COURT LIGHTING
IT’LL SOON BE TIME TO LIGHT THE COURTS AGAIN for evening play from September to March. Existing lighting-fob holders have already been emailed about renewing. If you didn’t invest in a fob last year and would like to do so now, it’s very easy: just click on this for details: https://wbtc.org.uk/court-lighting-how-to-order-a-key-fob/
SUNDAY 6 SEPTEMBER
FINALS DAY & BARBECUE
The Finals of the Club Championships are being played on Sunday 6 September from 10.30 till approx. 3 pm. They should be great matches, and the bar will be open and a barbecue cooking from 12.30 till 2.30 – come and enjoy!
Please note that there is a major bowls event that afternoon, so parking spaces will be limited. Please walk or cycle to the club if you can.
*** And please note that the usual Club Afternoon will run that day (Sunday 6th) once the finals finish, starting at approx. 3 pm and running till about 5. ***
TALKING OF CLUB SESSIONS…
A reminder that these run every week, and all members are welcome. They’re on:
SUNDAYS 1.30 – 3.30 (except 6 Sept, approx. 3 till 5)
TUESDAY AFTERNOONS 1.30 – 3.30
TUESDAY EVENINGS 5.30 onwards.
With our court lighting now available, the evening sessions – the social play on Tuesdays and the Team Practices on Thursdays – now run all the year round.
NEW TERM’S COACHING BOOKING IS NOW OPEN for the Autumn Term of group coaching at the Club, for both adults and juniors, starting in the week beginning September 7th. For all details go to our website pages https://wbtc.org.uk/junior-coaching/ (for juniors) and https://wbtc.org.uk/adult-coaching/ (for adults).
WALKING TENNIS
Have you heard about Walking Tennis? The LTA are promoting it and it’s more fun than it sounds! The idea is that anyone whose tennis activities are compromised by recent illness, surgery and/or anno domini can still enjoy the sport with its widely recognised health and social benefits. The main differences are an underarm serve, the ball can bounce once or twice, and anyone caught breaking into a run loses a point! Read all about it here:
https://talkingtennis.net/blog-posts/walking-tennis-guide-including-rules-and-playing-tips
We hope to establish one or two regular sessions of Walking Tennis per week.
Our Head Coach, Tom Francis, has offered to organise and coach a first session, for free. We are proposing Tuesday 8 September 11.30am-12.30pm for the first try-out. It’ll be open to members and non-members, so if there’s an ex-tennis player in your household they too might pluck up the courage to get back on the court.
If you’d like to come to the try-out session, please email woodstocktennisclub@gmail.com. And if you can’t make the
date suggested but are interested anyway, please email likewise to let us know.
IMPORTANT: CHANGE TO COURTS TIMETABLE
Please note that checking the Courts Timetable is now simpler than ever. If you’re ever in doubt about court availability, just click on https://wbtc.org.uk/courts-timetable/
On that page you’ll find a link to the Club’s core schedule, showing the pattern of court usage which applies to every week. You’ll also find a regularly updated list of occasional exceptions: they’re few and far between, but it’s always worth quickly checking this list before arranging play. (For instance, you’ll currently find an exception on Wednesday 16 September, when 3 courts will be taken from 5.30 to 7.30 for a Ladies Team Coaching session.)
On the same page you’ll also find a handy list of when League matches are being played on the courts. For convenience, the up-to-date list of home matches is always given here, too, in this newsletter sent to all members. Here’s the upcoming list, which you may find helpful to note …
HOME MATCHES COMING UP [each match 2 courts]
SEPTEMBER
WEDNESDAY 9th, 9.30 am: Mixed Midweek v Oxford Sports
SATURDAY 12th, 1 pm: Mixed B v Bicester; Mixed D v Appleton
SUNDAY 13th, 10 am: Mixed C v Benson
SATURDAY 19th, 1 pm: Mixed B v Oxford Sports; Mixed C v Oxford Sports
WEDNESDAY 23rd, 10 am: Mixed Midweek v North Oxford
AND TALKING OF TEAM TENNIS.…
We’ll soon be forming squads for the Winter League weekend season, starting in October, and we’re entering teams across a wide ability range, with an extra Men’s team and an extra Ladies. If you haven’t been playing in the Summer League and are interested in playing team tennis, please let us know. Simply email Men’s Captain Matt on matt.penton@btinternet.com or Ladies’ Captain Fiona on fionasutherland54@gmail.com.
The Finals of this year’s Club Tournament were played on Sunday 6 September. Tournament organiser Freddie Page writes: “Finals Day provided some really great tennis and close matches. The weather brought out the spectators who created a wonderful atmosphere, and the barbecue provided delicious food – what more could you want? I would like to thank Luke [Wildgoose] for manning the BBQ (they really were fantastic burgers) and also Matt [Penton], Helen [Belmont] and Jenny [Collins] for supporting me with the umpiring.”
Men’s Singles: Ben Lloyd [right] defeated Patrick Nagle
Ladies Singles: Georgie Ponting [above] defeated Jenny Collins
Senior Men’s Singles: Mike Allen [right] defeated Simon Cottingham
Men’s Doubles: Ben Lloyd & Ed Gilkes [centre] defeated Patrick Nagle & Simon Cottingham
Ladies Doubles: Georgie Ponting & Jenny Collins [left] defeated Tory Houghton & Liz Hipkiss
Mixed Doubles: Georgie Ponting & James Lilburne [left] defeated Tory Houghton & Mike Allen
If you’d like your own fob so that you can play in the evenings whenever you wish, you can order one and pay for it by bank transfer. The cost will be £15. This is for the whole winter from September through to 31 March, and enables you to play as often as you like.
CONGRATULATIONS
LADIES SOLSTICE TENNIS!
NEW TERM’S COACHING BOOKING IS NOW OPEN for the Autumn Term of group coaching at the Club, for both adults and juniors, starting in the week beginning September 7th. For all details go to our website pages 
