History of Andover Tennis Club.

1936

At the AGM of the Folly Tennis Club in 1936, it was decided to change the name of the club to the ‘Andover Lawn Tennis Club’. Mr W.J. Marsh was elected Chairman, Mr Harry Stevens captain, Mr Reg Shipway, Vice Captain, Miss J. Bennett, Match Secretary and Mr A. K. Russell, Secretary and Treasurer. The season was fixed from May until September, and a membership fee of 10s (50p!) was decided upon. The club hoped to use the same courts as last year, namely those of Andover Cricket Club in Batchelors Barn Road.

1945

The Andover Tennis Club moved to the Drove Courts, renting two hard and some grass courts from Dr Farr who owned the land. Members of the club at this time included many well know personalities in the town such as George Porter, Masie Gray, Harold and Phil Steadman, and George and Muriel Newbury. The two hard courts were situated on the exact spot where the current club has its number one and number two courts now!

Early 1950’s

Dr Farr decided to sell the land including the tennis courts, under a covenant for ‘recreational use only’. The Andover Tennis Club was unable to afford the few hundred pounds needed and the land was sold to Taskers’ Sports and Social Club. The courts continued to be used by the Taskers’ club for many more years, with Sid Vincent as the tennis stalwart.

Homeless the Andover Tennis Club approached the Andover Town Council and negotiated the use of the Recreation Courts at Vigo Road. Rental had to be paid and originally no play was permitted on a Sunday, but gradually this rule was relaxed and play was allowed from two o’clock onwards on a Sunday. The club organized a big open mixed doubles tournament every year, which attracted entries from Salisbury, Winchester and Basingstoke.

1967

By the mid sixties membership had declined and it took a letter in the local Andover Advertiser from teenager, Dot Crothall, appealing for members like herself, who were keen to play tennis, to resurrect the Andover Tennis Club. Dot continues to be a member of ALTC to this day. She is married to John Chaffey, also a long serving member.

13 May 1968

On this day the Constitution and the Rules of the present Andover Tennis Club were approved by the club membership, and club nights began again in earnest at Vigo Recreational Ground.

Teams were entered in the Basingstoke and Newbury leagues.

1973

The first club Championships were held. Richard Ponting was the Men’s Champion and Audrey Birt, the Ladies’ Champion. The junior section produced some promising players who went on to become excellent senior players and LTA coaches, such as Sharon Theobald, Linda Machin, Chris Scoates, Nick Wilson and Phil Sale.

1976

The growth of the club highlighted the need for more court time, which the council was unable to meet, so the club looked around for a suitable site to purchase. Amazingly, the old courts at the Drove were up for sale and a frantic race against time began to raise enough money to purchase the land and resurface the courts. Helped by grants and loans from the HPFA, the Sports Council, the LTA and TVBC, plus a great deal of fund raising work by members, the land and courts were purchased in July 1976. Three new hard courts were laid over the existing two and the club returned to its 1945 site.

July 1977

Additional land was bought for a larger car park.

January 1978

An even larger piece of land was bought for future developments.

April 1978

A new clubhouse was built and opened by Basil Dunning. Club Chairman, Eric Goldsworthy, and trustees, Eric Chambers, Raymond Dunning and Ken Gibson, saw the club through this most enterprising time in its history and laid the foundations for the strength of the present club.

Competition Success

In 1979 the Andover Club won for the first time the prestigious Overton Shield (a tournament for teams in the Basingstoke league, first competed for in 1928) Four more Overton Shield victories have followed. In 1986 the club won its section of the ‘Silk Cut’ National competition and won through to the area finals at the West Hants Club in Bournemouth.

July 1988

Two new floodlit courts were laid at the north end of the site, turning the club into a five court facility, with the two new floodlit courts available for play under floodlighting throughout the year.

October 1988

The club’s success can be measured by the strength of its Junior section. In this year the Andover Juniors won the inaugural event of the Andover Shield, a new event for junior teams in the Basingstoke league. Many of the juniors who took part in this event went on to represent the club in senior events. Some like Claire Coomer, Faith Chaffey and Andrew Winnett, went on to become club champions and club coaches.

April 1992

The clubhouse was extended to include a large social area, named after one of its most influential and hard working members, Eric Chambers. The Eric Chambers Clubhouse was officially opened by Keith Wiseman, chairman of Hampshire LTA.

Spring 1999

The club took on a new look when the very tall conifer trees between the top and bottom courts were removed and the top three courts were extended to separate the third court from the other two courts. The top three courts were resurfaced and repainted. The bottom two courts were subsequently repainted to keep up appearances!

Summer 2002

The clubhouse was refurbished, repainted and a new carpet put down.  Interior design by Glenys Chambers and the committee!

Summer 2004

The Mixed A team reached the national quarter finals of the Peugeot Inter club knock-out competition (used to be the Silk Cut or the AT Kearney).

A Junior Under 10 yrs team represented the club for the first time.

Spring 2006

Courts 4 and 5 were converted into artificial grass courts. Courts 1, 2 and 3 were repainted. The LTA recognized Andover as an accredited Mini Tennis and RAW tennis Centre.

Spring / Summer 2007

The Trustees and the Development Committee worked on the possibility of relocating the club to Balksbury Hill, a site which could accommodate 2 indoor courts, 6 outdoor courts, 1 junior court, 2 Mini courts and a new clubhouse. Plans were submitted to TVBC and the proposal is currently under review.

Summer 2009

The plans were turned down by TVBC but it was decided to go to Appeal.

In December 2009 the Club achieved ClubMark Status, an accreditation given to Sports Clubs by Sport England. Andover was the third tennis club in Hampshire to achieve this accreditation, which recognises that the club meets standards for organisation, management, child protection and safety guidelines. An excellent achievement by the Club's Committee.

Jan 2010

The Secretary of State is currently considering the Planning Appeal.

Special Events and League Competitions

An inter village competition, Family Days, Fun Days for Juniors, Hands across the Borough Millennium Baton Relay, Twinning exchange with Redon, Open Days, Play Tennis Events, Inter Club tournaments and Club championships have all taken place regularly. The club has taken part and continues to play in several leagues, such as the Hants and IOW County league, (both Veterans and open), the Basingstoke league, the Newbury league, the Sarum league, (both adult and junior) and the Peugeot Challenge Knock-out national competition (used to be the Silk Cut / AT Kearney). In 2009 there were 14 adult teams and 3 junior teams competing regularly through the summer months. All players who like competitive tennis should have a chance to take part in team events.

The Future

The club is always striving to encourage new members and to move forwards in an exciting and dynamic way. Our juniors are our lifeblood and are integral to the club’s vision of the future. We would love to improve the facilities, perhaps even have indoor courts and a clubhouse with a restaurant. In 30 years we have come a long way and the Trustees and the Development Committee are actively searching for a larger site, where we can expand our playing facilities. This may not be too far away.

Our dreams are your dreams when you become a member of A.L.T.C.