Elliswick LTC Newsletter – July 2026
Welcome to our July Newsletter. We hope that you have been enjoying your tennis in the sun at Elliswick LTC and may the sun continue to shine on our courts throughout the year.
SUNDAYS SOCIAL MIXED- IN
We would like to invite all members, including junior members, to join us to play tennis on Sunday mornings from 10am to 12pm. Any abilities welcome, just turn up and play. It would be great to see more families out to support our Sunday morning tennis.
TEAM TENNIS
As the hot weather is making food spoil quickly, just a gentle reminder to all team players not to leave surplus match food in the kitchen (including the fridge), unless you intend remove it within 48 hours. It is not a pleasant task to clean out rotting food from the fridges, which one member had to do recently.
Men’s Tennis
The Herts National League and Hot Rackets summer fixtures have now concluded, with our teams facing some tough competition throughout. This season, our National League team has also been giving match experience to several junior players, which has been fantastic to see.
In Hot Rackets, our 1st team will be promoted, while our 2nd team will be relegated. There are still a few matches remaining in the Herts League before the summer season fully wraps up.
We have entered a joint team with Orchard Tennis Club into the Harris Cup. The team will be captained by Alexander Gardiner.
We’re now looking ahead to the Winter Vets season, which begins in the autumn. We have entered 8 teams, as follows:
| TEAMS | CAPTAINS |
| 70A | DAVID KENDALL |
| 60A | NIGEL CROFT |
| 50A | SIMON LOWE |
| 50B | STUART OWEN |
| 50C | JUSTIN BISSEKER |
| 40A | MARK BEHAN |
| 40B | PAUL LUCAS |
| 40C | ROB EDWARDS |
If any gents would like to get involved in team tennis, please contact our Men’s Captain, Mark Behan, at [email protected].
Ladies Tennis
Our Ladies Summer matches are well underway, with some fantastic wins and plenty of sunshine along the way. As we look ahead to the winter season (September–March), we have entered 5 ladies’ teams, as follows:
| TEAMS | CAPTAINS |
| 40A | VICKY JACOBS |
| 50A | MAKI WATANABE-GENOUD |
| 50B | SUSIE COLLINS |
| 60A | ANNE SPENCER |
| 60B | ZOE BROWN |
If you are not currently in a team but would like to play, please contact our Ladies Captain, Rachel Hoddinott, at [email protected].
Mixed Tennis
The Datchworth Summer League has now finished with a real mix of results across our teams. We faced some tough matches and strong opposition throughout. Our 1st and 4th teams have secured their places in their current divisions, and while our 2nd and 3rd teams will move to new divisions next season, it gives us a great opportunity to regroup, rebuild, and come back even stronger. Thank you to all captains and players for your commitment throughout the season.
We now look ahead to the Autumn and Winter fixtures in both the Datchworth and East Herts Winter Mixed Leagues.
- Datchworth Autumn League: We will enter four teams, with matches every Saturday at 1pm or 2pm, running for ten weeks from September to November. Team captains are as follows:
| TEAM | CAPTAIN |
| 1ST | ALEXANDER GARDINER |
| 2ND | RICHARD COURTMAN |
| 3RD | MICHAEL TIMMINS |
| 4TH | ALAISTAIR TYLER |
- East Herts Winter Mixed League: We will enter six teams, with matches running from September through to March, typically 5–6 matches per team across the season.
A huge thank you, as always, to our captains who volunteer their time to organise and run these teams — your efforts make it possible for us to enter so many teams.
If you haven’t played mixed matches before but would like to be considered or would like to discuss which squad you will join, please contact Mark Behan or Rachel Hoddinott.
GROUNDS & CLUBHOUSE
A quick heads‑up for everyone: we’ll be carrying out hedge cutting on Mon 24 and Tue 25 August. Courts 3 and 7 will be out of use all day, and there may be some temporary parking limitations while the work is underway. Thanks for your understanding.
JUNIOR TENNIS
Our Friday Junior Nights have been a real highlight, with warm evenings and plenty of enthusiastic players enjoying the courts. Junior Nights will take a break over the Summer Holidays and will return on Friday 11th September.
During the summer, courts will continue to be allocated for juniors every Friday from 4:30pm to 8pm. Please note that coaches will not be supervising during this period, so juniors are welcome to play with parent supervision.
HERTFORDSHIRE YOUTH LEAGUE – WINTER 2026–27
We will be entering a number of junior teams (U8 through U16) into the Hertfordshire Youth League for the Winter 2026–27 season. If you have juniors who are keen to play team tennis, please get in touch with our Junior Secretary, Dan Pearce, at [email protected].
