Newsletter

JUNE 2025

Thank you Colin Reeves

As some of you will know, Colin Reeves, our handyman for many years, has stepped down recently. The Committee would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Colin for all his work over his time in the role.

Colin has tirelessly, and often in the background, worked to maintain the club to a very high standard, completing essential jobs and repairing all manner of things around the club, ensuring the facilities can continue to be utilised and we can all enjoy Tennis in a clean, tidy and safe club.

We wish Colin all the best for the future and once again thank him for all of his hard work for the club.

Hot Off the Court!

Club Champs 2025 - What a Day!

This year’s Club Championships Finals Day took place on Saturday 21st June and what a fantastic day it was!

A huge congratulations to all the winners, and a big well done to everyone who took part across the events with some very entertaining tennis.

A heartfelt thank you goes out to everyone who helped make the day such a success. A special shout-out to Zoltan, Kirsty, and Celia for all your energy and hard work in creating a Finals Day to remember, complete with sunshine!

Also a very big thank you to Lewis and Faulkner and Beccafico for generously donating prizes for our recent event.

Lewis and Faulkner in Tuckton – “Aiming to bring the finest, locally produced meat, eggs & more to our local community”

Beccafico also in Tuckton – Join them for their “Tasty morsels and refreshing drinks”

We’re lucky to have such brilliant local businesses behind us. Please show them your support when you can!

🎾 Our 2025 Champions

Main Draw – Singles

CategoryWinner
LadiesNatalie Carter
MensAdam Carter
Ladies VetsBecky Redman
Mens VetsPatrick Browne
Boys (U18)Monty Redman

Main Draw – Doubles

CategoryWinners
LadiesNatalie Carter & Laura McKenna Andrews
MensRichard Davis & James Raftery
MixedJames Raftery & Sarah Males
Ladies VetsRachel Best & Sarah Winter
Mens VetsPatrick Browne & Andy Redman
Mixed VetsRachel Best & Paul Best
Ladies 60+Jan Goldsmith & Karen Goodlet
Mens 60+Nigel Carter & Richard Henshaw

Consolation Draw – Singles

CategoryWinner
Mens SinglesAndrew Harris
Mens VetsJames Miles
Ladies VetsSam Webb

Dorset Volunteers Day: 14th June

On Saturday 14th June, Southbourne Tennis Club hosted the second Dorset Volunteers Day. This event was held to celebrate tennis volunteers and share good practice across the tennis community. We had ~60 attendees from clubs and organisations across the County.

The event spotlighted our Open Court Programme led by David Sanger, Head Coach at Southbourne Tennis Club who very kindly hosted the day. Open Court is a national initiative supported by the LTA, dedicated to making tennis accessible to disabled people of all ages, abilities, and impairments.

We were honoured to welcome Lucy Shuker, GB’s top female wheelchair tennis player who shared her incredible journey from a life-changing accident to becoming a Paralympic medallist and Grand Slam finalist and LTA President Sandi Procter who brought some fantastic stories and experiences from her time as President.

The day included the presentation of our county LTA Tennis Awards by Sandi and our President John Feaver, attendees having a go at wheelchair tennis with a fun tournament rounding off the day.

Thank you to all the volunteers who helped on the day, a great video of the event has been shared by Dorset LTA.

Upcoming Events

Sign-up sheet can be found on the door in the clubhouse or you can submit your entry via email to Zoltan: zolko282@yahoo.co.uk

Save the date! In case you haven’t heard, Southbourne Tennis Club is celebrating its 60th Anniversary this year. We’re excited to announce plans are underway for a special celebration day on 30th August.

We’ve pulled together willing volunteers to help with organising the events for the day. If you have any experience in organising such events or time to help with this, please reach out to a member of the committee and we can add you to our event organisation group. Keep your eyes peeled for exciting updates on this as the plans reach finalisation.

You can reach the committee by email at: club@southbournetennisclub.co.uk

2025 AGM The 2025 AGM took place on Monday 28th April. Please get in touch if you have any questions. If you want to catch up on anything presented at this years AGM, then you can find relevant documents here: AGM Documents

Committee Pillars & Leads

Participation
Claire Mackley
Competition
Celia Barron & Kirsty Holmes
Communications
Lloyd Harkcom
Coaching
Dave Sanger
Development Project
Richard Henshaw & Rachel Gillingham
Facilities
Vacant
Interested in getting involved? Reach out to a committee member or email us at club@southbournetennisclub.co.uk

WE ARE SOUTHBOURNE TENNIS CLUB

Iford Lane, Bournemouth, Dorset BH6 5NF

club@southbournetennisclub.co.uk

Telephone: 01202 434044 

Please note, phone isn’t always manned so please leave a message and someone will get back to you.

