The Annual General Meeting was held at Craythornes in Halswell. It was well attended by both senior and midweek members.
The AGM saw the resignation of Brian Smith as a general committee member and the welcoming of a new commitee member, David Robinson. All other positions remained the same.
Doug gave a president speech which is as follows:
Good evening to all club members here for this year’s AGM. As President of the Halswell
Tennis Club and on behalf of our Club Committee, once again and despite the weather, it is
my pleasure to present to the AGM, the Club President’s Report for the 2021-22 tennis
season.
Our Club has come through yet another challenging season where Covid-19 has continued to
impact upon our Club’s activities and events calendar, and the participation of our members
in both competitive and social play. As a result of the Government’s introduction of the
Covid Traffic Light Framework, and the regulations pertaining to sports club activities being
played during the Red, Orange or Green levels of the framework, our club committee
considered it was important to follow the guidance and direction provided by Tennis NZ and
Tennis Canterbury and adopt measures to protect the health and wellbeing of our members
and any visitors at our courts. Our committee’s decisions to follow guidance and implement
requirements and rules for members to use our facilities and play in interclub teams was
ultimately done to protect the most vulnerable members of our club.
Notwithstanding the issues presented by Covid-19, our Club has enjoyed another successful
and rewarding year of competitive and social tennis spanning the past 12 months. Members
participation and involvement in club activities on and off court continues to foster strong
friendships and a sense of belonging to a welcoming, caring, and friendly local club.
Our membership numbers, being approximately 175 people, remained relatively steady
across the sections of our club and with many seniors playing both mid-week and weekend
social and competition tennis, our 5 courts are being used more than ever before. This is a
very encouraging sign of our members being more actively involved and possibly
experiencing greater fitness, health and wellbeing outcomes as a result.
Our Junior and Senior members were again involved in Tennis Canterbury interclub
competitions. As in the previous year, our Senior members played in 6 teams, being 3 men’s,
1 woman’s and 2 mixed teams. Our Mid-Week players also fielded 3 teams in their interclub
competitions. It is great to have so many senior players enjoying participating in both
summer and winter team competitions.
The Mid-Week section’s end of season prize giving saw the inaugural presentation of a new
trophy for the mixed-doubles winners. The Kaye Bond Memorial Cup, kindly donated by
Glennis Griffin, was presented to Stuart Westoby and Marcela Breckon by Kaye’s husband
Trevor Bond at their prize giving event. Kaye had been a loved and respected club member
who played in the mid-week section until 2017, being about a year before she passed away in
2018 aged 71.
Halswell Tennis Club also had 6 junior interclub teams competing in age group competitions.
Under the guidance and encouragement of a new juniors coaching programme delivered by
Remi Feneon and Sam Cribb, 4 teams qualified to play in their grade finals with 2 winning
and 2 being runner-up’s. Our junior teams’ achievements and successes reflects the
importance placed upon the junior coaching programme at the club. This results from the
dedication of our Club Captain and the Junior Administrator, the professionalism of the new
coaches, and the support given by the team managers and the juniors parents.
On a heartfelt note, I would like to mention the sadness seen at the Club following the
untimely death of our former Club committee member Hamish Mitchell. Hamish had held the
role of Junior Administrator for two years after taking on the role which was previously held
by his wife Sinead. The Mitchell family have been part of the Halswell Tennis Club family
for many years and it has been a privilege to have had Hamish and Sinead involved with
committee roles and their daughters, Julia and Danielle, as junior members. You have all
contributed so much to the betterment of our Club and we are so grateful for that. Rest in
peace Hamish.
I want to make special mention of the dedication and enthusiasm of our Club Captain, Dean
Schembri. Dean has worked tirelessly during the past year to make sure that our Junior
section was set up by establishing interclub teams, training sessions, and introducing our new
coaching team to them.
In recognition of his outstanding contribution to club activities, Dean was the worthy
recipient of the Patrons Cup at our end of season senior prizegiving event. Thank you, Dean,
for the dedication you have shown and the way in which you have made sure things just
happen at the club. I would also like to thank Catalina Sleghel for offering to take on the
Junior Administrator role during the season. It can be challenging at times, and we are very
grateful to you for your dedication to that role.
In concluding this report, I would also like to thank our very dedicated club committee who
have assisted me with club administration during what have been changing and challenging
times for us all with Covid 19 and the Covid Traffic Light Framework levels impacting upon
our sporting and social activities.
In looking forward to the 2022-23 season, I hope our club committee can continue to add
improvements to facilities for all club members to enjoy and benefit from. We welcome your
suggestions and feedback and look forward to enhancing member’s experiences at the club.
Thank you all for contributing to a very successful and enjoyable tennis season at our club.