Welcome to Flitwick and Ampthill Lawn Tennis Club

Saturday 10 July 2010

A sterling effort was put into marketing this event this year notably by Annie and Sara with at least 3 schools either sending out leaflets or including articles in their newsletter and Annie putting in many hours handling out leaflets and pushing them through the letter boxes of famous local athletes.   

We also offered a free tennis racquet draw and Terry kindly donated a quality £200 limited gold edition Prince 4 series which he unfortunately mistook for one of his practice racquets. 

The Open day was also assisted this year by hot weather and  the promise of quality coaching leading to a steady stream of keen juniors anxious to try the usual games of whack  the coach,  hit  the club treasurer’s  car with a tennis racquet and haggling for a decent prize once they realised the quality of those actually on offer. 

There were several new members who joined so I am told and of course lots of promotion for the club. 

The only major criticism of the event revolved around the provision of sandwiches for the helpers which was noticeably absent and led to some fairly unpleasant scenes inside the clubhouse once it was discovered in particular that there were none for the vice Chairwoman.

In any event I have to thank everyone who helped on the day including in no particular order Karen, Harrison, Annie, Nick, Barbara, Sue, Terry and anyone I have forgotten.

Oh and Terry, try to get the ball machine fixed for next year, there’s a good chap!

Robert Smith

Congratulations to our South Beds Knockout Cup Team on reaching the final of this competition for the first time in many years.

On Sunday afternoon 11 July 2010 we beat Leighton Buzzard at Home  3.5 to 1.5 rubbers

Karen Ncube - Ladies Singles

Luci Mabbitt & Jackie Jarvis - Ladies Doubles

Terry Mabbitt & Matt Packham- Mens Doubles

John Kitchener & Barbara Turner- Mixed Doubles

Max Hodgson - Mens Singles

We play either Vauxhall or Edlesborough in the final on Sunday 19th September (venue to be decided).

Flitwick & Ampthill LTC's new floodlit carpet tennis court was officially opened on Saturday 12th June by former British No. 1 Mark Cox, who played professional and amateur tennis in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

Following the opening ceremony, Mark Cox, Terry Mabbitt, Norman Church and Eddie Fox played a stunning one set veterans exhibition match.

Mabbitt's eyes were playing their usual tricks but the match referee Richard Ernest kept control of the game. The exhibition match was followed by a mix in American tournament and barbecue for members and invited guests.

Terry's Tip - Preparation

The weather has at last started to change for the better and we have a new season ahead of us.

Standards vary but we can all improve, so why not invest in new equipment!!

If you cannot afford a new racquet try a restring and check your shoes to see if there’s any grip left.  Plus, some new kit to make you feel better.

And look at your game and make a conscious decision on which area you want to improve for the season ahead.

Finally, bear in mind that to even maintain our standard most of us need to play a minimum of three times a week.

External News & Events

2010

Monday 23rd August —

Saturday 28th August

Riverside Tennis Club

Goldington Road, Bedford MK40 3EA

Grade 3 LTA Ranking Tournament

Click here to download the entry form

All finals will be played on Saturday 28th, all finalist must be available for this day.

Players may enter two singles events, one own gender doubles event and one mixed doubles event, which will be free to players who have entered three other events.

Players losing first round singles will automatically entered into a consolation round.

Hot and cold food will be available all week at the club.

Tarpon South Bedfordshire League Championships

Grade 4

Click here to download an entry form

I'm pleased to attach the entry form for this year's Tarpon South Bedfordshire League Championships.

Matches are organised by the players at their own clubs but finals are played this year at Dunstable Tennis Club on 4 September 2010.

The finals are after the close of the summer rating run so junior entries must be in the winter 2010 ages groups as detailed on the attached entry form. Ranking points will be allocated in September and rating results will be processed as part of the 2010 intereim winter run.