Charity Number: 1185919 

Company no: 00841056

Visit Our Website

The Chatter-box

We’re excited to announce the launch of our brand new Southbourne Tennis Club website

You can visit us at the usual location, southbournetennisclub.co.uk for all the latest club news, upcoming events, membership info, court bookings, and more, all in one easy-to-navigate place.

Whether you’re a long-time member or just curious about joining, our new website is designed to keep you connected and up to date with everything happening at the club.

Take a look, bookmark it, and let us know what you think in the comments at the end of this newsletter!

A big thank you to club member Neil Mackley, and to David Mackley at The AI Web Company, for generously donating their time and energy to bring this project to life.

Further to prior updates, the Committee (with Rachel taking the lead role) have booked in the work to take place in April 2026.

We have turned our attention to fundraising for the remaining funds needed for this project, if you have experience in fundraising, grant applications or know potential funding sources, or if you have project management expertise or useful information to share, please contact a committee member or email club@southbournetennisclub.com. This is key as we still need significant funds for this project.

Dink, Smash and Stay Out of the Kitchen — Sunday Pickleball is Back!

Open Pickleball — suitable for all standards. Just turn up! Free to members,  non-members pay a fee.

Every Sunday: 2pm to 4pm

Pickleball is a fun game combining elements of badminton, tennis, and table tennis. Great for all ages and abilities, all equipment provided.

As per the prior notification in March, a new adult club session was trialled across April & May, taking place each Tuesday between 2pm – 4pm. The session showed consistently good attendance, and all attending seem to be enjoying the sessions.

The committee have reviewed this session and are happy to confirm this will become a permanent club session moving forwards.

Meet Noemi From Vitalcare Physiotherapy

You may have seen Noemi at the club or been treated by her already. Here is a little bit about Noemi:

My name is Noemi, I’m a fully qualified physiotherapist and personal trainer and I’m here to help you prevent injuries, improve mobility, and strengthen key muscle groups to boost your game. Whether you’re recovering from an injury or aiming to sharpen your competitive edge, I’ll support you with personalised plans designed to meet your goals. Step onto the court feeling stronger, more agile, and ready to play your best!

Services Offered:  Physiotherapy, Fitness Classes, Personal Training, Assisted Stretching

Meet Noemi

Phone: 07712 238797

www.VitalCare.info

If you are interested in helping with odd jobs and ongoing maintenance at the club, the committee have collated a list at the below link which is a live list being updated by the committee as jobs are identified or completed: https://tinyurl.com/STC-facilities-todo If you can pickup any of these jobs, please let us know. If you are interested in the Facilities role on the Committee please register your interest by sending an email to club@southbournetennisclub.com.

COURT SIDE NEWS & REMINDERS

Clubhouse Use

If you’re using the clubhouse, please help keep it looking its best by tidying up after yourself. Wipe down any surfaces, pop things back where they belong, and take any rubbish with you.

Remember, if you’re the last to leave, don’t forget to lock up to make sure everything is secure. You can lock the patio doors with the key on the string from inside the clubhouse and then ensure the indoor control panel shows the moon symbol to lock the front door as you leave.

In light of recent incidents of individuals (non-members) loitering on club grounds. Please ensure that when you are leaving the clubhouse you ensure all the doors are locked (using the key on the court 1-3 side door and selecting the half-moon symbol button on the courts 4-6 side door and checking the door to ensure it has locked correctly once closed).

Thanks for helping keep our club clean, safe, and welcoming for everyone!

 

Court Brushing

Courts 1-3 were recently re-sanded, therefore please ensure you use the brushes by Court 1 to brush the courts before and/or after you play, this will ensure the sand remains evenly distributed across the courts and helps protect the surface from uneven wear.

 

Use of Club Balls

When using the Courts outside of designated club session play, please ensure you are using your own tennis balls. Club balls should only be utilised for designated club sessions and club matches.

'OUT!'

SAFEGUARDING

At STC we strive to ensure that all children, and any young people and adults at risk, are not subjected to any form of abuse, and have a really enjoyable experience at the Club.

If anyone ever has any concerns regarding the welfare of any member would you please inform the Safeguarding Officer,  Celia Barron (celiabarron@yahoo.com) or the Head Coach, David Sanger (davesanger@gmail.com)

HAVE YOUR SAY

Had a chance to look at the new website yet? Let us know what you think and any suggestions or improvements along the way. Are you enjoying the new look?