CLUBS OF THE MONTH
Reade Park Lawn Tennis Club has capped off an impressive 12 months as a finalist for Most Outstanding Tennis Club – City/Hills in the recent Tennis SA Awards.
Part of their success can be attributed to the club transforming itself as a traditional lawn tennis club to a true community facility utilised seven days a week with additional growth being realised in junior and social tennis (FAST4).
President Tom Twelftree attributes some of the success to an increased level of engagement and interest from within the local community.
“We enjoy an excellent relationship with our immediate neighbours as we appreciate that we are located in a special residential area given the heritage listing that Colonel Light Gardens has and it’s ‘garden suburb’ attributes” said Tom,
“We offer free social membership to all our immediate neighbours and have had two of them become club sponsors too as a result. We also have many local residents who aren’t club members but come out and use our facilities on a social basis.”
Reade Park Lawn Tennis Club also recently attracted a $490,000 pledge from the Labor Government to improve its facilities. This includes redeveloping its hardcourts, two courts being converted to hardcourt, fencing around its lawn courts, clubhouse improvements and an upgrade to its Hereford Place entrance.
Beyond this, the club is also enjoying record numbers in its juniors this past summer with 14 teams including six orange ball internal teams. Some of its success can be linked to head coach Josh Boots and his Foundation Tennis Development team now coaching over 100 kids spread over the whole week.
The club also continues to support the Tennis SA School Hot Shots Carnival, as it has done for many years, and is also formally engaged with three local primary schools including Colonel Light Gardens, St Therese and St Josephs.
All in all, the sky is certainly the limit for Reade Park Lawn Tennis Club is it continues to post significant achievements both on and off the court. Congratulations once again!
Congratulations Reade Park Lawn Tennis Club!
Located 2 and a half hours out of Adelaide, Jamestown Lawn Tennis Club is home to 18 courts: 6 hard courts and 12 lawn courts. The country town is quite small but with a tight knit community the Jamestown Lawn Tennis Club thrives.
The club delivers community play group coaching lessons over the summer season for up-and-coming junior players. They also recently installed new LED lights on the front row of their lawn courts. These developments have played a vital role in growing participation for not only the club, but also the Northern Areas Tennis Association.
To finish off their summer season, the Jamestown Lawn Tennis Club hosted their 103rd Annual Easter Tennis Tournament. The Easter tournament has been a yearly tradition for many families who travel from all over Adelaide to compete at the stunning complex. This year’s Tournament was no different, with some new faces and an increase in participants compared to their 2021’s tournament. The tournament was a huge success seeing 155 entrants participating in a range of age categories from juniors to seniors, and a whopping 326 matches scheduled over 3 days.
The club hosts some fundraising events throughout the year but also enjoy giving back to their community by supporting other businesses. One was this year’s Major Sponsor – The Royal Flying Doctor Service.
Congratulations Jamestown Lawn Tennis Club!
VOLUNTEERS OF THE MONTH
John Pick has been involved with Renmark Tintra Lawn Tennis Club for over 30 years and has had many important roles over the years. He has taken on the responsibility of Club President and Junior Coordinator for the most part, with him playing a vital role in selecting players for summer association teams. He also spends a significant amount of time coaching and keeping the courts maintained to high levels.
During his time at the club, he has successfully built and maintained strong junior and twilight competition numbers which continue to grow every year. Through his coaching, he has built strong relationships with both primary and secondary schools, running successful sporting school programs. His work with keeping the courts in good shape is also a highlight for him, as the venue standards have attracted more players and Tennis SA sanctioned tournaments.
John’s favourite parts of volunteering are being able not only improve the club but also himself. He gains a level of satisfaction from helping others to achieve and enjoys people coming together to create a strong tennis community. He believes that enjoying and taking on challenging responsibilities, will enable you to get more out of what you do than what you give.
Congratulations John Pick!
Tristan Sudholz started as general committee member with Sturt Lawn Tennis Club in 2018, a short-lived role following his step up to Secretary and then President within 2 years.
His move into the President role came as no surprise, as Tristan believed the club had a massive potential of growth.
“I wanted to keep pushing the club forward and see how it could be more innovative, especially around social media and to build its digital footprint further” Tristan said.
“I wanted to start bringing events back to the club which fell through the cracks and also facilitate more of a greater union between competition and social club members which was missing.”
Tristan played an instrumental part in the Metro Lawn Tennis Association journey from having a traditional men’s singles/doubles competition to forming an open competition format that includes women. Men and women can now play against each other in this open and inclusive format relative to ability.
“I feel very fortunate to have been involved with the tennis club and committee that have been supportive of change and innovation” said Tristan,
“The fact that the committee wants to keep looking to the future and to take on more modern ideas and to be the catalyst for that has been inspiring for me. It also appeals to my nature of action where I like achieving tangible goals.”
Congratulations Tristan!
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