President’s Report
2015/16 /
Newlands Lawn Tennis Club
President’s Report15/16
It has been another busy year at NLTC, with lots of members competing socially and competitively, getting fit in the gym and enjoying our club’s fantastic facilities.
I have to thank at the outset my fellow committee members who all work very hard for the benefit of NLTC and have helped to drive the club forward once again in the past year. In addition the reception & bar staff, tennis,squash & fitness coaches who through their enthusiasm and commitment make NLTC a great sporting and social club of which we should all be proud. I’d also like to thank all the other members who contribute in other ways and particularly those who give up their time captaining tennis and squash teams – the teams and club couldn’t function without them.
There have been a number of changes within the committee during the year and therefore I would like to thanks those who have served the club throughout the year. In particular we have 2 long standing stalwarts of the committee who have decided to stand down this year – Tom Culshaw and Douglas Cumine. I would like to express a huge thank-you for the amount of work that they have done over the years to drive the club forward, both the large scale changes and the day to day running – the amount of work they have put in is remarkable and they have been a driving force and a significant part of creating the successful club that we all enjoy today.
We have made significant improvements to the club in the last year with the refurbishment of the changing rooms, replacement of gym equipment and the upgrading of the outdoor tennis floodlights.
Can I also invite any member who wishes to assist us shape the development of NLTC in the future, to come forward to join us on the Committee or one of our sub committees. Any help or input is really welcomed.
Once again the NLTC demonstrated the great spirit we have in the club. We held another two fund-raising event for Malcolm Watt which were well attended and raised a fantastic amount of money for Malky’s family. His family sent a letter thanking us all for our continued support and asked me to pass on theirsincere thanks as it makes a huge difference to them in what is a very difficult time. We hope to make this an annual event.
During the year we lost one of our former Presidents in Brown McMaster. Brown was a president on 5 occasions and contributed significantly to the development of the club in his spells as president and is sorely missed. Our thoughts remain with Jean and the family.
Now turning to the various areas within the club, I am delighted that each convenor has summarised our achievements and plans in the attached pages.
Calum McKnight
President
1 March 2016
TENNIS
Senior Teams
- Men’s & ladies’ teams highlights:
- 6 gents team and 5 ladies teams entered in the West of Scotland leagues
- Ladies 1st –Won the league and Runners up in the Scottish Cup
- Ladies 2ndfinished 2nd in division 1/1
- Gents 1st –finished 3rd in the Premier league and runners up in the Scottish Cup
- Gents3rd finished 2nd in division 3A and 6th Team won Division 8B
Vets Leagues
- Men and 1st won Div 1 Vets League and Ladies 1st won Div 2B
West of Scotland Awards
Adult League Player of the year – Male – Stewart Simcox
Senior League Player of the Year – Male – Ian Macaulay
Junior Teams
It was another highly successful year for our junior teams – particularly our many boys’ teams who all performed very well in their leagues with many successes.
We would again like to thank all of the members who get involved with running one (or more) of our club teams – both junior and senior. This is hugely appreciated and the teams would not be able to function without this support.
Competitions
We have many players that compete regularly in local and national competitions and events, with too many successes to mention all of them. To keep up to date with our club and player successes throughout the year please keep an eye out on the club website and social media.
The club continues to play host to many events throughout the year. In 2015 this included the Scottish National Championships, Scottish Schools finals, LTA Aegon County Cup and County Tour events and the West of Scotland Junior Championships to mention only a few. We host many local competitions and have a good programme of internal events for our players.
Players representing Newlands at international and county level:
- Ladies County - Heather Lockhart, Caitlin Steel, Jennifer Steel, Elizabeth Stevenson, Paige Denholm
- Gents County – Scott MacAulay, David Culshaw
- Vets – Marjory Love, Christine Lockhart, Jan Oliphant, Gary Smith, Calum McKnight, Ronnie Terras, Allan Ralston, Lesley Whitehead, Carol Kerr, Gordon Kerr.
- 9U – Brodi Cuthill, Leo Watt
- 10U – Robbie Baird, Adam McArthur, Heather Barlow, Jenna Conroy, Annie MacIntosh
- 12U- Lachie MacIntosh, Ben Wilson
- 14U – Charlie Miller, Catriona MacIntosh
- 18U – George Baird, Douglas MacIntosh
Tennis Coaching
We welcomed a new Head Tennis coach during 2015, Callum Neil. I’d like to thank Callum, Jenifer, Caitlin and the rest of the coaching team for continuing to run a successful tennis programme throughout the year. Thanks also to Elizabeth Stevenson for the work she does organising team fixtures, tournaments and as our main club contact with the LTA.
Our Adult programme has been increased to offer more and greater variety and we encourage all members to come along and support these sessions.
We continue to work with the local schools and deliver an on-going coaching programme to P3 and P4 age groups.
The club continues to play host to many events throughout the year. The LTA and Tennis Scotland now hold some of the most prestigious events at Newlands including Scottish National Championships, Aegon County Cups to mention only a few. We host many local competitions and have agood programme of internal events for our players.
