Tennis Courts Project - The Vision is Becoming a Reality

For a long time now we have been promising a bright future for the club we love.   There has been much blood, sweat and tears, heroic fundraising and generosity by members but we can now say that future is upon us.   Over the next few weeks the artificial clay courts and new floodlights will be completed, ready for play and our dream of more tennis for more players of all ages every day until 9.30pm will become a reality.   Members will have the opportunity to play all year round on five new all-weather artificial green Edelgrass courts, bringing the top level back into use after some years. Our floodlight capacity has been doubled with five new sets of state-of-the-art lights.   When we first came to you with our plans we asked you to buy into our vision of Alderley Edge Tennis Club as a destination club for the North West, a truly modern tennis club, while bolstering the tennis offer to each and every section and age group. You did so. This season the club will be able to boast some of the best facilities in the county.  Cheshire LTA support our vision as we received the ‘Club of the Year’ award at the presentations in November.   2019 will be a vintage season ‘under the Edge’ with more tennis played than ever before, more games, more friends made both on court and in the club house and more fun.   The season long party kicks off on Sunday March 24 - mark it in your diaries - with an Open Day that is geared to include everyone. The chance to try out the new surface is an exciting prospect, so do please come along.   There will be a formal opening in the early afternoon sandwiched between tournaments for adults and juniors and exhibition matches involving our very own Seb Jackson, the coaches and several of our county level juniors. There will be a barbecue tent and the bar will be open. In the afternoon there will be a social tournament.   Meanwhile, there is much activity around the club and much to be done over the next few weeks. Members have been very patient over the past week as floodlight construction has meant fewer available courts. That is about to change.   This is a good time not only to whet your appetite about the tennis to come but also introduce you to the freedoms that more courts will afford us. One of the drivers behind expanding our floodlit courts was to open up the availability of play in the evenings to many more players. With five additional courts everyone can look forward to playing on winter evenings under lights.   Booking floodlights will be made as easy as possible. An online system will help members to check availability and book, even at the last minute and at peak times. A token system will be introduced which allows us to manage the lights better.   A five metre net alongside courts 1-8 will offer players greater protection from flying cricket balls and dedicated paths to the courts will keep shoes and courts cleaner.   More courts means less waiting, more team matches and more social tennis for all who wish to play. Above all, it offers members a choice of surface.   Over the next few weeks members can expect to see…. ·         The new paths to courts 9-14 and courts 1-8 completed ensuring mud free walkways. ·         New floodlights on courts 1 and 2 become operational. ·         Courts 9, 11, 13 and 14 change over to the token system ·         The computerised booking system launched for booking the floodlights ·         Five metre fences installed along the cricket boundary ·         Shortly after, courts 4 - 8 opened up for play and the floodlights   We are hoping this will be a great summer of tennis at the club we love. We said at the outset of the courts project how lucky we are to be part of our wonderful place under the Edge.   On a summer’s day with the sun yet to disappear back over the clubhouse roof it is not difficult to think of the club as a treasure, our treasure. We have done our best to burnish it. Well done. So let’s play.