Inter Club Match Play

Opportunities to play in teams against other clubs

2004 Situation

We have such a demand from people wanting to play in teams. For a club membership of currently around 170 people we do exceptionally well in raising teams at all levels. From the feedback it is clear that we have more people wanting to play in matches than we have teams for. I note the feedback on the opportunity, and selection process to play in teams. Clearly our goal here is to introduce more teams. The limiting factor here is of course the number of courts, and juggling of the court diary to fit them all in. 

Response from Mark T (2004)

Two more teams will be entered in the winter leagues starting in September. A fourth 2 pair men’s team in the Thames Valley League will be run by Jan-Paul K and he has a squad of 8-10 players keen to play in probably 12-13 matches between September and March. A 2 pair ladies’ team has been entered in the Berkshire League under the captaincy of Jan B. Squad numbers here are less certain but the advantage of being in the BL is that anyone can play rather than being tied to a higher team as would be the case in the TVL.

Match practices will continue to be organised on Monday nights over the winter and these, coupled with regular discussions between the team captains concerning match performance as well as individual representation as laid out in the Spring Newsletter, will continue to be used to inform team selection.

Current Situation

"The Club and its team captains continue to respond as positively as they can to demands for match play opportunities and regularly review the number and level of teams entered in the various leagues.

The new teams mentioned in 2004 were supplemented by 2 further teams in the Oxfordshire League during the summer of 2005. Although we do not yet have a 'full' fixture list, court capacity is always a limiting factor however.

A percentage of dates needs to be kept free for both for rearrangements before the season starts to accommodate our events (Regatta, Finals Day, Pox On It, etc.) as well as any subsequent postponements due to the weather.

We are now looking to include some of the more promising juniors in senior teams."

Mark T