MAY 2017

It may be early in the season, yet our competitions calendar is well underway. On Easter Sunday we held our inaugural ‘Little n Large’ Mini-Red Doubles competition for younger juniors and one of their parents. We had 5 pairings playing a round robin format, then a semi-final and final. Harry and Brian Mason were unbeaten in their matches leading up to the final, whilst Archie and Ewen Campbell were playing more confidently as the afternoon went on, so it was no surprise to see a keenly contested and close final. The final looked to be going Archie’s way, then Harry started to pull things back, with both boys playing extremely well, especially when rallying with the ‘Large’ element of the opposition. In the end Archie and Ewen ran out victors 15-13, winning the Little n Large trophies, presented in memory of Gillian’s mum, Mrs Aileen Cunningham. A big well done also to the other junior competitors, Sarah, Ava and Oliver who all contributed to a very enjoyable Easter Sunday afternoon.
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On Saturday 22nd April the ‘older’ Seniors had their chance to show a competitive streak in the Veterans Singles competition. A couple of late call-offs necessitated Dr Murray giving me the all-clear to participate, so 5 of us set out on a gruelling full-set round robin format, which certainly tested our endurance. Thankfully we were sustained by Gillian’s home baking, and despite trying to handicap Ewen Campbell by feeding him lots of scones, he progressed quite easily into the final. Henry Murray and I shared the spoils on equal points and had to play a tie-break, with Henry marginally winning through with some well-placed lobs. The full-set final between Ewen and Henry was gladiatorial in its long rallies, with Henry taking an early lead and Ewen fighting back but never quite getting ahead. Ewen held on to force a tie-break and after nearly an hour he won through 7-6 (7-5) to retain the Vets Singles trophy for another year. I should also mention Linda Bonnar and Louise Penman who pushed the men very hard during their matches.
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And on Saturday passed we held our first social event of the season, a Games Night at the Golf Club, which saw 26 members and friends enjoy a variety of games and quizzes, kindly organised by Katie Hearns. I have no idea how the scoring worked, but at the end of the night the winning team consisted of Gemma and Bradley Thompson, Brian Mason and Stuart Crickmar, so congratulations to them. The raffle raised £75 for club funds, which is an excellent result. Many thanks to Kinghorn Golf Club for allowing us to use their clubhouse for the event.
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The draw for the Open Singles competition has been made and is posted on the noticeboard in the clubhouse. Please remember to arrange matches outwith club session times and try and get matches played in line with the published timelines. Any queries regarding this competition, please speak to Henry Murray.
The next big date for the diary is Saturday 24th June, when we will be holding our Great British Tennis Weekend open day (12 – 2pm), followed by our 90th Birthday celebrations from 2.00 – 5.30pm. More on that in due course and fingers crossed for some good weather on the day.
And finally, it’s good to see the adult coaching start up again on a Sunday afternoon. It’s proven to be very popular and if possible we’ll look to continue with another block after the summer holidays. If you are interested please look out for information on the noticeboard in the clubhouse, as places may be at a premium.
See you on court,
John Brennan - Club President
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