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Scottish
Tennis
Annual Awards
Club of the Year - 2000
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West End Lawn Tennis Club
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Prepared By:
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The
Committee & Members
West
End LTC
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This documentation and information herein is the property of West
End LTC and all unauthorised use and reproduction is prohibited.
Copyright ã 2001 by West End LTC, Dundee, Scotland. All rights reserved.
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Table
of Contents
1. Summary.............................................................................................................................. 3
1.1 Year 2000................................................................................................................. 3
1.2 Highlights............................................................................................................. 3
2. Introduction................................................................................................................... 4
3.
Club History.................................................................................................................... 5
4.
Events 1990 to 2000....................................................................................................... 6
5.
Club Strategy................................................................................................................. 7
5.1 Aims of the Club............................................................................................... 7
5.2 LTA Club Vision.................................................................................................. 7
5.3 Medium & Long Term Strategy................................................................ 7
6.
Year 2000 Activities..................................................................................................... 8
6.1 Overview................................................................................................................ 8
6.2 Development of Courts and Clubhouse Facilities..................... 8
6.3 Financial Development & Fund Raising........................................... 10
6.4 Coaching Development.............................................................................. 10
6.5 Tournament & Competition Programme........................................ 11
6.6 Make Facilities Available....................................................................... 12
6.7 Activities in the Interests of Tennis................................................. 12
7. Open Day Celebrations.......................................................................................... 13
7.1 Open Day Celebration Report................................................................ 13
7.2 Open Day Celebration Programme Materials............................ 16
7.2.1 President's Welcome.................................................................................... 16
7.2.2 Programme.................................................................................................... 16
7.2.3 "Friends of West End"................................................................................. 16
7.2.4 "West End" Poem......................................................................................... 17
7.2.5 "Open Day Celebration"............................................................................ 18
At the start of the
1990's new courts were installed at the Club and this caused renewed interest
in tennis. The membership grew and the
Club was supporting a number of players of note, as well as league teams and
was able to host local tournaments for the Dundee and surrounding areas. At that time the Club had intended to produce
a five-year plan but this was never completed as was the case with the proposal
to install floodlights. This poor follow
on to the provision of the new courts may be attributed to the volunteer nature
of the committees and the growing time pressures on the personnel
involved. The overall venture would have
benefited from professional coaching and development staff being attached to
the Club.
The growth of the Club
was then followed by a period, in the mid to late 1990s, when it was almost at
the point of closing its doors. This had
been brought about by a number of factors, including the loss of the tennis
coach, changes in the Club’s Committee affected by modern-day time pressures,
and more significantly vandalism to the clubhouse. At that time it was recognised by a small
number within the Club that if the situation was to change then serious action
was required. The Clubhouse was secured
and with cooperation from other agencies the youth in the area were involved
with the Club, using the tennis facility rather than abusing it.
The first step on the
way to recovery was the appointment of a part time Coach to the Club. This person, a qualified tennis Coach, has
formed a focus for many of the tennis developments within the Club. The current arrangement with the Coach has
been developed such that she benefits, the pupils benefit and the Club benefits
as well, everyone wins. Another move
made at that time was the reduction of the fees for membership. This was done in the light of the facilities
on offer, most significant of which was the lack of a clubhouse. Both of these actions were taken by the
Committee at that time to consolidate the Club’s situation.
Over the recent years
the Committee has tried to meet regularly, to monitor the Clubs’ activities and
to make plans for the future. Meetings
took place with Dundee District Council and the Scottish Lawn Tennis
Association. These were to explore ways
in which WELTC could develop. Both bodies
felt that the WELTC could have a good future with written statements such as “…I
consider your Club has great potential to develop … " and "… you have
the basic physical infrastructure. What
you need is Club and especially Committee support to back your future plans.
…" With these
encouragements we took up the challenge to make a difference.
