Hilton Tennis Club

NEWSLETTER AUGUST 2008

Greetings

This is the first newsletter from your new committee elected at the AGM held during May.  Chris Phillips continues as Chairman, Jim Reekie is looking  after our finances and Carl Groeneweld, Chris Burczak, Sandy Butler, Janet Thomson and yours truly share the other portfolios, which include administration, organising matches and tournaments, buying tennis ball, replenishing the pub, writing the newsletter and generally keeping everyone happy.  Fortunately, the skills of some of the outgoing committee members have not been lost – Veryll Mackrory and Gail Slaughter will continue to be responsible for supper evenings, while Darrell Slaughter assists with general maintenance.  And none of us get paid for all this... On the subject of money, thanks to all members who have already paid their subs, and a friendly reminder to those who will still be doing so.  We are launching onto the information highway, and this newsletter will be e-mailed to members and posted on the Club’s website.  Only a few hard copies will be made available at the Club.  Get connected!

A warm welcome to the following new full members:  Jeff and Janine Player, Jurek Pietrsak, Meryl Guilfoyle and Trish Doyle.  New associate members are Lynette Butt and Barbara Anne Paulo.  On the debit side, Derek Hornsey left us after many years as an active member.  Notices of resignation were also received from Jill Black, B A Truscott, Fran Walters, Lorraine Godleman and Nicholas and Laura Woodberg.

Championships and Tournaments

The Junior Tournament was again held during the first week of the school holidays.  A reduction in entries meant that we didn’t need the courts at St. Anne’s, which made general organisation and catering a lot easier.  A big thank you to Lloyd Rowlands for arranging everything, to Sue Burczak for catering, and to all those loyal members who once again provided assistance where required.  Without you, we would really not be able to stage the Junior Tournament which yielded a profit of about R22’000.00 this year.

The Club Championships stretched over three weekends due to some unseasonal rain on the scheduled final day, and the finals were played on 13 July.

The general consensus is that the Championships produced some of the best competitive tennis seen at the Club in years, both in the main and plate events.  This was probably best illustrated by Leo’s ability to generally resist playing his signature shot; the drive volley from behind the service line.  This has obviously pleased his partners, who are now trying to convince him that it’s not a good game plan to taunt and provoke the apposing server...

There was a much more even spread of winners than in past Championships, as can be seen from the results.

Championship Events

Due to illness, Michelle Teague had to withdraw from the Ladies Singles finals against Janet Thomson, and there is no winner in that event for this year.

Plate Events

It’s been decided to resurrect the Founder’s Tournament, and it will be held on 16 August.  It’s a fun afternoon, so please enter if you haven’t already done so.

Himeville Tournament

Some of our members participated in this popular annual event and did remarkably well, with Darrell Slaughter and Chris Burczak winning the Men’s Doubles, and Darrell and Janet Thomson coming out on top in the Mixed Doubles. 

Updates on the Club Calendar

• The end of July Supper Club has been moved to 16 August to coincide with the Founder’s Tournament, and there will be no Supper Club at the end of August.

• 20 September: Supper Club

• The Senior Tournament will now be held on 25 and 26 October.

Maintenance and Improvements

The Committee has identified the repositioning and resurfacing of court 4 as the top priority for this year.  Other priorities are kitchen renovations and structural repair to the verandah.  Many thanks to Rupert Gebers for the new bar stools.  We are investigating ways to either remove or hide the casino emblem on the backrests and no, we will not be putting slot machines in the pub.  Talking about the pub, the ice machine is for sale so if you are interested, please speak to Chris Phillips or Jim Reekie.

Parting Shot

Some rules governing our daily lives:

• Law of Gravity

Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.

• Law of Probability

The probability of being watched is directly proportional to the stupidity of your act.

• Law of Alibi

If you tell your boss you were late for work because you had a flat tyre, the very next morning you will have a flat tyre.

And the one I really like:

• Law of Logical Argument

Anything is possible if you don’t know what you are talking about.

That’s it for now. Cheers.

Jan