Club Notices
I hope all our members enjoyed the long bank holiday weekend and the lovely sunshine we have had since. There is lots of activity in the club with summer league coming up and match plays for all ages in the Juniors, so lots of information below to read through!
SUBS
We would appreciate if any outstanding subs could be paid via Easy Payments as soon as possible. Please contact Anne Crossan in the office if you have any queries regarding the payment method.
LEAGUES UPDATE
Summer League
Summer League is coming up fast and starts on 6th May. For those of you who haven’t played summer league before, the format is 3 singles and 2 doubles, so 7 players on each team, and matches for ladies are played on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, with the men’s on Friday night and Saturday afternoon.
The signup sheet will be on the board for the next two weeks so please sign up. This is a great opportunity for our younger players to get some senior league experience, so please encourage your son or daughter to sign up if they are eligible (they need to have reached 14 on 1st January this year). One thing to note is that as always, there is a lot of competition for places, especially for the doubles spots, so just be aware that we may not be able to accommodate everyone, but we will do our best. Please put your name down as Sub if you are not available for two or more of the matches.
For the Ladies Summer League, Monkstown has entered 8 teams this year in the following classes - Class 2, two Class 3s, two Class 4s, Class 5, Class 6 and Class 7.
For the Men’s Summer League, Monkstown has entered 5 teams this year in the following classes - Class 1, Class 3, Class 5, and two Class 6.
Ladies Winter League
Well done and thanks to all the ladies who played Winter League for us. We had strong performances across all our teams and particular congratulations goes to Aoife Stokes and her team, reaching the Quarter Finals and getting promoted to Class 5. Well done to Geraldine Colgan and her team who reached the quarter finals but were very narrowly defeated by a strong County Wicklow 1st team and to Carmel McAllister’s team who made it through to playoffs but met strong opponents from the Wicklow Town 2nd team.
Senior League Coaching
The league coaching for Ladies on Monday and Thursday nights at 7pm has had a very low take up, so we are cancelling these sessions for now and they will restart after the Easter Holidays, when hopefully everyone will be gearing up for Summer League. The men’s coaching session on Monday nights at 8pm will continue and you can book now on Easy Payments for Monday 28th March and Monday 4th April. Refunds will be made for any sessions that are cancelled.
LADIES COMMITTEE UPDATE
Charity League
The Monday Charity League teams are continuing on their winning streak with a win on Monday 14th March for Clodagh Kenny’s team and for Grace Mullany’s team. Last Monday two out of the three Charity League teams who were playing had wins - well done to Ciara Maguire‘s team and to Grace‘s team! The Advanced Charity League teams were not so lucky on Tuesday 15th March, however the Monkstown 5 team had a win last Tuesday, well done to Anthea and her team!
St Patrick’s Day Tournament
The ladies committee were delighted to see a great turnout for the tournament. There were 20 entrants on the day, all of whom got to play a few competitive points in the glorious sunshine. It was a great morning of social, fun and a little competitive tennis .. thoroughly enjoyed by all.
Spring Social Tennis Morning
We have taken on board feedback from the survey and agreed to hold a ladies spring social tennis on Friday 1st April, 10am-12pm. Hopefully this day will suit members who can’t make Wednesday mornings. There will be no Wednesday morning tennis that week ie 30th March.
Easter tournament
Following the success of recent tournaments, we’ve decided to hold an Easter tournament on Wednesday 6th April. Please hold the date. Promises to be an Eggs-cellent event! Further details to follow.
As always with these events, we require the assistance of volunteers to either help on the day or to host the ladies morning. The sign-up sheet is on the board or contact any of the ladies committee.
JUNIORS
Easter Camps
A reminder that Stephen will be running a series of Easter Camps. Click here for details.
The Stars & Stripes U12
The Stars & Stripes competition for the U12s finished last week with the finals held in Leopardstown on Sunday 20th March. Over 20 boys and girls signed up for this very popular tournament and battled every Saturday with doubles matches being played in Monkstown, Shankill, Sandycove and Glenageary. Monkstown made it into the final of the cup against Newtownpark and came 2nd. But what great tennis they all played!
U14 is starting on Saturday 26th March, with matches to be played on the 2nd and 9th April, semi-finals on 30th April and finals to be held in Bray on 7th May. Great sign up again with more than 25 boys and girls included. Good luck all!
Junior Match play
We had a great response from parents for junior match play / ladders. Close to 100 juniors from different age groups between 7 and 18 years old signed up. It is great to see such enthusiasm. The idea is for kids to play short matches while having a lot of fun. And by doing so, the kids improve immensely. Following the first match play results, the ladders will be put together for U12, U14 and U18 age groups. It will be an active ladder constantly moving as kids are playing their matches. WhatsApp groups are being set up for age groups 7/8, 9/10, U12, U14 and U18 by the junior coordinators so they can keep you informed about the dates, match formats and any help required.
Below are the dates for which courts have been booked from 4-6pm for relevant age groups.
Fri 1st April - U10 Green ball (9/10yo)
Fri 8th April - U14 Yellow ball
Sat 9th April - U12 Yellow ball
Sun 10th April - U18 Girls yellow ball
Fri 22nd April - U10 Orange ball (7/8yo)
Sun 24th April - U18 Boys yellow ball
Fri 29th April - U10 Green ball (9/10yo)
May dates TBC
Kids will play 2 short sets to 6, starting at 2:2 with a short deuce. This way you win 2 games by just showing up! We look forward to many exciting games ahead.
Rosie Kennedy
Congratulations to Rosie Kennedy who has been selected to play for the Ireland U12 team for the forthcoming friendly fixture against Poland. The match takes place in Castlebar LTC on March 24th, 25th & 26th. We wish Rosie the very best of luck on her international debut!
Junior Committee
CARDIO TENNIS
Cardio Tennis with Adrienne will resume on Thursday 31st March at 12 noon – 1pm. Booking is available through Easy Payments.
MEN’S MORNING
Courts 4, 5 & 6 will be available this Sunday 27th March from 10am - 12 noon.
CLUB NIGHT
It will be a gorgeous evening for tennis again tonight, so hopefully you can join us for club night hosted by Isabella. No court booking or lights card or even partner needed. Just show up for mixed tennis and coaching tips from Stephen. Starts 8pm.
Job Advertisement - Part Time Club Administrator
Just a quick reminder to all members that tomorrow, Friday 25th March is the deadline for applications for the Part time Club administrator role. Click here for details.
Hope you all have a good weekend!
Karen Geraghty