Archives: News

*** MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL: EARLY SAVINGS ***

As you know, our “membership year” runs from April to March.  Many thanks to everyone who’s already renewed for the new season 2024/25 (and a very warm welcome to our new members who’ve already joined for the coming year). A reminder that there are BIG SAVINGS FOR RENEWAL BEFORE 31^st OF THIS MONTH. The prices are unchanged from last year, and all the details of prices and the simple payment process are on https://wbtc.org.uk/tennis-membership/.

EASTER JUNIOR TENNIS CAMP
We’re delighted to say that our excellent coaches are running a three-day Tennis Camp for Juniors in the Easter Holidays, on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 8–10 April.  For all the details of times, age-groups, prices and to book your place, just click on https://wbtc.org.uk/holiday-tennis-courses/

NEW SEASON’S COACHING
Booking is now open for the new term of group coaching for both Adults and Juniors.  Some slots are bound to be in demand, so please book early to avoid disappointment. 

For all the details and to reserve your place, click on  https://wbtc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Woodstock-Tennis-Academy-Junior-Planner-Apr-July-2024-1.pdf (for Juniors) and/or https://wbtc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Woodstock-Tennis-Academy-Adult-Planner-Apr-July-2024-1-1.pdf (for Adults).

CLUB TOURNAMENT
Don’t forget to send in your entries for this summer’s Club Championships – closing date 31 March.  All the details of the events and how to enter are on https://wbtc.org.uk/news/club-championship-2024/

HOME MATCHES COMING UP [each match 2 courts]:
SATURDAY 9^th, 1 pm:  Ladies A v Witney; Ladies C v Abingdon
SATURDAY 16^th, 1 pm:  Ladies D v Blewbury; Men’s E v North Oxford
WEDNESDAY 20^th, 10 am:  Men’s Midweek v Mapledurham
SATURDAY 23^rd, 1 pm:  Men’s B v Oxford Sports

COURT LIGHTING
We’re delighted to report that West Oxfordshire District Council have approved our application to install Tweener court lighting at Woodstock.  It’s been a long and sometimes tortuous process, but a great final result.  We’ll be sending full details over the coming weeks, but for a reminder of what the Tweener system is, go to https://wbtc.org.uk/news/court-lighting/.  We’ll be engaging an electrical contractor to connect power to courtside shortly, and the installation of the lights will take place in the summer (it will take only 2-3 days, in the second half of July) ready for first use when daylight starts to go in September.

MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL NOW OPEN
As you know, our “membership year” runs from April to March.  Many thanks to those keen members who have already renewed for 2024/5 (and a very warm welcome to our new members who have already joined for the coming year).  A reminder that there are BIG SAVINGS FOR RENEWAL BEFORE 31 MARCH.  The prices are unchanged from last year, and all the details of prices and the simple payment process are on https://wbtc.org.uk/tennis-membership/.

CLUB TOURNAMENT
Don’t forget to send in your entries for this summer’s Club Championships – closing date 31 March.  All the details of the events and how to enter are on https://wbtc.org.uk/news/club-championship-2024/

HOME MATCHES COMING UP [each match 2 courts]:
SATURDAY 24^th, 1 pm:  Ladies B v Cholsey, Men’s D v David Lloyd
SUNDAY 25^th, 10 am:  Ladies D v Brackley
SATURDAY 2^nd, 1 pm:  Men’s A v Abingdon, Men’s B v Blewbury
SUNDAY 3^rd, 10 am:  Men’s E v Abingdon
WEDNESDAY 6^th, 10 am:  Ladies Midweek v North Oxford
SATURDAY 9^th, 1 pm:  Ladies A v Witney, Ladies C v Abingdon

It’s that time of year again when we are asking you to enter the Summer Club Championship. We had so much positive feedback regarding last years event that as the old saying goes, ‘if it isn’t broken then don’t fix it!’…..so we will continue with the same format.

While of course someone has to win each tournament, so many of you told me that what was so nice about last years event was simply the taking part that allowed you to play competitively against club members who you would not normally play.

The tournaments are open to all club members and last year we had a fantastic turnout…..but this year we can do even better I’m sure! My only request is that we try to have more ladies enter the singles tournament so we don’t have to cancel it again!

