Welcome to our March newsletter.  How did we get to Easter already?  Who’s speeding up the calendar?

Project update

Work is underway on tennis courts 10-12 and we’ll soon have them brought up to the same standard of playing surface and lighting as 7-9.

Bear with us please, as there will be closures to the car park (and, occasionally, the footpath by court 12).  Short term pain for long term gain.

By the way, a side benefit of the project is that we are taking the opportunity to improve the footpath lighting.

Things we have in mind

We’ve tucked away the cheque book for a while to conserve funds for this project but, when the dust settles on the work and our subs renewals, and we have plotted our financials for the next 12 months, the intention is to review with our squash and racketball members some prioritisation and selection options for court improvements.

Our squash courts are maintained in excellent condition and no major work is required.  Nonetheless, we have a few things in mind that we’d like to do over time.  Courts 3 and 4 are now rather dated with their traditional concrete back walls, in comparison to the modern glassback design feature of the other 4 courts.  And the ceilings and out-of-court wall areas on some of the courts are overdue for a bit of TLC.

Also, you may have noticed a couple of changes as you enter the club.  The vending machines have gone, which has greatly improved the view of the tennis courts and allows unimpeded access through the patio doors.  And the foyer entrance is now looking rather bare; for security reasons we have relocated the table and leaflet dispenser that were often used as doorstops.

We are going to take the opportunity to look at some relatively low cost options for enhancing the foyer and Players’ Bar, to make the area a more welcoming first impression as you enter the club.

As with any squash court improvements, it will all be subject to affordability and appropriate timing.

Help required with social media marketing

In last month’s newsletter we talked about our new membership proposition for those in their 20s.  We’d love some help in getting the message out.

Can you or someone in your family voluntarily help us with writing content and posting social media marketing?

This might ideally be suited to a young person looking for work experience in this area, perhaps for their Duke of Edinburgh award, or to help their CV.

Tennis

As we flagged at the AGM and last month’s newsletter, we have been reviewing the target operating model for our tennis coaching.  Looking at what has worked well and what could be better going forwards, in the light of data and experience gained from running it as an outsourced service for the past couple of years; consulting on the operating model in place at peer-group clubs; and checking on any employment law and taxation law ramifications.

We have decided to bring it back in-house and heads of terms have been agreed with Tyrell.

This is an organisational pivot only, with no change to coaching personnel (although we are pleased to announce that former ATP player Josh Rose will be joining the coaching team next month), or to arrangements for members. However, one of the drivers to the shift is to reduce the price of 1:1 coaching for members.  Accordingly, revised (lower) pricing for the various coaching levels will be confirmed in due course.

Squash and Racketball

Coming into view with gathering pace is Club Finals Day on Saturday 27th April.  Senior finals will start from 2pm and conclude with prize-giving at about 6.30pm.  Get those lead-up rounds played!

Please put the afternoon in your calendar and come along and support the finalists.  It’s always a great day, the bar and pizza kitchen will be open, and it makes an excellent finale to the squash season.

Fortunately, there is no date clash with next month’s Home Internationals.  Because three of our box league players have been selected for the England Masters teams!  Fabulous news and huge congratulations to Ali Coker, Gavin Roger-Lund and Darren Withey!

Closer on the horizon is the inaugural A41 Cup versus Tring.  In fact it’s this Thursday.  7.30pm start at their place. Six of our 1st and 2nd team players vs six of theirs.  This is a new annual cup match with our great local rivals, with the venue alternating, and with the aim of growing the match each year.  High quality squash, played in a partisan but friendly spirit, cheered on by spectators in the same vein.  Why not pop down the road and support?

Social

Last week, Claire and Graham ran another of our always-popular Quiz Nights, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all.  Let’s just say the answers to any given question were wide-ranging!

Spotlight on…

…who owns our site and who’s supposed to fill the pot-holes in Broadwater Road.

We do and Dacorum Borough Council are.  In short, although both answers are a bit more complex than that.

In 1924, we acquired the site of the original lawn tennis club, the newly formed Berkhamsted Sports Ground Association acquired the adjoining land for the football and cricket clubs, and Berkhamsted Urban District Council (now DBC) bought the rest of the Broadwater land.

In 1955, Berkhamsted Hard Courts Tennis Club was formed with 3 courts on BSGA land surplus to the requirements of football and cricket.  This is the strip which now has the ITC, our car park, and courts 6a and 6b, and which became part of our club when the two tennis clubs merged in 1967.  We pay a small rent for that land.  Strictly speaking, therefore, we do not quite own all of our site.

Back in 1924, Broadwater Road wasn’t a road at all.  It was a track that led to the sports clubs and to watercress beds and farmland beyond.

Over the years, BUDC/DBC built other recreational and community facilities in Broadwater, such as the Bowls Club, Canal Fields car park and play area, and the footbridges.  But the road was never adopted by the council; it remains a private road.

When the cricket club moved to Kitcheners Field in 1983 and housing was constructed, DBC took the liability for maintaining the road up to the football club.  When the road was widened and extended in the mid-90s, DBC took the liability for maintaining the road past the BSGA property, i.e. the road fronting the football club and our court 6b, in exchange for access rights (as the BSGA’s ownership extends up to the canal, not just to the road.  Unlike us.)

Consequently, strictly speaking, we share responsibility with DBC for maintaining the short section of the road past our driveway and courts 7-12.  But we always maintain that, given it is DBC who have built out the facilities at Canal Fields and the main road users by volume of traffic are therefore nothing to do with our club, maintenance of the whole of Broadwater Road is rightfully theirs.

So far, albeit with much lengthy email debate every few years, DBC have always relented.

As for the two craters on the apex of the bend by court 6b, they are on BSGA land and are the council’s responsibility to repair.  They are aware of this.  Unfortunately, the work is on the very long pot-hole waiting list.  We will keep reminding them.

That’s all for now, until next month.

Club Council

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