RLTA News
RLTA Newsletter – September 2006
One
of the most dramatic trends in tennis clubs
Australia-wide of the past 15 years has been the
increase in popularity of mid-week night-time tennis
fixtures at the expense of weekend day-time fixtures.
There are probably many reasons for this trend, not the
least of which has been the increase in Saturday
afternoon shopping and the increased opportunities for
part-time work. It would also appear that many players
prefer to keep weekends free of sporting commitments to
be more available for family activities.
Whatever
the reasons, one of the impacts of this trend has been the
lack of entries for our annual club championships, which
have traditionally been conducted over two weekends.
Interest in them declined to the extent that they have not
been run now for several years.
Well,
this year we have decided to resurrect the annual club
championships, but this time by conducting them over several
nights. It will be an interesting experiment that I hope
will attract the best players to compete for the right to be
called club champion for 2006.
These
are to be held on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings
from the 26th September during the upcoming
school holidays from 6:30 to 10:30 pm. All events will be
based on a round robin format with the exact structure being
determined by the number of entries in each event. Entry
forms are available from the Pro-Shop and entries close on
16th September.
Click here to
see the results
Junior Club Championships
Its been
almost 10 years since the Junior Club Championships were
held but its back... These will be conducted over two
Sundays in October (October 15th & 22nd)
and there will be A, B & C grade for singles and A & B grade
for doubles. Entry forms and more specific details are
available at the Pro-Shop.
What’s been happening around the club?
From an
administrative point of view, there have been some subtle
changes at the RLTA with Betty McCoy cutting back her
full-time involvement to one where she is now our part-time
club Secretary/Manager being largely responsible for the
site and club activities. Jani and his Universal Tennis
team have now taken full responsibility for all Pro-Shop
activities (including court hire and collection of
membership fees, etc) and for running the junior fixture
program.
The new
arrangements seem to be working out, with Betty finally
getting the opportunity to come up for breath and even
managed an overseas holiday in April. Smiling new faces
helping Jani out in the Pro-Shop include Penny Rogers and
Danielle Green. Our volunteer groundsmen Keith Collyer and
Pat Cleary continue to do a wonderful job of keeping the
site clean and the courts functioning smoothly. This year
they have been joined by another volunteer in the form of
Bev Hogan, who is helping out Betty with the book-keeping in
the office.
There
have been quite a few subtle enhancements at the centre this
year, with many enthusiastic members helping out in working
bees to clean the exterior walls and windows of the new
clubhouse, paint the remaining besser brick walls and umpire
stands various shades of Griffin green, and erect new shade
sails at the western end of the clubhouse. For those
members who have something to say, there is even a new
suggestion box at the clubhouse entrance (also painted
Griffin green).
After a
couple of attempts at getting it right, we now have a
functional drain at the western entrance of our complex and
some high-tech water control devices between courts 2 & 3
(check out the “Keithy-baby” bump next time you are down
there). As a result, our clubhouse is no longer in danger
of flooding and, of course, it has hardly rained since.
Redland Bay Junior Challenge
This was
our first junior challenge match with the Redland Bay club
and was orgainsed by the two coaches from the respective
clubs. It was held at Redland Bay on 12th August
and was fun for all. Redland Bay proved to be the better
team on the day winning 28 sets to 8...
According to Jani, the player of the day would have to of
been the RLTA’s Damion Gunn, a young man with a bright
future in playing tennis and coaching. He won his singles
6-1 and split his two doubles. Most improved & promising
juniors would have had to have been Sam Zubevich, Ben
Goodale, Gareth Cheaney & Michael Davidson. These guys have
a bright future in the club and have come a long way from
their humble beginnings not that long ago
Next
year, Jani is thinking about running a challenge with
Beenleigh as well as that with Redland Bay.
Tom Ferguson Shield
On 13th
August, 12 men and 12 ladies represented the RLTA at the
annual Tom Ferguson Shield match between Redlands, Gold
Coast, Beenleigh and Beaudesert. After winning the shield
last year for the first time ever, our team was unable to
defend it this time around. However, we did finish in
second place behind Beenleigh, who were far too good for
everyone on the day. There is always next year!
Redland Bay Challenge
On 27th
August it was our club’s turn to host Redland Bay in what
has become the local derby with the Rosie Dunn Memorial
Shield and a few egos at stake. A total of 28 players from
each club participated in teams of 4, the players of which
were all ranked to keep the tennis as even as possible.
After the RLTA gave them a tennis lesson last year, Redland
Bay returned the favour this time round, winning 28 set to
13. (Jani is claiming the forced withdrawal of key players,
namely himself and Steve Parr, due to injury made the
difference).
Jani’s
choice for RLTA’s man of the match was Heath Cleary, who did
not drop one set
for the day and inflicted his powerful shots on everyone
that stepped on court with him.
A great
day was had by all and special thanks must go to Steve Parr
and his father
Lyle
for their BBQ skills and the numerous people who were
playing on the day and
helped with the lunch and cleaning up. Flushed with their
new-found
success, Redland Bay would like to hold two such events next
year.
Jani presenting
Frayne Bloor of Redland Bay Tennis Club with the Rosie Dunn
memorial Shield
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