Tennis News, Events, Socials

Upcoming Events/Socials

June 7th Saturday 19:00 – midnight Grand Tennis Ball 

Tickets still available – please contact details below for more information or to buy your tickets.  It will be a night to remember.

May 15th Tuesday (all day event) – RNLI charity tennis event – see board for details.

March 28th Friday All Club Quiz Night 

The Club’s Social Team ran a very successful, fun quiz night with food.  Thank you to all who helped provide and serve the food and clear up.  And thank you to Gill for organising the questions and Carol for her input on the challenging rounds and Dena for being our quiz questioner for the night.  We thank Richard (and Tony) for running the bar. We know how much hard work and effort goes into running these social events for our members.

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March 18th Selsey Centre – Council Meeting 

Thank you Gill Bull for giving up your time and attending the council meeting and representing Crablands Tennis Section – attracting worthwhile publicity and 4 potential new members.

March 2nd Active Away Day
Thank you Dena for organising a highly successful day of coaching available to all our members.  Three sessions were laid on by 4 x qualified Active Away coaches for 66 players – 60 members and 6 visitors.  The weather conditions were ideal and the atmosphere was buzzing and the feedback from everyone was so positive we will be looking into running another Active Away Day for 2026.  Thank you to Carol for rallying up many talented volunteer bakers who provided delicious baked goods for all our participants to enjoy and our volunteers who helped make and serve refreshments throughout the day, and Tony his patience with running the bar.
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January 2025
24th January – Tennis Social from 19:00 – opportunity for all members to come along and take part in floodlit tennis, indoor pickleball and table tennis and enjoy some socialising up in the bar.
November 2024
16th November Presentation Evening – a great opportunity to celebrate our 2024 Crablands Tournament winners and enjoy socialising, especially taking advantage of the wonderful puddings provided by our members.  Congratulations to our winners and thank you to all our members for taking part and the volunteers who helped make this happen – especially Viv Harris, Dena Nelson Smith, Jess Ackerman for running the ladies teams and Andy Gilmour for running the men’s teams.
                                                       
Most Improved Player cup went to Beverly Bramwell – well deserved.                                 Viv receiving her big birthday cake.
                                     
Ladies Singles Winner – Lucy Sarson                             Men’s Singles Winner – Andy Gilmour                     Men’s Doubles Winners Dan Cobden & Michael Ackerman
Mixed doubles winners Andy and Carol Gilmour
25th November – play commences on Court 3 – painting of court to take place in Spring 2025.
5th November – Court 3 resurfacing commenced. Thanks to Dena for organising the works and managing to bring the start date forward.  Court 3 will be out of action for three weeks and we look forward to resuming play and enjoying a new surface and fencing.  We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who helped raise the funds to make it possible for these essential works to take place.
1st November – celebrating Roy Reynolds 80th birthday at the club.  Thanks to Lucy for organising a wonderful gathering of current and past members to celebrate the birthday of one of our most popular members.  For once Roy was lost for words.

September 2024

On Saturday 14th September the tennis section ran another successful Quiz Night with over 65 people attending and Nigel as our Quizmaster for the evening.  The winning table were the Jammy Dodgers. A big thank you to Carol and Tony Gilmour for running a very busy bar, Gill Bull for organising the raffle (thank you to our very generous donations) and Nigel for an entertaining evening.  We’d like to thank everyone who took part in the fun night – your support was much appreciated.

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June 2024

Congratulations to Chris Marsh for being nominated and recognised by Tennis Sussex for her continued voluntary support of the club.  Her volunteering roles are numerous, much goes on without people knowing and she gives her time willingly.  We are very grateful to her and all our wonderful volunteers – without you the club would not function.

May 2024

On Friday 10th May we held a fund raising quiz night – raising funds for the resurfacing of Court 3.  The evening was well attended and much fun was had.  A big thank you to the quizmaster, Nigel.   And thank you to Carol and Tony for running the bar so well.  Thank you to everyone who came along and for those who made donations, your generosity is much appreciated.

 

March 2024

22nd March the tennis section held their Skittles evening.  The event was very well attended with over 50 willing skittlers taking part.  Huge thanks to Viv for arranging the evening, to Carol, Elaine and all the wonderful people who helped set up the equipment, provide the hot dogs and puddings, to Tony and Nina for running the bar and for all the willing helpers who set up and cleared up.  A great night was had by all and the winner – Ali Parrish kindly shared her winnings with everyone.

 

2nd March the club held their Donkey Derby event. This was a great fun night with Michael Ackerman getting into the theme.

February 2024

On Sunday 11th February five members of Crablands Bowling & Tennis Club Tennis Section attended the 2024 LTA Tennis Sussex Awards at the Amex Stadium Brighton.

