PRESIDENTS REPORT 2025 / 26

“At the end of the day, it’s not about what you have or even what you’ve accomplished. It’s about what you’ve done with those accomplishments. It’s about who you’ve lifted up, who you’ve made better. It’s about what you’ve given back." – Denzel Washington

Research shows that volunteering "givers" are 42% more likely to report being "very happy" and 25% more likely to be in excellent health. Volunteering is known to reduce stress, anxiety and loneliness while increasing the "helper's high" via neurochemical releases. 

How do you get this “money can’t buy medicine”?  Volunteer.  As a Club run entirely by volunteers we are not only deeply connected to your local community, we rely on this connection to get every single thing we do done.  Those things that we don’t nurture are destined to wither. We therefore encourage every person within our tennis “community” to actively find a way to contribute, a lot or a little, according to your abilities. 

Our committees work tirelessly to deliver all of our programs.  Kurt Best is widely regarded as the best Junior President and coordinator in Gippsland.  He is to be congratulated on being recently made a Life Member of the Wellington Gippsland Tennis Association in recognition of his exceptional work.  Jason Yap also continues to commit to a huge effort to our junior program, for which we are exceptionally grateful.  A special thanks also goes to Kellie Lazzaro who again organised the canteen each Saturday morning. 

Our General Committee has continued to be very well served by: Karen Deschepper, our Membership Coordinator and Damien Theobald, our Treasurer; Secretary Sonya Stephenson who has kept our minutes and Andrew Ronchi and Kellie Lazzaro our communications team.  In 2025/26 we were fortunate to welcome Chanelle Buckle and Andrew Ronchi to our committee.  They bring fresh perspective and new energy to our hard working committee.

I'd also like to thank Belinda Webb, Andy Pate and Lisa Harrison for their hard work on the committee.

A special mention is needed for Bruce Carter, who with over 46 years of commitment, continues to be a driving force in our court maintenance and planning and deserves our heartfelt thanks again in 2026.  Bruce is part of our Project Management team for our current redevelopment.  Tim Waltran is now working alongside Bruce to progressively “learn the ropes”.  He has a mere 45 years to go.  Rob Tatterson has also earned our abundant appreciation with the great job he continues to do with our grounds and cleaning. Thanks Tatt!    A “Thank you” also goes to all of our other General Committee members and our many other volunteers for their ongoing contribution, commitment and guidance.  

Below are some of the “Highlights of 2025/26” by way of an update on our journey over the past year and as a pointer to our ambitions and goals for the future.  We look forward to continuing to re-development our facility as we strive to make the Sale Tennis Club a thriving hub for tennis within our region for the benefit of the entire Wellington community and a centre of national significance.

