Clearview Tennis Club

Club History

Clearview Tennis Club was formed in 1961 with two tennis courts by the Clearview Progress Association with support of the Enfield City Council.  The Tennis Club hired the courts from the Progress Association and paid them for court maintenance and tennis affiliations.

The clubhouse consisted of only a small room.  Football was played on the St Albans Reserve oval and the change rooms for the footballers were in the eastern end of the building.  The Tennis Club had to apply for the use of the clubroom for club meetings.

In the first year 1961-1962, there were two Senior teams and four Junior teams playing in the Northern Districts (Suburban) Tennis Association.  The second year 1962-1963 doubled that number with four Senior teams and seven Junior teams.

Ladies Social Tennis Day commenced in 1961 and was held each week on Thursday mornings and has continued every year since.  Initially the Clearview Tennis Ladies Social Club was a separate group that assisted the Tennis Club both socially and financially, but joined with the Tennis Club in 1968.

After the first summer season, the two northern courts were being prepared and the side and back fences erected.  The two original tennis courts were used by the Clearview Basketball Club (now called netball) during winter, so other courts had to be hired for some teams playing winter tennis.  By the beginning of the 1965-1966 season, the Shadehouse linking the southern and northern courts was established.

After five years of competition tennis, the 1966-1967 season for the Tennis Club was most successful.  There were four Senior teams and six Junior teams competing in the finals thus giving them 100% participation in the finals.  The top Senior team managed to go through the season undefeated and take out a pennant.  Following this premiership, Clearview Tennis Club moved into an “A Grade” competition in 1967-1968 and fielded its first “A” Grade Team the following year.

The enthusiastic desire of Clearview Tennis Club members to play tennis was evident with one member who, while being stationed in Victoria doing National Service in 1968, travelled back to Adelaide on alternate weekends to play for the club.

In March 1969, Enfield City Council took over full administration of St Albans Reserve from the Clearview Progress Association.  The change of control became necessary because the area could not be maintained satisfactorily on the basis of voluntary effort.

In 1974-1975 the Council added a new room to the clubhouse facing the tennis courts giving much needed additional space.

Junior tennis was always well organised.  Clearview was one club where parents knew that their child could be picked up on time, and Clearview was congratulated on this at a Junior Northern Districts (Suburban) Tennis Association meeting.  Over the years there were favourable remarks from parents regarding the organising and the running of the juniors.  Junior tennis at Clearview Tennis Club continues to be well organised and well supported.

In 1975 the Clearview Tennis Club proposed that segregated team tennis be played for Divisions 1 and 2.  This began in the 1975-1976 season and was adopted for all divisions in 1977-1978.

The Council shifted the backstops and repositioned the southern courts in 1975.  Prior to this the northern courts were considered the best courts as they had more room at the back of each court and did not have additional lines on the courts.  These days, the courts closest to the clubhouse are the first preference.

Mixed Social Tennis has been played on various days and nights over the years, and after men were included in the Thursday Morning Social Tennis in 1999-2000, Mixed Social Tennis has continued on Thursday mornings each year ever since.

In January 2006 the Clubhouse was demolished and replaced with a new building (officially opened in March 2007) shared by Clearview Tennis Club, Enfield Harriers Amateur Athletic Club and Enfield Little Athletics Centre.  A separate kitchen area is for the Tennis Club’s use only with shared use of the main area, meeting room and facilities.  The balcony along the front of the Clubhouse provides a panoramic view over the tennis courts.