Tennis
The club is a long established tennis (and table tennis) facility for the village, with a growing membership now approaching 250 individuals of all ages.
Coaching is available to members and non-members. Some 150 juniors come for coaching each week.
How to Find Us:
The club is on Woolton Hill road, the main road running through the village from the Andover Road. Continue through the village and past the schools and you will find the club on the left half way down the hill as you leave the village. The club's postcode is RG20 9TX
Brief History
After the second world war the village “Welcome Home Committee” purchased land from the Abbey Wells Estate on the principle that this land was to be used for the recreational and social benefit of the local community. The still standing squash court building (now used for table tennis) was on this land as was an existing tennis court. The land was then handed over to be held in trust and Woolton Hill Sports and Social Club (WHSC) was formed to run the facility.
The Club House you see today was built in 1947 (using materials donated by local benefactor Charlie Eliot Cohen from his squash court at Hollington House) and in the early years was a thriving social location for the village with its own bar, darts teams etc.
Additional land for a second tennis court was purchased in the 1950’s, and a third court was added in the 1970’s (part of this being on land leased from a local landowner).
Floodlights were installed on one court in the early 1980’s, and then installed on the other two, conjoined, courts in 2002, with one of these being fully lit, and the other half lit. Also, a practice court, with a “hitting wall” was built in the mid 1980’s.
Recent major projects in the past three years include: the conversion (with the help of a grant from Greenham Common Trust) of the “old squash court”, which had remained unused for some 20 years, into a table tennis facility; undertaking maintenance work on the practice court (with a small grant from Hampshire LTA); extending and resurfacing the car park; and resurfacing and painting the tennis courts.
The Club Today
The club today is a busy part of the local community, in use daily throughout the year, whilst continuing to enjoy a rural village ambience much admired by members and visitors alike.
A combination of the introduction of a comprehensive coaching programme, growth of local population and the increased general interest in tennis has seen our tennis membership increase significantly over the past few years to approaching 250 adults and juniors, including the 20 or so table tennis only members (tennis membership includes table tennis participation).
Professional LTA accredited coaches provide the coaching programme, and it is also available to non-members (for a small additional fee) as well as members for both juniors and adults.
Nearly 150 juniors, ranging in age from 5 to 18, (and roughly equal numbers of girls and boys) are coached each week in term time, which also provides “work experience” opportunities for the dozen or more teenagers that assist the professional coaches.
A number of these juniors are not members, but many go on to join, often bringing in their parents too. In fact, there are now several adult coaching sessions attended by the parents of juniors that started first, as well as coaching sessions for more experienced players.
Alongside the coaching, there are many established social sessions catering for all ages and abilities. For example, on a typical Monday there will be a group of “more mature” ladies playing, a group of likewise “more mature” men, then the junior coaching programme, then, in the evening separate groups of ladies and men. Other weekdays see a similar range and diversity of use!
For those members that like to play more competitively, the club enters Men’s, Ladies and Mixed teams in the local Newbury and/or County Leagues (14 teams in total in the current year). The club also runs an annual internal Championship, which has been in place since the early days, as can be attested to by the “roll of honour” on the clubhouse wall dating from the 1950’s. As well above, members can be seen simply playing with family and friends as they are free use the courts whenever they choose outside of the organised sessions/matches.
The club is an LTA registered venue
Criteria cover inclusiveness/diversity policies, health and safety, having a certified “welfare officer”, offering coaching, as well the requirement to participate in a certain number of LTA initiatives
“Open Days” are offered for potential new members (under the LTA’s “Great British Tennis Weekend” banner) which the club does annually
The club has participated in junior tournaments as well as offering free coaching courses for 5-8 year olds under the LTA’s “Tennis For Kids” initiative. This is aimed at bringing young children into the game, particularly those from more disadvantaged backgrounds whose parents will be attracted by the offer of 6 free coaching sessions plus a free racket at the end
For more details go to the Sports Club website
Tennis Contacts
Membership secretary Alison Whitehorn 01635 254391
Coaching contacts: are Mike Gordon 07595 269620 email mike@premiumtennis.co.uk
Patrick Craggs 07909 092653 email patrickcraggs@yahoo.co.uk
Both Mike and Patrick are LTA accredited + level 4 coaches which means they are DBS checked, have safeguarding training, first aid qualification and undertake annual professional development training.
Table Tennis
The club has an active and growing Table Tennis section, boosted by the conversion of the old squash court for table tennis. There are 6 teams competing in the local Table Tennis Leagues (making us the second largest Table Tennis club in the area), and there is a well attended club night every Monday evening.
Table Tennis Contacts:
Jonathan Hopson. email jjhopson@btinternet.com
Ian Langley email ian.langley1@btinternet.com
