Dear Members,

2023 has turned out very different to 2022 for your committee.  Last year we were a brand new 11-member committee on L plates and learning what the club all about.  Throw in some big issues like a proposed amalgamation with Kew TC and a new Club-Coach Agreement and it was all very challenging.  This year is a lot more sober.  More like we have laid the foundations and now we just need to get on with the job.  You will remember we cancelled the Members Forum this year.  It wasn’t that we don’t value consultation on matters of importance.  It was just we didn’t really see the need this time around.

In the meantime, we have completed our Plan 2023 in which we identified our top priorities.  So, what is the main job?  Its all about growing the membership.  I remember last year talking with the Tuesday morning women’s group - who are proudly ‘older’ members - and they said the top priority should be attracting younger members to the club.  And this remains so true. 

As it stands, we are actually a great club for the older membership.  You may not all know but we have: 2 groups on Monday (mixed);1 on Tuesday (women); 1 on Wednesday (mixed); the interclub social on Friday; and the joint tennis with Kew TC on Sunday.  We are very happy with this daytime social turnout.  It is great exercise for the individuals and with big social benefits – a significant contribution to the Boroondara Community.  This year new Committee member John Carmichael is working with Jason to see how we can further develop the partnership with U3A to maximise these benefits.

But to become a complete community tennis club we do need to grow our Family and Junior memberships.  This means more night and weekend tennis for members (which is why we have agreed with our coaches to restrict their fixed court allocation to 7pm).  Members will be pleased to know that there already promising signs in terms of Family Memberships. 

Last year we introduced Cardio tennis which in fact led to new family memberships totalling 20 people.   This was a great outcome.  Secondly, and thanks especially to our Secretary Michael Archdeacon we got a Competition Team up and running on Tuesday nights; and while it didn't win First Prize it proved thoroughly enjoyable for all concerned. Something to offer new (and old) members. Thirdly, our committee member, Grant Cameron, reports he is part of a new Thursday night social group which is just what the doctor ordered!  And to top it off Grant’s partner, Donna (a Cardio Alumni); has organised a Sunday afternoon social group.   Having all these initiatives take off in the last half year is very heartening.   The position with our juniors is more challenging and we are currently exploring ways to offer a more ‘social’ tennis alternative even while we pull together some new competition teams.

I think this activity across the board shows up in our overall membership numbers.  While our AGM showed that how you do the count can be tricky, the 100 members reported then has increased to 111 which suggests we are moving in the right direction. Indeed, it is not too had to imagine the club back at 200 in a few years which would probably be an optimum target.

On other news, you will have noted how Vlad Hardi steered us through the club house painting.  We have agreed with Kew TC to erecting a Draw Net between their court 4 and ours.  And we will shortly meet formally with KTC to oversee any issues arising between us over the next 12 months.   A big change is taking place with our adoption of the new Clubspark website model which Tennis Victoria has made available.  Committee has agreed that it is a great improvement.  Hats off the Michael Archdeacon -and Nicole in the early stages - who have put a lot of work into this project.  It will mean changes for members especially around accessing the Court Schedule and payment of fees.  Michael will email all the details on this in due course.  Finally, one area which did not work out as planned was the free installation of the LED lights.  While not completely written off our installer kept informing us everything was on track even though we have now discovered the program was discontinued by the State government in early 2023.  Of course, the LED is a must for us and you will be pleased to know that Grant Cameron is already working on our new options.

All up, it might be business as usual this year but as you can see, we have very clear directions for the club and are putting the right materials in place.  And as you would have noted we have Committee members really putting their shoulders to the wheel and this especially should give us great confidence about the future.

Paul Smyth

Club President

0404 080 425