Elsenham Tennis Club

The Club was formed in 1976 and the two courts were built largely thanks to volunteer labour from prospective members and friends. A loan was received from the Parish Council of the day, and this was repaid within several years. Over time the facilities have been improved, with a Club Hut and floodlighting being installed. More recently, the Club has negotiated Associate Membership of the Bowls Club for all our Adult Members. ETC is also affiliated to the Lawn Tennis Association which gives the club and its members further benefits.

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Location
The Club is located in the centre of Elsenham, on the Village Playing Fields off Stansted Road. It is next to the Elsenham Bowls Club and Memorial Hall on land owned by the Parish Council. Within the fenced area, next to the courts, is a compound and hut. There are two separate gates, with padlocks, to the courts and the compound. The hut, which is also secured by a padlock, contains the control boxes for the floodlights and court booking sheets where Members can pre-book courts if they are not already pre-booked for matches or coaching etc.

Tuesday Club Night

Every Tuesday (weather permitting) from 7.00pm onwards. ALL members are welcome. Balls are supplied and £1 is charged as a contribution towards the cost of the lights and balls.

Thursday Practice Night

Every Thursday from 7.30pm, weather permitting. Members who play (or would like to play) in club teams are welcome. Balls are supplied and £1 is charged as a contribution towards the cost of the lights and balls.

Club Afternoon

Club Afternoon is held on Sundays from 2.00 - 5.00pm. Please ring the regulars to find out who is playing. Sunday afternoons are popular for families and social tennis. ALL members are welcome. Please bring your own balls.

Bowls Club

Associate Members of the Bowls Club may use the Bowls Club facilities (except the Bowling Green) whenever the club is open - generally every evening except Sundays from 7.00pm to 11.00pm and during Bowls Club matches. Associate Members are subject to the Club's rules and you should carry your Bowls Club membership card with you if you intend to use the bar or other facilities.

Keys

Upon joining every member family and individual member (except juniors under 11) is given a key to the Tennis Club. A single key, which opens all three padlocks, gives access to the courts, the compound and the hut. If you lose your key, then you will be charged for the replacement at a cost of £3.50. Please ensure that the courts, hut and compound are locked when you leave if no one else is playing.

Floodlights

The floodlights are controlled from boxes in the hut, one for each court. They are operated by tokens, which cost £1.50 each and last for 35 minutes, which allows for a warm up period. The lights are on a time switch which will automatically cut the power at 10.30pm.

For inter-club matches, club night and other committee authorised events, the lights will be operated by a key. Tokens to operate the lights can be obtained at any reasonable time from:

Anne Player 2 Cranmore Close 01279 813482

Mike Stiles 01799 543495

Please note:

1. If the lights go out for any reason, you must wait at least 15 minutes before restarting them.

2. Please report any problems with the lights to any committee member as soon as possible.

Visitors

Visitors are welcome on the courts if not being used by members. If you bring a visitor onto the courts you are responsible for their behaviour and also for collecting the relevant fee (£2 for an adult and £1 for a student and 50p for child under 16). Please pass any money collected to our Treasurer or a Committee Member.

Coaching

We benefit from having three qualified coaches, Monica Sutherland, Tom Cottam and Paul Burt offering coaching at Elsenham.

Monica leads junior coaching on a squad basis on a Thursday afternoon and provides individual coaching for younger players at other times by prior arrangement.

Tom and Paul offer coaching to all ages and all standards, lessons will be tailored to you.

More details are available directly from the coaches and/or on the Boards in the clubhouse. Contact:

Monica Sutherland 01279 850289 or mmjsutherland@btinternet.com

Tom Cottam 07834 785716 or cottas1988@googlemail.com

Paul Burt 07973 543808 or paul@trub.net.

Matches and Tournaments

The Club plays competitive league matches against other clubs in the Mixed Doubles, Ladies and Men's Doubles. We are always looking to expand our pool of players, so if you would like to play please contact:

Men's Doubles Mike White - mikew@elsenhamtennisclub.co.uk

Ladies Doubles Elaine Wyld 01279 816708 - elaine@elsenhamtennisclub.co.uk

Mixed Doubles Petra Studholme 01279 814667 - petra@elsenhamtennisclub.co.uk

These leagues operate in two sessions - winter and summer.

We also organise summer and winter tournaments. All members are encouraged to enter. Cups and other trophies are awarded to the winners. Partners can be arranged for those who do not have one for doubles matches. Full details are given in the regular Club Newsletters.

The summer tournament is a general knock-out in categories:

Men's & Ladies Singles, Men's & Ladies Doubles and Mixed Doubles

The winter tournament is a round robin between Mixed Doubles (day tournament).
We also try and arrange other day competitions as and when we can.

Fund Raising

The Club occasionally runs fund raising activities. At present these comprise two Quiz Nights per year which yield useful income and help keep our subscriptions the lowest in the vicinity. Please support these events by making up a table. Any other suggestions for fund raising are always welcome.

Tennis Balls

New tennis balls can be purchased at a cost of £5 per can of 4 balls from the secretary.

Racquet Restringing

Racquets can be re-strung by a club member quickly, professionally and at a reasonable cost. Please contact Alan Verlander (01279 647060) or Paul Burt (07973 543808) for further details.

Thank you for your interest and attention - please continue to enjoy your tennis.