They think its all over - it is now.

The rain held off mostly and now the 2013 tournament is successfully completed. Just the mens doubles reverse draw final still to be played due to injury. This was my first year of organising, and it is a big relief that its all over. I must firstly give a big thanks to the many who have help me over the last few weeks, especially Simon and Sue who have provided not only practical help, but a fair bit of counselling when needed.

It looked like everyone has enjoyed playing, watching and eating. It is good to see a few new faces playing and hopefully they enjoyed the experience. It is a mark of what a friendly, inclusive and vibrant club we have that players of all ages and abilities are happy to take part in the same event.

We have seen some hard fought matches and some excellent performances. The doubles events were dominated by the Khans and Ashmores,with Georgie and Sammy winning the Ladies, Hassan and Hussein winning the mens, and Georgie and Hussein teaming up to win the mixed. Hassan and Hussein's win in the mens doubles was their 10th in a row which is an outstanding achievement. Other multiple champions were Anna, Gary and Paul Handford. 

We also saw some excellent spectating, with Dennis giving a master class on how we need to run faster, hit harder and make no mistakes. All take note.

Finaly, I'm sure that everyone will join me in thanking Louise and everyone who has helped in the kitchen or behind the bar. 

Andy.

Final day.......rainy......but still playing/watching.  Live score from ladies' doubles final is one set all.....into the 3rd set  for last match of the 2013 tournament.

After fighting out a close mens singles final, Dan and Ben teamed up to take on the Khan brothers, but Hassan and Hussein were not to be denied and won their 10th consecutive mens doubles title. How many more to come?

John and Diane win the Reverse Mixed vets doubles against Louise and Anthony

Steve and Paul win through to the reverse mens doubles final, beating Harrish and Mukesh

Still some great matches to be played on Sunday. We have scheduled them as early as possible to try to beat the weather. Please come down and support the remaining finalists.

Andy.

Weekend Schedule

Sunday's weather forecast is not looking good for tennis, so we have scheduled as many matches as we can on Saturday. To be fair to everyone, no one is being asked to play more than 2 matches in one day wherever possible.
If Sundays forecast of heavy rain and strong winds prove to be accurate, and my command over the weather fails, we will have to see how we can get the games played at some time in the near future. Just when I thought it was done....

Thursday night matches saw a large number of players now through to finals. Dan P won against Hassan 7/6 6/2  finally finishing in pouring rain after over two hours. Hardy spectators watched under umbrellas outside, whilst others viewed play from the shelter and warmth of the clubhouse.

Other matches saw Glyn win through against Raj R to the Reverse Men's Singles final, and Gail/Eric to the Reverse Mixed after a close 3 setter. It is good to see Eric back on court and playing great tennis.

Andy is currently completing the weekend schedule.  In view of the weather forecast for Sunday, we are trying to fit in as many finals on Saturday as possible. Also, due to Sunday's forecast and lack of  first round losing ladies being available, we can't  run the Granville Plate this weekend. It may be possibe to organise it on a Wednesday evening if enough players are around. With Reverse draws now in operation, the number of eligible players has been reduced in the last few years.

Kitchen will be in full swing on Saturday, so please come down to watch even if not playing.
It'still okay to sign up for the BBQ  but please do so by 10am tomorrow or e-mail me.

Also on court last night, we saw (as a  pundit) said "a game of three halves" with Ben beating Hussein 6/1 6/7 6/1 and through to the final.  His opponent currently being decided as Dan plays Hassan with a 4/3 score at present. (Yes, we are live from the clubhouse).

Last match on last night finally ended at 9.50pm with our Social Sec and Mr Pollard beating Rob and Julie in a closely fought 3 setter. Louise is now "totally relaxed" and playing music on her i-pad, propping up the bar with Mrs Rossa rather than watching any tennis at all !!  Steve I is, as always, doing a sterling job as barman, cloth in hand at all times and surfaces sparkling !

Happy 18th birthday to Charlotte who has enjoyed her first proper drink at the bar this evening.

