Elliswick LTC Newsletter – April 2026
Welcome to our April Newsletter.
SUMMER COACHING SESSIONS
We still have a few places left for the summer coaching sessions. Please click on the following link to book your space: https://clubspark.lta.org.uk/ElliswickLawnTennisClub/Coaching
MAY HALF TERM HOLIDAY CAMP
Elliswick LTC May Half‑Term Holiday Camp is open for booking. You can book via the following link: https://clubspark.lta.org.uk/ElliswickLawnTennisClub/Coaching/Camps
For further information, please contact [email protected].
MEMBERSHIP DATA
Whether in your role as a Club Officer or team captain, you may be holding members’ contact information. Unless it is needed for a current role (for example, captaining teams for this season) could you please delete that information from your system. Please let Andree Haxton know if you have any difficulty doing this. This does not affect those arranging social play.
COURT ETIQUETTE
With the new summer season upon us, we would like to share the current ‘etiquette’ guidelines for Elliswick LTC. The club always gets extremely busy at this time of year, with multiple matches taking place and increasing social play as the weather improves. Please ensure that you are playing on the court that is allocated to you or booked for your games.
Everyone at Elliswick, both adult and junior members, should know the particular guidelines for ‘etiquette’ whilst on court. There will always be the odd occasion when the courts are extremely busy, balls will be flying across different courts and members will have to cross courts that are in use. When these situations do happen, let’s all continue to be patient and respectful of each other, so we all have a great summer of happy tennis. We would like to wish every success to all teams for the upcoming season and let’s have a great summer of enjoyable and competitive tennis!
Please see the current ‘etiquette’ policies below
https://www.elliswickltc.co.uk/etiquette-around-tennis-courts/
https://www.elliswickltc.co.uk/book-a-court-2/
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Andree Haxton at [email protected]
ANNUAL TOURNAMENT- FINALS DAY 20TH JUNE 2026
The tournament is well under way. Thank you to those who already have completed their first and second round tournament matches. Congratulations to all those players remaining in the tournament. All the second-round tournament matches must be played by 16th May. Ladies Singles & Doubles must be played by 30th May. Please can you ensure that you complete your match by the deadline dates and the winners put their names down on the result list. Failure to complete your match tournament by the deadline will result in one or both players/pairs being withdrawn from the tournament.
If you need a court for your tournament match during the club nights or social mix-ins, please contact Andree Haxton at [email protected], who will try to allocate a court for your match. Please note that courts are not available to book before 8pm for any tournament matches during Wednesday Ladies’ Nights and Friday Junior Nights. If you have any issues, please contact Louise Behan at [email protected] as soon as possible.
Finals Day is Saturday 20th June 2026. Matches will be played both in the morning and in the afternoon. In case of inclement weather, finals day will be moved to Sunday 21st June 2026. Finalists must ensure they are available to play on both days.
Volunteers
We’re looking for members who can help with the line judging across the five matches, as well as a few volunteers to assist in the kitchen with preparing and clearing up lunch. If you’re able to lend a hand, please contact Andree Haxton at [email protected].
MEMBERSHIP
We would like to welcome our new members to Elliswick LTC at a New Members’ Event on Saturday 16 May, from 2pm to 5pm. There will be opportunities to meet some of the committee members, enjoy a few friendly games on court, and finish with refreshments. If the weather isn’t on our side, we’ll move the event to Sunday 17 May instead, providing you with advanced notification of the change.
If you’d like to join us, please sign up here: https://forms.gle/JDfKTNyCwsxvprrGA
Personal Updates
Please can everybody check and update your address and telephone number in Clubspark. It is your responsibility to ensure everything in your profile is complete and up to date. This information is a basic club requirement.
To do this, help is available at the Clubspark website as per the link below:
https://sportlabs.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000358286-GDPR-Editing-Your-Profile-And-Details
If, however, you need to change your name, email or date of birth, these have to be changed on the LTA website at:
https://www.lta.org.uk/account-details/personal
If you have other queries about using Clubspark, you can visit their support page, submit a request to the helpdesk or chat with them during office hours. The link for this is:
https://sportlabs.zendesk.com/hc/en-us
If you have any queries regarding memberships, please contact our Memberships Secretary, Nick Murray at [email protected].
TEAM TENNIS
Our 3 coaches have delivered two enjoyable team practice sessions for all the team players and we can already see the improvements in the players! Please sign up for the next sessions on 3rd and 17th May. Attendance has been full so let’s keep the momentum.