How to enter

You can choose to enter as many of the following tournaments for which you are eligible:

Men’s Singles
Ladies Singles
Men’s Doubles
Ladies Doubles
Mixed Doubles
Senior Men’s singles (Over 50)

For the doubles tournaments there are two ways to enter:

Choose your own partner and enter as a pair
Simply enter alone and we will find a partner for you

Send your entries to tournament organiser Freddie Page, on:

Email: gkpage@btinternet.com

Text: 07388080377

Tournament Dates

Deadline to enter is 31st March 2024

Matches will begin in April and Finals Day will be Sunday 1st September (please put this date in your diaries)

Tournament Details

Full details will be sent to you prior to the tournaments starting, but in summary:

Matches will consist of two sets (with tie-breaks to 7 as usual at 6-6) – with a championship tie-break (to 10) deciding the winner if the match is tied

Round matches must be completed with a specified timescale which will be shown on the draw sheets

You and your opponents decide the time and date of any match

The success of this event will rely on your participation so please enter if you can.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Very best wishes for a fine (and tennis-filled) 2024.

SOCIAL PLAY  It’s been great to see such numbers – in anything approaching decent weather – enjoying this year’s Club Afternoons so much.
To see out the old year in sociable-tennis vein, come along to the last Club Session of 2023 on New Year’s Eve, Sunday, 1.30.
And the first Club Session of ’24 will of course be on Tuesday 2^nd, 1.30.

COACHING  Developing skills is a good resolution for the New Year, and booking is now open for the new term of group coaching at the Club, for both juniors and adults.  For all the details, just click on https://wbtc.org.uk/junior-coaching/ and/or https://wbtc.org.uk/adult-coaching/

WIMBLEDON TICKETS 2024
If you’re keen to visit this year’s Wimbledon, don’t forget to opt in for the LTA ballot.  Simply log into the LTA website using your LTA username and password, click on the Wimbledon benefit under MyBenefits, and then click the Opt In button.  The closing date for opting in is coming soon: Sunday 14 January.

HOME MATCHES THIS MONTH  [each match 2 courts]:
SATURDAY 6^th, 1 pm:  Men’s A v Appleton; Ladies B v Appleton
WEDNESDAY 10^th, 10 am:  Men’s Midweek v Witney
SATURDAY 13^th, 1 pm:  Ladies A v Mapledurham; Men’s C v Appleton
SUNDAY 14^th, 10 am:  Men’s D v Brackley
SATURDAY 20^th, 1 pm:  Men’s B v Princes Risborough; Ladies D v Cholsey
SATURDAY 27^th, 10 am:  Men’s B v Brackley
               1 pm:  Ladies B v Benson; Ladies C v North Oxford

VERY BEST WISHES FOR A HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND A GREAT NEW YEAR!
It’s been really good to see so much tennis being played even in some less-than-kind weather, not least at many of our thriving Club Afternoons (Tuesdays and Sundays, both at 1.30), and especially to see people enjoying our new court so much.  Do feel free to bring Christmas guests to play with you at the Club, but please remember that (extremely modest!) guest fees are due: the simple details are in a note on our website’s Membership page:https://wbtc.org.uk/tennis-membership/. 

LIGHTING  If you’re wondering what’s happening with our application for Court Lighting, https://wbtc.org.uk/news/court-lighting/, all is in hand and progressing, but the wheels of bureaucracy turn slowly.  The ecological surveys and reporting have been very time-consuming, but they’ve been entirely positive and have been duly submitted.  We just have to be patient in waiting on the aforementioned wheels.  We’d hoped for a decision in the early autumn.  The New Year would be nice.  We’ll let you know as soon as there’s news.

COACHING  Booking is now open for the new term of group coaching at the Club, for both juniors and adults.  Developing skills is a good resolution for the New Year – and not a bad idea for a Christmas present!  For all the details, just click on https://wbtc.org.uk/junior-coaching/ and/or https://wbtc.org.uk/adult-coaching/

BEING A TIME FOR GIVING, and in a country of increasing poverty and ever-more-needed food banks, the Club is collecting donations to support a charity called The Gatehouse which provides 60 meals a night to homeless people in Oxford.  It doesn’t involve giving money but asks for donations of food and other items.  If you’d like to contribute, the next time you’re playing please bring items on this list – https://wbtc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Aelfric-Gatehouse-Charity-List.pdf – and leave them in the box you’ll find either in the kitchen or in the main hall.  Very many thanks.

