2019 Presidents Report

2019 has been a year of calm and consolidation for the Club, in which our new Committee has focused on the core services required by our members. This has meant that we better at focusing the limited time of the Club leadership team on what's important to our members and what has been delivered has been delivered well.

The 2018 Senior Championships brought a WOW factor to the club, with a cocktail event to start, over 200 matches held and a very successful day of finals. Our thanks to Paul G, Marty, Fiona and Coops for designing and engaging the majority of our adult club members in a wonderful event. Special thanks also to Tilly and Laura for organising the fun, music and a focus on mental health. Congratulations to the 2018 Singles champions, Matt Dawson and Chelsea Evans.

The 2018 Junior Championships were run for the second year in a row with over 20 Juniors competing in A and B categories. The atmosphere was charged with excitement and there were enthralling matches in which size, gender and age were no barrier. Congratulations to our 2018 Singles champions, Cam Corry-Thomas and Chelsea Evans.

Fiona has run the Junior group admirably, with over 40 players competing every Saturday in local fixtures and more flags won over the year. Congratulations to our ageing out Junior players on their services to the club. We're proud of the way you've developed and wish you all the best into adult life and tennis(!) - Lachie, Mia, Kai, Oscar.

David Jurianz and Ella Davies have been inspirational in establishing the Tennis for Teens weeknight event that attracts up to 10 Junior players every Wednesday and was awarded a grant of $1000 from Tennis Australia. Money from the grant will be reinvested in club facilities, with a jaffle maker, hot chocolate machine and a pizza oven all being purchased.

Other noteworthy Junior milestones were the maturing of our Junior program to a level where 15 players competed in the 2019 Castlemaine Junior Development tournament (this was the largest contingent of any club). Ella Davies and Bronte McGregor successfully represented the Loddon-Campaspe Region in U15 and U12 Victorian team championships, their teams finishing 2nd and 8th respectively. Lastly and certainly not least, Chelsea Evans has been carving her way into the top 400 ranked female tennis players in Australia, proving that hard work and determination brings great reward.

Our facilities have not been cleaner since they were re-opened, with a well-rounded maintenance schedule run by Ian. All grime and algae were meticulously cleaned from the courts over the Summer by members of the Committee. This brought back the rich colours of our plexi-cushion and reduced the dangers of slipping in wet conditions. The purchase of a new pressure washer designed for the courts will significantly reduce the future cost of maintenance. The club continues to get great use out of it's facilities with the basketball ring getting some TLC, new basketballs purchased and an outdoor heater in use.

One of my highlights this year has been the reintroduction of social events to the calendar. The Xmas in July themed trivia night, run by our talented Leighan and Jamie Owen, was hands down the most successful event run by the club in recent memory, with everyone attending left in stitches by the comedic festivities. This was a non-profit event run solely for the benefit of members and has set the gold standard for future events. We’ve also had members attending country tennis weeks and Easter tournaments, with the social activities being the highlight.

Mid-week Fast4 has continued to flourish under Jackie's guiding hand and we have many new club members and competition players who have transferred from this format.

Our Adult fixtures have maintained the incredible momentum of past years, with record numbers of members competing across Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday competitions. Jackie, Craig and Paul have performed their coordination roles brilliantly. Their organisation of teams and rosters has been complimented already by others and their willingness to help solve problems as they arise has been commendable.

Our relationships with other local organisations have continued to evolve and we owe a debt of gratitude to the MRTA and MDLTA for their enormous contribution to tennis in our region. The MRTA is on an ambitious journey to develop a regional strategy for tennis and we are engaged and providing input to this work.

We continue to be supported by our loyal sponsors with Leanne's coordination and despite a reduction in numbers, we’re confident that planned retention activity will strengthen our sponsor relationships and drive growth in this area.

We have made a concerted effort to increase our communications with members through social media and while communication as a whole has improved, we've faced challenges we've faced in getting a regular newsletter out to members.

Our partnership with the Macedon Ranges Bridge club has been an excellent example of how the club can bring community groups together. Bridge tournaments of up to 40 players are now running 3 times per week at our club. This has greatly increased the utilisation of the club and complemented our on-court focus.

Our coaching team with Marcus at the fore, continues to build the tennis community at our club, with an expansion of Cardio tennis to meet the growing demand to combine tennis and fitness. Hotshots continues to bring new players and families to our club. The unbridalled excitement of young players being exposed to the sport for the first time reminds us of the wonderful opportunities the sport of tennis provides.

I would like to thank my executive team of Simon Rush and Ferg Chisholm, who's enthusiasm, experience and leadership of our committee and our club make my job easy as we keep a firm hand on the till and take the club forward.

Congratulations to the 2018 Committee and our members for their ongoing support in the service of this wonderful club.

Best Regards,

Rob McGregor
Woodend Tennis Club President