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Club
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Based on
Competition
The idea was first mooted in 1964 but it wasn’t until 10 years later that a group led by Mirek Kizlink involving some former Davis Cup and Wimbledon players like Drobny, Tloczinski, Spychala, Wittman and others that the club was born. Membership was restricted to men over 45 and ladies over 40 and the name, ‘Forty Five Club’ proposed by Noel Barber, was agreed. For a few years the membership was low but it grew steadily from the initial 27 to over 1000 though currently it has dropped off to around the 900 mark. In many ways the 45 Club was instrumental in launching the veteran’s game and the Veteran’s Tennis Association which has recently rebranded itself to Vets Tennis GB. The club itself is nomadic, without it’s own premises. As a consequence, members can’t meet up and socialise as in other clubs. However, when the club was launched, The Queen’s Club stepped in graciously to allow it to use their address for administrative purposes, thanks to the close connections which existed between the founding members and Queen’s where, traditionally, the 45Club holds its Annual General Meeting and Christmas luncheon. Unfortunately membership of the 45 Club does not confer any of the rights and privilges enjoyed by members of Queens. For playing purposes such as matches in the Vets National Inter-Club championships, the courts at Oxhshott are used for home matches. Competition is the club’s raison d’etre and holds one-day veteran tennis events virtually on a weekly basis around the country at various venues. These are mainly Mixed doubles events but there are a few for Men’s and Ladies doubles. In addition Friendly matches are arranged against other clubs in the U.K. and teams are entered in the National Inter-Club competition organised by the national governing body. With over 100 overseas members it’s not surprising that teams are also sent to compete against other veteran teams, usually reciprocating the arrangement with a return match at home the next year. A feature which has grown in recent years are the various trips abroad which simply combine tennis with a holiday. An annual Golf Day is also held which for the next three years will be held at the RAC Club. All this is reported twice a year in their magazine the Forty Fiver, a full colour production containing reports of the club’s activities and general interest features which is circulated free of charge to the membership. Membership details available from: Enid Tomlinson. 45 Club Membership Secretary 57 Howard Lodge, Boleyn Court, Epping New Road, Buckhurst Hill, Essex IG9 5UE 31.08.09 |
Grafton wins
Millennium Cup for the first time
September 29 - The five clubs in Streatham, south west London, contest the Millennium Cup every year and competition is pretty hot. Founded in 2001, the Millennium Cup has been providing an opportunity for members to get a taste of playing matches in a friendly environment and it has been a goal of Murray Sutton, centre of picture, to secure the trophy for Grafton since taking over as his club’s representative on the Organising Committee three years ago. When his team came through a close final battle with Telford Park Lawn Tennis Club, Murray breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. “I’d like to dedicate this to my mother, and all the Mums who introduce their kids to tennis and make it possible for them to play this wonderful game,” he said as he received the glass vase from Millennium Cup Chair and Tournament Director, Barbara Wancke. “I know it sounds a bit corny but the Mums are so often forgotten!” The competition involves players who do not ordinarily play for their clubs in county events and so gives them an opportunity to compete in matches at a local level. In order to keep the standard equitable, the Committee, which has representatives from each of the participating clubs sitting on it, agrees with each club to exclude specific team players. Clubs have to find players to compete in the following disciplines at each tie played over the summer: Singles 16 & Under Boys 16 & Under Girls Men’s Open (no age restriction) Women’s Open (no age restriction) 45 & Over Men’s 40 & Over Women’s Doubles Men’s (no age restrictions) Women’s (no age restrictions) Mixed (no age restrictions) The preliminary competition is played on a league basis, with each club playing all the others and the two top finishers’ competing in the September final. Grafton faced off against Telford Park, with only one point separating them in the league, while Woodfield Grove Tennis Club came third, followed by Norbury Park and Wigmore LTCs.
Natalie Lyons and Steve Grant were the first winners, defeating the mixed doubles pairing of Loraine Pereira and Ryan Collins 6-3 6-2 to kick off Grafton’s score. Telford Park’s Under 16 boy, Silas Webb, proved too
strong for Ross Lambdon, winning 6-2 6-4 to level the match score.
Meanwhile, in the men’s open category, Max Jones was slowly but surely reversing things against 17-year old Tumani Carayol who found his big forehand gradually dismantling after winning the opening set. Tumani slipped to 2-5 down in the decider and staged a fight-back for 4-5 and 5-6 before eventually capitulating to the Grafton player 6-7 6-3 7-5. Grafton was pegged back to 2-all by Ella Griffith’s 6-2 6-0 win over Becky Stormer in the 16 & Under Girls age group as the ladies doubles, first on court, continued to do battle alongside. After a little over two and a half hours, Grafton’s women’s doubles team of Kirtsty Ogilvie and Angelo Raynor wore down their opponents, Brigid Clark and Juliet Richardson 7-6 6-7 6-1. |
The men’s doubles levelled proceedings again as Telford Park’s Simon Higgins and Joey Dwomczyck overcame a challenge from Raihan Mughal and Farhan Mughal 4-6 6-3 6-1. The men’s Over 45s put Grafton ahead 5-3 when Rob Cumming convincingly dispatched Keith Lavender and Melanie Gibbs defeated Estelle Galez, both by identical scores, 6-2 6-1. In the dead rubber the ladies Over 40s was eventually won by Nicky Fox when she outran Caroline Strallen 7-6 6-4 to conclude Grafton’s 6-3 victory at 4.30 pm. “The Millennium Cup is a unique competition because it provides a sense of community among local clubs,” said Murray Sutton. “We are delighted to win the competition this year and will be defending with all our might next year!”
Woodfield Grove had benefited from an £840,000 Sport England grant to completely refurbish its premises and re-opened its doors in October 1999, prompting other local clubs to apply for funding for similar development projects. While the building works were in progress members played at neighbouring clubs. “The Millennium Cup was a way of continuing the goodwill we had experienced from Telford Park and Wigmore clubs when ours was closed for rebuilding,” recalls Barbara. “Our members were welcomed into their club sessions and social events and we made a lot of friends, so we wanted something to keep us all related.” Each year the winning club receives a magnificent trophy commissioned from The Silver Tennis Collection. The Millennium Cup trophy, which was donated by the three inaugural clubs in perpetuity, is a beautiful crystal vase centrepiece measuring 215 mm in height and 145 mm in diameter set on a wooden base with a silver sleeve. “The trophy takes pride of place at the winning club for a year and makes the effort of competition all the more worthwhile,” says Barbara. “We try to continue to be innovative and recently introduced a website for Millennium Cup participants that is part of the Woodfield Grove’s website and can be viewed at www.woodfieldgrovetennis.net.” For Grafton, winning the Millennium Cup is more than just an on-court triumph. It is also a symbol of the club’s recent renaissance. A tennis and squash club, Grafton was in sharp decline until a few years back when a change in regime and a new coaching set-up has rejuvenated the place. Work on the clubhouse and the macadam courts as well as the introduction of floodlights has helped to turn things around and the club now boasts around 300 members. It also is one of the few remaining clubs to still have 3 shale courts, one of which is currently being converted to all-weather alongside a defunct grass court. This next phase will take Grafton’s court tally to 6 macadam (4 floodlit) and 2 shale. “We need the increased court capacity now to handle the increasing membership,” said Murray. “And we now have a good choice of members to field in next year’s Millennium Cup!” |
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The
Forty Five Club was created in 1974 to cater for the needs of veteran players
who were unable to enter tournaments in Britain although events for senior
tennis players existed on the continent.
On a beautiful and
still autumnal day, the final got under way at 10.30 am and it would take
several hours to resolve.
The
brainchild of