History

Establishment of the club and its facilities

In 1921 the idea for a village tennis club was approved by the recreational field committee. The suggested club to take on the running of the courts were W.I. Tennis Club, but they folded only a few short months later. However, with the plans already approved for the courts and public interest high Mr Poole and Mr Potter (local residence of the village) paid the court development fees in 1924. On April 29th 1925 the club was officially formed with two grass courts. Later that same year the courts were expanded to have three grass courts for yearly play. It wasn’t until 1952 that the club received permission to expand to four courts. When the club changed from grass courts to acrylic the surfacing and development of the fourth court were paid for by club member Mr Tony Durrance.

Membership

The club started with eight members on the committee with participation of the sport a priority. With a lack of members, the club opted to develop links with the local school and public, opening the courts up for a number of years to encourage more people to play. This was a success and the club began to grow with some of the earliest members being: George Hemmingham, Dorra Garrod, Stan Keyworth, Percy Jackson, Jack Barker, Sally Vaughn and Lil Addis. By 1954 membership was at a low, to combat this the club requested to the recently established Saxilby Sports Association (1946) permission to accept membership from outside the Saxilby area, this was granted on April 4th. The clubs growth was at its peak during the late 20th century. However, with the development of Burton Waters Sports Centre the clubs membership reduced to 11 by 2010. Following the appointment of a new Chairman (Susan Whitley) and Vice-Chairman (Lucy Reding) the club refocussed its efforts on membership. As a result the club began to grow through active social events and the reduction of membership fees. At present, the tennis club have over 60 active members and is continuing to expand.

Leagues and Competitive Match Play

Since the club was founded in 1925 competitive match play has been a regular development of the club. Throughout the years the club have participated in The North Kelsey & District Summer and Winter Leagues, Lincoln & District League, Gainsborough Tennis Evening League and the Gainsborough Summer and Winter Weekend Leagues.

With the sudden growth in membership the club has begun to enter the Lincolnshire Leagues with our first entry in over a decade being in the Lincolnshire Senior Women's Doubles (40+).

Many success have been achieved over our long history, most notably our North Kelsey & District League win in 1978, our dominance in the Lincoln & District League in both Men's and Ladies between 2000-2008 and our most recent cup success, winning the Gainsborough League Holmes Cup 2022.

The 1978 North Kelsey & District League Winners:

Sheila Corner, David Roe, Betty Sumner, Keith Taylor, Chris Bradley & Alan Roe

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