We are proud to inform you that our 55A Men team have been promoted to the Championship division. Congratulations to all the players in this team and thank you Simon for captaining this team! Amazing achievement in a really competitive league.
The Winter matches have nearly come to an end with only a few matches left to play. Please see results below.
All summer matches (Hot Rackets, Herts League, Datchworth, Mid-Herts Mixed and Herts National League (Mens)), fixtures have been arranged, teams agreed and squads allocated. Some of the initial matches have been played.
TEAMS TENNIS
LADIES TEAMS
2025/26 Winter vets:
| TEAMS | CAPTAINS | DIVISIONS | POSITIONS |
| 40A | V JACOBS | 3 | 3RD |
| 50A | R HODDINOTT | 2 | 1ST |
| 50B | S COLLINS | 3 | 6TH |
| 60A | G THORNTON | 1 | 5TH |
| 60B | Z BROWN | 3 | 3RD |
MENS TEAMS
2025/26 Winter Vets
| TEAMS | CAPTAINS | DIVISIONS | POSITIONS |
| 65A | D KENDALL | 1 | 4TH |
| 65B | S SEGALL | 3 | 2ND |
| 55A | S LOWE | 1 | TOP |
| 55B | S OWEN | 2 | 3RD |
| 55C | K MITCHIE | 3 | 5TH |
| 45A | M BEHAN | CHAMPIONSHIPS | 4TH |
| 45B | P LUCAS | 2 | 4TH |
| 45C | J BISSEKER | 3 | 7TH |
2025/26 East Herts Winter Mixed
| TEAMS | CAPTAINS | DIVISIONS | POSITIONS |
| 1 | K CURSON | 2 (GROUP 2) | 1ST |
| 2 | R GARDINER | 2 (GROUP 1) | 3RD |
| 3 | R HODDINOTT | 3 (GROUP 1) | 3RD |
| 4 | A RADGMAN | 3 (GROUP 2) | 6TH |
| 5 | R EDWARDS | 3 (GROUP 1) | 5TH |
| 6 | M WAY | 6 (GROUP 2) | 3RD |
2026 Mid-Herts Mixed
Matches have been organised and squads have been allocated. The first two matches have been played with good results.
Post‑Match Refreshments
Sometimes we have more than one match taking place at the same time. Please could all team players label the refreshments you bring for your match. This helps avoid any confusion about which items belong to which team and prevents accidental mix‑ups. Please also ensure you do not take refreshments intended for other teams.
SOCIALS
We kicked off this year’s supper nights in style with a fantastic supper night, brilliantly hosted by Angela and Peter Perry. With around 30 members, the clubhouse was buzzing with great food, laughter and lively conversation—a perfect start to the social calendar.
The Bank Holiday Tournament on Monday 6th April kept the momentum going, with all seven courts in constant action throughout the morning. The energy on court was matched by a delicious lunch and plenty of good company off court. Huge thanks to Andree who prepared a feast and to Sandra and Sandy for helping everything run so smoothly. Congratulations to our worthy winners: Alexander Gardiner, Jeremy Masson-Cecilion and Kate Curson.
While we were disappointed to cancel the family walk and ladies’ fashion show due to low numbers, we’re excited about what’s ahead and look forward to bringing you more opportunities to get involved very soon.
Next Social events:
Events in May 2026
| Tuesday 12th | Men’s Beer & Curry Night, sign up here: https://forms.gle/UaStTbZUhHtgyNFa9 |
| Thursday 14th | Moroccan Supper night by Chris Rice who will be cooking up a Lamb Tagine, Couscous & Moroccan fruit jelly. All for £10pp. Please sign up here: https://forms.gle/UB9DF1tcuj5S5PrY8 |
| Saturday 16th | New Members Day (reserve date in case of rain 17th May), please sign up here: https://forms.gle/JDfKTNyCwsxvprrGA |
| Monday 25th | Spring Bank Holiday Tournament, please sign up here: |
Events in June 2026
| Wednesday 3rd | Ladies Fizz & Curry Night, please sign up here: https://forms.gle/wQGRDNo5iJFkYuzk8 |
| Saturday 6th | Wine Tasting Evening with Barry and Alison, please sign up here: https://forms.gle/9Be1g8LiDmB55qir5 |
| Thursday 11th | Mexican supper night by Victoria and Susie, please sign up here: https://forms.gle/pWq6PySR2gTSwU8S7 |
| Saturday/Sunday 20th/21st | Finals Day – For the catering purposes, please sign up here if you wish to join us for lunch and afternoon tea. |
| Sunday 28th | Junior Tournament |
Events in July 2026
| Sunday 5th | Junior Tournament Reserved Date |
| Thursday 16th | South African Supper Night by Steve Segall |
| Saturday 18th | Tim Sutton Magic and Music Evening |
Events in August 2026
| Thursday 13th | Supper Night by Jon & Marion Carr |
| Monday 31st | Summer Bank Holiday Tournament |
September Supper Night
We are still looking for members to cook for our popular Thursday Supper Night on 10th September. If you’d like to volunteer, we would be delighted to hear from you.
