This page is the primary communication device for all news announcements from the club. Click on the news announcement headline below to be brought to the actual news announcement.
19th May 2008 - Start of Brophy-McDonnell Cup
16th May 2008 - Start of Regional Inter-Club Competition
6th May 2008 - Main Outcomes of AGM
6th May 2008 - AGM in Ardee Community School at 8pm. All members welcome.
24th April 2008 - Publication of Spring 2008 Newsletter
4th April 2008 - Friendly Challenge against Dundalk Tennis Club
19th March 2008 - Finals of Spring League
14th December 2007 - Christmas Social Night Out
7th December 2007 - Friday Night Tennis Turkey Shoot-Out
16th November 2007 - Annual Pub Quiz to be hold on Thursday 22nd November 2007
9th November 2007 - Stackallen Tennis Club holding Vets Open Tournament
24th October 2007 - Light Cards Replaced with Light Coins
24th October 2007 - New Light Meters Installed
17th October 2007 - Start of Winter League
9th October 2007 - Appointment of Lynne Woods as new Ladies Captain
9th October 2007 - Winter One-Day Competition for Junior Members
9th October 2007 - Winter League Entries Close Friday 12th October
9th October 2007 - Outstanding Club Championship Fees to be Collected
9th October 2007 - Court Number 4 Light Meter Fixed
3rd October 2007 - Trial of New Court Management System
2nd October 2007 - Light Card Meters Replacement
28th August 2007 - Women to enter Mens Singles Ladder
1. Members have approved the following committee for 2008/09
Chairman : James Giggins
Vice-Chairman : Sean O'Shea
Treasurer : Martin Bannon
Secretary : Debbie Fay
Disciplinary Officer : Marion Halpenny
Mens Captain : Adrian Blakemore
Ladies Captain : Lynne Woods
Other Members : Jan Svarc, Marie Aylward, Marie Dowdall, Mary Hocine, Noel Gaynor, Shaun McCormack
2. Agreement to Enter Up-Coming Regional Inter-Club Tournament
Ardee Tennis Club has agreed to enter the upcoming regional inter-club tournament involving the following tennis clubs; Ardee, Dundalk, Stackallan, Bettystown and Kells. Each club will enter at least one A and B team. Each team will consist of 3 men and 3 women. Ties will consist of one men's doubles, one women's doubles and one mixed doubles. The tournament will be played over 6 weeks and the entry fee per player is €15. Mary Gaynor is organising both Ardee teams A and B.
3. Brophy-McDonnell Cup due to start on Monday 19th May 2008. Texts will be sent to members to invite entrants.
4. One-day tournament for Junior members over 8 will be held on Saturday 10th May 2008 from 11am to 1pm.
5. Clarification of Junior and Senior member playing entitlements.
The AGM thought it would be useful to clarify the playing entitlements of Junior and Student Members. Junior members (children in primary school) can play up to 6pm weekdays and anytime over the weekend. Student members (under 16) can 1. play up to 7pm weekdays (a court booking is required from 6pm to 7pm) 2. play anytime over the weekend and 3. enter the club championship competition. Student members (ages 16+) have identical playing rights as adult members and can enter all club competitions.
6. A new committee role of Disciplinary Officer has been created. Marion Halpenny was elected to carry out the responsibilities of this role.
The role of the Disciplinary Officer is to facilitate members to settle disputes with other members in a process that is non-confrontational, objective and fair.
The annual pub quiz will be hold in Ardee Golf Club on Thursday 22nd November 2007 at 8.30pm. All club members, friends of members and the general public are welcome to attend. You are welcome to assemble your own crack team of quiz buffs. You do not need to be in a team to participate as we will be arranging teams on the night. Entry prices are €30 per team. There will be two top prizes and many spot prizes to be won. This is an important fund raising event for the club and we hope it gets the full support of our members. Most importantly it is great fun and a very enjoyable night out. We look forward to seeing you there.
