Tennis Court Project Update - March 2018

TENNIS COURT PROJECT UPDATE – MARCH 2018 LET’S TALK ABOUT THE NEW COURT SURFACE We have come a long way over the past year towards realising our ambition to bring the largely redundant grass courts into full time play, and to double our floodlighting capacity. When we started out we felt daunted by the scale of the project, its cost and sheer complexity. The five new courts and equal number of new floodlit courts, designed to take our club to the next stage, are now almost a reality. It is time to start making some final decisions but before we do that we are anxious to inform all our tennis members of what is happening and take account of their views in the decision-making process. One of the most important decisions we have to make is what kind of court surface we are going to choose. This is an important decision, not least because we envisage that the surface we lay will be in place for around two decades. The project team has looked very closely at all surfaces, whether Astroturf, Tarmac or artificial clay, taken account of how they have fared at similarly sized clubs, sought testimonies from experienced players and researched the latest technologies. It is no secret that the results of our work swiftly coalesced around artificial clay. We have now narrowed down our preferred artificial clay surface to EdelGrass Advantage Greencourt, which plays and wears well and also looks attractive. We would like to invite anybody with views, for or against, or is simply curious to know more to seek out one of the project committee at an informal evening in the club house on a date yet to be decided. This is likely to take place in the next month, and will almost certainly be on a Wednesday evening. Members will get a chance to talk to those who have done the research and put forward their own thoughts. This is the thinking of the committee: artificial clay provides just the kind of alternative surface that we are looking for, one that is good for coaching youngsters, challenging for performance players and forgiving for our older members. It is a surface used in competition. The top surface does not hold water in wet conditions. The surface requires a similar level of maintenance to the Astroturf and experience suggests that it will last 20 years. Artificial clay is not like ‘Roland Garros clay’ or the shale some of us used to play upon. It is similar to our current Astroturf surface and consists of a carpet which is infilled with coloured sand. In contrast to Astroturf, the sand is filled to a height just above the carpet brush. There have been more than 300 courts of this type successfully laid in the UK and those laid in 2006 show little sign of wear 12 years on. Most persuasive, perhaps, is the testimony of coaches, social players and team players. Allan Morton, our assistant coach, has played on such a surface at the Hurlingham Club. He told us: “My first experience of artificial clay was whilst working at the Hurlingham Club, Fulham (2010-2012). They had installed one of the first in the country.  It proved very popular and resulted in the club then converting a further two courts during my time, and I now know they have converted at least another Astro to artificial since my departure….maybe more. “The surface is forgiving on the legs which personally is beneficial when spending many hours on court coaching. “I have always preferred the honest bounce on artificial clay, with the ball sitting a little higher and not skidding through the surface as much as Astro, more noticeable in wetter conditions. Artificial clay ultimately plays just as well when they are wet, so great for a club in the North West. “The courts look great and offer something a little different to those who seek it. Great surface for learning on. Court sweeping takes a matter of minutes but is completely worth it for what you get back in return”.   Seb Jackson, Former World Number One Ranked ITF Senior Player and AECC team player, said: “Artificial clay courts play slower and bounce a little higher than artificial grass courts but are just as able to soak up water and remain playable. “This means that players will get more chance to build points and rallies with strategic play and develop good technique. Like clay, balls make marks so you can check your opponent’s dubious calls and you can slide into your shots. All in all, it is a great year round surface for our climate”. Stuart Murray, our head coach added: “Having coached and competed for many years on artificial clay in my previous coaching role, I am confident that Alderley Edge tennis can only benefit from playing on this surface. The speed and bounce of the surface will improve players of all ages and standards”. Meanwhile we sought intelligence from Park Langley, a performance centre where 2000 players seek coaching each week, they have seven Edelgrass artificial clay courts. Staff there said that these were the courts players prefer. They have seven courts at Sevenoaks LTC but only four of them are Edelgrass clay. Likewise at Wigmore where the Edelgrass is more popular than the resin and Astroturf. “Everyone wants to play on the artificial clay,” said one. Ahead of the informal open evening, some members are to visit Hoole LTC near Chester to play on the Edelgrass surface. You are more than welcome to join the trip to Hoole. Simply contact David Killworth to book your place. We shall be reporting back. GOOD NEWS FOR THE COURTS CONVERSION PROJECT Since our last communication we have been working hard to complete the necessary technical work on courts and floodlights. The good news is that we are ahead of the game. We are hopeful that the eight to 12 week construction phase will start later this year, perhaps as early as August. We are now engaged in a technical process of seeking quotations for work from carefully structured tender lists. The process is being closely monitored at every step of the way both within and without the club. Not least of this has been the work being done on floodlights, which is, necessarily, highly technical. It is possible to say that we have narrowed our search down to a small number of preferred suppliers. We are currently awaiting quotations. We will have to go back to the planners about the floodlights. We are hoping to offer some more details on floodlights shortly in much the same way as we are doing for the courts surface. It is more than simply a matter of courtesy to point out that our enthusiasm is not enough. The numbers will go before both the tennis section committee and ultimately, once we have all our ducks in a row, the club’s General Committee. CAN WE AFFORD IT? Thanks to the hard work of members, and some spectacular generosity, we have reached our internal fundraising target of £118,000 and are now working to raise cash in order to keep our annual repayments as low as possible. A bank loan of £100k has been approved. We are still working with the LTA to finalise terms and conditions of their grant and loan. At the moment we are looking at an annual payback levels which we believe we can comfortably achieve, mostly through the ‘normal operation’ of the tennis section which will be enhanced by increased coaching and floodlight income as well as sponsorship income. It is not so much a matter of whether we can afford this ambitious construction - the answer plainly is yes, we can - but whether we can risk not moving forward as a club. We believe strongly that we need these new facilities. David Killworth carried out a survey of local tennis clubs and discovered some stark statistics. We have far too few floodlit courts for the membership. The conversion project will go some way towards addressing this paucity. One local club has a floodlit court for every 45 members. Even with the new facilities we will still have 76 members per floodlit court. We are entering a crucial phase of the courts conversion project. If you have any questions, anything to contribute or simply want more information, now is the time to come forward and say so. SPRING BALL AND LADIES LUNCH Lastly, the AECC Spring Ball and Tennis Section Spring Fundraising Lunch are almost upon us. These are hugely important events in the fundraising process, and also promise to be enormously enjoyable. Please support them. The popular Wilmslow Crows are booked for the Black Tie Ball on Friday March 23. See the club website for details about how to buy tickets or contact the event organisers Tim Jevons (07551 758433) tim.jevons@gmail.com or Jon Harari (07768 796304) jon@rooftops.co.uk There is pre-lunch fizz and stalls on display at the Spring Lunch on Wednesday March 21. To buy tickets at £25 or reserve a table please contact Clare at clare@lucasgang.net If you wish to discuss any of the content of this newsletter in advance of our informal evening meeting, then please contact one of the Courts Project Team listed below: Ruth Samuels - Courts Project Lead - 07850 413863 samuels.ruth@googlemail.com Richard Sibbett - Technical Project Lead - 07881 615832 richardsibbett@msn.com David Killworth - Tennis Section Treasurer - 07802 788436 d.killworth@btinternet.com Russell Jenkins - Courts Project Communications - 07799 772850 - russelljenkins593@gmail.com