Wednesday Evening - A purely personal view

Things are not looking good as I pull into the car park. The rain is falling steadily and the clouds are low and heavy. We really do not have time in the schedule for rain. Is it easing a little? not really, I am just kidding myself. Its now 6 O'clock, everyone has arrived and are waiting in the club house. Is it playable? I have played in worse, but not much. I'm thinking that we should wait, but people are bravely matching out to take up the challenge with a stoic glint in their eyes. That's the spirit. We occupy court 3 for our mens veterans doubles semi final. My partner is Antony, we up against the fearsome pairing of Rob Radford and Paul HT, and I have a feeling it is going to be close. I also have a feeling that I'm getting wet as the cruel rain continues to dampen the courts, but not the spirits of the hardy combatants spread across our 6 green rectangular battlegrounds. The warm-up is underway, and its not going well. I played particularly badly last night, apologies to Jackie Rossa, and my poor form is continuing. I command the ball to go where I am aiming, but it mocks me and sails 10 feet long, I command the rain to stop, and it does. I have more control of the weather than the tennis ball. Antony starts with a solid hold of serve, and soon we are two games up despite my woeful play. My first service game is predictably lost. Antony is suffering with a bad leg, and an even badder partner, but is managing to keep us in the set, scampering around the court with determination and a limp. At the other end Rob and Paul are giving nothing away as is to be expected. Four all comes and goes, and at last my play is improving. We are five four up and have a set point on the Radford serve, but it is lost, and as seemed inevitable from the very start, we are soon into a tie break. Five-two down, we show the flair, skill and imagination of the England football team (joke) to storm back and take the first set. Most of the other matches around us have already finished. Three sets would take all night, and Antony and Rob both have another match to play.
The second set starts in the same fashion with some hard fort games, but we are spurred on with shouts of encouragement from the crowd such as "Hurry up" and "Get on with it". Buoyed by this support we start to win game after game, I am serving for the match, we win, and I'm into my first ever final.

Standing in the club house with a glass of Bombardier, I look out to see Antony and Rob locked in battle again, but with the far more glamorous partners of Louise and Julie. It looks like that will also be an epic, and it was, but that's another story.

Results and Thursdays schedule is up. I hope to have the finals weekend schedule published early on Friday evening.

We are now at quarter and semi final stages in most events. Seeds are winning through and we have yet to see a "big upset"..... Last night saw Hassan play though to the semis with a win against our rising junior star Kevin M. On other courts, we saw a win for Alexander B who had a good match against Ahmed, playing in his first Oadby tournament and Aditi and Charlotte won to reach the Reverse Ladies' Doubles final.

Julie H is still in all four reverse doubles events....when not on court she has been rounding up members for 100 Club and is currently at 99. Who wants the last number ?  10 prizes up for grabs at the BBQ, with top prize £50.  BBQ numbers needed by tomorrow so please add your name to the list in the foyer.

Thanks to Sue I and Lois for servng up pasta bakes in the kitchen.

In the lounge, a crowd gathered for the football match, though there was a big exit at half time I noticed.  Whether it was a desire to get home or despair at England's performance, I don't know.When I left, only the Chairman and David S remained, determined to sit it out until the end !

Tonight's "Pick of the Matches"  is a men's singles which sees Ben M (1)  play Hussein (3). Get down early  to get a courtside seat. Afterwards, why not try  Jayne's double crust steak pie !

Non tournament news is that our Mixed 1st team have won Division One !  Well done to all.

Monday night saw a rain free evening and all matches completed.  Seeded players/pairs are out in force. While the Khans carried on their 6/0 6/0 wins, we saw two close matches between No 2 and 3 seeds in the ladies' doubles and men's over 35 singles, with our Chairman finally going down 5-7 5-7 against Gary VDB,  free of his Tournament Director role this year. Final match of the evening saw Mark F progress into the men's vets singles reverse final with a win over George M. And Mr Parker headed home to do more scheduling........

In the kitchen Carol and Helen did a great job,serving up 20 portions of chicken tikka masala.

On the menu tonight is Sue I's pasta bake with garlic beard and salad.  Tomorrow Jayne S is serving up a double crust steak pie with new potatoes and peas.  You don't need to be playing tennis at all......just sample the food !

Half way there.