With the beginning of
1998 the view of the Committee was to put on hold any grand plans for the Club
until the end of the season. This was
done in the light of recent fluctuations in the membership and the problems of
Club security and vandalism. Various
steps were taken to develop the membership and with the help of the Coach the
membership has now almost trebled. The
Club is now secure and there has been no recent evidence of vandalism. With these changes the Committee now feels
that there is a demand for tennis and related sporting/social activities in the
area and that the loss of the facility would be a loss to Dundee’s West End in
general. Therefore the Committee is now
hoping to develop this plan for the future of the Club.
The West End Lawn
Tennis Club is in the process of developing a medium term strategy for the
Club. The requirement for this strategic
planning was identified during 1999 and allowed the Committee to prioritise the
development of the various aspects of the Club.
Our current strategy
has been one of identifying the most immediate needs and prioritising
those. This has been reflected in the
issues we have tackled in the last year.
These included making the facility secure, improving the courts and
making the Clubhouse serviceable. With
the infrastructure in place we have also concentrated on improving the tennis
coaching and performance of the players and the teams at West End.
In tackling these
various issues we have worked with any agency willing to help or offer
opportunity to communicate our message of what West End has to offer.
The fact that it was our Centenary last year gave a focus for the
various initiatives and allowed a great deal of energy to be channeled into the
Club. The success gaining support
through Awards for All, Community Chest and LTA Millennium initiatives helped
greatly in this regard.
- To provide tennis and related sports
facilities in the west end of Dundee
for the development of tennis activities for all ages and abilities and to
improve standards of play.
- To offer a range of enjoyable sporting and social activities for the local community, with an emphasis
on family participation.
At West
End we have participated in the various
communications with regard to the LTA's Club Vision initiatives and have been
very encouraged by this activity. We
heard the presentations and watched the video with great interest and saw,
reflected in these communications, thoughts and aspirations very similar to our
own. We have met with our county
development officer and again we have found this very encouraging. In completing the recent survey we, as would be
expected, did not achieve top rating but were very pleased to see that we
seemed to be doing the right things and achieved a very high rating as a grade
one Club. We are seen as "An example of how Clubs should make use
of their members and its committee efforts and enthusiasm to get things
done." We have prepared this document to support the club in the long term
and to act as guidelines to other clubs.
We will use this submission as a living document to be updated each year
in an effort to focus our efforts and to form a core focus for our development
plans for the future.
Over the next three to
five years we will work with the various tennis associations and the local
authority to improve the facilities with replacement court surface, new sports
fencing and an upgraded clubhouse. All
of which will be backed by improved coaching staff, coaching, playing and
competitive performance at the Club.
west end lawn tennis club
Over this season we have been able to hold
a number of events and to make changes to the Club. We held a Play Tennis 2000 Day and Social
Evening on 6th May, Open Day Celebrations on 10th June,
two American Tournaments, in July and September and the Club Championship
Finals Day on 27th August.
All of these were great fun and in particular the Open Day will be long
remembered by those who came along and joined in.
It may seem that the West End has still a long way
to go to get into the state that we would wish for but we have made significant
improvements this year and everyone who has been involved with these changes is
justifiably proud of their efforts.
Over the year we have developed the
facility as our funding and other resources have allowed.
- New security fencing has been erected at considerable
cost. This has been paid for in
full and now gives us confidence that we can make changes at the Club and
they will not be damaged by vandalism.
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- The courts were showing signs of wear and before the start of
the season they were repaired at significant cost and a new maintenance
programme has been put in place.
The maintenance is based on the David Rhodes book on the care and
maintenance of synthetic grass surfaces and we hope to extend the life of
the courts to 2003 at least.
- During this year through the "Awards for All" scheme
we were able to purchase eight short tennis nets and associated rackets
and balls, etc. We also purchased a
table tennis table to provide activities mainly for the juniors during bad
weather.
- We have improved the Clubhouse to the point where we were able
to hold a cheese and wine reception with dancing to follow. We replaced a damp wall in the building,
which was put up in the 1920s and removed another wall to allow the table
tennis table to be used. In
addition the complete exterior of the clubhouse was refurbished and
painted, again by the members, in preparation for the Open Day
Celebrations. These improvements
have included changes to give electric lighting to all areas, the addition
of gas heating and cooking facilities in the kitchen.