HOME MATCHES THIS MONTH  [each match 2 courts]:

SATURDAY 2^nd, 10 am:  Men’s E v North Oxford
1 pm:  Men’s A v Henley; Ladies D v Blewbury

SUNDAY 3rd, 10 am:  Men’s B v Oxford Sports

SATURDAY 9^th, 1 pm:  Men’s E v Watlington

THURSDAY 14th, 10 am:  Ladies Midweek v Blewbury

The AGM for both Bowls and Tennis is this coming Thursday, 23 November, at 7.30 pm in the clubhouse.  Hope to see you there.

Thanks to our partners, you can find ties online to suit every preference and budget, from budget to top-of-the-range super stylish models.

HOME MATCHES COMING UP  [each match 2 courts]:
WEDNESDAY 22^nd, 10 am:  Ladies Midweek v OHRC
SATURDAY 25^th, 1pm:  Ladies A v Banbury; Men’s C v Long Crendon
SUNDAY 26^th, 10 am:  Men’s D v Witney
WEDNESDAY 29^th, 10 am:  Men’s Midweek v Hanney

THIS YEAR’S TENNIS AGM is coming up this Thursday (2^nd November), 7.30 in the clubhouse.  Even if you don’t usually come to meetings, do come and join us this time!  There’s a lot of news and interesting things in the pipeline at the moment, so the more of us that join in, the better it’ll be.  See you there.

NEW COURT
WE’VE BEEN VERY LUCKY with the weather, and work on the building of our new single court has gone well to schedule. THE COURT IS NOW OPEN FOR PLAY.  It’s been a big job!  If you’ve missed the process and are interested in what’s been involved, there are pictures posted in the News Item headed “New Court”.

COURT AVAILABILITY
A REMINDER that if you’re ever in doubt about court availability, our schedule is very simple: check out the details on our website page https://wbtc.org.uk/courts-timetable/.  

UNUSUALLY BUSY THIS WEEKEND (WEATHER PERMITTING!)
BUT PLEASE NOTE that we have an unusually packed weekend of home matches this coming Saturday and Sunday (if the weather allows!), with two matches on Sunday morning as well as Saturday afternoon.  Also, very unusually, we have two Midweek League matches next Wednesday (8^th).  We always schedule matches to keep courts free for general play at the weekends as much as possible, and especially avoid ever having more than one match on a Sunday morning (or more than one on a Wednesday morning).  But the coming couple of weeks are packed with fixtures and it has been unavoidable.  Many apologies for this: it will hopefully never happen again!

HOME MATCHES THIS MONTH  [each match 2 courts]:

WEDNESDAY 1^st, 10 am:  Men’s Midweek v OHRC
SATURDAY 4^th, 10 am:  Men’s E v Watlington
                           1 pm:  Men’s A v Thame; Ladies D v Abingdon
SUNDAY 5^th, 10 am:  Men’s B v Abingdon; Men’s D v Colston
WEDNESDAY 8^th, 10 am: Ladies Midweek v Blewbury;
                                        Men’s Midweek v Hanney
SATURDAY 11^th, 1 pm:  Ladies A v Wantage; Ladies C v Abingdon
SUNDAY 12^th, 10 am:  Ladies D v Brackley
SATURDAY 18^th, 1 pm:  Ladies B v Kings Sutton
WEDNESDAY 22^nd, 10 am:  Ladies Midweek v OHRC
SATURDAY 25^th, 1pm:  Ladies A v Banbury; Men’s C v Long Crendon
SUNDAY 26^th, 10 am:  Men’s D v Witney

NEW COURT
WE’VE BEEN VERY LUCKY with the weather, and work on the building of our new single court has gone well to schedule. THE COURT IS NOW OPEN FOR PLAY.  It’s been a big job!  If you’ve missed the process and are interested in what’s been involved, there are pictures posted in the News Item headed “New Court”.

FOR JUNIORS
Our excellent coaches are running TENNIS CAMPS FOR JUNIORS in the HALF-TERM HOLIDAY, Monday 23^rd to Wednesday 25^th October.  They’ll be teaching both tactical and technical aspects of the game, all in a safe and fun environment.  Places are limited and will be given on a first come, first served basis.
For details of times, prices and to secure your place just click on… https://clubspark.lta.org.uk/Fortyfifteentenniscoaching/Coaching/Camps

*** Members please note that on the mornings of the Tennis Camps, two courts will be free from 9 till 11 and one court will be free from 11.15-1.15.  From 1.15 onwards all courts will be free for play as usual.

