Spring has sprung and I'm extremely energised by the tennis year to come! We're celebrating an amazing award for one of our brilliant coaches and we're delighted to unveil our newly renovated clubhouse which I hope will make the space more useable and used by us to enjoy each others' company. We're also tweaking our club offerings this spring/summer to create opportunities for everyone to enjoy even more tennis...read on to find out more...
Emma Pattison
Club Chair
ANDY GRAY - AVON TENNIS COACH OF THE YEAR
We are immensely proud of Andy Gray who has won the Avon Tennis Coach of the Year award. Andy is a long time member, player and coach at Backwell Tennis (he was taught his trade by Ben Tilling and still coaches part-time with us) and so while he won his award for his work as Head Coach at Saltford TC, we feel entitled to celebrate his achievements here too!!
Andy has done amazing work setting up a coaching programme at Saltford from scratch to 120 players, introducing a Walking Tennis programme, and leading sessions for neurodiverse and disabled children. It's been a real pleasure seeing Andy grow his capability and confidence as a coach over the years, and this award is true recognition of his hard work and his calm, friendly determination. He is now inspiring other clubs and coaches in the region to introduce similar programmes - great work Andy!
Huge congratulations to Andy on this award - and if you want to celebrate with him then the award will be presented at the Avon Tennis Big Night Out on Saturday 29 March
our sunday morning ladies
Every Sunday morning throughout the year a lovely group of ladies meet up to play social tennis and enjoy each others' company, often taking two or three courts because the group is so popular . Walk past and you'll feel (and hear!) the energy from them - what a fantastic advertisement for our sport!
At the end of 2024, the ladies organised a collection for Hilary Coombs and Christine Caine, presenting gifts to show their appreciation for the work they do in organising the Sunday morning sessions. Great work ladies!
club play for spring & summer
The summer club play schedule will start again on Tuesday 1 April, with our normal club sessions running on Tuesday and Thursday evenings (in addition to the Saturday afternoon club play which operates all year round). For this season, we are introducing two new sessions into our club play schedule:
A summer late evening rota on Monday evenings from 8pm to 10pm. This is a popular rota slot through the winter months and so we'll see whether there is appetite to continue a rota format through the spring and summer. The sessions will start late April and more details will be shared with members soon regarding sign-up
From May, a club play session designed for 'Intermediate' level players will run alongside our normal club play on Thursday evening from 6.30pm (using 1 or 2 courts depending on demand). Suitable for 'rusty rackets' or players who want to build their confidence and capability in doubles, it will also help individuals who enjoy coaching and who want to play more tennis and meet new people
open day
Following the succes of our Open Day in 2024, we will be opening our doors to the community again on Saturday 26 April from 2pm. Open to existing members, your friends & families as well as anyone from Backwell or surrounding area who fancies a go at tennis. This is a fantastic opportunity for us to sell the benefits of our club, while enjoying each others' company and a bit of tennis. More information will be available on our website soon...please support us if you can
drop shots
The latest edition of the Avon Tennis newsletter hightlights all of the Avon Tennis Awards winners, including Andy
Our Backwell Tennis Club Clothing is available to buy on-line in the BTC Shop in a new range of colours and styles...! Wear our club logo with pride!