Welcome to our May newsletter. Our first Club Open Day of the year is on Sunday 9th June, 11am to 3pm. If you have friends or family who may be interested in joining the club, please encourage them to pop along and have a look around.

Project update

The work to tennis courts 10-12 has completed and they are back in play.

However, there are some ruffles and dead spots in the ‘astroturf’ surface which will need a bedding-in period, and there are a couple of snagging items in the perimeter areas.  We will not be signing off until we are satisfied with a high quality outcome, up to the standard of the adjacent courts 7-9.

Likewise, the slight imprint in the astroturf behind the baseline on courts 7-9 from the protective floor matting will quickly correct itself, similar to a carpet which has had heavy items standing on it for a while.

One thing we ask, though, please do not treat the stones lining the pathway as if it were a pebble beach, as they go all over the place and someone else has to sweep them back.

Without taking our eye of the ball on that work, we are now turning our attention to some improvements we would like to make to the entrance area to the clubhouse (the foyer and players’ bar), which currently offers a somewhat downbeat first impression to people, in contrast to the rest of the club.

We will also be surveying our squash and racketball members, to see whether there are any improvements in their playing facilities they would like us to consider.

Squash & Racketball

Squash is now largely in off-season, and we had a great finale at Club Finals Day last month.

Also, earlier this month, we hosted the UK Racketball Masters Inter-County Championships, with 100 players from 18 counties competing, including 4 teams from Herts with 6 players from our club.

Next up, from Thursday 4th to Sunday 6th July, we are pleased to announce we will be holding the 4th edition of the Berkhamsted Linksap Open; a professional event on the Challenger Tour.  World class squash live at your local club!

Tickets are going on sale on Monday.

We will mostly be focusing our communication on our squash members, but there will be plenty of advertising around the club and everyone is welcome.  We have many tennis members who are former squash players; why not come along and remember why you loved the game - and perhaps why your body told you to switch to tennis!

Tennis

Tennis, on the other hand, is in peak season and Club Finals Day is fast approaching on Saturday 22nd June.  Put it in your calendar, come along and have a great day at the club!  The bar and kitchen will be open.

Our National League team is continuing their hot streak and it was great to see so many of you watching their home win a couple of weeks ago against Roehampton.  When the sun is shining, and we’re able to throw open our doors, attract a packed terrace well served with food and drink, watching some fantastic matches, the club is at its best.

As we hit the knockout stages, hopefully we’ll be rewarded with a home draw.

Turning to our younger players.  Are there any boys who would like to play for our U12 team?  We could really do with a few more in the squad.  If any parents have boys born in 2012 or 2013 who are interested and would like to know more, please contact Caroline Cartwright cpadley1@yahoo.com .

Social

A reminder that our bar is open from 5pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and from 6pm on all other weekday evenings (and 12 noon to 2pm on Sundays).  And the kitchen is open every Friday from 5.30pm until 8pm.

We have a couple of new beers on tap. Wainwright’s Amber Ale has replaced Pedigree and San Miguel 0% is now on draft.  Bit like the old Milky Way advert ‘the sweet you can eat between meals’.  It’s the beer you can drink between games.  And who remembers ‘the milky bars are on me’?  But it’s not.  You have to pay.  Sorry about that.

Coming up soon is the Euro 2024 tournament.  Where are you going to watch?

We reckon we’ve got the best sound and vision system in town and we’ll be showing all the England matches and more!  The tournament starts on 14th June, with England’s group matches on 16th June, 20th June, and 25th June.

Spotlight on…

… our head squash coach, Adam Fuller.

We delved into Adam’s background in the ’Spotlight on’ feature in our June 2023 newsletter.

But we thought it was high time for a ’show us your medals’ update!

Some of you are aware that, in addition to being our club coach and the coach for Berkhamsted School, Adam is also involved in the England coaching set-up.

Well, we think the following is worth emphasising as it is easy to take these things for granted.

Adam is the England Junior National Coach responsible for all age groups up to U17 and in that capacity he is a multi-times gold medal winner - see photos below.  Notably, the coach of the reigning Boys U19 World Champions and (earlier this month) the Mixed U15 and U17 European Champions!

Adam, we’re so pleased to have you coaching at our club and we’re very proud of your achievements! 

That’s all for now, until next month. 

Club Council

(John Shaw, Michael Beavis, Phil Trimmer, Matt Markwort, Tracey Mackey, Mark Shattock)