HALESWORTH TENNIS CLUB

COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES

Wednesday 5th November 2025, 6.30pm

Insomnia Cafe at the Co-op

Present

Ewen Bell, Lyn Burnett, Richard More, Barry Johnson, Mike Davis.

(Alison Pettafor was invited to join the meeting to observe proceedings and hopefully agree to join the committee.)

Alison was welcomed to the meeting.

Please note that this meeting diverted from the usual agenda to focus on the survey results and safeguarding.

1.Apologies for absence

None.

2. Declaration of conflicts of interest

None.

3. Approval of minutes of the meeting held on 1st September 2025

Approved.

4. Matters arising from the above minutes not otherwise covered in the agenda

Action points from the minutes of the meeting on 1st September

The following still needs to be actioned by Ewen:

ACTION 1 Check the Premier Sports warranty, so we do not incur any costs by doing a lot of the court maintenance ourselves.

ACTION 2 Raise with Premier Sports the issue of the crack by the right post on court 2, sending photographic evidence and asking how it can be remedied.

ACTION 3 Enquire about the cost of marking out a pickleball court on court 1.

It was decided that we would invite members to participate in a general court tidy and informal get together from 11am onwards on Saturday, 6th December (weather permitting). Mince pies & hot drinks will be provided. A WhatsApp message & email will go out shortly. ACTION 4 Lyn

Banner(s) to advertise the club

Before the design of the main banner is chosen, Ewen will contact the Town Council to check on protocol for banner display e.g. positioning, duration etc. ACTION 5

5. Club Survey Results

Prior to the meeting, Barry had created and circulated to committee members a PowerPoint to show the findings of the survey sent out to members by Ewen on 7th October 2025 and closed on 30th October 2025. Over half the membership replied and Barry’s PP slides show an analysis of each question. The answers to each question were discussed at this meeting and general and specific comments were made by the committee. Barry will now work on how to present the results of the survey to our membership and share this with the committee. ACTION 6

Notes of a sample of what was discussed by the committee are recorded below:

• The Hut – structurally the hut is not in the best condition so could it be made good or does it simply need to be replaced? It was suggested that James Keable (member & carpenter) is asked to come along and inspect the hut. Could James help at all? Lyn pointed out that the noticeboard inside the hut displays important safeguarding information (Welfare Officer details, Risk Assessment, Play Safe Materials etc.) but an outdoor, weatherproof noticeboard would be better to give members easier access to these details and greater awareness, therefore. Richard will source and cost noticeboards. ACTION 7
• Playing Groups – a weekend club session involving any member, and playing level, seems like a good idea and perhaps the committee members should take it in turns to be present at the time – Lyn confirmed that any attending child under the age of 13 (LTA recommended) should be supervised by their parent/carer as this session would not have a DBS checked coach. Barry said that Adam (his son and a Level 2 coach) was happy to offer on Sundays coached group and individual sessions for a very reasonable fee (DBS needed). Barry will explore further. ACTION 8
• Internal and External competitions – a mixed bag of responses to the survey questions suggests some interest in internal competitions but the lack of female interest in external competitions is an ongoing issue. Unfortunately, as we can only field one team, we need players with a reasonable level of skill and a competitive edge.
• Free credits for Tennis Xpress rather than the first 8 weeks being free (Open Day offer) – unfortunately this is not practical.
• Fundraising and social events – the 100 Club and a summer barbecue were clear favourites. Barry explained to Alison how the 100 Club works and that it would contribute to the club’s loan repayment.
• New WhatsApp group – Alison suggested that a new group could be created where members are invited to join if they want to contact players on an ad hoc basis for games. This would create a pool of players and facilitate cross group play.
• Pickleball lines – Richard will investigate the cost of temporary lines for pickleball (stick down) in case this is considered preferable to painting permanent lines on court 1. ACTION 9

6. Safeguarding

Lyn (Welfare Officer) outlined areas which will be addressed including how to make safeguarding information more accessible at the courts.  She indicated that the noticeboard INSIDE the hut has relevant and LTA required information but not many members use the hut. Safeguarding information is embedded in our website and goes out in booking emails but accessible physical copies at the court side are required.

Lyn then spoke about the safeguarding training that needs to be completed with all new committee members as part of their induction. The aim is to provide key safeguarding information and messages to those in venues that do not have regular roles working with children or adults at risk. This training will take place at the next committee meeting on the 3rd December 2025 and, as the club’s Welfare Officer, Lyn will be the facilitator. A link to the video will be sent to each committee member. ACTION 10

7. Membership

Lyn indicated that we now have 67 members.

(Please note that at the time of writing, we now have 68 members - the latest joining on 6th November with an adult half year membership.)

8. AOB

a)  Christmas Trees

Lyn spoke about the invitation received from Jo Thackray to set up an HTC tree as part of the annual Christmas tree festival at St Mary, Halesworth. We participated last year, and Lyn and Simon Thackray organised, set up and decorated our tree. Lyn will get back to Jo. ACTION 11

b) Fundraising

At the time of writing, Lyn has forwarded to Richard a fundraising possibility sent to Simon originally.

c) Mike has agreed to be our Fire Officer, and his name will be on our Risk Assessment document. He will investigate electrical wiring checks, signs for access routes from the courts and gathering points in the event of a fire etc. ACTION 12

9. Date & time of next meeting

Wednesday, 3rd December 6.15pm

Meeting ended at 8.15pm