both doubles and some singles are played. These sessions are particularly convenient for off-peak members, yet open to any full member too.
Q. What level of teams do you have at the club?
A. Find information on all our teams here