Dear All,
As the academic year comes to an end and we approach the one year anniversary since the introduction of
the SSS Tennis Committee, now would be a better time than any to give a report on the work of SSS Tennis. I
should at this stage apologise for the lack of correspondence over the past month. As I’m sure you’re all
aware, student tennis events tend to come to an end around mid April just in time for deadlines and the
exam period, which is odd as it is only the summer season that we can hope for less rain and a glimpse of the
sun.
In April 2013 Mike Aitken re-introduced the Scottish Student Individual championships, which were a huge
success and this initiated Scottish Student Sport (SSS) proposing the introduction of a SSS Tennis committee.
Since then representatives from Universities, Colleges and other institutions across Scotland have been
strongly encouraged to come and join the committee. From the start we have been realistic, knowing that
this will not happen overnight and in fact we just recently added a few new members to the group who I am
sure will bring many valuable qualities and insights (apologies to them for the lack of action of the committee
since their addition but as mentioned before, the end of the student tennis season and the start of the exam
period has halted such action.) The ultimate aim of the committee remains:
‘To actively further the standard and opportunities for student tennis in Scotland’.
Every 6 weeks the committee has met in St Andrews. The committee acts as a platform for members to help
learn from each other and grow their own respective clubs. This has also been a valuable opportunity to
organise the monthly SSS events and discuss Scotland wide tennis issues. Finding an appropriate time where
all members can be present has simply been impossible as some members can only attend during a 9-5
working day, while others have academic commitments which inhibit them from attending. Despite this, it is
fair to say we have always made the most of the meetings.
SSS Tennis Events
As mentioned above, every month during the academic term SSS Tennis have arranged events at different
venues around the Country:
-SSS Timed Tennis @Stirling
-SSS Mixed Doubles Cup @St Andrews
-SSS Touch Tennis @Edinburgh
-SSS Student Social @Edinburgh
-SSS Half Racketlon @Aberdeen
-SSS Conference Cup @Dundee
-SSS Individual championships @Stirling
Maybe the first point to mention is that we need more original tournament names for next year!
In the first meeting of SSS Tennis it was clear that there was a shortage of tennis targeted at those players
who do not make the BUCS teams, therefore, lots of the events above were organised for exactly that
audience. All the events seemed to be a success, with some attracting around 90 participants! For the first
year of SSS Tennis this really is encouraging.
A lovely addition to these events has been the photos produced by Craig Doyle. In the past Craig has worked
at big events such as the French open, and so for those players who are new to tennis to have action shots
from a professional really is a special occasion. Thank you to Craig for all his hard work and generosity!
What’s next
This past year has been a great start and has laid the foundations for future years to help improve and grow
SSS Tennis. The aim of having representation from all student institutions remains, and hopefully this next
academic year can bring that. The monthly events will continue, with a different host each month. As the
name of SSS Tennis grows and publicity of the events increases hopefully we can have even more players in
attendance from all standards and backgrounds. Furthermore, as we reach the 3rd year of the SSS Individual
championships we need to encourage the best student players in Scotland to enter and to create greater
publicity and vibe surrounding the event.
Some of you are graduating this summer and I want to thank you and I wish you all the best with your future
endeavours. We hope everyone else can remain on the committee! Could you please email me the details of
your University/College SSS representative (name, position on club committee and email address.) We will
then remain in email contact over the summer and meet as a committee early in September.
In the meantime if you have any questions or suggestions for SSS Tennis then please let me know. The first
event will be in early October and if your club has a good idea for an event or even wants to host the first
event then please let me know!
Thank you!
The committee, the events and the inter-club relations could not exist without the hard work of you all. You
have all put so much time and commitment in to SSS Tennis and it is fantastic to see so many people who are
dedicated to improve Scottish Tennis.
Thank you for a fantastic and encouraging year!
Ben
Ben Pearson-Stuttard
SSS Tennis Chair