Participation

• 2026 has seen the continued development of our junior programs.  The passion and commitment of our Head Coach Jason Yap has continued to be inspirational.  Our coaching program has expanded from 61 participants in 2021 to 197 participants in 2026.  This equates to 292 unique visits for coaching participants every week. 
• Sale Tennis Club now has 2 fully qualified Junior Development Coaches and a further 4 who are yet to complete their final assessment.  We have a further 9 community coaches.  In a national coaching environment where many regional clubs are unable to attract a coach at all we have a total of 15 coaches (and have trained a bunch more who have “aged out”).  This has kept our Club at the forefront of local sport as we continue to offer more diverse participation opportunities.   
• During the 2025/26 year we fielded a total of 66 separate teams in competitions in the Wellington Gippsland Tennis Association (WGTA) Junior and Senior pennant, Sale & District Mid-Week Ladies Tennis Association and Club based competitions.  This covered junior and senior summer pennant, night tennis on Tuesday and Thursday nights and mid-week ladies.  2026 will see a Wednesday singles competition begin with the assistance of Luke Szarek.
• STC fielded 14 junior teams in 2025/26 in the Wellington Gippsland Tennis Association. In the junior finals in March, Sale Juniors featured in Sections 1, 3, 4 and 7. We brought home the flag in Section 1 and were runners-up in Sections 3, 4 and 7.
• We had 3 senior teams in WGTA pennant.  1 Sale team made the Section 1 finals and were narrowly beaten in the semi-final.
• Our night pennant competition has gone from strength to strength.  On Thursday nights our numbers have been at capacity for the last 3 seasons.  Night pennants offer a different opportunity for many players who are not able to commit to the traditional Saturday format. We had more than 180 players participate in our night pennants in 2025/26, not counting fill-ins.
• Monday ladies are just holding their own and we continue to strive to improve numbers where we can against a background of falling mid-week numbers across Victoria. The feedback from the ladies playing is however constantly positive.
• We conducted our 73nd consecutive Sale Tennis Club Championships. This makes our Championships the longest continuously running Club Championships in Gippsland.  In a heartening trend entry numbers were again solid with good fields in most junior events and good numbers in the Open events.  We had great numbers for the two Open Singles events with two new champions; Amber Archer taking out her first Open Women’s Singles and Campbell Scott taking out his first Open Men’s Championship.  
• From July 11 to 14 Sale Tennis Club was thrilled to host its third Junior and Open tournament since COVID. We were very excited that our hard work paid off and the tournament has grown from 79 participants in 2023 to 149 in 2025.  We have an ambitious target to exceed 200 entrants for 2026. A tournament of 200 players would bring over 160 players and their families to Sale from the metropolitan area and across Victoria for the four days of the event. (Traditionally over 80% of entrants are from outside of Gippsland.)  
• This event is in addition to our annual Tennis Victoria Seniors National Ranking Tournament held each May.  The positive financial impact on the local economy of these 2 events is important and now quite significant.
• Conducted a Free Tennis Day that attracted 68 participants who enjoyed a great day of tennis and tennis themed activities and introduced them to our Club and facilities. 
• Delivered for the 19th year the Tennis Australia Hot Shots program. This program has gone from strength to strength with the numbers increasing from below 10 per week to now more than 30 children participating in beginner tennis activities each week. Further in 2025/6 we continued to deliver the Hot Shots program throughout the full year giving children the opportunity to accelerate their tennis development. This was a first in country Victoria. We now offer 5 separate ANZ Hot Shots sessions throughout each week.
• We had another 10 children attend the Australia Open in January to participate in the “Kids on Court” program where the children play on the AO courts before the first match of the day and one lucky player gets to toss the coin at the start of play, a once in a lifetime experience.  
• Nearly 200 children participated in 5 “school holiday camps”.  These camps provide a fun and healthy school holiday activity for the children who enjoy the variety of tennis activities.  It also takes a little pressure off working parents who have a safe and enjoyable activity for their children at these times.
• Continued the Dahlsens Challenge, an inter-town challenge for juniors and seniors played between Sale and Bairnsdale Tennis Clubs.  Events such as the Dahlsens Challenge are essential for the development of junior players in regional areas as it provides a rare opportunity for them to be part of a larger team representing their Club and to compete with, and test themselves against, their peers from other districts.  We have now had 11 rounds of the revamped Dahlsens Challenge with the current tally in Sale’s favour 8 / 3.  
• We delivered our 5th Tennis Seniors tournament in May 2025. We had a good turnout for our event, attracting players from interstate as well as many locals.  We look forward hosting again in May 2026 with optimism.  Our coming event will be a Seniors Points Tournament that will contribute to players’ Australian seniors ranking and help to attract a strong field as well as a revamped teams event designed to increase the participation numbers.
• As has now become the custom, a large crowd celebrated Sale Tennis Club’s 21st Life Members Day on October 19.  Life Members Day is a special day for the Club each year and is one of the most anticipated days on the annual calendar.  The full day’s activities are a celebration of the contribution to the Club of all members, and especially Life Members, who have been recognised for their outstanding service. 
• We were successful in securing funding to provide new participation opportunities for the neurodiverse.  Tracey Sheilds assisted with the grant application and initial program design. Jon Watson, TV Regional Victoria & Inclusion Coach Specialist, provided specialist training to our entire coaching cohort in early May and we hope to provide the first sessions before the end of Term 2. 

