Dear Member,

I hope that you are safe and well and have managed to find some time to get back up to the club and play some tennis.

As I write, it appears that lock-down in England is beginning to be eased and finally we start to see a light at the end of the tunnel leading to ‘normality’.  I want to again thank all club members for their understanding and for following the club’s COVID-19 guidelines when booking and playing tennis at the Club.  I want to also thank those members of the Club and committee that have helped to maintain our courts and grounds and have kept the club running during this challenging period.

Thankfully this year, with the proactive action of the LTA and with tennis being identified as one of the sports permissible under COVID-19-social distancing restrictions, the tennis section has not been hit financially as hard as other sections within the club.  In fact, we’ve retained many members and have welcomed a number of new ones.  Many thanks to those that have renewed their membership for this year and a polite reminder to those that have been playing but still have yet to.
Thankfully, the combined sections of Morpeth Cricket, Hockey and Tennis Club (MCHTC) received a government COVID-support grant which lessened the financial impact of a severely affected 2020 sporting season.
 
Although team tennis will not take place this season, we still hope to be able to offer competitive tennis for our members in the form of a Club Tournament.  If you would like to enter you can sign up here.

We also hope to soon start up small-group coaching activities and Mariana is now available for ad hoc one-on-one individual coaching sessions.  Please check our coaching pages regularly for updates.
 
Back in April, due to evolving COVID-19 situation, the club had to postpone its AGM.  Although we are still unable to hold a physical AGM meeting, we hope that we will be convene a virtual AGM meeting using the online meeting software ‘Zoom’.
The AGM meeting this year will be held online at 6:30pm on Tuesday 21st July.  Meeting invite and joining instructions are given in the AGM information document.
 
At the AGM, the club will review the 2019-2020 playing season and provide members with an update as to: the club’s accounts; coaching plans; membership numbers, membership rates and team standings in the local tennis leagues.  We will also review matters relating to our constitution and present a short, medium and long-term vision for the club. 
 
We would also like to take the opportunity invite members to stand for existing and a number of new committee positions.  Our wish is to see that key committee positions are supported and as we move to embrace online communication, promotion, payment and accounting procedures, we would be especially keen to work with members that have experience in these areas. For the club to move forward and to fulfil our aims, the committee and club need your support.
 
The list of committee positions and their current incumbents can be found here.  If you would like to stand or nominate any member for any of the current or vacant committee positions please express your interest via email to the club in advance of the AGM.  The roles and responsibilities of each committee position is given here.

If you would like to raise any questions or wish to add an item to the agenda please contact us.

I hope to be able to see you virtually on Tuesday 21st July.
 

Alex Laude

Chairperson | Morpeth Tennis Club