Crablands Tennis section had been nominated for awards in the following categories:

Lifetime Achievement & Robert Cushing Memorial (Club nominee was Vivien Harris

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Club of The Year (Crablands Bowling & Tennis Club)

Development Coach of The Year (Club nominee was Dena Nelson Smith)

Volunteer of the Year (Club nominees were Chris Marsh and Patsy Allfrey)

Rob Curling (Journalist and Sky News TV Sports Presenter) was on stage to announce all the categories, nominees and winners and 2024 proved to be the best year for attendance with 400+ attendees assembled for the ceremony from multiple Sussex tennis clubs, at the magnificent Amex Stadium.

We are thrilled to let all our members know that Crablands’ President and Chairman, Viv Harris was awarded the Lifetime Achievement and Robert Cushing Memorial awards.

Viv joined Crablands Tennis Club in 1981 and served as the Ladies Captain for 10 years before taking over as Chairman. She became President of the whole club (Crablands Bowling & Tennis Club) in 2014. Viv played in the Ladies team for many years and won the Club competitions multiple times and has been responsible for running all Internal Club Competitions for both Junior and Adult sections ensuring that all members are invited to take part and enjoy healthy and fun Club competitions. Viv is responsible for the Junior Section, dedicating every Saturday to attending coaching sessions run at the club and ensuring that Juniors and parents are supported, informed, nourished and entertained. The numbers of Juniors enjoying coaching at Crablands has doubled in the last 4 years – testament to her dedication and drive to keep a thriving Junior Section running successfully at Crablands.  Added to this, her administration, management and support of the Club’s Match Teams has been constant – always providing a positive attitude and encouragement for the players.

Her tenure as Chairman of the Tennis Section has seen many positive changes take place and most recently she has overseen the conversion of a grass court to an all-weather court and the introduction of LED lights on two courts – giving greater opportunities for the working members of Crablands to play in the evenings. As one of our mature and long-standing members, Viv has seen many changes within the world of tennis and how the club has evolved and embraced these changes as she can see the benefits for all. Viv is driven to make Crablands the best it can be.

January 2024

On Friday 26th January the tennis section held their Presentation Night, Dinner & Raffle.  It was a great evening with a lovely mix of Junior and Adult members attending. The menu was catered by Mrs T Caterers and what a great team they were.  A huge thank you to all the members who provided yummy puddings, Carol and Tony Gilmour for running the bar so well and always with a smile, Roy for his trophy cleaning skills, Viv and Dena, without you the evening would not have taken place – thank you for all the behind the scenes work you put in to make the evening such a success.  And of course thank you to all the members who came along to support a fun night.

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Our Friday Tennis Nuts group continues to grow with more members joining in.

Members, please remember we have social tennis sessions Wednesdays 09:00-12:00, Fridays 18:00-20:00 and Saturdays 14:00-16:00 when any member can turn up and play – just remember to bring some balls.

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December 3rd 15:00 Full Club AGM

December 9th 19:00-23:00 Christmas Party

November 2023

On Saturday 4th November the tennis section ran a fund raising Quiz Night.  The event was very well attended and a huge thanks go to Andy Gilmour for organising and running the quiz, Dena Nelson Smith for being the best quiz questioner possible, Carol & Tony Gilmour for making sure thirsts were quenched, and all the members who attended and gave their support and made the evening so much fun.

October 2023

FridayNuts tennis group continues to be successful with 32 members now on our WhatsApp Group.  This is the group from Friday 20th October.

We held another Pickleball demonstration on Saturday 14th October which was well attended.  Thanks to Dena for organising and for those who came along.

September 2023
On Saturday 30th September Dena Nelson Smith, Chris Marsh and Patsy Allfrey were invited to the National Tennis Centre, Roehampton for the Tennis Volunteer Community Day.  The day was filled with a Q&A session, cardio tennis, padel tennis, doubles tennis, a tour of the amazing facilities and meeting other volunteers and sharing ideas.
We are delighted to announce the LED lights have now been successfully installed on Courts 1 & 2.
Members enjoy the lights being switched on Friday 29th September.

April 2023

Carl Spencer, Crablands Tennis Coach and First Team player took part in the UWCB (Ultra White Collar Boxing) event on 15th April.  This was an event put together to raise money for Cancer Research and, together the individuals who trained for the event raised over £10,000.  The contenders had 8 weeks to train and the event took place in front of a crowd of 500.  Some of our members were able to loudly support Carl on the night.  Congratulations Carl – fantastic effort.

March 2023

Kids Fun Night – skittles and hot dogs was held on Friday 31st March.  Big thanks to Carl and Dena for organising fun activities for our juniors.

Following on, the Adults enjoyed an evening of skittles and hot dogs.  And a big thank you to Viv and Lew, Maureen and Penny for making the evening happen.

