Hyde Real Tennis
HYDE REAL TENNIS CLUB Annual report 2018
The Club is in excellent shape under the guidance of our new-ish Head professional Jez Brodie. He is now half way through his second year and the usage remains high and the membership solid.
This year is our 20th Anniversary and we were honoured to welcome back HRH The Earl of Wessex to the Court on 13 June which was 20 years to the day since he formally opened it. He played three sets as part of his DofE Challenge including partnering your correspondent who did not assist with the Earl’s win/loss ratio. We held a Reception on Court for about 70 people and the day was a great success for which huge thanks to our Social Secretary Jane Milton.
We are holding a tournament with social events in October to mark the anniversary and will be contacting all tennis players in due course. We hope to have the further great honour of Rob Fahey speaking to us after a tournament dinner. Watch this space.
We are pleased to have sent another young professional from deepest Dorset into the outside World. Neil Mackenzie is now Assistant Professional at Queens following in the footsteps of Ben Taylor-Matthews who also started down here.
Sadly we are no nearer being able to buy our Court as our Landlords the local Sports trust have taken a sale off their agenda.
We were pleased as ever to hold our regular National events of the 10-19 Handicap weekend and the Chetwood Trophy. We did not hold the Brodie Cup Final this year for a one-off reason. We very much appreciate the participants who do come all the way here but hope they agree it is worth it for our lovely setting and relaxed and welcoming Club.
Our main Club event the Mackenzie Turner Cup was won this year by RTC old stalwart James Wilson. Well done to him.
Sadly as the result of a nasty accident on Court our Secretary Ian Potter is no longer able to serve so yours truly is de facto secretary and John Pearson resumed as membership Secretary with Ros Clark being formally elected to re-join the Committee. Thank you all.
Come and see us this Anniversary year and here is to the next twenty years.
John Mackenzie, Chairman.
The Hyde Tennis Court was built for Joseph Gundry in 1885 from beautiful Dorset ham stone in order to entertain the Prince of Wales who was a Real Tennis fanatic. The Court was used until the First World War, after which it was used as a vehicle repair shed as well as an agricultural building. The grandson of the original owner died in 1995, leaving the Court in his Will to the Bridport and West Dorset Sports Trust Ltd, which is a registered Charity and runs the existing Leisure Centre in Bridport. It has now been restored to its former glory thanks to the support of its members and currently hosts T&RA's national competition such as the Chetwood Trophy and the Category B tournament.