Community

• Tennis is a sport that can be played both socially and competitively throughout life.  It is therefore as important to community development as it is to the world of competitive sport.  In promoting the values of fun, fitness, health and social relationships, tennis clubs and facilities are vital parts of local communities.
• In 2025/6 we again delivered what is now an ongoing program for Pacific Australia Labour Movement (PALM) workers in Gippsland. These seasonal workers are from Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Vanuatu, and Indonesia. The workers, who are in Australia for up to 9 months at time, are away from their families and communities during this time. The Club therefore undertook to make sure they feel welcome in our community by providing ongoing social tennis activities. We finished the year with a large group of Club volunteers delivering a Christmas lunch for 35 seasonal workers.
• Sale Tennis Club was recognised for its ongoing program in support for the PALM workers with the award of a prestigious 2025 Victorian Community Tennis Award for the Most Outstanding Inclusion Initiative.  This lead to a further nomination for a Tennis Australia Newcombe Medal as Australia’s Most Inclusive Tennis Club.
• We have extended our support of the PALM workers by now supporting two schools on Pentecost Island in Vanuatu.  We have now provided a full container of school materials, sporting goods, first aid supplies, clothing and household equipment.  The ability to support a group who are so much less fortunate than ourselves has been keenly embraced by our members.  
• Sale Tennis Club courts are unique in Victoria in that our courts are never locked and are open to the public 7 days per week at no cost and without the need for a booking.
• Our courts are used by most of the schools within the Sale area.  Most notably Sale Catholic College, Gippsland Grammar and Sale College all use our courts regularly for their physical education programs as do 5 of the local primary schools.  Sale Tennis Club also hosts the Wellington Division School Sport Victoria Tennis Championships.
• Sale Tennis Club hosted a Healthy Clubs Workshop last May.  The free workshop was facilitated by Relationships Australia in partnership with Tennis Victoria.  The workshop explored the link between gender equality; respectful relationships; and the prevention of violence against women, children, and gender diverse people.  The 30 participants included the entire Sale Tennis Club General Committee along with junior and senior members.
• Our ongoing hard work off court continues to pay off and we have been reaffirmed as a top level Gold Medal accredited ADF Good Sports Club.  We do our best to always ensure our members and visitors have a healthy environment to play and train in.
• Continued our involvement in the GippSport Healthy Sporting Environments program which is a structured program that assists with inclusion for all abilities, alcohol management, healthy eating, injury protection, UV protection and reduction of tobacco use and vaping.  
• Sale Tennis Club won the right to host a 10th ballkids trial as part of the selection process for the ball kids at the Australian Open 2027.  We are one of only two Clubs east of Melbourne to be awarded a ballkids trial and we welcomed the ability to offer opportunities to Gippsland children and generate publicity for tennis in our area.  Melbourne.
• In 2023, with financial assistance from Wellington Shire Council, our Club prepared a comprehensive Strategic Plan.  Our strategic plan covered our aspirations for the 5 years from 2023 to 2028 and now forms an important guide for current and future management committees as we seek to drive success both on and off the court.
• We had an estimated 38,500 separate visits to our facility from players, spectators, parents, tournament participants, school groups, casual users, function attendees, coaching students and other users. 
• Sale Floral Art Group have continued using our wonderful revamped Clubhouse for their monthly flower arranging meetings. In addition our clubhouse has now become popular for hosting events such as birthdays and other community activities.
• We have embraced the Victorian Container Deposit Scheme as both an important new revenue stream and as an active community building strategy. We have invited our members and local businesses to participate by donating their eligible containers and are averaging nearly 2,000 containers per month.
• Sale Tennis Club was present for the RAAF Children’s Christmas Party in late November.  A large group of children enjoyed tennis activities in a fun environment. 
• Sale Tennis Club was the Tennis Victoria Affiliate of the Month for November 2025 for our work in the inclusion space championing opportunities for women and girls both on and off the court.  Tennis Victoria has 818 affiliates so this recognition as a standout club is acknowledgement of the work that is being done to create an inclusive culture.

