We would like to take this opportunity to say a very warm welcome to you as a new member of our club. We pride ourselves on the enthusiasm with which we receive new members. We hope that this Welcome Pack will help you to get involved in the club from the beginning and ensure you enjoy to the fullest your membership of Ballinlough Tennis Club

Getting Started

Irrespective of the standard at which you play the best way to “put your toe in the water” is to come along on a Tuesday night for our weekly Club Night. This is a night of fun tennis with an emphasis on getting players to mix and play with people with whom they mightn’t normally play. When you arrive just mention to the organiser that you are a new member – he/she will ensure that For our female members who’s time is a bit more flexible then maybe the twice-weekly Ladies Morning (Tuesdays & Thursdays from 10 am) might suit. Again tell the organiser that its your first time and you will get special treatment. Enjoy some good tennis and a sociable cup of tea/coffee afterwards. Now that – hopefully – your appetite for the game has been whetted you might like to get a bit of Coaching. There are a number of excellent coaches attached to the club who will give either individual or group coaching to senior players. Their contact details are in this pack, on the notice board (and on the website www.ballinloughtennisclub.ie ). If you want any advice in regard to coaching have a chat with one of the more experienced players or any one of the General Committee.

Booking Courts

The natural progression from playing in the club Nights and/or Ladies Mornings is that a group of you may wish to organise your own game. Unless you are going to play at one of the less popular times, you are advised to book the courts in advance. If you have not an account to book then sign up here Court Booking Sign Up

Moving Right Along

When you are really making progress, you may be tempted to try your hand at competitive tennis. The club caters for all levels of ability in the competitions which it organises. These competitions include the Internal Winter League – this is run over 6 to 8 weeks from October to December. Each player plays a 45 minute match on a Thursday night as part of a team of 8 players of all abilities from novice to more experienced players. The Internal Spring League, similar to the Winter League but run from February to March. The Veterans Closed Tournament – usually held in April. All players over 35 years of age are eligible to play – ability (or lack of it) is no obstacle to taking part. The emphasis is on participation and fun. The Closed Senior Tournament (October) is similar in format to the Vets tournament except open to all members. (no age limit). There are Turkey Tournaments which are run during December on Tuesday nights. As you can see there is plenty competition for everybody – the best thing is to ask about it on Club Night or at the Ladies Mornings. If you are feeling confident, you could consider playing in competitions outside of the club. Broadly speaking there are two types of external competition. Open Tournaments – these are held in other tennis clubs and anybody who wishes can enter them. Inter – Club competitions offer an opportunity for members to represent the club against other clubs in Munster. To ensure that players only compete against players of similar ability in these external competitions, there is a player grading system operated by the Munster Branch of Tennis Ireland. You will need to be registered with the Munster Branch Player Directory (M.B P.D.) A Coach will assess your ability and you will be registered at a particular grade (from grade 1 to grade 6). When you are considering taking this step we suggest you talk to some of the more experienced players in the club.

For the Kids

To help the kids get started playing tennis, the club runs a very successful Junior Coaching Programme. It is run by a dedicated Junior Committee who are usually the nicest and friendliest people in the club! The names and contact numbers of the Junior Committee will be on the notice board and the website. They will give you all the details about times, costs etc. In addition there are plenty of both fun and serious competitions organised for the junior players. Details are available from the Junior Committee. The kids love these competitions because again there is a huge emphasis on fun and participation. In July the Club runs a Summer Tennis Camp for Juniors and it is recommended as a great introduction for new junior members. They make friends as well as getting a taste for tennis. The nice people on the Junior committee also organise other fun stuff for the juniors throughout the year.

Socialising

The club runs a variety of social events – Barbeques, Fundraisers, Annual Outing and the social highlight the Annual Dinner. If you want to try out any of these you will be made very welcome and enjoyment is virtually guaranteed.

A Little Bit of History

The Club was founded in 1980 with just one court, it has grown in leaps and bounds over the years with a fifth court being added in 2012. As well as the construction of each additional court, the other landmarks in the Club’s history have included Floodlighting (1990), Clubhouse (1996) Artificial grass surfaces (1998) and the Clubhouse Extension in 2009. Since 2001 the club has run a very successful Senior Open Tournament which is held at the beginning of September each year. A Junior Open Tournament was added to the club calendar in 2008 which has grown in stature and reputation among other clubs over that period.

The ” Help”

All of these developments are funded almost entirely by the members’ annual subscriptions. The cost of running the club has traditionally been kept low due to the huge input of voluntary work by the members. The club is run on a day to day basis by the General Committee – a group of 12 hardworking souls whose sanity has temporarily deserted them! In addition there are a number of Subcommittees who take responsibility for particular areas of activity – the Junior Committee for instance. Taking all these people into account there can be as many as 30 or 40 people helping to run the club. There is a strong tradition of members’ volunteering to help out at some level – this is good for the club and members also benefit personally from getting involved. You might think about putting your name forward at some stage in the future.

Information

There are a number of ways of getting information – the best way is to talk to other members. In addition – keep watching the Notice Board, browse the Website or Facebook page regularly for news of upcoming events etc. The Club has an excellent text messaging service for direct communication with members. There are links on the website to the Tennis Ireland and Munster Branch (of Tennis Ireland ) websites if you want to get information about tennis activities outside of the club. Current information and contact details about the General Committee, Sub-Committees, Board of Directors, the Caretaker and Coaches is contained in a separate sheet included in this pack. The Club Rules and Codes of Behaviour are also included for your information. Welcome Aboard. Finally, we hope you enjoy your time in Ballinlough Tennis Club. Tennis is a game for life – just look at some of the fossils around the Club as proof of this! It can be played by at your own pace and ability.