Section 1 - Origins of Tennis Section
The Tennis Section was originally formed in the early 20th Century for wives of the Enfield Cricket Club (ECC) members to have recreational activity whilst the men played cricket. The Section then admitted male members in the inter-War years to become the Tennis Section within the ECC that it is today.
Section 2 - Tennis Courts
The Section has 3 grass courts which are located in the far corner of the cricket field opposite the Clubhouse. Being grass, the Section only operates from April to September. The courts are maintained by a full-time groundsman employed by the ECC. The Section makes an annual contribution to the Club for his services.
After many years of use, the court fencing had deteriorated to the point that it had to be replaced. That was done by En-tout-cas in January 2021 with help from ECC funds. A portakabin acts as the Section clubhouse.
Section 3 - Tennis Activities
The main club day for playing members is Saturday afternoon from 2.30pm where all members mix-in and play. The same format occurs on Tuesday evenings from 5pm. Members are free to arrange their own games outside of these times. Members keep in touch and arrange games via the Sections dedicated Whats App programme.
The Section also enters a men’s doubles team into the Middlesex Summer League.
An annual Section tournament is also held for singles and doubles. It follows a standard knock-out format and is played on an opportunity basis throughout the season.
Following the sad death in 2020 of one of our most popular members, it was decided to initiate an annual competition in his memory – the Tony Wilson Trophy.
The season culminates in an Annual Dinner held in the ECC Clubhouse.
Section 4 - Club Officials
The Tennis Section forms one of the sport elements of the ECC which is run by a General Committee that controls the clubhouse and surrounding grounds. In turn, the Tennis Sections is managed by a Sub-Committee elected by tennis members at the AGM.
The present elected officials are:
Chairman: Dick Lumb
Treasurer: Chris Gill
Club Captain: Mick Cook
Match Captain: Payman Alishahi
Section 5 - Types of Membership.
There are approximately 40 playing members of the Section. Membership falls into 3 categories: Full playing member (FPM); Student (StM) member; and social member (SM). FPMs and StMs have unrestricted access to the courts. With playing membership also comes automatic social membership of the ECC which permits access to the main clubhouse and bar.
Social members can attend the Section’s functions and use all the main Clubhouse facilities at any time. There is no junior section although the club coach, Steve Baldwin, does teach juniors by appointment. Fees are decided on an annual basis and are agreed at the January AGM. The present fees are £90 for FPMs, £45 for StMs and £30 for SMs.
Section 6 - Honours Boards
The Section has held a ladies and men’s singles tournament since 1933. Annual doubles and mixed doubles tournaments started in 1979/80. Unfortunately, the number of ladies playing declined in the early 2000s which precluded the ladies and mixed competitions from continuing.
The following records the men’s Honours Board of previous winners.
Attachment 1 Men’s Singles
Attachment 2 Men’s Doubles
An annual Tennis Section merit award was started in 2019 and recognises the stand- out efforts and achievements of an individual who has had a major and influential impact on the Section either over a sustained period or during the last 12 months.
Winners to date have been:
2019 Mrs M Cook and C Gill
2020 P Alishahi
Section 7 - Safeguarding
The LTA mandate that a comprehensive Safeguarding Plan be published for all LTA registered tennis venues. This section satisfies this mandate by demonstrating compliance with 6 mandatory standards:
Standard 1 - Safeguarding Policy and Procedures
Tennis Section Safeguarding Policy – summary statement
Tennis Section Safeguarding Policy
Tennis Section Whistle-blowing Policy
Standard 2 - Diversity and Inclusion Policy and Procedures
Standard 3 - Club Welfare Officer
Standard 4 - Criminal Record Checks
Standard 5 - Tennis Venue Risk Assessment
Tennis Section Risk Assessment
Tennis Section Cricket Balls Risk Assessment
Tennis Section Covid-19 Risk Assessment
Standard 6 - Coaches (Level 3- 5) to be LTA accredited
The relevant documents are attached. Standard 4 is not a requirement for the Tennis Section because there are no employees, and we have no junior section. Risk assessments have to be submitted to the LTA to gain insurance cover for the venue.
Section 8 – General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
The GDPR came into effect in the UK on 25 May 2018. The GDPR and existing data protection law applies to organisations regardless of size and this has had implications for tennis venues of all sizes and structures. Tennis venues hold and use the personal data of individuals (mainly details of their members and employees (i.e. names, addresses, phone number, email address and date of birth). However, individuals will continue to have rights which must be observed by tennis venues (as data controllers).
The Tennis Section has conducted a ‘mini-audit’ of the personal data that it holds, how it is used and the reasons for such use. This data has been reduced to a minimum.
Members have been informed by letter of this new Privacy Policy and of their rights.