Juniors on the tennis courts

There has been some chatbox criticism in recent days about the access to the Tennis Club courts on the Playing field, particularly for junior players. Nic Goodwin, chairman of the Tennis Club, is happy to respond.

Nic writes....

"Dear Bewildered

"If you're Bewildered, then I'm mystified?

"I was wondering where your comment about 'I would if I thought it would influence matters, but unfortunately, I feel that one voice will not be heard' came from? If you had any comments/thoughts/ideas etc why did you not contact myself or the committee – I cannot think of any more approachable people!  You make it sound as if you have been trying to make changes to the club for years – is this true? I am Nic Goodwin, currently Chairman of the tennis club  -  and my colleagues (all unpaid and it seems 'un-thanked') work hard to make sure that the club remains open and running with little support from the village

"To put it into perspective, so far this year we have 19 junior members (who have paid their fees) with another 32 juniors still yet to pay.  We presume many of them are still playing effectively free of charge. I had one gentleman emailing me trying to justify why his son should be allowed to train on the court and not have to pay a membership, because he was a member of another club!  How can anyone justify why one junior should pay and one junior should not?  Talk about supporting your local club!

"We are just in the process of taking on a new coach who we hope will reinvigorate engagement with the juniors and help us to arrange coaching, matches, fun days etc.  We hope that this will come into effect from mid August

"I would be very happy to know who "Bewildered" actually is, as well as "Red Witch" so that you can come along and help us to coach and arrange sessions for the junior members?  We are always VERY keen to engage with juniors and we know they are the lifeblood of any club. The reason that children are no longer allowed on the courts through the small gate are due to the constant vandalism, litter dropping, chewing gum dropping and general disrespect for the nets, courts and clubhouse.

"We believe that we have now found a solution to the problem that will allow juniors to play on the courts with limited access but again, they must be members.  Please bear in mind that the fee for a child under 10 is only £10 per year!. In conclusion I would reiterate that we, (the committee) would be VERY happy to hear from any interested parties who would commit to helping us with juniors, rather than just stating that there should be initiatives in place.

"Nic Goodwin".

Nic can be contacted at nicgoodwin@earthandair.co.uk" target="_blank">nicgoodwin@earthandair.co.uk 

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