ELLISWICK TABLE TENNIS CLUB
Calling all budding table tennis players! The club is looking for new players who would be interested in playing league table tennis. The new season starts at the end of September and runs through to the end of March with matches being played on weekday evenings (7.30pm~10.30pm). The club has four teams playing across a wide range of standards from improver to Herts County level so we can accommodate most playing levels. Anyone interested in playing, please contact Tony Ward via [email protected] or feel free to join one of the practice sessions which are held on Sunday evenings (Juniors 6~7pm, Adults 7~9pm) which are restarting in mid-August.
SOCIALS
In July, we enjoyed a wonderful South African Supper Night, hosted by Steve Segall and Suzette Carlean. The event was very well attended, and everyone enjoyed a fantastic evening of delicious food and great company. A huge thank you to Steve and Suzette for all their hard work and for treating members to such a wonderful supper.
Please note below the social events planned for the next few months:
Events in August 2026
| Saturday 1st | Tim Sutton Magic and Music Evening, please sign up here: https://forms.gle/cnsBqqoiXgBP8cCy8 |
| Thursday 13th | Supper Night by Jon & Marion Carr, please sign up here: https://forms.gle/oiT2HnXSdbWB3pyH8 |
| Monday 31st | Summer Bank Holiday Tournament, please sign up here: https://forms.gle/rVpBzrFg55LMi7Kj7 |
Events in September 2026
| Thursday 10th | Supper Night – TBC. This Supper Night will go ahead only if we have a volunteer to cook. Please let Jane know if you’d like to take it on. |
| Friday 25th | McMillan Coffee Morning |
Events in October 2026
| Saturday 17th | Quiz Night and Fish & Chips |
Events in November 2026
| Saturday 14th | Lulu and the Hullabaloos 8pm |
Events in December 2026
| Tuesday 1st | Members Charity Christmas Lunch |
| Saturday 5thh | AGM |
All ELTC members are warmly invited to bring guests to our social events (although members have priority for the busiest ones), whether you’re playing tennis beforehand or simply joining us for the event. For more information regarding our social events, please contact our Social Secretary, Jane Bisseker at [email protected]
CLUB PHOTOS ON THE WEBSITE
Our club photographer, Steve Segall, has been busy capturing moments from recent events and tournaments. These fantastic photos are now available on our website. Simply visit the Gallery section and select the event you’re interested in. Click any image to enlarge it to full screen, then scroll through the collection at your own pace.
MUG MAKING WITH “CLAY BY DAVID” AT ELLISWICK LTC
David Watkinson — one of our members and our club gardener — will be running mug‑making workshops on Tuesday 4 August and Tuesday 11 August 2026, from 1.00pm to 3.30pm. You’ll hand‑build and decorate your own unique stoneware mug, with David guiding you step by step. No experience needed, and all clay, tools, and materials are provided. Each session is limited to 15 places.
If you’d like to take part, please click the link below:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc4U1-iJx5rfSfBxxZWovJcGrViSCYQF_JD936seVF-UuXd9g/viewform
For more information, please contact David Watkinson at [email protected]
HARPENDEN PADEL PASS – FREE INTRO SESSION
Register here: https://padelpass.co.uk/free-intro-to-padel/. You’ll receive a text or email with available times and can choose the session that suits you. All equipment is provided—just wear your usual tennis kit.
Current availability: Sunday 23rd & Sunday 30th August. Feel free to coordinate with friends or teammates. If you can’t make these dates, more sessions will be released soon and everyone registered will receive updates automatically.
Questions? Contact Alex: M: 07926962532 E: [email protected] – padelpass.co.uk/
HERTS SUMMER PARKS
Free sports, activities and food for young people aged 12–16, funded by Hertfordshire County Council and delivered by Sporting Inspirations CIC.
Dates: 3–21 August Time: Weekly sessions across five Hertfordshire parks Cost: Completely free Extras: Free food vouchers + access to local support services
Activities include: inflatables, climbing, graffiti art, lyrical writing, football, jewellery making, archery, gaming/VR and more.
Locations: • Welwyn Garden City – Mondays (3, 10, 17 Aug), King George Playing Fields • Broxbourne – Tuesdays (4, 11, 18 Aug), Waltham Cross Playing Fields • Borehamwood – Wednesdays (5, 12, 19 Aug), Meadow Park • Watford – Thursdays (6, 13, 20 Aug), King George V Playing Fields • Stevenage – Fridays (7, 14, 21 Aug), King George V Playing Fields
Register now for fast‑track entry: https://bit.ly/HertsSummerParks2026
Full programme details: https://sportinherts.org.uk/Summer-Parks
Contact: [email protected]
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.