DATE FOR THE DIARY:
THIS YEAR’S TENNIS AGM is coming up on Thursday 2^nd November, 7.30 in the clubhouse.  Even if you don’t usually come to meetings and the letters “AGM” fall on your ear with a thud, do come and join us this time!  There’s a lot of news and interesting things in the pipeline at the moment, so the more members that join in, the better it’ll be.  See you there.

HOME MATCHES THIS MONTH  [each match 2 courts]:
SATURDAY 14^th, 1 pm: Ladies A v Oxford Sports; Ladies D v Abingdon
SUNDAY 15^th 10 am:  Ladies C v Hanney
SATURDAY 21^st, 1 pm:  Ladies B v OHRC; Men’s C v Chinnor
WEDNESDAY 25^th, 1.30 pm:  Ladies Midweek v Oxford Sports
SATURDAY 28^th, 1 pm:  Men’s C v Deddington; Men’s D v Goring

****** IMPORTANT NOTE: CARE OF NETS ******
When we first came out of the Covid lockdowns we deliberately avoided contact with net handles, etc., and got out of the habit of winding nets down after play.  We really do need to get back into the habit.  Leaving nets permanently up and under tension does serious damage, and is starting to do so.  AFTER PLAY, PLEASE ALWAYS WIND THE NETS DOWN.  BUT PLEASE do so by JUST 2 OR 3 TURNS OF THE HANDLE, simply to release the tension – if you wind down a lot and leave the net sagging and slumped on the ground it will get soaking wet and mildewed.  (As a guide, wind down just enough to leave the centre strap still hooked to the ground.) And PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THIS!  Thanks!

Our new single court is now finished and open for play.  Come and enjoy!  If you’ve missed the process and are interested in what’s been involved, here are some pictures:

Stage 1: Cut up and remove the old astroturf:

Stage 2: Dig out the old base and replace with a deep granite foundation, raising the court to the same level as our other three:

Stage 3:  Build a new, raised court surround:

Stage 4: Lay and roll the new tarmac base:

Stage 5: Lay and cut the new astroturf, and apply the sand infill:

Stage 6:  Complete!

FINALS DAY
Amazing weather (at last) and some excellent, close matches made for a great Finals Day last weekend.  CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS of this year’s Club Championships: Mixed Doubles: Alison Courtney & Neil Lovett (bt Tory Houghton & Mike Allen 7-6, 6-4); Men’s Singles: Josh Ponting (bt James Stoddart 6-4, 6-4); Senior Men’s Singles: James Stoddart (bt Neil Lovett 6-4, 6-2); Ladies Doubles: Alison Courtney & Sarah Stoddart (bt Georgie Ponting & Jenny Collins 7-5, 6-2); Men’s Doubles: Josh & Phil Ponting (bt Simon Cottingham & Rhys Lewis 6-3, 4-6, 6-3). 

And THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO’S TAKEN PART in the Championships this summer and made them such enjoyable competitions, played in a great and friendly spirit in matches from May right through to September.                                           

NEW COURT / CLUB SESSIONS
Work is moving on fast with the BUILDING OF OUR NEW SINGLE COURT.  The final stage, laying the new surface, will start later this week, and if the weather’s kind the court should be open and ready for play in the first part of next, hopefully about Tuesday 10^th.  Talking of Tuesdays, our TUESDAY CLUB SESSIONS have now moved to the afternoon, starting every week at 1.30.  So if you’re free and haven’t got a game arranged, come and join in.  So our CLUB SESSIONS are now on TUESDAY AFTERNOONS, 1.30 TILL 3.30, and SUNDAY AFTERNOONS, 1.30 TILL 3.30.  Everyone is very welcome.

HOME MATCHES
The Winter League season starts this coming weekend.
GOOD LUCK to all our teams!

OPENING HOME MATCHES  [each match 2 courts]:
SATURDAY 7^th, 1 pm:  Men’s A v David Lloyd
SUNDAY 8^th, 10 am:  Men’s E v Hanney
WEDNESDAY 11^th, 10 am:  Ladies Midweek v Kingston Bagpuize
SATURDAY 14^th, 1 pm: Ladies A v Oxford Sports; Ladies D v Abingdon
SUNDAY 15^th 10 am:  Ladies C v Hanney