Summer is in full swing and it's great to see so many of you out enjoying your tennis! Club play is well attended, league matches (for adults and juniors) are well underway, club tournament matches are being played, and there's a full programme of coaching for all ages and abilities. We've got lots of new joiners to welcome this month and we're planning a social event for the club in September to co-incide with our tournament Finals Weekend and to celebrate the end of the summer season. We would love to see all you there!
Emma Pattison
Club Chair
partnering with ravenswood school
Being an active part of the community is important to us at Backwell Tennis Club and we're always looking for opportunities to introduce tennis to groups who have never experienced it. In the last two terms, and via one of our members, we’re delighted to have set up a programme with Ravenswood School to give their pupils the chance to enjoy tennis.
Pupils at Ravenswood are from across North Somerset and bordering local authorities. Every pupil has unique and sometimes complex needs and the school’s goal is to enable each child to flourish in their development. We are delighted that Backwell Tennis Club can help enhance the lives of these amazing children.
Some of you may have seen (and heard) the sessions at our club last term which ran on Friday mornings and were full of fun and laughter. This term, our coaches are running sessions with a different group of pupils on school grounds - really brilliant for the children and so enjoyable for our coaching team.
Huge recognition to Tom Fowler for setting up this programme, and to Andy Gray for helping lead the sessions. We're also very grateful to the LTA and to The Happy Lane Fund for providing adaptive equipment and funding. We would love to find a way to continue support for programmes like this - if any members would like to get involved with this then please let me know.
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. As modelled by Aaron who is an energetic and proud member of our club, the kit is available in adult and junior sizes. All the details of the kit can be viewed and purchased directly on-line from Backwell Tennis Club Shop.
Delivery can be paid for directly or you can take advantage of free 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
End of season social & finals weekend
As previously communicated, the annual Backwell Tennis Club tournament will culminate in a finals weekend on 14 & 15 September. In the survey in November, you wanted more opportunities to socialise alongside your tennis, so we will hold an end of season social event for the whole club on the evening of Saturday 14 September. Please save the date and we'll share more details nearer the time.
As part of the main tournament this year, we're running a handicapped American Doubles Tournament on the afternoon of Saturday 14 September which is open to all adult/student members - a chance to socialise and compete on a level playing field with a suitable trophy for the winners! Partners will be rotated throughout this tournament so you enter as an individual player - entry for this event will be held open until 23 July (or until we reach capacity). Thank you to those who have already registered - anyone else who is interested can enter using the on-line entry form.
Entries for all other competitions are now closed and Finals will be held on Sunday 15 September - it's a great day for spectators and players so please come along if you can. More details on timings to follow.
summer holiday camps
We are delighted to be running Summer Holiday Tennis Camps at Backwell Tennis Club again this summer, all delivered by our excellent LTA accredited team of Level 3 & 2 coaches.
We are hosting three weeks of camps from Wednesday 24 July - Friday 9 August 2024. The All Ability Camps run 9-11am and early drop off option is there for those who need from 8.30am. The Coaching Camps are for children aged 5-15 years old. Children will be put in to appropriate ages and levels to train.
Camps can be booked each individual day or for a week, week bookings offer a discount as do siblings.
Week 1 Wednesday 24 - Friday 26 July All Abilities 9-11am aged 5-15 years old
Week 2 Monday 29 July - Friday 2 August All Abilities 9-11am aged 5-15 years old
Weeks 3 Monday 5 August - Friday 9 August All Abilities 9-11am aged 5-15 years old
Ben and the team look forward to welcoming you to the Summer Holiday Camps
a big thank you
(Submitted by John Lurie and Emma Tate)
Due to injury, John and Jane Sleigh have decided to relinquish their membership of the club this season and we wanted to take a moment to reflect on their contribution. They have been stalwarts of the club for a great many years and have a long history with Backwell Tennis Club. Both teachers before their retirement, they were and still are very involved in the local community always bringing their natural enthusiasm to the club on court and on the Committee.
They served jointly in the days of the club Social Secretary, organising quizzes, safari supper parties and hosting the much-anticipated end-of-season BBQ in their beautiful garden every Summer. Jane was outstanding at arranging the catering for any of these events and they were wonderful hosts who were often required to sit up long into the early hours with their many guests who were slow to leave the festivities.
John served as Men's Captain at one point and they both served independently on the Committee at different times, usually as Social Secretary.They played in the league teams and their children, Lizzie and James were both coached at the club. In recent years, John and Jane have often been found playing singles together on court and would always stop and chat if passing when others were playing. They will be very much missed and are wished all the very best for the future.
drop shots
A reminder that resurfacing of Courts 1&2 is taking place from the w/c 12 August. The courts will be blocked from bookings for two weeks although we expect the work to be completed within this time - bookings will be released to members as soon as possible. To prepare for the work, we need 3-4 volunteers in w/c 5 August to inspect and ensure the existing court surface is sound. Please talk to John Tate or email
We're planning to hold a 'Get into Tennis' evening for non-members at the club, likely on Monday 29 July. This follows the positive momentum in new memberships created by the Open Day, and gives a further opportunity for adults in the community to try tennis or get back into playing. We need 3-4 volunteers to help during the evening - please talk to Sarah Cooper or email
Thank you to Heather Power for replacing the kettle in the clubhouse - it's nice to have a model that doesn't need someone to hold the lid down while it boils! 😀