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Very enjoyable Spanish night at the club with Ashley’s delicious paellas going down a treat! Over 50 people supported the event which was great to see. Many thanks to Ashley for all his hard work, also Lisa and Oscar who were helping him. Plus all the ladies who made desserts, served food, helped clear up, Gill & Andy on the bar and sangria making duties, Linda & Simon who took over later in the evening, and Jaki for selling raffle tickets. A great success all round!

A very successful tournament again this year with an increase in the number of entries making a busy three days for referees Graham Boosey, Lesley and Ian Pitt.  Thanks to them for their hard work and also the tournament committee consisting of Bill Dixon, Mark Taylor and Wendy Thrale.  Special mention for Wendy and Sandra who provided excellent refreshments supported by other club members.  There was also a team of volunteer umpires for the Mini Tennis events. Finally, congratulations to club member Aaron Hilsum who had several wins against higher rated players on his way to winning both the 16 & Under and 18 & Under Boys Singles titles. A great achievement Aaron!

Bank Holiday tennis and ploughman’s lunch was enjoyed by 22 players plus a few extra for lunch. To give the tennis a competitive edge, Steve organised five rounds of doubles with a scoring system including a combination of mens, ladies and mixed games. Well done to the winners, Julie Milner and new member Mudassar Rahim, who each received a prize of a bottle of wine.

Twenty eight players contested this year’s start of season American Tournament and after six rounds, Hazel Wynn and Aaron Hilsum were declared the winners.  Congratulations to Hazel and Aaron who received the Beresford Marshall Memorial Trophy.  Thanks to Steve for organising the tournament so efficiently as usual.

What a success our second auction was, raising the amazing amount of £2,731. Yes – two thousand, seven hundred & thirty one pounds!! Many thanks to all those members who were instrumental in organising the evening, donating auction lots and bidding generously! Also to businesses for their contributions. This is a tremendous amount of money to make from one social event & will greatly assist club funds.

The Leigh & Westcliff winter season has come to an end and it has been a very successful season for our teams with all except one maintaining their league positions and four teams winning their divisions. Ladies 1 only finished 2 points behind the Division 1 champions whilst Ladies 2 won Division 2 with a massive 50 points! Special mention for Wendy Bristow who won 7 out of 7 matches for Ladies 2 – the best player stats for the club this winter! Our Mens 1 team were runners up in Division 1 whilst Mens 3 won Division 5 and gain promotion for next winter. Mixed 1 were 3rd in Division 1 whilst Mixed 2 and Mixed 4 both won their respective divisions and will be promoted. Thanks to all captains for their hard work and well done to all our players.

Congratulations to club member Anthony Weingarten who was recently a member of the Essex 18 & Under Boys team competing in the 2019 County Cup event. The Essex team won their group to gain promotion to the top division next year. Anthony was the youngest in the team but won his debut singles match on the opening day 7-5,5-7,6-0 against his 18 year old Suffolk opponent in 2 hours 56 minutes. A great achievement Anthony! (The team are pictured here with Anthony second from the left.)

Two wins on finals day for WLTC!  Our Mixed team successfully defended their title in the Don Barton Mixed Open competition defeating Westcliff Hard in the final.  Congratulations to all players in the team, Christie Hale & Janice Torr, Dan Thrale & Mark Gregory, Dan Sanderson & Sarah Ball.  Our Mens Senior team then went on to win the Ian Pitt Mens Senior competition beating Gidea Park, champions for the past 7 years, in a very closely contested final.  Very well done to our three pairs, Alan Kemp & Ian Currie, Dave Lambe & Greg Huggett, Tim Wilcox & Kevin Eley.  A special mention to Tim & Kevin who won their third set championship tiebreak 12 points to 10!

Congratulations to club member James Byford (aged 9) who was awarded the President’s Cup for the Most Improved Junior at our AGM.

Well done to the winning pairs in our Winter Handicap Finals. A special mention for all the players in the Ladies Doubles final which was a hard fought three set match lasting almost 3 hours! Congratulations to eventual winners Juliette Young & Laura Ravinet who beat Deb Goldhawk & Tasha Hilsum. The Mens Doubles winners were Dan Thrale & Alex MacDonald, runners up Simon Milner & Will Bailes. And Mixed Doubles winners Paul Moffat & Janice Torr, runners up Richard Carey & Sarah Ball. Full marks to Richard for returning from Tenerife especially to play his final, and thanks to all those who came to spectate.