Eligibility - is any member of the clubs in the South Bedfordshire Lawn Tennis League. (List Below) Apologies if you are not eligible but I've had to use post code data to limit this email to players who might be eligible as I do not have reliable club data.

To enter just send me the attached form with a cheque covering your entry fees or you may wish to drop me an email and follow up with the form and cheque.

Entries close Monday 25 May 2010.

Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any queries especially about junior eligibility which takes some figuring out!

Brian Clare, Training Services
Phone: 01582 673 309
email: bctraining@btinternet.com

South Bedfordshire Lawn Tennis League Clubs:

Dunstable, Eaton Bray, Flitwick and Ampthill, Harlington, Leighton Buzzard, LICS Luton, Linslade, Luton and Vauxhall, Slip End, Studham. Toddington, Westoning

Cambridgeshire Lawn Tennis Club Donarbon Tournament

Dear All,

Please find attached a copy of the CLTC Donarbon Tournament poster + application form. I would be most grateful if you could forward this onto any members who may wish to enter and print out a copy for your clubhouse. 

Many thanks,

James Mills

CLTC Manager

James Mills

CLTC Tennis Manager

Office: 01223 312550

Mobile:07815291097

Click here to download the Donarbon Tournament entry form.

THE 2010 FAMILY CHAMPIONSHIPS

I would like to draw your attention to the Family Championships which is now entering its fourth year of competition.

It is an annual event for Father & Sons and Mother & Daughters played on a postal basis to establish finalists who compete at a weekend in November in Dudley.

Full details of the event, including rules, can be viewed on our dedicated website

http://www.familychampionships.org.uk/

where an entry form can also be downloaded.

This is an event which has been enjoyed immensely by competitors not only generating new friendships, but cementing family relationships on court.

This year’s event is expected to be the best ever and we welcome assistance with promotion.  Any help you can give in this area is greatly appreciated.

Yours sincerely

Henry Wancke

Tournament Director

E-mail: henry@familychampionships.org.uk

Web: www.familychampionships.org.uk

Are you 10.1 or 10.2 ?

If you are a junior with a rating of 10.2 or 10.1 you need to achieve:

• 4 wins (singles matches) to move from a 10.2 to 10.1

• A further 4 wins (singles matches) to move from a 10.1 to 9.2.

These wins can be against any player with a rating from 10.2 – 1.1 and do not have to be achieved within a ratings run period.

As soon as you have achieved these wins you should check that the results have been published online at www.lta.org.uk. If they are, then you should email Info@LTA.org.uk with your name and membership number or call 020 8487 7000 to confirm

that you're ready to move rating. Contact us at Tennis East by either emailing tenniseast@LTA.org.uk or calling us on 01223 210111 if you think any of your results are missing from your player profile.

The minimum scoring format for 10.1 and 10.2 players, to count towards their Rating, is one short set (to 4, Tie Break at 4-4) and Timed Tennis. At grade 6 yellow ball competitions, 1 short set to 4 games or 20 minutes (or more) timed tennis formats can be used for players rated 10.2 and 10.1 and count as ratings matches (mixed singles matches, i.e. boy vs. girl does not count).

Week Long Summer Tournaments 2010

 

26th July – 31st July The Luton Junior Open Tournament	Grade 4	(BED103)
2nd August – 7th August Dunstable Junior Open	Grade 5	(BED112)
9th August – 14th August The Colour Shop Riverside Junior Open	Grade 4	(BED102)
16th August – 20th August Hit the Court Leighton Buzzard Junior Open	Grade 4	(BED105)
23rd August – 28th August Bedfordshire Junior County Closed	Grade 3	(BED501)

Entry to these events and at other counties can be found at www.LTA.org.uk/Competition/

Please insert the tournament code above to go directly to the competition.

Indoor Championship 2010

This is to let you know the entry form for the Vets Tennis GB indoor championships is now on the website www.vetstennisgb.org

Best wishes

Rex Lucas

Tournament Director