VICTOR HARBOR TENNIS CLUB AGM (2021) - Presidents Report (Chris Scheid)

In my annual report, I would like to acknowledge some people in your club who have volunteered their time
and have made a significant contribution to the progress and culture of your club along with some club
achievements this year…  

Thank you to our 2020/21 office bearers:
• Jodie Prosser (Treasurer) – brought a high degree of financial compliance with timely accurate meeting
reporting of VHTC income and expenditure;
• Maryka Smit (Junior Coordinator) & (Secretary) – managed to increase our junior numbers (all with VHTC
shirts this year); 
• Jeremy Bell (Vice President) – assisted with all things electronic (Facebook, book a court, website).  
My thanks too to our 2020/21 committee members this year who shared the workload – Erica Nicholls, Darryl
Pearce, Amanda Pearce.  All took up roles to assist the smooth running of our club.

You are all busy with your family, work and your own social activities and all VHTC players and parents
appreciate all of your efforts and sacrifices, so that our members can play social &/or competition tennis,
safely, cost effectively, with good facilities and most importantly in good company. 

To the new office bearers, those that will continue and new committee members – you will find a well-run
club, good governance (doing what is legally and ethically required to be done), financial accountability, a
succession plan in place, mentoring and support of committee members by the experienced.  We hope you
enjoy your 2021/22 season and obtain some personal fulfilment by volunteering and seeing our members,
players and club develop.

Sponsors (our partners): sponsors (our partners) and player subscriptions are our major two sources of club
funds.  As well as promoting local businesses, sponsors assist to keep these members’ subscriptions costs
down.  The Grosvenor (Gold sponsor), Swan Pharmacies; Victor Harbor Tyrepower; McDonald’s; The Office
Shop; Victor Harbor Driving School, BCS Electrical, SA Design & Print, Goolwa Kitchens and Wardrobes,
Sportspower, The Beach House Cafe, Victor Harbor Bakery, Bailey Homes and Bartel & Hall.  Please remember
to support our club sponsors with your business so that they may continue to support your club!

Achievements 2020/21 season:
Team highlights - in season 2020/21, VHTC fielded 7 Junior Teams (Div 1, 2, 4, 2x5 and 2x orange ball teams)
and 2 Open Teams (Div 1 and Open Doubles).  All Jr teams (up to Div 5, as Orange ball do not play
competitively) made the finals.  2 Junior teams made the grand final (Div 1 & Div 5) with both being runners
up.  Congratulations to the players, parents in these teams for their efforts throughout the season.
Orange ball teams numbers increased from 1 to 2 and this should improve in season 2021/22 as it will be a
focus of the GSTA.  

Grading at the start of the year (3 weeks of trial) where Juniors played 88 matches in 3 weeks was a great
initiative of our club coach Erica Modra.
Child Safety – remains a standing agenda item at all VHTC general meetings.  Your club is pleased to report
that again, all committee members were (and will be) DCSI compliant and currently accredited to be working
with children.  Your club will maintain this standard.

Coaching – your club engaged Erica Modra’s coaching services again for our Juniors (coaching and supervised
practice).  Our committee has worked with Erica in the off season to bring to the club Junior coaching
developments that will keep our Junior players not only interested in tennis but also improve their skills,
strategy and social side of tennis. Through a City of VH grant, your club will also host an October school holiday
tennis clinic – an opportunity to not only bring new juniors to our tennis club but also to re-engage with our
existing Juniors and give Dad and Mum a break for a few days!  
Individual achievements – acknowledging Zac Pathius (Div 5A) for his most consistent year (most wins GSTA Jr
Div 5), Karla Bezuidenhout (voted by her peers as Jr Div 4 & 5 ‘GSTA sportsperson’ of the year) and Open Div 1  (male) Neil Smit.  Awards much deserved represent VHTCs start of junior competition to the senior
competition. 

Future club projects 2021/22 season:

1. More social tennis: as a club we need to be responsive to our members and members of the public’s
tennis playing needs.  With tennis nowadays being more of a social activity than a competition activity and
with family weekends being increasingly valuable to families, and with a burgeoning local and tourist
population and good weather to play tennis in Summer, our club should be able to position itself to offer
weeknight social tennis.  This not only meets a need but also may plug a revenue gap should member
numbers fall away if Saturday morning and afternoon competition tennis should also fall away.  We made
a good start last season; got interrupted by CV19… I am sure we will make Social Tennis a huge success in
season 2021/22.

2. Succession and an assistance plan: gone are the days when the President ‘presided’, the Treasurer ‘did all
things financial’ and the Secretary ‘did everything else’!  Today, running a club is a ‘shared responsibility
by all.  To improve the way ‘our club functions’ and with some very experienced VHTC Committee
members to draws upon, Maryka Smit has developed a ‘club blueprint’.  Its purpose is to identify various
‘club roles’, identify the outcomes of tasks required in each role and to give those with ‘club roles’
autonomy in completing their assigned role.  We will outline this at our next General meeting, maintain it
as an ‘ongoing agenda item’ (to coach) at each General Meeting, and maintain the blueprint.  One day, the
more experienced committee members may not be here to assist but they will leave a lasting (blueprint)
legacy for those that do remain.  This is an important initiative this season.

Finally, this year has been my seventh year as president and, like all voluntary sporting clubs, we only run with
the assistance of unpaid volunteers. There is always something to do and we welcome your assistance, so
please just ask one of the committee members ‘how can I help’?  Like your committee, you too, may find
voluntary work as rewarding as your committee does.  
In conclusion:
As our motto says, I do believe we are truly a ‘family friendly club with big court facilities’.  With about 50 paid
members, we do hit well above our average.  It is because of the valuable work of your committee and its
members and the value we place in people at our club that makes Victor Harbor Tennis Club what it is.

Thank you to the outgoing committee in assisting me to run our club?  I wish the new committee, players and
parents all the very best for season 2021/22.

 Chris Scheid
(President – season 2020/21)