As the club grows, the information to communicate to members is ever increasing and it can be hard to keep track of all our achievements and activities. Please keep track on social media and through our regular communications.
2015 Tennis Club Champions
Gents Singles Calum McKnight
Ladies Singles Sophie James
Gents Doubles Scott MacAuley & Ian MacAulay
Gents O45 Doubles Gerry Kelly & Alan Dickson
Ladies O45 Doubles Carol Kerr & Ann Miller
Open Mixed Doubles Eleanor Keddie & Paul Johnson
18u Girls Singles Sophie James
18u Girls DoublesNot Played
16u Girls Singles Eve Chalmers
14u Girls Singles Sophie James
12u Girls Singles Heather Barlow
10u Girls SinglesNot Played
18u Boys Singles Lachie Macintosh
18u Boys Doubles Yasir Ghafoor & Alan Mcnamee
16u Boys Singles Nafees Razzaq
14u Boys Singles Lachie Mcintosh
12u Boys Singles Ross Young
10u Boys Singles Robbie Baird
9u Mixed Singles Carla Ward
8u Mixed SinglesJames Coyle
SQUASH
Squash continues to develop at Newlands through a combination of elite squash at National League
level, team competition in the West Leagues, social squash via the mini leagues and a junior
programme supported by the coaches Peter O'Hara (Senior), Peter O'Hara (Junior), Stuart George
and Mark Ford.
RESULTS 2014/15 SEASON
MEN - Scottish National League Champions
- Newlands 1-2nd Division 1
- Newlands 2 - 5th Division 1
- Newlands 3 - 2nd Division 2
- Newlands 4 - 11th Division 2
- Newlands 5 - 4th Division 3
- Newlands 6 - 8th Division 3
- Newlands 7 – 4th Division 4
- Newlands 8 - 6th Division 6
WOMEN - Scottish National League Champions
- Newlands 1- 5th Division 1
- Newlands 2- 2nd Division 1
Both Men's and Women's teams, as Scottish Champions, competed again in the European Club
Championships held in Krakow, Poland in September 2015. Both teams ending up as per their
seeding. This was a very strong competition with a number of the teams having players ranked in
the world top 20. Our nearest upset was Victoria Bell just missing out on 3 match points against
Fernandes the world number 23 - what is it about Scottishteams!
Congratulations to Greg Lobban, who continues to rise up the world squash rankings and this year
rose from no.53 to his current world ranking of no.37. Congratulations also to Orla Young who won
the Scottish Junior Nationals under 15 title (at the age of 13), the Central Junior Open and the Danish
Junior Open earlier in the year. Congratulations to Fraser McCann for winning the Central Junior
Open. Both Orla and Fraser represented Scotland at their respective age levels. Peter O'Hara senior
and junior both deserve great credit for bringing on both these youngsters so well this year.
Also Congratulations to Peter O'Hara (junior) who won the East open, South of Scotland Open over
35 and over 40, on the same weekend l! He won the Central Masters over 35 and over 40, also...on
the same weekend !! He most recently got to the semi-finals in the over 40 category at the British
Open.
Newlands hosted its first Open Squash Tournament in March 2015 and it will be even bigger this
year when it takes place on 19th and 20th March 2016. The prize money for this event is nearly £2,000and is attracting an excellent entry. Thanks to Brendan Forrester and Andrew Morris for their hardwork in organising and selling this event. Brendan never stops!
Many thanks to Amanda Nicoll for her effort as squash convenor and keeping all her team captains
in line - a tough task.
With regard to the current season we have entered a second Men's National League Team (Brendan
again!) and we want to encourage more juniors to play squash. We would like to draw parents
attention on how to help us with this.
Juniors can start as follows:
We currently offer squash coaching sessions for our junior players on a Saturday afternoon 12pm-
1pm, 1pm-2pm and 2pm-3pm. This coaching is free for our junior members. The sessions run from
age 5+.
We offer a range of sessions from complete beginners to kids who can play competitively.
The best way to get involved is to speak to Mark Ford (07971-584234). Mark can give you guidance
on what would suit you and your kids. Alternatively you can contact reception for more information.
We intend to start additional weekly sessions for those showing promise which will also be free.
This will be agreed shortly.
2015 Squash Club Champions
- U10 Mini - Lewis McCormick
- U11 Boys - James Hazlett
- U13 Boys - Craig Thompson
- U15 Boys - Fraser Mc Cann
- U17 Boys - Fraser Mc Cann
- U13 Girls - Orla Young
- U19 Girls - Orla Young
- Tinhitters - Richard Parkins
- Over 65's - Nairn Balfour
- Over 60's–John Rae
- Over 50's–John Rae
- Gent's–Peter O’Hara
- Ladies–Linda Duncan
2015 Racketball Champion
- Gent's - Ross Andrew
MEMBERSHIP
Our membership numbers remain very strong and we thank you all for your continued support. At the last count we have a total membership of 1,075.We have proposed some changes in our subscription rates for 16/17. Also all Entry fees will be kept flat with last year and waived for any new member joining before 30th June 2016. Please refer to the attached Proposed Subscription List for 16/17.
