‘Always Prepared’ is the Motto of St Hugh’s School and My Club Coach needed all their facilities to accommodate the weather this Sunday.
"We were running a Grade 6 matchplay for 11 to 14 year old players in ratings division 10 (10.2 and 10.1’s) and division 9 (9.2 and 9.1) using the new LTA
Matchplay guidelines. This meant that we had lots of less experienced boys and girls getting a chance of competing in relatively short matches and learning how to take practice into competition.
This format is ideal for children to get competition experience without playing against County squad players.
The changes, implemented from 1st September, meant that matches for both divisions were now one set matches to 6 games and that boys and girls could play each other.
We only used mixed matches though to provide an extra match opportunity, we normally do keep the boys and girls apart!
The day started dry, however, after less than an hour rain started to pour. The St Hugh’s hard courts coped very well at first having been refurbished earlier in the year, however it was soon clear that they were not going to be playable due to the persistent rain.
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We quickly converted the hockey pitch into four astro-turf courts and play continued. Multi-use sports surfaces like at St Hugh’s has allowed more matchplay opportunities to occur as it takes the pressure off specialist tennis clubs giving up court time at weekends for junior competition. Players and parents kept warm in the Pavilion where teas/coffees and the tuck shop did a brisk trade.
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We completed 27 matches involving 8 girls and 11 boys before we were all completely soaked through. 5 players achieved enough wins to move their LTA rating up.
As Referee’s we were always asking players / parents if they wanted to continue, and most did. Afterwards we received comments such as:
‘Thank you very much for today. The girls really enjoyed it!!!’
‘Thanks for your efforts today. We had a great (if not wet) time’
That meant that we felt happy that we had proceeded and provided these children an opportunity to play rather than call it off. We have to thank St Hugh’s for providing the facility which had the flexibility to keep the event on. We return to St Hugh’s in two weeks for Green and Orange tournaments, we hope the rain doesn’t return with us!
Pramod Gujral
Referee"