- We have changed the gardens to the east of the Clubhouse from
what was very unsightly scrub land to an area the "Hit Squad"
would be proud of, incorporating sun patio and flower border with a
commemorative plaque to mark the Club's Centenary.
- The driveway is much improved with the new security fencing,
gates and changes to the gardens to include a rockery with a flowering
border.
Without prudent financial control the Club
could not have developed as it did. With
volunteer efforts from the membership and limited monetary resources we have
been able to do more than our income, which is less than £8000 for 2000,
including awards and donation, should have allowed. We still have £2000 in the bank from the year
just ended and this was achieved with less than 150 members and an adult fee of
£50.
- We have turned around the financial situation of the Club from
one of annual deficit to one of having a year-end surplus.
- We have paid off the loan to the LTA for the court
surface. This was a significant
achievement given the recent difficulties at the Club and one of which we
are justly proud. Finding the £2500
each year to pay off the loan was not easy when the subscription and other
income was much reduced, at one point down to £2800, and there were other
demands on the income for court maintenance and facility repairs.
- "Awards for All" grant of £1435 to deliver a short
tennis programme at the Club.
- "Community Chest" grant of £500 to create a Millennium Garden
and hold a millennium celebration and open day.
- We have sought and received donations and sponsorship of some
£500 from organisations and individuals.
- We have created a new category of membership, "Friends of
West End" to encourage those who have left the area or even the sport
of tennis to keep in touch and help the Club where possible.
- The Club has held a number of fund raising activities through
the year.
- A large raffle was organised during the summer months
- Our Coach organised games and quizzes for adults and children
alike to raise money.
- We have organised a "Bonus Ball" scheme for members
and their friends.
- We organised a Summer Super-Sale bring and buy event.
- We held a Cheese & Wine Party
- At each of the American Tournaments and the Club Championships
we also had a BBQ.
The Coaching provision at the Club has been
extended greatly in 2000 and is now poised to make greater strides with
provision to local primary and secondary schools through links with the local
authority.
- Coaching is available throughout the year
each Saturday morning for junior beginners and improvers. The Yoplait badge scheme was in
operation.
- Adult coaching was available for
beginners.
- A short tennis programme was delivered.
- Some of the juniors are now participating in area performance
squads.
- A second coach was employed
for adult and junior improvers.
- Coach education initiatives
were put in place for Club members interested in taking up the challenge.
- During the season 2000 the gents and
ladies teams competed and next year we expect to field two gents teams
rather than one. The Henderson Vase
team was promoted and there will be a West End team in the Scottish Cup next year but
the real success was with the juniors.
In 2000 there were two junior teams for the first time in a while
and both achieved promotion to the Super League and Division One
respectively
- The Club Championships saw new events and the addition of four
new cups, two quaiches and a rose bowl.
This was mainly due to
the kind donations, notably from Mrs Lilian Manson, Robert & Joan
Clark, Joyce Englefield (Barclay), the Club's Committee and The Afternoon
Ladies. The
events included singles for gents, ladies, boys and girls under 12, 16 and
18, doubles for gents, ladies, mixed and masters. We also ran American Tournaments during
the season.
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- Nestle Ladders were organised for juniors in age groups under 12 and over 12 and this competition
yielded improvement in the team performance.
- With the success of the summer ladders for the juniors and to
improve the standard of play Saturday Singles Ladders are now being run
over the winter for gents, ladies and juniors.
- We are now seeing juniors participating in individual area
competitions.
We have made use of a number of national
and local initiatives to encourage the use of the facilities at West End and to bring others
into the game of tennis.
- All of our coaching programmes are available to members and
non-members.
- Some special needs children take part in the junior coaching
and this is very much appreciated by the children and parents alike.
- The access to coaching is also linked with the local Duke of
Edinburgh scheme.
- The Club took part, as always in the Play Tennis promotion for
2000.
- By taking part in the BBC's "Get Your Kit On"
programme we saw a number of new juniors and some took up membership.
- Open Day Celebrations (See section 7)
- Through running the short tennis course we are now being asked
by the local authority to run similar activities each year. The local primary schools and the
University are to have short tennis programmes linked to the Club and
supported by the development of new coaches from West End.
