British Tennis Membership

You may be aware of the new initiative by the LTA to encourage British Tennis Membership.

After careful scrutiny and some initial scepticism, the Tennis Club Committee would now urge all club members to join. Recent changes to the British Tennis Membership conditions now make participation most advantageous to our Tennis Club.

It will cost you NOTHING other than 5 minutes to fill in an application form or to join on line. You can even apply by phone on 0845 873 7202.

The latest British Tennis Letter and the Application Form are available as PDF files. Printed application forms are available in the club house. These will also be made available at various forthcoming events where committee members will be available to answer questions and if needed help in filling out the application form.

For online application go to http://www.lta.org.uk/britishtennismembership. If you would like help with the online application, then Joe R or Phil R, who are already members, would be happy to provide assistance. If you go online you can get your own personal tennis rating.

Below is a summary of the essential details as provided by your Chairman, Mike C:

Some 95,000 people have become British Tennis Members since its launch in March 2008 and this includes 23 member who have joined from Goring Tennis Club. The recent letter from the LTA brings news of changes in the membership conditions. The letter seeks to clarify the differences in benefits bestowed through the British Tennis Membership our Club Affiliation to the LTA.

The main point of the letter says:
“To ensure all club members can benefit from  British Tennis Membership, it has been decided to extend free British Tennis Membership to all members of affiliated clubs until 2012.”

This provides a major incentive for club members to join British Tennis and offers a significant grace period for us all to decide if membership is worthwhile and if British tennis is indeed benefiting”.

The letter also reminds us of that the Club’s allocation of Wimbledon tickets for 2009 will be based on the number of club members (adults and juniors aged 9 and over) who have signed up as British Tennis Members by the 30th November 2008.

It states that:
“Wimbledon tickets through your club ballot, from 2009, will only be available to British Tennis Members and all your club members who are signed up as British Tennis Members must be included within your club ballot”.

This confirms that access to Wimbledon tickets, a long time benefit of club affiliation to the LTA, will from 2009, become a benefit of British Tennis Membership.

Your club committee have discussed this at some length and given that it is now free for the next four years, urge you to join and contribute to the improvement of British tennis.