The 2017 AGM was held at the tennis club Wednesday evening with a number of speakers hosted once more by chairman Steve Jones. Jones kicked off proceedings with his chairman’s report in which he explained that the club remains in a strong position despite ongoing riverbank erosion works which the club have funded with the help of various grants. He outlined the plans and expectations for the forthcoming year and thanked the committee and those who have also helped play a role in making the club an ongoing success. Adding in his treasurer report speech he noted the club remains financial sound although mindful of caution and the need to prepare if flooding hits the premises once more. An excellent speech which captivated the audience and was clear and concise and left no stone unturned. Jeremy Reddish was making his first appearance on the top table and ensured the agenda was followed and introduced various members to the floor.

Secretary Jill Abel spoke about the positive season the teams had with four promotions and no relegations showing the quality and strength in depth the club now has. She has clearly enjoyed her first season in the role and has done an excellent job organising .

Angela Crossley spoke about the coaching team and junior set up with both going well and despite a number of new arrivals her team remains solid. The summer camps were popular and the junior coaching strong and with over 70 adults taking out individual lessons the coaching is an important and integral part of the tennis club. Many of the juniors that have come through under Angela’s team are now developing and as well as coaching themselves are playing significant roles in team tennis and maintaining and improving the squad depth.

 Mike Richards and Mark Vines have been developing plans to introduce a computerised membership system whereby all members can renew and pay online via clubspark which is already used for court bookings. This will have a positive outcome when unveiled and allow the club to interact with members far easier than at present. Mike discussed the system and how he hopes we can implement it before the next renewal time in May next year.

Mike Triffitt spoke about the Winter League and how it goes from strength to strength with more teams competing and extra games played which ultimately bring additional revenue to the club whilst Peter Johnson discussed the forthcoming erosion works and how it will affect members without disrupting play on courts.

Bob Kirby presented Doug Crawford with a gift to thank him for his tireless work behind the scenes dealing with membership and hopefully he will reap the rewards of automation.

Trish Bell and Bob Kirby stepped down from their roles whilst Ginny Hinds, Declan Grogan and Roger Fawcus are new recruits who will be welcome assets to the committee.

The evening concluded with wine, cheese and biscuits.