Sydenham Tennis Club

Eco/Sustainability Meeting – Tuesday 4 February 
In the survey towards the end of last year, several members expressed an interest in Eco/Sustainability matters at the Club. A meeting has been arranged for Tuesday 4 February at 7.00pm in the clubhouse.
The introductory meeting will discuss what things are already being undertaken and to find out what issues are of concern and interest. Please let me know if you want to attend and anything in particular that you want to discuss.

Thursday Tennis Club Play
A reminder that there is now a regular tennis club play session on Thursday afternoon from 1.30-3.30pm on courts 3, 4 & 5, which is open to all members. Balls are provided. 

Club Manager Hours
I will be available at the Club the following hours between 3-9 February: Monday from 0900-1500, Tuesday 1330-2100, Friday 0900-1630, Saturday 0900-1500, and Sunday 0900-1500. During these times you can obtain drinks & snacks from the bar, as well as balls & accessories, and hire the Slinger ball machine.

.Dez Lewington
Club Manager
Contact – dez.lewington@sltcc.co.uk

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Beer & Pizza Night – Friday 31 January
For those attending Toby’s serving clinic, or if you have a court booked, we’ll be offering a beer & pizza night in the bar. Get a free slice of pizza with any purchase of BR3WERY XPA craft beer.

Electrical Works – UPDATE 
Please keep an eye out over the next couple of days for a direct email fully explaining the new smart controls for the squash courts and tennis court floodlighting.
Squash court lighting will continue to come on by sensor as you walk on court and go off automatically afterwards, although there are manual switches on the panel too, as well as buttons for the additional heaters at the back of the court and the ventilation fans.
Tennis court floodlighting for all courts can now be controlled from both the clubhouse foyer and squash courts corridor – one touch on and one touch off.

Club Manager Hours
I will be available at the Club the following hours between 27 January – 2 February: Monday from 1330-1930, Friday 1200-2100, Saturday 0900-1500, and Sunday 0900-1330. During these times you can obtain drinks & snacks from the bar, as well as balls & accessories, and hire the Slinger ball machine.

Dez Lewington
Club Manager
Contact – dez.lewington@sltcc.co.uk

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Events news…

Tennis Serving Clinic – Friday 31 January 2025
We have opened up a few more spaces as the session sold out very quickly. Toby will be leading an intensive coaching session to develop and practice your serving skills from 7.00-8.00pm. Contact toby.yates@sltcc.co.uk for more information, or book your place here.

American Mixed Doubles Tournament – Friday 21 February 2025
A fun tournament where you will play a game of mixed doubles for 15 minutes before everything changes – the court you play on, the opposing team, and even your doubles partner! Starts at 6.45pm. All playing categories are welcome to take part, and the bar will be open for family and supporters, as well as afterwards for the competitors.
Burger pop up on site from 6.00pm. Cost – £8. Please contact me to enter.

Out Of Pocket – POSTPONED
Unfortunately, SE20’s finest soul, pop, and indie covers band have had to postpone their concert on 7 February. We hope to have the rescheduled date very soon.

Dez Lewington
Club Manager
Contact – dez.lewington@sltcc.co.uk

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Australian Open Tennis Finals
We’ll be showing the Men’s and Women’s Singles Finals live in the bar on Saturday and Sunday morning. Finals are scheduled to start at 8.30am. The bar will be open from 8.00am with coffee and pastries deals for breakfast.

Electrical Works – UPDATE 
Apologies that the electrical works are still not completed. The new switching mechanisms for the squash court heating, lighting and ventilation, and the tennis court floodlighting have been delayed in delivery.
Adjustments will be made to the parameters of the smart controls once the switches are installed, for example the temperature levels in the squash courts, and light levels for the tennis courts, so please bear with us for a little longer.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy
We have recently issued a new version of the above policy, which you can find on the Club website here. There is also a hard copy in the Clubhouse foyer.
Remember that the Club’s other policies can be found on the website too here, and there is lots of other useful information in the restricted Members area of the website – password is always the same as the door codes for the buildings on site.