- The local secondary academy has also approached the Club with a
view to having the facility and coaching available for tennis provision to
interested pupils.
Mainly through links with the various
tennis associations and the local authority we have promoted wherever possible
West End LTC and tennis generally.
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Our own Committee, all
volunteers, meets regularly and supports the efforts of the Midlands District
in tennis organisation and development.
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We have
worked with various agencies to promote the sport and make the public aware of
what is on offer. We have taken part in
the Roadshows to sports centres and schools in an outreach effort for our Club
and tennis generally.
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We have produced West End flyers and brochures
for various events and tried where possible to have press coverage for all our
efforts and activities.
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We are
very supportive of the Tayside Tennis Development Group and are also working
with the local authority to have the Dundee Tennis Development Group restarted.
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We have made contributions to
the development of the Dundee Sports and Physical Recreation Strategy review.
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We have applied to have our
site and courts included in the local conservation area boundary. This has been done to help ensure the site
remains a tennis facility for years to come.
millennium & club
centenary
The sun shone, over 250 people turned up
and the day was simply wonderful. A
great deal of work had been put in by the members, getting the clubhouse,
grounds and courts in order for the "Big Day".
The guest sports celebrity was Doddie
Weir, the Scottish and British Lions rugby internationalist. He arrived an hour early and caught us all
on the hop. Doddie was a great asset to
the day's events. He played short
tennis with the children over the Club's new Zsig nets, had shots with the
older children at the "Fun Factory" zone and completed the foursome
in the super doubles match with Ross Matheson against Ian Woodcraft and Jenny Duncan.
Lady players at the Club also added to the
day's fun as they turned out in tennis fashions of 100 years ago in order to
mark the Club's Centenary and our Club secretary was attired in striped blazer
and panama hat.
Doddie opened the new Millennium Garden, which
up to a month before was just a piece of scrubland. It is now an attractive garden with patio
area, seating, stone planting features and there is also a plaque to
commemorate the Club's Centenary. He
helped Club President Dorothy Proctor cut the birthday cake and drank a toast
to the future of the Club and West End.
Teas were served in the clubhouse to past
and present member as well as the many guests from the neighbourhood who came
along on the day to join in the fun.
Members of bygone years met up with old friends and everyone enjoyed
the home baking. One past champion,
Peter Robertson, and his wife travelled from near London to revisit Dundee and spend a couple of
hours taking part in the celebrations.
They felt it was well worth the effort of a full day's travelling.
Four years ago it would have been hard to
visualise a day like this, the Club was on the point of closing but now things
have turned around and with hard work by the committee, the members and
support from a number of quarters we are hopeful that the Club can act as a
centre for sport, community and general recreation for all around.
In closing the Club would wish to express
its sincere thanks to all who contributed to making this a very special day
for West End and the community.
The following are extracts from the
programme, which was made available during the Open Day Celebrations.
Welcome to our 100th year Celebration
Day. If you are a past member, present
or future participant or just an interested visitor or guest I welcome you to
West End Lawn Tennis Club on this our special occasion. I hope you will enjoy seeing our New Millennium Garden - a
weedy area up to a month ago - and enjoy our programme. It is a big thank-you to the members and
non-members who have worked extremely hard to make this possible and for the
generous donations for the garden project and for all the joinery work,
painting, wood cutting and weeding etc undertaken to improve the Clubhouse and
the grounds.
West End is a family orientated Club with a keen group of afternoon ladies
and many enthusiastic juniors. We have
five teams in the Midland Leagues with Ladies, Gents, two Junior Teams and a
Henderson Vase Mixed Doubles Team. It
is encouraging to note that the juniors are doing very well this year and you
may wish to stay to watch their match early this evening at 6:00pm.
I hope you enjoy your day - meet up with
old friends and make new ones. If you
would like to keep in touch and join us socially throughout the season why not
consider joining or even rejoining. For
the new millennium we are re-launching our non-playing membership category
under the banner of "Friends of West End".
