Summer is here and I expect Weston Creek Tennis Club will be buzzing.

This summer will be huge for Australian tennis. The world’s best players will compete across the country throughout January. Canberra, Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide and Hobart will host major events as players prepare for the 112th Australian Open from 8 - 28 of January.

The Workday Canberra International will return from 29 December to 4 January 2025. The event is an ATP125 /WTA125 and will host some of the world’s top 100 players, with a total prize pool of USD $320,000.

The WCTC New Court Project is moving forward with the development approval being assessed by the ACT Government.

The club has had a positive year:

• Ronald McDonald House Community Tennis Day
• 24 hour cardio tennis marathon - raised $10,000 for Ronald McDonald House.
• Junior Development Competition, November
• JT Junior 125 Weston Creek, April
• Club Championship, September
• Almost 8,000 bookings
• 569 people booking courts
• New financial management systems
• Securing funding for the new court development from federal and local government and Tennis Australia.

Looking towards 2025:

• New court construction
• Continued improvements to club and event management
• Greater engagement with the membership community – next year we’re looking to introduce more opportunities for club members to engage with each other.
• Lots of opportunities for volunteering (we need the support of our members) – This year was our strongest club championships ever, this happened because there was wide support from volunteers. Next year I’d love to see other club events benefit from this kind of support. But we’ll need more volunteers (I don’t want to break the ones we already have 😊)
• Continued development of plans for the future of the club – WCTC is the largest club in the ACT and there’s always room for improvements. This takes planning, and our committee understands we need to be prepared when opportunities present themselves.

2024 has been a great year for the club. I’d like to thank our members, their guests and especially the committee for volunteering their time and energy over a very busy year. It’s been fun watching the community come together during 2024 and I’m looking forward to 2025.

Have a safe Christmas and a fun summer of tennis.

Max Rafferty
WCTC President