We are now into the second half of the tournament. Congratulations to all those who are still in several events, you have done well. The unfortunate effect of that is of course, you will have a busy week. I would like to point out that nearly all matches have been arranged as early in the 2 weeks as they possibly could, so if you were light of matches early on, and now still have a lot to play, this was purely down to availability issues. You might have been available to play, but your partner or opponents probably were not.
I will do my best to space out your remaining games, but some will have to play back to back matches. I managed it yesterday, so anyone can (although I lost them both).
Working towards finals weekend, most scheduling is looking OK with one glaring exception, but we will have to cross that bridge when we come to it.
I hope that everyone is enjoying the tennis, it certainly looks that way, and I wish a speedy recovery to all the injured.

Andy - Tournament Dictator

Tim considers the slope on court 3

Well, the rain held off - in fact it was sunny - so no problem getting through today's matches. We have had a few walkovers, unfortunately, due to injuries, illness and a couple of availability problems. We wish Phil M all the best in his recovery. Good to see him coming down (on crutches !)  to watch his dad play (and win !).

Our Tournament Director had a close 3 set match vs. the No. 1 seed Tim W in the Vets Singles, only losing on a 8-10 tie break.

We also had our first winner (Ladies 35+)  with Jacquie Greenwood beating Sue Jones in a hard-fought 3 setter.

Homemade cakes (thanks, Jenny !) in the kitchen tomorrow, so even if not playing, pop down to sample them alongsdie watching some tennis.

Monday Night is Curry Night - be assured of yours by adding you name to the list on the whiteboard by the kitchen.

Steve I  plus guitar confirmed as enterainment at the BBQ so sign up if you want to come along.  Family and friends welcome.

Think everyone has enjoyed the evenings of tennis played this week......good conditions for both watching and playing. There have been some close matches and it has been great to see several juniors putting in great performances in both singles and doubles. Lasagne, burgers, chilli and Spanish chicken have all gone down well too !

The weather forecast is not so good over the weekend - please come to the club even if raining as we will hope to still get all  matches on court even if there are slight rain delays.

The schedule for both Saturday and Sunday is online.  The gaps on Sunday will be filled once Saturday matches are complete - please check the actual draw if these are your events. Hopefully there will be no further requests for unavailability as some events are already proving very tight in terms of scheduling.

We are now taking numbers for next Saturday's BBQ - please sign up in the foyer or give names to Anthony. 

Tuesday

Monday & Tuesday Evenings have been busy both on & off court.

Table Tennis is up & running in the clubhouse.

A dart board will be appearing soon.

Photo Album has been added --- linked to the right of this screen.

Sunday - And it was sunny

Firstly, I must say sorry to those of you who had to wait quite a long time to get your matches underway. I will do my best to make sure this doesn't happen again.

We had some good (or should I say long) 3 set matches, and hopefully everyone enjoyed taking part. A special thanks to Antony for playing 3 matches in one day, although I dont think he will agree to do it again.

1st day done and dusted.

It has been a good start to the tournament, with everyone turning up, and matches running pretty much to schedule.
Looking forward, I am working through the schedule for the first week. I will occasionally have to ask some of you to play in 2 consecutive matches, but only where absolutely necessary.

Today's star has to be John Braint who managed to not only find the 2 balls we had hit out of court during the warm-up, but also the long lost Oadby vineyard, last seen in Roman times.

See you all tomorrow.

This weeks menus

Sunday - Sausage & Bacon rolls

Monday - Chili

Tuesday - Spanish Chicken

Wednesday - Lasagna

Thursday - Homemade Beefburgers

Please bear in mind that although we will do about 15 servings of each evening meal, we can't take orders earlier in the day (please don't text us !!). They will be served on a first come, first served basis.

In addition there will vegetarian options each day - have a word with Louise in advance. She aims to please.

Quick note from the organizer

I've amended the draw and schedule a little, but anyone affected has been informed.
I'm sorry for a few teething problems, and to those who where omitted from the draw. Hopefully everyone has now been entered for what they wanted. We didn't quite manage to get everyone partners for all the events they wanted, but we did what we could.

Could we please ask everyone to have as short a knock-up as possible as the scheduling is a bit tight.

The weather is looking good for the weekend at least, so if you are playing have a good game, and if not please come and support or barrack.

The schedule for Monday will be published on Sunday evening, so please look out for your next match.

Andy - Tournament Commissar

Other Stuff

Tournament fees are payable to Anthony Pollard, please, asap during the tournament.

