We’ve had our Open Day and launched new club kit since the last newsletter, and the spring/summer club programme has begun. It’s great to see so many people on the courts – with lighter evenings and (hopefully) warmer weather there is more opportunities to play tennis. Hope you enjoy it.
Emma Pattison (Club Chair)
Emma Pattison
Club Chair
open day
We were delighted to see 150+ people at our Open Day last weekend, with over 100 of those being ‘new’ to the club. We were lucky with the weather and there was a real buzz around the club all afternoon – it was lovely to see so many children and adults having fun with their tennis, and to catch up with our members in a different setting.
Our thanks to:
- The Backwell and Nailsea community for embracing tennis, as well as our members who supported the event and helped create a wonderful atmosphere
- All of the coaching team for their energy, positivity and professionalism and who made tennis fun for all our guests (Ben, Tom F, Tom J, Tommy, Andy, Katie and Mattie)
- The amazing refreshment team who coped with a last-minute surge in numbers and still managed to make sure everyone went home full of cake. Also to Giles for manning the kitchen so expertly.
- To Jude, Aaron and Michael for helping to organise people on the day
- To Ben K for the promotional artwork, the website updates and on the day photography (joined by Sam P).
- To Dan from Jordan Sports for giving us the opportunity to try out (and buy!) new rackets.
new backwell tennis club kit
The Open Day saw the official launch of our new club kit and it was a great way of creating a real sense of community. You will have received an email with all the details of the kit which can be purchased directly on-line from Backwell Tennis Club Shop.
Delivery can be paid for directly or you can take advantage of bulk deliveries which will be made to the club every 1-2 weeks over the next few months. If you pick this option during check-out then please also email the club on
all change in the coaching team
Both of our full-time LTA Level 2 coaches Tommy Simpson and Tom Jackson will leave the coaching team on 5 May and 27 May respectively. Over the years, Tommy and Tom have been full-time coaches, part-time coaches, and junior and adult league players for the club. More recently they have jointly held the Junior Rep role on the Committee.
Tommy heads to Africa in late May volunteering in a sports teaching role in Kenya and then traveling through mid-Africa, with more travel likely thereafter. Tom heads to central America in early June for 8 weeks traveling through 6 countries and returns mid-August to Backwell before relocating with a new job away from tennis in London.
We would like to thank Tommy and Tom for their amazing contribution to the club and the coaching programme. We wish them all the best for a fantastic summer of exploring and new experiences.
We’re delighted to welcome Sam Wareham-Kiladejo to Backwell as a full-time coach from June. Sam is a level 3 accredited coach with over 9 years of coaching experience, both in the USA and UK across a variety of settings. Sam has experience of working with national and county level players but enjoys coaching at all levels including grass roots level.
Sam has had the privilege of playing and competing in the US and he is passionate about using his experiences to help all ages and abilities with their game and help build their confidence on court. He is currently leading a community tennis programme in Weston Super-Mare and completing a Masters in Sport & Exercise Psychology at UWE.
We were really pleased to meet Sam at our Open Day and we’ll start to see him around the club during May. Please join us in welcoming Sam to Backwell!
Drop Shots...
A big thank you to the Spring Maintenance team for sprucing up the club in March – to Malcolm, Elwyn, Sara W, Peter L and Steve S – thank you for giving up your time for our club.
April is Cancer Awareness Month, and our coaching team got involved in a promotional video to support It’s In The Bag (a testicular cancer charity in the South West which has two of our members as trustees). Well done team – thank you for your support to an important cause.