www.rodwayhilltennis.com
June 2014
Jackie Matthews, Chairman
47 Overnhill Road
Downend
Bristol BS16 5DS
Tel. 0117 9574044
20th Anniversary Celebrations
Andy Murray signs for Rodway Hill!
It’s 20 years since Rodway Hill Tennis Centre (based at Mangotsfield Secondary
School) first opened and it is planning a host of activities this year to celebrate the
occasion.
Andy Murray, defending Wimbledon Champion, has got things off to a winning start
by signing a unique poster, designed especially for the club, together with a ‘Happy
20th Anniversary’ postcard which has been framed for display in the clubhouse. As
well as Andy Murray, brother Jamie, who is a Mixed Doubles Wimbledon Champion
and mum Judy, GB Federation Cup captain, have also signed the poster, making
this a truly unique item.
On July 19th celebrations continue when the club hosts former Wimbledon and Davis
Cup players who will be bringing the ‘Tennis Circus’ to Mangotsfield and offering
coaching clinics for everyone from mini players and Adult beginners to the more
experienced players. The day is sponsored by Bright Ideas for Tennis charity
giving the club the opportunity to raise funds for future development. This exciting
day will culminate in exhibition tennis and a Barbeque.
‘It’s hard to believe 20 years have passed since we started the club with just 4 senior
and 4 junior members’, said Jackie Matthews, Chair and co-founder of the Tennis
Club. ‘We have seen many thousands of people benefit from and enjoy the excellent
facilities provided for community tennis whether by attending our Open Days, Tea
and Tennis afternoons, taking part in our Schools programmes or simply coming
along to the weekly coaching sessions which run all year round. We are very proud
to now have hundreds of people using the facilities every week with members of all
ages and standards enjoying a full social and competitive tennis programme’, said
Jackie.
The first LTA sanctioned tournament took place in October 1994, just weeks after
opening, and attracted juniors from all over the country. In the Spring of 1995 Gary
Mabbutt, the former Bristol Rovers, Spurs and England Football captain, officially
opened the Club with around 1200 people enjoying a special fun packed day
complemented by the Vauxhall Dunlop Tennis Roadshow, Radio Lollipop and many
other side shows. Nick Gould, then British No. 9 player also joined us for the day.
In 1997, before Mangotsfield School started its latest building expansion programme,
the Club was selected to host a ‘Love Tennis’ day when Kriss Akabusi and Diane
Louise Jordan arrived by helicopter and joined a thousand more people for another
fun packed day of tennis and sporting activities.
By 2000, Rodway Hill had become the first Community Tennis Partnership in South
Gloucestershire. Working closely with the Lawn Tennis Association, Mangotsfield
Secondary School and South Gloucestershire Sport Development Group, the tennis
club was able to expand its coaching programmes and further increase school and
community participation.
With so much activity and so many new people taking up tennis, Jackie was given
South Gloucestershire’s Sports Volunteer Award in 2003, presented by Geoff
Twentyman, for her long term commitment to improving facilities, promoting the sport
and increasing participation.
With an increasing membership, it was time for the club to move out of the
portacabin, which they had persuaded a local company to donate when the club
started. So to coincide with the School’s building programme, the club raised all the
money to have its own purpose-built clubhouse ready for 2004, overcoming many
obstacles in the planning and funding process.
Right from the start, Jackie had been encouraging as many local players as possible
to enjoy the first class facilities and had organised annual singles and doubles
competitions for all age groups. This had become a significant event in the calendar
and was attracting players from all over the country after it was given LTA Grade 4
tournament status. Together with Jackie’s many other achievements, she was
presented with the LTA’s ‘Meritorious Service Award’ in 2005 at the Queens Club by
the then President of the LTA. Jackie is the only person from Avon ever to receive
this prestigious award. ‘Perhaps I should have retired then’, said Jackie ‘but I am
very proud to see the club celebrate its 20th Anniversary’.
By 2007, the club whilst always having been very well managed with examples of
best practice in all aspects of its management, coaching and development it became
the first tennis club in South Gloucestershire to be awarded the prestigious LTA
‘Clubmark’ accreditation which it has held ever since.
With the appointment of coach, Lewis Fishlock, in 2009, the club has continued to
develop with every type of tennis activity now available from tots tennis to the heart
pounding beats of cardio tennis. Lewis has an expanding team of fully qualified LTA
coaches and many tennis leaders who regularly help especially during the termly
junior competition. The Club is No. 2 in the region (of Avon and Wiltshire) for the
number of Regularly Competing Juniors and is 9th in the whole of the South West of
England. Since this is in competition with all the major indoor performance and
commercial clubs, this is a massive achievement and a reflection of the quality of the
tennis on offer at Rodway Hill. The LTA recognised this fact in 2012 when Lewis was
named ‘Coach of the Month’ for April and later given the full accolade of ‘Coach of
the Year’ by the LTA.
At the same time, Jan Fishlock, the Club’s Junior Secretary and Welfare Officer, was
awarded the LTA ‘Volunteer of the Year’ for the whole of the South West region for
her support in administering the junior tennis programmes.
There is a hard working team of volunteers who organise events and make sure
tennis is accessible and affordable for all. The club provides a safe and structured
environment for everyone to enjoy tennis and with more juniors being offered county
training opportunities and adults dusting off their old rackets, this is a great time to
give tennis a try.
For more details on the upcoming events or for any coaching or membership
opportunities, please visit the website www.rodwayhilltennis.com or contact Jackie
on 0117 9574044 or email rodwayhilltennis@yahoo.co.uk
You can also follow us on Facebook and twitter @RodwayHillTC
Some additional photos