He will also be taking numbers for the BBQ  on the final Saturday (£6 adults, juniors £3). We will collect payment for this later in the week. Steve Ireland and the Van Der Byls will be headlining that night. There will be a couple of open slots available for anybody else to get up & perform (sing, dance, tell jokes, do magic tricks etc)

The BBQ is open to all club members, family and friends. 

Please make sure you have a can of decent tennis balls for each of your matches.  Cans are on sale at the club for £4. 

A full catering service will be available throughout. (Winners usually offer to buy their opponents a drink !!)  Hot meals each evening - menu to be confirmed on tournament website. 

Please bear in mind that although we will do about 15 servings of each evening meal, we can't take orders earlier in the day (please don't text us !!) and will be on a first come, first served basis.  

Also, as most matches are starting at 12 noon on the opening weekend we will be serving bacon or sausage baps rather than the Big Breafast. 

Sue

Draw complete, & first matches scheduled

The draw for the opening weekend has been made.

Sat 31 Aug & Sun 1 Sept  - schedule of play

A printout of the draw will also be on display in the clubhouse.

It is upto all competitors to check daily whether they are playing. 

Andy Parker is in charge of the tournament.

Sally has the bar fully stocked.

Louise is drawing up menus for each day.

Annual Club Tournament Sat 31 Aug 2013 - Sun 15 Sept 2013

• The annual club tournament is open to all full Senior members, Students, Intermediates and Invited Juniors.

• Please complete one entry form per person. For doubles events it is essential that we have forms from both players with availability.
  
  
  Online Entry Form Here to be submitted by Weds 21 Aug
  
  

• Availability

Please take into account your availability when deciding how many events to enter. Entering four+ events, for example, will require you to have good availability throughout the tournament and you will be expected to play two matches some evenings/at weekends.

We ask that you check your availability for the whole tournament fortnight nowand do not introduce new unavailability once you have entered as this always causes problems with scheduling. Please note that the scheduler/organisers reserve the right to scratch any player in this respect. Details of unavailability must be filled in on all entry forms.

• It is the responsibility of all competitors to find out their match times. The schedule of play will be online a minimum of 24 hours ahead of play.  Please always check to see whether you have one or twomatches on any day/evening.

• Please arrive on time for all matches. If you are likely to be late, please phone the clubhouse to inform the organisers (0116 2712889). As scheduling can be tight, please be aware that if you are unreasonably late, it is likely that your opponent(s) will be given a walkover.

• Entry rules for age events are:
  

  Over 35  must be aged 35 by 31/12/13.

  Veteran men must be 45 and veteran women must be 40 by 31/12/13

• Matches will be the best of 3 sets, with a tie-break at 6 all in all sets.

The Men’s Over 45’s will be a Championship tie-break at one set all.

• Finals will be held on Saturday 14^th and Sunday 15^th September.

• If you would like us to find you a partner for any doubles event, please put ‘Partner Required’ on the form and we will do our best to help.

• The usual club dress code applies throughout the tournament i.e. white shirts/tops or coloured tennis shirts/tops not football shorts or beachwear.

• The usual club expectations about behaviour both on and off court apply throughout the tournament.

• All competitors must provide a can of good quality tennis balls for their matches.

• The draw will take place on Sun 25 Aug. A schedule of play for the first weekend of the tournament will be online/on display at the club from Wed 28 Aug.

• Granville Plate 
  
  
  All first round losers who are senior members may sign up for the “Granville Plate” competition. In order to make the Plate open to those who will not win another event, members who later reach any final will not be eligible. It is members’ responsibility to enter themselves in the draw – a list will be on the tournament desk. Please note that there is no reverse draw and that partners are drawn for this event.

Summing Up

Thanks to everyone who came down today to watch the finals today.....tea and cakes alongside some good matches.

As always, the kitchen and bar were well managed all week, thanks to Louise and Sally.

60 players took part. Around £400 profit into club funds.

Special thanks to Andy P who has survived his first experience as Tournament Director (generally) unscathed !!

Finals day - Breaking news

The sun is shining and all is looking good (so far)
The Ladies singles final between Pippa and Caroline will now be at 10:30 this morning, so if you want to watch this, and who wouldn't, get down to the club early.

                                                     The Dynamic duo before the match

The matches are now in full swing, the sun has gone in, and its raining.

Minski senior and Paul are wearing matching kit, and matching knee bandages. That's just weird.

