Club Newsletter – June 2026
Welcome to our June newsletter!
Update on the potential padel proposition
In our (29th) April newsletter we said that:
- Our next door neighbours “Berkhamsted FC have broached the idea to us of building [three canopied] padel courts [at their cost] across our shared boundary, using some of their area and our tennis court 6b area (our tarmac tennis court), in a joint venture.”
- We were in discussions with them “about how the proposition could be structured so that it is materially beneficial, particularly if it helps to secure the expansion of our club if/when BFC relocate” to fulfil their stated aim to climb two more levels to the top tier of non-league football; and
- “In accordance with our Club Constitution, it is very likely we will be proposing a members’ consultation and a Special General Meeting on this subject.”
Negotiations have progressed to the stage that BFC need to know whether it has our committed support before they invest material time and money into detailed plans and applying for planning permission.
We have a meeting with Berkhamsted Sports Grounds, the freeholders of the football ground and tennis court 6b, early in July to brief them on the proposal.
Subject to their agreement, we will come to you with a timetable and proposed resolution(s) for a members’ vote at an SGM. Look out for news coming soon.
Club improvements to facilities and operations
The builders have nearly finished their work:
- clubhouse guttering has been replaced;
- squash court 6 and the balcony area to courts 3 and 6 have new ceilings;
- the bottom of the driveway entrance and the maintenance access to the ‘grass’ tennis courts have new tarmac surfaces; and
- the hard landscaping around tennis courts 10-12 will be finished this week, just in time for Tennis Finals Day!
Operational improvements have been delivered:
- new website;
- new membership subscription and database platform – migration to ManageMyMatch (MMM);
- new membership email distribution system; and
- new box league systems – previous provider withdrew their service.
The next stage of our transition, from current vendors to MMM as the single and integrated provider for our software operating platform, is to migrate the court booking and club access systems. We’re just allowing the recent changes to embed and become bau before we launch further new ways of doing things.
Searching for player contact details
Following the switch of our box leagues and the move to MMM, we regularly get asked how to find contact details to arrange games.
For the box leagues, the best way is simply to upload your contact details to the leagues, so that your opponents can either email or WhatsApp you. If you’re unsure how to do this, our box league organisers Dan White (tennis), Rob Harbron (squash), and Andrew Bryson (racketball) will be happy to help:
tennissinglesleague@bltsrc.co.uk
Alternatively, it is easy to do on MMM. We’ve got screen shots of the user journey at the foot this email:
- go into the MMM app and click BLTSRC at the top right;
- click About BLTSRC top left;
- click Member List midway down the page;
- either scroll through the list of members or search the member you’re looking for;
- click the Phone icon for their contact number; and
- click and hold their Name for their email address which you can then copy.
And if you’re still stuck, Susannah and Vicky in the club office are always happy to help!
Tennis
It’s a big week! Tennis Finals Day is this Saturday!
Before that, we have Singles Semi-Final Evening on Wednesday from 6.30pm and Doubles Semi-Final Evening on Thursday from 6.30pm.The weather looks like it’s going to be glorious on all those days, so whether you’re playing or not, come on down with your sun cream and enjoy what we like to call the best beer garden in Berkhamsted!
The next Elliswick Friendly is on Monday 13th July at Elliswick. These games are designed for beginners and intermediaries who would like to have a go at playing a team match, in a fun and unpressurised setting with a nice social lunch afterwards. If you are interested in having a go, contact Alice Stoker alicestoker21@gmail.com
Did you know our Indoor Tennis Centre was 20 years old last week? It’s proved a remarkable addition to the club and a credit to the project team of resourceful members.
Merch drop! Court 10 have released a new club shirt with a henley style collar in white. Always useful to have in your bag in case you get the Wimbledon call-up. Available here from the club website https://www.bltsrc.co.uk/club-partners/
Next up for our NPL team is the play-off round on Saturday 18th July to hopefully reach the national finals once more. We’re hoping for a home fixture for the 18th when the draw is announced this week.
Squash & Racketball
On Saturday 13th June a large group of our squash and racketball players travelled a short distance down the road to take on local rivals Tring at their place. It was an excellent afternoon and evening for all playing abilities, re-establishing what used to be called the Grand Union Cup between the two clubs. It’s back in the calendar and next time it’s at ours!
Shout-out time!
Congratulations to Sharon Plested who has won the ladies Herts Squash Player Of The Season award!
We bow down to Ali Coker who earlier this month was crowned the British Open O50s Masters Squash champion, dropping just one game on route to the title.This is the Wimbledon of squash, attracts the best players in the world, and the winner is one of our own! When he’s not soundly beating world class players, Ali can be found playing for our 1st team and playing in our club boxes.
Plus, a big round of applause to our other competitors at the British Open Masters:Katie Winterstein, Gavin Roger-Lund and Andy Eilfield, all of whom performed brilliantly at the top level of their sport.
Bar & Café news
We’ll be serving the thirsty and hungry masses through Tennis Finals Week. Beer and Prosecco are definitely the best refreshments in hot weather, and the kitchen will be open every evening too.
And we know 9pm kick-off’s for England’s World Cup matches can make it a late night for children and work, but come on down to see it on the big screen!
And the winner is… !
Libby Montgomery is the Berkhamsted Women’s Sports Person Of The Year!
At the 2026 Sporting Excellence Awards run by Berkhamsted Sports Grounds at Berkhamsted Golf Club on 4th June, we were proud to have four members up for awards: Alice Stoker, David Wells and Dan White were all nominated by our members for the Volunteer of the Year award and made the final short-list: and Libby was nominated for the SPotY award (acronym borrowed from the BBC) for her inspirational success in captaining our women’s squash team to the Herts League title and representing England in the Masters Squash Home Internationals.
It was an excellent evening of recognition for local community club players and volunteers, with a great contingent of our club’s nominees and nominators in attendance. Here’s a link to a report and photos of the evening https://www.bsgca.org/sporting-excellence-awards-2025-26/
Until next month, that’s all for now!
Club Council
(John Shaw, Phil Trimmer, Adam Suggett, Pete Walker, Matt Markwort, Tracey Mackey, Mark Shattock)
Upcoming Events
World Cup Games showing!