Our Mini membership remains fantastic value providing all minis with the option of 2 hours of coaching a week – one of tennis and one of squash per week (excluding holiday periods). Mini’s also have the use of our two outdoor mini tennis courts, when available and any other coaching sessions after school or during holidays, can be accessed at the reduced rate applicable to members.
GYM
The gym continues to be a well-used area of the club. This year we have replaced the two upright bikes and will continue to upgrade the current equipment in the coming year.
We now have 23 fitness classes available per week with something to suit all levels of fitness and abilities. May I take this opportunity to remind you the following classes are FREE to all members;
- Monday Tabata 1930-2000
- TuesdayMetabolic Conditioning1930-2000
- SaturdayMetabolic Conditioning0900-0930
The full list of the classes is available from reception. On the first Wednesday of each month we also have a gym induction which is free to all gym members.
Due to the success of our event last autumn ‘Run-4-Malky’ we decided to organise a family 3km run on the first Saturday of the month. This is a free event, brilliant for all the family and everyone is welcome back to the club after the run for coffee and cake. The next run is will be in April (date tbc) so please look out for it.
This winter we have introduced a series of workshops with a different topic each month. Our first workshop in February was a nutrition seminar and I think everyone who attended found it interesting and learned a lot. Keep eye on your emails and in the club for details of the next workshop; ‘box-fit and basic self-defence.’
Should you have any comments or ideas regarding the fitness programme, please don’t hesitate to contact reception or speak to one of the fitness team.
BAR & SOCIAL
Our thanks to Dave CrorieKath Andrew for all their great work in respect of running the bar and organising events at the Club. We have had a disappointingly quiet year which is reflected in a drop in turnover of nearly £7.5K.
The change in drink driving limit has definitely been a factor but in general it looks to me as though less people are using the bar than before. However I am assured that this is a general trend in other local clubs.
We are still running monthly quiz nights which are generally enjoyed by those participating and help bar figures but if any members can suggest any other ideas for functions then please let us know.
We are developing a wider Social sub-committee at the club across all areas and ages of the club membership in an effort to get ideas about how we could achieve better utilisation of the bar area and improved social interaction at the club. If you are interested in participating please let me know.
So watch this space for lots of new ideas in 2016!
However please also remember that the club is an excellent place for members to hold private parties. We have held christenings, birthdays, anniversaries and various others and all have been enjoyable and successful.So the next time you are planning a family function please consider the club as a venue.
Our continued thanks to Ken Wyper for running the 100 Club.
GROUNDS & HOUSE
The grounds and the Clubhouse are a credit to our Grounds Convenor and House Convenors. These roles have been filled throughout the year by Tom Culshaw, Jim Kerr, Gordon Kerr and Alan Turnbull, and we are much indebted to them all for the work they put in.
Thanks also to those who attended the annual Tidy Up Day; such collective effort makes such a difference as we prepare the club for summer each year. The suggested date for this year’s Tidy UpDayis Sunday 17th April. Please make every effort to attend, even if only for part of the day.
Following last year’s tidy up day, Jim Kerr embarked on a few jobs that he felt needed tackled. First off was painting the fence with our neighbours in Monreith Road, then came the railing at the club entrance. Having cut away vegetation and wire brushed off a lot of rust, Jim got a coat of fresh paint on. Then, the council came out in response to a complaint from a neighbour & cut down trees & foliage exposing areas that he could not get at to paint! Cue round 2. He also put a lot of effort in to repairing the walls at courts 1 & 2
The trees on Friarton Road have been trimmed back & broken branches & rubbish have been cleared leaving the whole area looking tidier. The next concern will be the replacement & leveling of some of the path slabbing.
On the courts, the decision was taken to upgrade all the floodlights and once again Tom was responsible for bringing this to a successful conclusion everyone seems to agree.
It is noted that some of the nets & fittings have suffered over a long and hard winter & these are being checked out with a view to having replacements in place for the start of the season
Club House
As mentioned, the changing rooms underwent a refurbishment earlier in the year which is a significant improvement on what we had previously. A huge thank you to Tom Culshaw for driving this forward and for ensuring that the end result was so good.
There was also an upgrading of a lot of the light fittings in the bar & lounge area which should save having to replace bulbs quite so regularly
Squash Courts
We continue to upgrade the lighting on the squash courts as the older fittings fail however the need for a repair to the front wall of court 4 also gave us the chance to get an on-site assessment of the condition of all the courts. A quotation has been received with work ranging from cleaning walls, sanding and relining floors to re-plastering front walls. This will be assessed with a view to the work being carried out over the summer.
Like the Forth Rail Bridge, there are always things needing doing, however if there are any issues that you notice, please let Reception know.
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