2024/2025 JUNIOR TENNIS NEWSLETTER

Wed, 23 Oct 2024 00:00

Welcome to the 2024/2025 Riverland Junior Tennis Season!

The following is information for the Loxton Tennis Club 2024/2025 Season. Please refer to this information throughout the season ahead.

Junior Training Times:

Thursdays for 45 minutes

  • 3:45pm – 4:30pm (Red + Orange 1) Please assist with setting up nets
  • 4:30pm – 5:15pm (Green 3 and 4)
  • 5:15pm - 6:00pm (Green 2, Green 1 and Yellow 1)

Training Expectations:

  • Training is compulsory each week at allocated times from Thursday October 31
  • Those attending the 3:45pm training session are required to put up the nets and parents are asked to help with this as this benefits the younger players especially! Poles are located by the fence at the south end of each court. A commitee member will generally have nets rolled up and ready to go up.
  • Please text or email Nadia if, as a player, you are unable to attend training. Good communication is apreciated!
  • Trainings will involve a guided skills session for approximately 20 minutes, followed by 25 minutes of modified games and/or game play. Whilst the skills sessions will be organised and delivered by a representative volunteer coach from the club, we do require at least one parent/caregiver, from each team, to support and attend trainings
  • It is recommended that Team Managers roster parents/caregivers to share the responsibility of assisting with supervision and support, on court, during training. No tennis experience or knowledge required just a positive, encouraging and interactive approach.
  • Nets can generally stay up as Senior Training & possibly Social Tennis occurs after junior training, but it's always appreciated when players ask as not all courts may be used.

Match Play:

Match play is on Saturday mornings, at venues listed in programme on Match Centre. The first round is on Saturday, October 26. See our website for the link to Match Centre:

https://matchcentre.tennis.com.au/

  • Home Games: All players are to be at the Loxton Tennis Club courts at 8:30am and begin putting up the nets. When nets are up, players can begin warming up in readiness for the opposition’s arrival. The sooner the nets are up, the more practice and warm up players can have!
  • Away Games: Players are to be at their respective away courts by no later than 8:45am.  Games on Saturdays are to start at 9:00am. If you’re able to be there early, this provides a great opportunity to warm up and practice before games!
  • We encourage parents to be present on Saturdays as much as possible. We do have to have at least ONE parent per team present at all times, even for home games. We acknowledge that it’s tricky sometimes for families with kids playing in different towns. Team Managers can help by encouraging communication and ride sharing.
  • The formats associated with each division will be explained, along with an operating procedures manual which will be included in the team folder
  • A club shirt (uniform) is to be worn during match play. Please see our uniform co-ordinator, Jess Griffin, if you do not have a club shirt.
  • While most Loxton teams have more than the required 4 players per team, the formats have been designed so that players in teams with more than 4 players will still receive a minimum of 2 sets of tennis per week.  Regardless of the number of players per team, ALL players are expected to attend matches and support your team or Loxton Tennis Club. Sometimes, there may be a need for players from one Loxton team to fill-in for another Loxton team at the same location. In addition, unexpected injuries can happen from time to time where the support of other players is needed.
  • By registering to play for Loxton Tennis Club, you are committing to playing tennis on every programmed Saturday morning. If you know of any dates in the season that a player will be unavailable, please inform your Team Manager as soon as your become aware. It will be up to individual Team Managers to find a replacement if players are needed. Please communicate player absences to your Team Manager, well in advance. Known absences that are presented days before match play on Saturday make harder to organise fill-in players because of the shorter time frame.
  • If a Saturday absence is presented to the Thursday training directly before the round, this will impact how training is delivered because time is then taken up organising players to make up teams for the Saturday ahead and this takes the focus away from training and players.
  • Only the players playing matches may be on the court area during matches, all other players and parents are not permitted to stay inside the fences. The exception is Green 4, Orange and Red matches where 1 supervisor allowed per court during matches.

 

Score Sheets and Responsibilities:

The Team Manager from each team must initiate and collect the team folder from the club rooms on Thursday October 24.

