Sydenham Tennis Club

Improve your fitness, have fun and meet new people!
Would you like to learn to play croquet? Or perhaps you would like to brush up your skills and improve your game? If so, our croquet taster course may be just what you need – and at just £20 for six hours of tuition, it won’t break the bank!

The four-week course is aimed at beginners and improvers and covers basic grip, stance and swing as well as different shots, tactics and use of bisques. You will also have the opportunity to put it all into practice during coached games.

The course is suitable for adults of all ages and levels of fitness – so why not come and give it a try?

Course dates
The course starts on 31st May 2017 and runs every Wednesday from 17:00 until 18:30 until 21st June .

How to book
Places are limited, so don’t delay, book your course online here or for more information email us at croquet@sltcc.co.uk

Related links
Terms & Conditions
Playing croquet at Sydenham

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Our summer term classes are underway with drop-in sessions and courses for both adults and children.

All adult classes provide an hour’s coaching during which you will work on developing your tactical and technical skills and all include the opportunity to stay on court for some social play afterwards.

The summer timetable
Mondays, 19:00 to 20:00 – Cardio Fitness £5/£7 More…
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:00 to 11:00 – Coaching and social play, all levels £6/8 More…
Thursdays, 20:00 to 21:00 – Improve & Play for improvers and intermediates £7/£9 More…
Fridays, 09:30 to 10:30 – Over 40s for improvers, intermediate and advanced £6/£8 More…

Children’s classes
Fridays, 10:45 to 11.30 – Tots Tennis £8 per class or £42 for six. More…
Fridays, 16:30 to 18:30 – Fun Friday Tennis for children aged 4 and above £2/£4 More….

No need to book!
All the classes are pay-as-you-go – no need to book, simply pay on the day.

For more information about our term-time drop-in schedule email Dez at info@sltcc.co.uk or call him on 07398 170 056.

Related links
Term-time timetable
Tennis camps
Beginners Introduction to Tennis course
Term-time tennis courses

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Finches Sports at 25-29 Perry Vale (south side of Forest Hill station) offers Sydenham Tennis Club members a 10% discount on all their sports equipment (except re-stringing) on production of a valid membership card.

Finches is a family run store with six different departments:  Skiing, Snowboarding, Cycling and General Sports in the winter months and Sailing, Cycling, Skateboarding and General Sports in the summer months, all within their 2000 sq ft shop.  The General Sports department sells equipment for tennis and squash as well as for a number of other sports.

The store has recently had a major refurbishment, so now is a great time to visit whether or not you have been in the past.

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Liam Hindson, new Assistant Manager

We are very pleased to announce that tennis member Liam Hindson has been appointed as part-time Assistant Manager and will take up his position at the beginning of April.

The job is ten hours per week, predominantly providing administrative support to the Club Manager as the Club continues to grow its range of activities.

Gillian Bartlett (Chair) and Dez Lewington (Club Manager) had a full day conducting interviews for the job. It was very rewarding that so many members put themselves forward and had so much to offer.

Liam runs his own music teaching business, which allows him the flexibility to support this role. His work brings him into contact with a lot of children and this will be a great resource as we expand programmes for juniors.

He is experienced in an extensive range of software applications, and these IT skills will be extremely valuable as we implement new booking and membership systems.

As Liam joined the Club from the Beginners Introductory course, and has progressed through categories to Advanced level, this also gives him a great insight into the Tennis section – both members and staff.

Please welcome Liam to the team!

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16:00 – 17:30 weekly with coaches Toby and Wayne

Saturday club play is a great way for children to practice and improve their tennis, widen their playing circle and make new friends.

Children develop their skills and technique through a mix of fun drills and tennis-based activities. There is also the opportunity to gain match play experience and Sydenham Tennis Club members can join our Fast 4 Tennis Junior League to play competitive singles. For beginners and younger children there is a focus on getting to grips with basic skills.

Activities are tailored to the experience and abilities of the children attending. Supervised by two qualified and DBS-checked coaches, the session provides parallel activities for older, more experienced players and younger children and beginners making it suitable for children of all abilities aged 4 to 17.

Club play is free for members and £5 for non-members – first session free. There is no need to book ahead, simply drop-in. Please register with the coach on arrival.

Related links
Other activities for children
Junior membership
Fun Friday Tennis after-school club
Coaching for juniors
Holiday camps

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Parent Off-peak tennis offers parents of junior members use of the courts to play exclusively with their children.