Club Manager Hours
I will be available at the Club the following hours between 20 – 26 January: Monday from 0900-1500, Friday 0900-1800, Saturday 0900-1330, and Sunday 0900-1330. During these times you can obtain drinks & snacks from the bar, as well as balls & accessories, and hire the Slinger ball machine.

Dez Lewington
Club Manager
Contact – dez.lewington@sltcc.co.uk

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Electrical Works – UPDATE 
Squash courts:
Court lighting will continue to activate as you enter the court, if they are not on already, as will the corridor lighting, and will go off automatically after a period of inactivity. The court heating system is also now linked to the sensor and will maintain temperature between 7.00am – 10.00pm when players are on court.
Tennis courts:
Floodlights will come on around 4.00pm from Monday to Friday this week when light levels start to fall, and will go off on timer after the last bookings. The new switches should be available next week and I’ll update on use after installation.

Tennis Serving Clinic – Friday 31 January 2025
Toby will be leading an intensive coaching session to develop and practice your serving skills from 7.00-8.00pm. Contact toby.yates@sltcc.co.uk for more information.

Club Manager Hours
I will be available at the Club the following hours this coming weekend when I return from leave: Saturday from 0900-1500 and Sunday 0900-1500. During these times you can obtain drinks & snacks from the bar, as well as balls & accessories, and hire the Slinger ball machine.

Dez Lewington
Club Manager
Contact – dez.lewington@sltcc.co.uk

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Squash court building – electrical works
Apologies that there have been a few teething problems with court lighting after the recent electrical upgrading works. We are just awaiting the installation of the new switches for the squash court corridor.
In the meantime, the squash court lights are now set to activate as you enter the court, if they are not on already, and will go off after several minutes of inactivity in the court.
The floodlighting for the tennis courts will come on automatically around 4pm when light levels start to fall, and will go off on timer after the last bookings.

Out Of Pocket – Friday 7 February 2025
SE20’s finest soul, pop, and indie covers band comprising Club members Dave and Jerome on guitar and bass, and virtuoso Sarah on vocals. Join us for a specially curated evening of winter warmers and party bangers from musical greats, including Al Green, Aretha Franklin, Paul Weller and many more.
Tickets go on sale next week along with full details and timings for the event.

Club Manager Hours
I will be available at the Club the following hours this weekend: Friday from 1200-2100, Saturday 0900-1500, Sunday 0900-1500, and Monday 0900-1500, and then I’m on leave until 18 January. During these times you can obtain drinks & snacks from the bar, as well as balls & accessories, and hire the Slinger ball machine.

Dez Lewington
Club Manager
Contact – dez.lewington@sltcc.co.uk

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Happy New Year! 

Membership information
All members will receive an updated version of the Members Handbook later today. There are several important updates so please take a little time to read. Most importantly, the door codes to the clubhouse and squash court building have been changed.

Christmas/New Year Quiz – Friday 10 January 2025
A reminder to sign up for our popular quiz night. Join regular host Jeff Richards for an evening of fun with family and friends – the bar will be open from 6.30pm with the quiz starting at 7.30pm.
Numbers are limited to 8 teams, so please book as soon as possible with Jeff on 07769565095 or at jeff.richards@rcn.org.uk with your name and, if you are entering a team (max 6). Don’t worry if you can’t make up a team or would like to come on your own – Jeff will allocate you to a team on the night. Entry: Adults £3 – Children £2

Club Manager Hours
I will be available at the Club the following hours between 4-10 January: Saturday from 0900-1500, Sunday 0900-1030, Monday 0900-1330, Tuesday 0900-1200, and Friday 1200-1800. During these times you can obtain drinks & snacks from the bar, as well as balls & accessories, and hire the Slinger ball machine.

Dez Lewington
Club Manager
Contact – dez.lewington@sltcc.co.uk

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Membership fees 2025
The new Club membership fees have been updated and will take effect from 1 January 2025. The majority of fees have modest increases – £10 on each full adult tennis and squash memberships for the year.
Several ‘family’ memberships have been held at 2024 prices, and there are smaller increases on ‘joint’ memberships – you will find the full details here. 