Everything has ended now, finished with an excellent mixed doubles final going to a tie break. This proved to be one bridge to far for Phil who was beginning to look a little jaded, and Katie who looked a little cold. Hussein came up with some super spinney serves and Pippa hit some crisp volleys to take the last victory of the tournament.

Thanks to all who took part, helped or just watched. In the end Tennis was the winner.



Cheers - Andy (Tournament Overlord)

Saturday - D Day

Finals Saturday has now been scheduled.

Some good tennis Thurs night, although I detected a little bit of reluctance to get out on court by some.
It was hardly raining at all.
Rising Star Kevin Meeks bowed out in the semi final, but put up a very good show against Phil.
Phil then went on to win in both the mens and mixed doubles and so wins the nights "Ironman" award.

Saturday's timings are not ideal, but I'm still having to deal with unavailability, and fitting in several matches for the same player. Potentially 4 matches for Dan and Phil, and 3 for Raj.

Please come down and support all our finalists (and semi finalists), the weather will be great.

 Andy - Tournament Dictator

Thurs Night Live from the Clubhouse

Clubhouse full & buzzing.

Steve I once again proved to be a natural barman.

Carol helmed the kitchen, & dealt beautifully with the odd awkward customer.

Boundless enthusiasm overcame the miserable weather.

Two very competitive men's semis tonight so the final on Saturday should be good.

Matthew and Jenny finally went out (to Dan and Louise) with no mercy shown from our men's 1st team captain towards young Mr. Howse.

Thurs - Day 6

Thursday's schedule is up.

A couple of games are dependant on earlier results, so please check the draw before going home.

Good night last night for Lois, winning with Sally Radford and then beating Rob Radford. Unfortunately she has been cropped out right of picture.

Also 3 wins for the Braints - here is one of them.

Barring any disasters tonight, the schedule is looking good with a couple of exceptions.

There will be some semi finals on Saturday, and the reverse draw mixed doubles will have some quarter finals as well.

If you end up having to play several matches on Saturday, see it as a success. Well done.

Cheers
Andy (Tournament Tzar)

Forecast for Thurs

Weds night live from clubhouse

"......Poultney loses my opening opening service game & then continues to make numerous unforced errors......" J. Braint.

That's a bit harsh on your doubles partner, isn't it, Mr Vice Chair.....However, the pair did win through to the next round so he may be forgiven.

Glyn ..... "ohhh.... i needed that".

Another evening of good matches tonight, fuelled by Louise's chilli. Jacket potatoes on the menu tomorrow - various fillings. Miss Mehmet apologises to those who wanted a vegetarian option.

6pm in readiness before the mad rush

PHT did a good job on the bar, washing up as well as serving (take note, GI).

Two matches still on court as we write this (8.50pm) so late finish tonight.

"Usually at this advanced stage, one or two toys have left the pram from an organizational standpoint. No such histrionics this time. Keep it up Andy - doing a fine job."

Good forecast for Saturday, so get your summer gear out.

We need a few more for the Fish and Chip supper on Saturday - please put your names down tomorrow please !

Weds - Day 5

Wednesdays schedule is up.

The pressure is mounting on my organisational skills and the first cracks are showing.
It looks certain that we will have to play some semi finals on finals day in the Mens singles and mixed doubles.

Epic match tonight in the Ladies doubles with Caroline and Iona coming through in a tie break against Gail and Sue J.

The pasta bake went down well also.

Tuesday - Day 4

Tuesdays schedule is here.

Tues menu is Pasta Bake, prepared by Head Chef Ali C.

An excellent result Monday night for Matthew and Jenny Howse, and I'm told that the Chicken Curry was pretty good as well.

Andy

Monday night live from club house

A noted absence from Tourny Supremo Genrallisimo what ever you choose to call him apparently hes resting after a stressful weekend!

Curry night drew the crowds as expected  it  was sold out before the delicious smells wafted through Oadby and of course some excellent tennis was displayed with our key men's first team gracing the courts.

Just one issue tonight a below standard bar man on duty with lots of rhetoric and very little drink serving taking place!

Most people have paid their £3 tournament entry fees by now. If you haven't please pay Anthony.

Don't forget Saturday is Fish and Chip night please sign up over the next few days - numbers are looking promising.

Louise.

Monday - Day 3

Fine weather for three days running now, but surely cannot last.