The Quiz and Auction Evening took place on Friday 3rd March.

What a wonderful and fun evening we had.  A big thank you to Andy Gilmour for setting up the questions and calmly keeping score – people are still talking about your Dingbats.  And a big thank you to Dena Nelson Smith for being the quiz master and auctioneer for the night. Your energy and enthusiasm were infectious.  Congratulations to the winning team – The Crabbers.  We have received many lovely comments from those who attended the event that it was an amazing evening.  And of course, where would we be without Lew and Chris – thank you for running the bar for the evening.  Here are some photos of the night.

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November 2022

The 2022 Presentation Evening took place on Saturday 26th November.

The Juniors received their cups and prizes, presented by Dena Nelson Smith

The Seniors enjoyed a feast of pies (supplied by local firm Umble Pies, https://gourmethogkitchens.com), puds and cheeses followed by the presentation of their cups and prizes and a raffle.  The members seemed to enjoy themselves and appreciated the work put in by all the volunteers who made the evening a success.  Particular thanks to Viv and Dena.

October 2022

The Junior/Senior Doubles Tournament took place on Saturday 8th October.  Congratulations to the following players:

Winners of the Yellow Ball tournament: Katie McDermott and Martin Green.  Runners-up Mark Trubey and Lucy Sarson

Winners of the Green Ball tournament: Toby Pitham and Roy Reynolds. Runners-up Ellie Jenkins and Andy Jenkins

Thank you to all the junior and senior members who took part in the tournament to make it a special day.

The Mixed Doubles Tournament took place on Sunday 30th October, with 16 members taking part and occupying all four courts. The conditions were just right and the mood was competitive and fun with some exciting rallies and a nail-biting finish.

Congratulations to the following players:

Winners: Ali Merrett and Michael Ackerman.  Runners-up Jess Ackerman and Nigel Allfrey

 

November 2022

The Ladies Singles Tournament took place on Sunday 20th November, with 4 members taking part.  Again the conditions were perfect, with some long games with exciting rallies.

Congratulations to the following players:

Winners: Lisa McGlinchey.  Runner-up Charlie Bray

And a BIG thank you to Viv Harris for organising all the 2022 tournaments, for her support and sustenance.

September 2022

The Ladies Doubles Tournament took place on Sunday 25th September – the following members took part: Evangeline Cotterell, Katie McDermott, Tilly McDermott, Charlotte Bray, Cheryl Yeoman, Claire Wright, Marjie Ridley, Jo Jephcott, Liz Bosson, Ali Merrett, Patsy Allfrey, Chris Marsh.  Congratulations to the winners of the Tournament Liz Bosson and Cheryl Yeoman and the runners up Chris Marsh and Claire Wright.

Thank you to Viv Harris for organising the Tournament and delighted to see Desmond Dubbin watching from the balcony with Jess Ackerman.

   

The Summer Club Barbecue took place on Sunday 18th September and we had a great turnout.  A big thank you to all the wonderful Bowls members who organised and ran the event. And thank you to everyone who bought tickets – the event was held to raise funds to pay for the Club Defibrillator.

Junior Tennis Coaching Autumn Term 2022

We are delighted to welcome back Juniors to our Saturday morning coaching sessions with our excellent coaches Dena Nelson Smith and Carl Spencer.

         

Men’s Singles Tournament 

The men’s singles tournament took place on Sunday 11th September with 12 members taking part.

Congratulations to:

Carl Spencer for becoming the 2022 Men’s Singles Champion, beating Daniel Cobden in a closely fought final.

Andy Gilmour for winning the third place playoff, beating Vince Starr in a marathon match.

Mark Maidment for winning the plate final, beating Roy Reynolds in an entertaining close match.

And thank you to all the other players: Michael Ackerman, Pete Bosson, John Chequer, Reece East, Ben Sarson, Henry Wilkinson and supporters and refreshment providers.

 

Other

August 2022

Friday Tennis Nuts enjoying another 2 hour session of fun tennis

June 2022

Crablands Bowls and Tennis Club have recently purchased a Defibrillator.  We have had a couple of training demonstrations on how to use a Defibrillator courtesy of Selsey Community First Responders.

And Kubb continues to be a popular Friday evening activity – anyone is welcome – it’s guaranteed to bring a smile to your face.

  

April 2022
We would like to thank all those members who kindly donated money for the Ukraine Fund.  Konrad Marek and Ilze Danga have recently returned from visiting the Ukranian border, delivering the money collected and generally helping out where possible.  The Mayor of Puchaczow Commune presented Konrad and Ilze with a Certificate of Thanks along with beautiful books of the area signed by the Mayor.  The Certificate is on display in the Clubhouse along with one of the books.  And of course, a heartfelt thank you to Konrad and Ilze.