Squash court building – closure details
A reminder that we are having major electrical works undertaken in the squash court building from 1-7 January, and various facilities will be unavailable between 1-3 January as detailed below.
Changing rooms – only available for toilet facilities until 4.00pm between 1-3 January – no changing or showering available until 4.00pm on Friday 3 January; 
Squash courts – will not be available to play at all on 1/2 January, and will reopen at 4.00pm on 3 January;
Tennis courts – courts 3-7 will not be available after 4.00pm on 1/2 January as there will be no floodlights – courts 1/2 will be available throughout, but there will be no toilet facilities after 4.00pm as detailed above. 

Club Manager Hours
I will be available at the Club the following hours between 28 December – 3 January: Sunday from 0900-1500, Monday 1030-1500, New Years Day 0900-1500, and Friday 0900-1500. During these times you can obtain drinks & snacks from the bar, as well as balls & accessories, and hire the Slinger ball machine.

Dez Lewington
Club Manager
Contact – dez.lewington@sltcc.co.uk

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With Christmas fast approaching, here are a few things for the New Year.

American Doubles Tournament – Wednesday 1 January 2025
We could do with more entries for the annual New Year’s Day tournament, which will start at 1.00pm. It’s a fun way to start the new year. You play a game of mixed doubles for 15 minutes before everything changes – the court you play on, the opposing team, and even your doubles partner! All playing categories are welcome to take part, and the bar will be open for family and supporters, as well as afterwards for the competitors. Find out more here. Contact me for the link to book your place.

Christmas/New Year Quiz – Friday 10 January 2025
Dust off your thinking caps for the new year edition of our popular quiz night. Join regular host Jeff Richards for an evening of fun with family and friends – the bar will be open from 6.30pm with the quiz starting at 7.30pm. Book early to secure your place as numbers are limited to 8 teams.
You can enter as a team or an individual. To book please contact Jeff on 07769565095 or at jeff.richards@rcn.org.uk with your name and, if you are entering a team, your team’s name and the number of people in the team (max 6). Don’t worry if you can’t make up a team or would like to come on your own – Jeff will allocate you to a team on the night. Entry: Adults £3 – Children £2

Community Tennis Programme
All of our adult drop-in coaching sessions for January are now online for booking. You will find full details and booking here. Fun Friday after school club for 3-14 years starts again on 10 January – info here. Finally, why not try out pickleball at our weekly session on Monday afternoon – it’s free for members – info here.

Merry Christmas!

Dez Lewington
Club Manager
Contact – dez.lewington@sltcc.co.uk

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Craft Beer Festival – Friday 20 December 2024
A reminder that the bar/clubhouse closes this weekend for the Christmas break, and we’ll be holding a craft beer festival tonight in conjunction with our supplier BR3WERY from Beckenham. There will be three beers available on draft – Nectaron Pale Ale, a Mulled Wine Xmas IPA, and an Oatmeal stout – with a special beer flight offer of half a pint of each plus a bar snack and mince pie for just £10. Bar open from 6.30-9.30pm.

Racketball Tournament
The annual Racketball tournament finals took place on 7 December with Ian Moody defending his title in a closely fought match against newcomer Josh Wells. Favourite Ian took the first game and looked comfortable before Josh’s exuberant chasing brought him a 2-1 lead. Eventually, Ian’s experience and tactical nous won through to take the match 3-2. In the Plate event, Tony Moyes defeated Peter Lewis.

Club Manager Hours
I will be available at the Club the following hours between 21-27 December: Saturday from 0900-1500, Sunday 0900-1330, Christmas Eve 0900-1330, and Friday 0900-1200. During these times you can obtain drinks & snacks from the bar, as well as balls & accessories, and hire the Slinger ball machine.

Dez Lewington
Club Manager
Contact – dez.lewington@sltcc.co.uk

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