  • Each team, home and away, will be required to fill out a score sheet. When filling out score sheets, please use the player’s full name, as this helps with the recording of results each week.

 

  • When completed, score sheets are required to be emailed immediately (not SMS, social media messaging or fax) to Mike Horsman, horsey888@bigpond.com This email address is also at the bottom of the score sheet.  Please send a copy to loxtontc@gmail.com

 

Saturday Morning Heat Rule:

All temperatures will be taken from BOM (Bureau of Meteorology) at Renmark, at 4:30pm on the Friday evening prior to the Saturday match. Should there be any doubts Team Managers should contact their junior co-ordinators who may then confirm with the Association Junior President or Vice President.

  1. Should the forecast temperature be 42C or above on that day then ALL matches for that morning are CANCELLED.
  2. Should the forecast temperature be 40C or 41C the following modifications will occur:
    1. Games will commence at 8:30am.
    2. No advantages will be played (Sudden death at deuce).
    3. All matches will cease at 10:30am.

 

Rain:

Unless contacted by your Team Manager or Junior Co-ordinator, players are required to present to play matches during wet weather.  If it is deemed unsafe to play or excess damage to the courts will result, matches will be cancelled.

 

Club Shirts:

We have a number of uniforms for purchase in the clubrooms. From time to time we place online orders and these opportunities are advertised through our Facebook page. Please speak with our uniform co-cordinator, Jess Griffin, for further information

Loxton Tennis Club Junior Presentation:

At the end of the season the Loxton Tennis Club holds a Presentation Event, where presentations and awards from the season are awarded. It is a great fun and social opportunity for all junior members and their families to celebrate their achievements. Continuous Raffles are part of presentation and families are more than welcome to donate items and assist with the event set up. More information to follow in 2025.

Loxton Tennis Club Canteen:

Our canteen is open on Saturday mornings at 9:00am. Each team is required to assist in the canteen, once per season. This usually involves some cleaning, BBQ cooking, serving in the canteen etc. A roster will be sent and if you’re team is rostered on (during home matches), it is suggested that each parent contribute a short 30–60-minute stint to share the load evenly. A volunteer running sheet of weekly jobs and Canteen Communication Book is located in the clubrooms. Volunteers are encouraged to complete a 30-minute food safety course. If you have completed one previously, please advise Lily or Tess at the canteen. Please contact or see Lily or Tess with any questions on 0418 800 559.

Membership:

The Loxton Tennis Club is affiliated with Tennis Australia and Tennis SA and all players must have a membership before match play. Please follow the link to register.

 https://play.tennis.com.au/loxtontennisclub/Membership/Join

Subs for this season are as follows:

Hot Shots $70.00        Junior $125.00             Senior $185.00           Family $370.00

 

  • Payment of memberships is due by November 10.  They can be paid by credit card during the registration process or paid direct to our Bank Account BSB: 015625 ACC No. 210712399
  • We encourage all parents to select a Social/Parent Membership also to register themselves for insurance purposes.  There is no cost associated with this membership.

 

Sports Vouchers:

If you haven’t done so already, we encourage you to utilise the $100 Sports Voucher from the Government of South Australia. One voucher for every Reception to Year 9 school aged child per calendar year. Below is the link to download.

Competitive Player Profile:

All new players will be also required by Tennis Australia to create a Competitive Player Profile before they can play Competition tennis. Please click here for instructions about how to complete your Competitive Player Profile. If you require any additional support, please contact the Tennis Australia Customer Support team at 1800 PLAY TENNIS (1800 752 983) or play@tennis.com.au

 

Website and Facebook: 

Keep up to date with current news and information by visiting our Website and our Facebook page, Loxton Tennis Club.

https://play.tennis.com.au/loxtontennisclub

 

Thank you to all the players and parents for being a part of Riverland tennis this season, and as always if you have any questions, please feel free to contact via phone or email.

Warm regards,

 

Nathan Gibbs - President - 0467 331 085                       

Nadia Kruger -  Junior Development Coach - 0400 883 744   

and the Loxton Tennis Club Committee