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cheddar lawn tennis club tennisxpress’ sessions, that are open to non- members as well as members and this along with two very successful open days has helped to boost senior membership. Juniors, who show promise and ability, are invited to join in on the senior evenings and can be asked to play in league matches when teams are short. “The club runs an annual internal tournament as well as a number of official LTA open tournaments attracting players from all over the West Country. There are challenges ahead with members having less free time due to work and family commitments, making it more difficult to find volunteers to join the Committee and run the club, a problem faced by a good many organisations locally. “We also face competition for membership, having several other tennis clubs in close proximity, as well as other sports clubs such as junior rugby, football and cricket, so we try to keep membership costs down and offer good value for money. “We produce a club handbook every year with information and news and raise revenue by getting local firms to advertise in it. We frequently place articles in the local papers when we run tournaments, social events etc. “Over the next five years we would like the club to grow. The courts will need resurfacing by then, so a decision will have to be made as to whether we stay with an all-weather tarmac surface or change to Astroturf – a choice that will be put to the wider membership. “We would love to produce the next Andy Murray from within our juniors but mainly we want to maintain our reputation for friendliness, a good standard of tennis, a thriving membership both senior and junior, as well as a continuation of our sound financial management, ensuring that our funds cover future club facility requirements.” “We would love to produce the next Andy Murray from within our juniors.” www.sportip.biz 33