Full card for Monday --- here is the order of play

Dont be late.

Chicken Curry on the menu for Monday - first come, first served.

Sunday - Day 2

The first weekend is over with only a few minor problems.
Some lovely weather and excellent tennis today.
Monday should complete all the first round matches.
Unfortunately I am having to ask some players to complete 3 matches in one night, but that's the only way to get the games played and we still have a lot of matches to get through, especially in the reverse draw.

Mondays schedule is now on the web site, please enjoy your games.

Andy - Tournament Generalissimo

Saturday - Day 1

The first day of my organisation has passed without any major problems, the weather was fine, there was some excellent tennis, and some excellent sausages sandwiches.

Nice to see such a good turnout.

The tournament photo album is up & running.

Antony is still looking good in his Oadby tennis shirt after 3 consecutive matches.

The full Sunday draw is complete & the draw for Monday will be up soon.

Unfortunately, the schedule is a little light tomorrow, but we can make up for lack of quantity with plenty of quality on offer.

Where did all those daffodils come from?

Cheers Andy Parker, Tournament Supremo

Tournament Catering Info from Louise

As usual, the kitchen will be in full swing with bacon and sausage baps starting from 11.30am on Saturday and Sunday. (No Big Breakfast as there are fewer matches than usual).

There will also be a selection of other rolls along with the usual cakes, hot meals will be available every evening from 6.45pm on a first come first served basis.

Please order with the helpers on duty on the evening - I can't take orders by text during the day due to work commitments ....sorry. Menu is as follows :-

Monday – Chicken curry  (Sue L)
Tuesday - Pasta bake (Ali C)
Wednesday - Chilli
Thursday - Paninis and chips/possible jacket potatoes + fillings

The Fish and Chip Supper on the Final Saturday 13th April is open to all members. Please sign up at the club or e-mail me if you want to come along (£6 per person).

The bar will be open throughout. Looking forward to seeing competitors and supporters for a great week of tennis.

Louise.

Oadby Tennis Club Kit

If you want to buy any club kit - get your order in by Finals Day Sat 13 April, otherwise you will have to wait until mid summer.

For larger images & the order form go here - http://www.oadbytennis.co.uk/e12/clubkit.html

http://www.oadbytennis.co.uk/e12/clubkit.html

Rules

SAT 6 APRIL - SAT 13 APRIL

• Matches will consist of one first – to - nine set (with a tie-break at 8 all).

• There will be 5 events – none are age-related.

• All first round losers will progress into a reverse draw so all competitors will be guaranteed at least two matches in each event they enter.

• As matches consist of just one set, you may be required to play 2 matches back-to-back (as in league matches).

• All finals (including reverse draws) will be held on Saturday 13^th April.

• To make the tournament more open, it is requested that first team players (from last season) do not play with other first team players in the doubles events.
  
  
  
  
  It is up to all competitors to check when they are due to play - schedule of play. It is unlikely that any changes to availability can be accommodated once forms have been sent in. If you do need to tell the organisers about a change then, as last year, details must be written down on the sheet on the referee’s table. This is to avoid missed messages/calls/e-mails etc. which have caused problems in the past.

Draw for the opening weekend.

The draw for the opening weekend has been made.

Sat 6 & Sun 7 April - schedule of play

We have a lot of players who are not available for the first weekend, so the schedule is a little light, especially on Sunday, and many of the Sunday matches are dependent on results from Saturday.

Could everyone please check to see if winning or loosing on Saturday gives them a game on Sunday.

For example on Sunday "the blank" vs Niall is the Saturday winner of Andy N & Paul F.

A printout of the draw will be on display in the clubhouse to help with that.

Also, the lack of games on the first weekend will result in some people having to play several games on week nights.

New organizer for 2013.

After countless years running tournaments for us, Gary & Kate are standing down for a well earned rest.

Andy has generously volunteered to take over as Supremo, & will be aided by a number of helpers including Anthony, Dan, Niall, Ben, Hussein, Phil plus anybody else who wants to get involved.

As this will be Andy's first tournament of many (hopefully) - please be forgiving. Alot of effort goes into scheduling all the matches.

The bar (Sally) & the kitchen (Louise) will be open throughout the week, from Sat 6 April till Sat 13 April.

Fingers crossed for a warm, dry April.