Burnside Park Tennis Club
2020/2021 President’s Report as Presented at the 96th AGM on July 31st 2021.
Club Activities
The 2020/2021 season was a busy one for Burnside Park Tennis Club. We once
again held a very successful Seniors Tournament in September. The Seniors
Tournament is a great way to showcase the club to non-members and generates
healthy revenue to the club. As always thanks to all the volunteers.
BPTC participated in the national “Love Tennis” promotion at the start of the season.
Thanks to Katrin Johnston, Chrysi Pipilaki and all the other volunteers for a
successful event.
The BPTC Senior Club Championships were again held at the end of the Interclub
season. Daniel Hyndman ran the competition very professionally and introduced a B
grade that we intend to repeat.
Starting in winter we have formed a relationship with the newly created University of
Canterbury Tennis Club. On Thursday evenings from 6-8pm the UC Tennis Club
hires out our courts for organised play for their student members. This is also
available for BPTC club members if they wish to join in. As well as providing revenue
we hope that some of the UC students may join BPTC to play Interclub and/or when
they leave University.
The committee has agreed to increase the number of grading groups used on the
computer for Saturday organised play from four to six. This should hopefully improve
the balance of games once implemented.
Once again I would like to thank Bruce McDowell for single-handedly running our
Monday night competition for over 10 years now. Grants aside Business House
Tennis has been the Club’s largest fund raising activity for the 10+ years since Bruce
has taken over, with profits last year exceeding $5,000.00.
Facilities
After dealing with a serious blocked drain issue, the committee has made some
progress towards replacing the ageing Astro courts. We have submitted a grant
application for funding for up to four courts, and are awaiting the results which will
dictate the necessary next steps. We have also obtained a detailed professional
report regarding the floodlights which will guide us when we eventually replace the
floodlights with LED lighting.
Personnel
At the start of the season our club administrator Stacey Winks left to focus on her
full-time job. The committee and club thank her for her time with us and wish her all
the best. We were very lucky to be able to engage Chrysi Pipilaki to the roles of
Secretary under a contract agreement and Junior Administrator under a fixed term
employment agreement. Chrysi has done an excellent job and has no doubt
contributed to the increase in junior membership. Mary Dollin picked up the
Treasurer component of Stacey’s old position and has performed this role diligently.
The 2020/2021 season also saw Jeff Brightwell leave us because of his health
issues. We all thank Jeff for his effort and commitment over the past four years and
wish him well for the future. We are very fortunate to have gained the services of
Remi Feneon as the new Head Coach at Burnside Park Tennis Club from just after
the beginning of the 2020/2021 season. Remi has done an excellent job at getting up
to speed with very little time for preparation. We look forward to continuing to work
with Remi to deliver coaching to all club members.
During the season David James resigned as the Tuesday Night Tennis organiser,
Bar Stocking, and also from the social conveners role. We thank David for the
Tuesday night organisation and for his enjoyable social events. David will continue
as the Bar Duty Manager. Many thanks to Bruce McDowell who has been restocking
the bar for now.
Committee
Both Bruce McDowell and I accept and acknowledge that our absence of visibility
and participation during organised play disappoints some long standing members. In
contrast to past presidents I am under 35, in full time employment and a very active
competitive player participating in Saturday and Sunday Interclub, other weekend
tennis events, and regular Monday and Tuesday night Business House Tennis
Competitions. Bruce, as vice president, is in a very similar position with additional
involvement with Canterbury Tennis Seniors and Tennis Canterbury.
While we both enjoy and support social activities we are too busy to participate in
most club activities on Saturdays and mid-week. We hope you understand.
Nevertheless we, like other committee members, are certainly always available by
phone and email to discuss and respond to any member's concerns or suggestions.
There is concern on the committee around succession. There is no-one on the
executive committee who would not stand aside immediately if someone else wished
to fill a role for the ensuring 12 months. It is our sincere hope that we get some new
people on the committee so we can ensure a smooth transition to a new group of
people which is important for the long term success of the club.
If you would like to volunteer but do not wish to be on the committee, please get in
touch and let us know how you are interested in helping.
Please note that I plan to step down from the Presidency at the end of the 2021/2022
season to give someone else the opportunity.
As always thank you very much to everyone who volunteers their time for which
without the club would not be able to operate. In particular, thanks to Andrea Wilson,
Sue Gibson, Chris Coster, David Mitchell, Hamish Wilson, Gavin Dunn, Anne
Clarkson, Daniel Hyndman, Alkmini Giannakogiorgou, Wonjeong Kim, Richard Wild,
Gillian Smeith, Janette Winks, David Howarth, Mary Dollin, Katrin Johnston, Chrysi
Pipilaki and Bruce McDowell.
David Thomson
President 2019-2021