Stackallen Tennis Club are holding their "Vets Open Tournament" over November 21st-30th. Entry is restricted to anyone over 35. Competition events will be singles, men and women doubles and mixed doubles. Competition grades will be A, B and C. Contact Mary Gaynor to enter this competition or for more information. If you don't have a way of contacting Mary text the Ardee Tennis Club mobile on 085-1507484 and we will forward Mary's number to you.
Ardee Tennis Club has replaced the old light meters with new machines. The new light meters will be operated by Coins. These Coins will cost €3 each and will allow play for 1 hour. The Coins can be purchased from existing retailers Vivo and Nearest Buy. All members can return their old light cards and receive a full refund from committee members or the club Treasurer, Martin Bannon.
The 2007 Winter League commenced on 17th October 2007. All teams should now have played their first match. Click here to go to the 2007 Winter League web-page to examine the teams, results and photos.
By popular request the Winter League is starting soon. Entries close on Friday 12th October. The draw will be made over the weekend and the competition will commence on Wednesday 17th October. The format of the league will be mixed doubles (as far as possible) and will be played over six weeks (including semi-finals and finals). Positive feedback from the 2007 club championship encouraged the committee to decide on a mixed doubles format. Depending on entry numbers and player standard the draw may include an A and B section. Your partner will be selected by the club, and will be permanent for the league, so make peace with your partner quickly. The entry fee will be €12 and it can be paid on the first night of play. Matches will be played every Wednesday at 7pm, 8pm and 9pm. If you cannot play at your assigned time it is your responsibility to find a replacement. Please do not let you partner down.
A text will be sent to all members and prospective members advertising the Winter League. Text back if you are interested in entering (include your name and surname in the text please). No forms need to be completed.
The 2007 club championship is over however several entry fees from members are still outstanding. Martin Bannon, club treasurer, will be calling to your door soon. Outstanding fees can be paid to any committee member or at the Friday Night Tennis event.
The light meter for court number 4 was not working due to a stuck light card. The offending light card has now been removed and the light meter should be operational again. Members once again have the choice of four courts outside daylight hours.
Our club is a growing club which is a positive thing but at peak times the courts are getting congested. The committee's first attempt to manage the congestion was to introduce a court management system whereby waiting players ask the remaining time from the matches in progress and the queue organises itself. This has improved and eased somewhat the delays and confusion faced by waiting players. However it has intruduced problems of its own, namely that matches in progress can suffer multiple disruptions no matter how polite the requests for time information. Also members may not feel comfortable interrupting matches in progress.
The committee is introducing a new paper based court management system. A weather proof folder will be attached to the fence beside the main court door opposite the school gym. This folder contains Order-of-Play sheets. All players who intend to play must fill out their details in the Order-of-Play sheet. These details are match date, player names, court number, time started and time due off. All waiting players can consult the Order-of-Play sheet and immediately see how long they have to wait and what courts are due to become available. Waiting players should input their details when they arrive to guarantee their place in the queue. Once the time for a match has elapsed the waiting players should remind the match in progress that the court is due to be vacated. This should be done in a polite manner and only when the point in play has been completed.
To speed-up adoption of this new system players who are interrupted before their time is complete are required to refer the waiting player to the Order-of-Play sheet. Always in a polite manner of course. As the new system gets adopted this requirement will not be needed.
As the Order-of-Play sheets will be exposed it will be no surprise that vandalism will be a regular occurance. If you spot that repairs are needed please call 085-1507484 or any committee member. We will repair any damage as soon as possible and ask for your understanding while this is being completed.
All players should bring their own pens. Pens will initially be provided but no doubt will go missing over time. Finally to defeat the rain please insert the Order-of-Play sheets back into the plastic covering and back into the weather proof folder when you are finished.
The committee has agreed to allow women enter the Mens Singles Ladder competition. This decision reflects the lack of a womens singles event. Over time as more women participate in this event a seperate Womens Singles Ladder can be established. Congratulations to Caroline Filgate who is the first woman to join the event. Click here to go to the Mens Singles Ladder page.