Hope to see you again,
Dorothy, President West End LTC
The programme for the day is as follows:
2:00 Start
2:00
- 3:00 Short
Tennis
2:30
- 3:00 Ladies
Doubles
3:00
- 3:15 Millennium Garden
Opening & Cutting the Cake
3:15 - 3:45 Demonstration Match
3:45 Raffle Draw
6:00 Junior Match
Note: Teas available in the Clubhouse all
afternoon and don't forget to enter the prize draws, you might be lucky and
find yourself taking tea at Wimbledon.
In the past 100 years many people have
happy memories of West End, as a member or connected in some way with the Club. Perhaps you would now like to be
re-connected with the Club on an on-going basis. We would like to keep in touch with you and
would like to invite you to become a "Friend of West End".
For £22 per year you would:
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Receive the newsletters from
the Club
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Receive invitations to the
Clubs' social functions
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Receive invitation to the Club
Championship Final's Day
One hundred years have
come and gone
Long dresses, hats are
now forlorn
Cream, white flannels,
v-necked jumpers
Have been replaced with
tracksuit "thumpers"
Lots of crafty
drop-shots, volleys
Are now just hits of
two stroke rallies
The speedy service -
just like thunder
Would make Fred Perry
stare and wonder
In disbelief at the
speed of the ball
As it whizzed passed
him and hit the wall
The Dunlop Maxply's
wooden frame
Is never seen now in
the game
The big-head rackets
are in fashion
To hit the ball with
top spin action
It makes one wonder
what life was like
No TVs, computers, few
cars or bikes
Just fun in the sun
playing sets one, two or three
With good home baking
for the afternoon teas
Did horses stand near
the entrance gate?
Were they tied up and
had to wait
Till the owners played
a friendly game
Shook hands, then
galloped home again
The year two thousand
is now here
Our party fun and lots
of cheer
The millennium garden
is here to stay
Giving pleasure to all
along Shaftesbury way
So here's a toast to
"Old West End"
Happy Birthday may you
never end
Just keep giving
pleasure to the folk in the west
Until in the cemetery
they find their rest
Dorothy
We are holding this Open Day Celebration
at the Club's courts in the west of Dundee to mark the new Millennium and the Club's 100th birthday. The West End Lawn Tennis Club's Open Day
Celebration marks the Club’s centenary and the fact that it has been located
on the current site since 1903. Over
this time the Club has been a centre for the playing and development of tennis
in Dundee and as you can see the facilities include four all weather tennis
courts which provide a good playing surface for all standards.
There has been, over the years, a number
of tennis milestones recorded at the West End Lawn Tennis Club. One of significant note was past member,
Joyce Englefield (Barclay) who played with Winnie Shaw (Wooldridge) in the
semi-finals at Wimbledon in 1982 and Anita Ellis who also reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon. In past years there have been national
tournaments held at the Club and it has been known for some 1500 spectators to
support such events.
The present situation at the Club is not
on this scale but it does support a good playing squad standard. The club participates in the Midland
District of Scotland LTA leagues with three senior and two junior teams. The Club runs a number of coaching
initiatives throughout the year to improve playing standards and to encourage
children and adults into tennis.
The Open Day Celebration includes the
opening of the Club's Millennium Garden, which will improve the surroundings and contribute a lasting
impression on the local community. The
plan has been to enhance the grounds and gardens with new planting, furniture
and is being supported by Dundee City Council through the Community Chest
Scheme.
The LTA are supporting the day through Ian
Woodcraft and there will be an exhibition tennis match with two of Scotland's
top lady players, Jenny Duncan and Karen Ross.
Doddie Weir of Scottish Rugby fame will also be there and he will join
Ross Matheson in a mixed doubles match umpired by Ian. Pete Grey and the Tennis Factory, which is a
fun activity to encourage people to take up tennis, will also be making use of
one of the courts.
The theme for the day is "Past,
Present and Future" and in addition to the exhibition match we have a
squad of our juniors playing short tennis and some of our seniors playing
doubles with 1900 style costumes and equipment.
It is expected that members of the WELTC,
both present and past, local residents and a number of invited guests will be
taking part in the Open Day Celebration, so enjoy your visit and come again.
