50th Anniversary celebration

This year we are celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the founding of Farnborough Tennis Club. In the summer of 1975, a group of local tennis enthusiasts took over two run-down public courts on Tugmutton Common and Farnborough Tennis Club was born, giving members unlimited access to tennis all year round for just £5 a year! Needless to say, things have changed since these early days! See the write-up below for more on the history of the club.

To celebrate in style, the club will be hosting a dinner at the Chelsfield Lakes venue (opposite Hewitts Farm on Court Road) on Saturday 15th November. Tickets will be priced at £40 each, which will include a welcome drink, a 3-course dinner, coffee & mints and service charges, followed by our annual trophy presentations and a few speeches to commemorate our 50 years.

For all members and guests coming along to the dinner, it is time to make your menu choices and payment for the evening, as the venue needs both upfront for 80 people! You will be emailed a Google sheet to enter your menu choices. If you are unable to use this, please email Margaret Gooden with your choices instead (marggooden47@gmail.com). Payments should be made by bank transfer to the club account, same as for your renewal subscriptions. 

Menu choices and payments are required by the end of September, please!

Autumn American

The Club Autumn American Tournament will take place on Sunday 28th September, with a start time of 10:30am. These are always fun and competitive events, with a mixed standard. Pairs are drawn randomly on the day, with a new partner for every set to keep matches fair and even.

If you would like to take part, please register your interest by sending your name in to Jane Wells (janebwells1b@gmail.com) by 25th September.

Update on the Courts

We met with ETC Sports recently and reviewed the court surfaces, given there has been some initial surface cracking and a worrying problem around the far end of the net post on court 3. Unfortunately, they are seeing surface issues at numerous clubs, especially after such a dry summer, and the Tugmutton Common environment (water table, tree roots, etc) is not helping.

On a positive note, a number of the cracks are adjudged to be cosmetic and our suppliers believe they can be easily corrected; the net post less so, as it is dependent on the foundations underneath. These were not renewed during the re-surfacing, as we simply couldn’t afford it.

Following the review, we agreed to monitor developments until October, so that we can see the effects of the four seasons on the surfaces before we take action. At that point, we will decide whether to commission a range of cosmetic improvements and how best to correct the issue with the net post. The work will either take place in the late Autumn or possibly next Spring.