If you have any queries regarding our social events, please contact our Social Secretary at [email protected].
JUNIORS NEWS
JUNIOR COURTS
Please note that all junior members have priority use of the courts from Monday to Friday between 3:30pm and 6pm. These after‑school hours are the only time many of our juniors can meet their friends and enjoy turn‑up‑and‑play tennis together. Juniors also have full use of all courts during Friday Junior Nights.
We kindly remind adult members not to use courts that have been specifically reserved for junior sessions.
JUNIOR NIGHTS
The first Junior night of the year started on 17th April with a very good turnout. Thank you to Lucy Howarth who ran the tuck shop for the juniors to enjoy. We are looking for volunteers to help with the bar rota during our Junior Nights on Fridays. Please contact Andree Haxton at [email protected] if you are able to help.
2026 JUNIOR TOURNAMENT – SUNDAY 28TH JUNE WITH RESERVE DATE SUNDAY 5TH JULY 2026
Entries are now open! Junior members can sign up for the Tournament using the sign‑up sheets posted on the Junior board inside the clubhouse. The Tournament is open to all Elliswick LTC juniors aged 8 and under up to 16 years old. The deadline for entry is Sunday 17th May. So please enter now before too late.
Parents of all players who enter are kindly asked to volunteer to support the event — helping with organisation, catering, and scoring throughout the day. If you are able to assist, please contact Andree Haxton at [email protected]. The day can only run smoothly with the help of our wonderful volunteers.
For the U8, U9 and U10 categories, matches will take place both in the morning.
For the U12–U16 categories, players may arrange and complete their preliminary matches before 28 June. Only the finalists will play on the day with finals being played from early afternoon onwards.
Players wishing to play in the tournament must ensure they are available to play on both days (28th June and/or 5th July 2026).
Please do encourage your juniors to participate in this tournament.
BRIDGE SESSIONS AT ELLISWICK LTC
One of our members, Rachel Hoddinott, has proposed reinstating Bridge sessions in the clubhouse, starting with monthly sessions from May moving possibly to fortnightly over the autumn/winter if there is sufficient demand. If you would like to take part on a regular or occasional basis, please contact Rachel on 07581 219407 or [email protected] to register your interest. We intend to allow non-ELTC members to attend, with a small charge, but will prioritise members of the club.
LOST PROPERTY BOX
Please look through the lost property box (clothing, racquets, water bottles) in the clubhouse as the box will be emptied at the end of next week and the contents given to a local charity.
EASTER EGG RAFFLE
Thank you from Harpenden Lions Club to everyone who participated in the Easter Egg Raffle (Sandy Bridgeman being the winner!). The total raised at Elliswick was £64 and the grand total raised for the Willow Foundation from all of the 20 Raffles was £1,527.
TIM SUTTON SHOW
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is a musical co-written by Elliswick Member Tim Sutton and Richy Hughes, and is based upon the extraordinary memoir written by William Kamkwamba and Brian Mealer, and the film by Chiwetel Ejiofor. The musical, which received rave reviews at the RSC earlier this year, plays the Soho Place Theatre in London for twelve weeks April-July.
SUMMER CONCERT
Some of our members and Tim Sutton will be featuring at St. Helen’s Summer Concert at Wheathampstead on Saturday 27th June at 5pm.
DOG WALKER
Freya, Christian D’Angiola’s wife is starting a new business as a dog walker. After 20 years in Harpenden — living life with two Labradors, a cat, and two teenagers — Freya is offering local dog walking and pet care services. If you need regular walks or occasional drop ins, she’d love to help. Reliable, local, and pet obsessed. Feel free to get in touch on 07888 812 128
https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.harpendenpawsandplay.co.uk%2F&data=05%7C02%7C%7C011895713aec47d75f2708dea08fc823%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C639124736543166386%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=IH%2BHxia9lP08wRC9WIp3HqppQUEtw04vqeOhI%2BTrS74%3D&reserved=0
Kind Regards
Elliswick LTC Committee
PS, Don’t forget to keep up to date with events at our website http://www.elliswickltc.co.uk and follow our Facebook page as well.