Parent off-peak members can play on the courts with their children* Monday to Friday until 18:00 and on Saturday after 17:00 for just £40 pa.

So for parents who don’t require a full tennis membership but would welcome the opportunity to hit with their child on a regular, or not so regular, basis this is a great alternative.  And for those parents who decide to upgrade to another membership at a later date we offer a 10% discount on their new subscription.

In addition to use of the courts, Parent Off-peak membership includes use of the club house and changing facilities, access to the club’s online court booking system, free British Tennis membership and eligibility to enter the club’s Wimbledon Draw, and the opportunity to participate in club social events and family activities.

To find out more about Parent Off-peak membership contact membership@sltcc.co.uk or  visit our joining page.

*Children must be junior members of the club and aged under 18

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Winners of the last round of tennis leagues which ended on 26th February are:

Mixed League:
Premier – Alex Williams
L1 – Stevan Jovic
L2 – Christopher Derwitsch
L3 – Chris Pearce
L4 – Iain Kemplay
L5 – Thomas Haagensen
L6 – William Heggart
L7 – Mark Quinn
L8 – Victoria Scott
L9 – Tom Nickels

Women’s League:
L1 – Melissa Plews
L2 – Sarah Harper

Off-peak League:
L1 – John Flanagan
L2 – Minako Mitchels

The next round
The next round of the singles leagues are now live. The deadline for completion is 16 April – so try to get a good head start by arranging your matches as soon as possible!

Good luck everyone.

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We are delighted to be able to announce that the resurfacing of courts 6 and 7 with artificial clay will take place five weeks ahead of schedule!  Work starts on Wednesday, 15^th March until Tuesday 21st March and, providing there are no delays due to bad weather, both courts will be back in action on Wednesday, 22nd March.

Changes to court allocation
The resurfacing work will necessitate some temporary changes to court allocation, so please make a note of the following:
Wednesday 15^th March – three courts will be available for improver/intermediate club play
Thursday 16^th March – three courts will be available for advanced club play
Sunday 19^th March – four courts will be available for advanced club play
Tuesday, 20^th March – there will be no team training

All other activities will run as usual including group coaching and drop-in sessions although they will be on different courts.

Court availability
There will be reduced availability of ‘book now’ and ‘turn up and play’ courts so please check the tennis calendar if you are planning to use the courts while work is in progress.

More information about court allocation and availability
Details of all the court changes can be found on the tennis calendar or contact Dez at info@sltcc.co.uk.

Apologies for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience and understanding during the works.

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Supper from 19:00. Draw starts promptly at 20:00

Lucky winners get the pick of the available tickets on the night
It’s the club’s annual Wimbledon Ticket Draw on Friday, 21st April and this year, due to a change in the LTA’s rules, the club will be hosting a complimentary Wimbledon supper for members. Join us for some delicious pizza followed by dessert and all the excitement of the draw!

This year we have 28 pairs of tickets going into the draw  – which means there’s a good chance of getting your hands on some championship tickets  including tickets for Centre Court and Courts 1 and 2!

Winners choose their tickets on the night
The lucky winners who join us on the night will get the pick of the best tickets available, which could mean first dibs for Centre Court! So it’s an evening not to be missed.

Can’t make it for the draw?
Don’t worry if you’re not able to come along on 21^st April, all members will be entered into the club draw automatically provided they meet the British Tennis eligibility criteria (see below). If you wish you can nominate a proxy to come in your place to choose tickets on your behalf, should you be a lucky winner. To nominated a proxy please contact Jeff Richards at jeff.richards@rcn.org.uk with the name of the person you want to act for you. Please note proxy nominations must be received 24 hours before the ballot starts.

Eligibility criteria
Members will be automatically entered into the draw if they meet the following British Tennis criteria:

• Are an Adult (18+) or Junior (9-17) British Tennis Member; and
• Hold an active ‘Affiliated’ British Tennis Membership; and
• Sydenham Tennis Club is linked to their British Tennis Membership; and
• They have opted-in to the British Tennis Members ballot with the LTA

Members who join British Tennis after 17^th February 2017 and meet the criteria above 24 hours before the club ballot takes place will also be entered into the club ballot.

Please let us know if you are coming
If you would like to join us for Wimbledon supper and ticket draw please add you name on the list in the club house foyer or contact Jeff Richards.at jeff.richards@rcn.org.uk

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