Facilities

Work on our Hardcourt Redevelopment and LED Lighting Upgrade Project commenced yesterday.  4th generation tennis court builders ET Richards were successful in the public tender for the court surface and associated works while local contractor Clint Kelly Excavations was successful in being awarded the lighting, fencing and landscaping components.  We are delighted to be working with these experts in their fields as we strive to deliver a first class facility.

Our upgrade of our hardcourt area has 6 distinct components:

• Court surface. We will upgrade our current degraded acrylic hard courts surface to “drain through” porous artificial grass. Artificial grass offers a number of distinct advantages that will help extend our current programs and create new and alternative participation opportunities.
• Lighting. We will install modern, energy efficient LED lighting to Tennis Victoria “club standard” meaning the courts can be used for coaching later into each evening as well as being available for Club and community use.  (Contract to be completed by Capraro Electrical as part of a head contract awarded to Clint Kelly Excavations).
• Fencing. We will upgrade our fencing to match the modern fencing now installed around the rest of our facility. This will include full height wind barriers around 3 sides of the enclosure to make the courts more “playable” more often. (Contract to be completed by Kane House Fencing as part of a head contract awarded to Clint Kelly Excavations).)
• Hot Shots Courts.  We will include 4 dedicated Hot Shots courts in the redevelopment scope as the cornerstone of our push to increase participation at all levels, especially at the junior level and for athletes with a disability.  These 4 Hot Shots courts are designed for complementary formats of Pickleball and POP Tennis. (Contract awarded to 4th generation court builders ET Richards & Sons)
• Dedicated Hitting Walls. We will incorporate two state-of-the-art curved hitting walls into the redevelopment as an additional participation and practice option. (Supplied by PM Sports)
• Storage Shed & Seating area.  We will install a new storage shed that will incorporate a sheltered spectator area with permanent seating.  The new sheltered seating will face directly into the 4 Hot Shots courts and provide parents and grandparents with somewhere to rest out of the summer sun.  The shed itself will be the home to of all of the coaching equipment, allowing easy access of equipment directly onto the courts. (Contract awarded to Sale Barns & Garages)
• The 6 components of our redevelopment are all designed to help overcome barriers to participation, especially for groups that are potentially under-represented.  All design elements are fully accessible.
• This will be an amazing upgrade and we are intending for the redeveloped area to become a “coaching centre of excellence” with Jason Yap and his team of coaches to be able to utilise the area extensively.
• During 2025/6 we installed new paths to make our facility even more accessible and user friendly as well as extensive LED carpark lighting to make our facility safer at night.
• We have now completed the landscape area to the north of our Courts 5 - 7.  As a former carpark this area has long been the “ugly duckling” of our complex but it is now fully planted and slowly developing into a beautiful green space.
• We have recently commenced an upgrade of our licensed bar and the coaches pro-shop.  This will be completed in late May 2026.  Once completed this will further enhance the user experience and complete a totally state-of-the-art clubhouse and tennis facility that will meet community needs for decades to come. 
• The rectification of our lights on Courts 1 to 14 has commenced.  Jones Electrical are onsite and expect to have the new lights and drivers installed and working within 2 to 4 weeks.  The improvement in our lights will have to be seen to be believed.
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With so many good things now happening and so many more on the horizon our Club looks forward to the future with genuine optimism.

Robin Lowe

President

Sale Tennis Club

20/05/2026