The Christmas Round Robin

Friday the 16th of December was a stunning day with a light breeze and blue sky.




Shiraz and Gus  playing in the finals, the paraglider does not distract the players.




Gus Millner and Shiraz Cerfontein playing in the final of the Xmas Round Robin.




The Round Robin was a great success, with keen tennis and a relaxing braai afterwards.
Most interesting costume went to Gavin who would have won more points for a pleated skirt, but as the only player wearing a Santa hat, a prize has been kept for him,
Jean Claude and Luigi were invited to join us but unfortunately both had other engagements.
The day's tennis was competitive and amiable  and once again the spirit of Clifton Tennis Club
won the day.

The 20 attending members were drawn into two teams, Candy Canes and Xmas Trees, playing in 2 groups of 5 each side.
The Round Robin format allows 4 games with your drawn partner then the Candy Canes changed over and 4 more games ensued.
Collecting individual points, it soon became clear who the front runners were.


After 32 games the totals were:
Shiraz 28 points
Gus 24 points
Barry(replaced by Tobie) 21 points
James 20 points
Glynis 19 points
Ivor 18 points
Nadine 18 points
Roger 18 points
Mark 18 points
Frans 18 points
Stuart 17 points
Alberto 15 points
Craig 13 points
Gavin 13 points
Carol 13 points
Neville 12 points
Nick 11 points
Wendy 10 points
Darel 9 points
Roy 5 points


The final match between Gus Xmas Tree with James Candy Cane vs   Shiraz Candy Cane and Tobie Xmas Tree was very close with both teams level at the cross over. Gus and Shiraz managed to clinch the victory
with a final score of 5- 3.

Well done to Gus and Shiraz and well done to newcomers James and Tobie.

Many thanks to Roger and Darel Carol  and all those who chipped in.

Box League

After 3 days of near gale winds, Sunday was one of those perfect  Cape Summer days,  no wind and hot.
Social tennis began at 8. 30 and continued with 4 courts occupied until 12.pm when the prize giving ceremony commenced.
Roger presented prizes on behalf of the Club to the following players:

• Top of Box 4 was Anita, top of Box 3 was Craig and top of Box 2 was Gavin, who all won the prize from Theatre on the Bay.
• Top Lady in the points division was Carol, who won a voucher to the Codfather, plus Clinique cosmetics.
• Top Man in the points division , was Barry, who won a voucher to Maranello Restaurant, plus Clinique cosmetics.
• Champion Player of the league in this series: Tobie, who won the Gent's trophy, and the Icarus prize provided by Air-Rush tandem Paragliding Extravaganza.
• The Phoenix prize went to Vanessa. She was second lady in the points division with 35 points.pipped at the post by Carol's win over Pat. She certainly has risen in playing standard.
• The Methuselah Prize went to Gus. He was 4th on he points division with 38 points.Known for many comments such as "Winning isn't everything, it's more important than that."
• Random prizes were won by Roy, Nick and Charles, namely Wine and Clinique bags.

The list of prize donors is

·         Theatre on the Bay

·         Codfather

·         Maranello

·         Air-Rush Tandem Paragliding Extravaganza: tel: 021 554 0576, 082-416-3711, 082-652-8032; frikkievanrheede@webmail.co.za; Shenandoah@iafrica.com

·         Clinique via Carol, Maria Williams and  Renee. 

Box League Prize giving This Sunday

A Presentation of prizes will take place this Sunday the 4th of Dec, followed by a bring and braai.
There will also be lucky dip and a wonderful array of rewards for all the hard work put into the League by so many talented and hard working players.
The final list of points is posted on the Box League Page.
Well done to all participants.

SUNSET TENNIS

In response to requests from members and in order to extend the
popularity of social tennis and to encourage more people to make use of the excellent lights at the Club it has been decided to extend the Wednesday social with immediate effect.

Play will start at around 16h00 as usual but we hope that more members
will be able to come along after work as summer approaches and the weather warms up. If we get a good response then social play would
continue on Wednesdays until sunset or later and we also hope to be
able to enjoy a few drinks together as the sun goes down and also to
have the occasional braai.

And once the nights start to draw in again in the New Year we can
continue to play in the early evenings under lights if there is
sufficient demand from members.

Mark Humble
Secretary

WEATHER

What's the wind doing at Clifton Tennis Club now?

 click here: http://www.iweathar.co.za/display.php?s_id=6

What's the weather doing?

http://www.windfinder.com/forecast/cape_town_lions_head

More weather information

http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=IWESTERN70

The most comprehensive weather site for SA.

http://www.weatherphotos.co.za/

Box League Finals approaching

From the organisers of the Box League, breaking News....

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 As I mentioned a number of local sponsors have donated some wonderful prizes.

 Mark and I met to discuss the various categories and in doing, as your organizers, we want to try to recognize success, endeavor and participation in the series.

The list of awards will be as follows: · 

  

 Top of Box 1 will receive the Icarus award ·  

 The Top Lady:  that is the lady who is the highest of all the boxes.

As you will see there are no ladies in Box 1 in November. 

Each player who tops all subsequent boxes. This could be 3 or 4 depending on the final structure of the November box league.

 In parallel to the box league, as you know, there is a points score, which is posted on the blog. It measures, in a way, the level of participation and is irrespective of your box participation. In other words some players are ranked high in this measure, yet play in the lower boxes.

There will be a prize for the lady and gentleman who has the most points according to this measure · 

 Finally there will be a lucky-dip draw for the remaining prizes. To qualify for the draw, you need to have played 2 out of the 4 months and not have been awarded any of the above prizes. In this way, there is a good chance for something. 

 So with those incentives, may I on behalf of Mark and I, wish you much fun in November as you strive for these awards.

 Rgds Roger

Ladies and Gentlemen,

On behalf of Mark and I, the results of the Box League as of today 31st October, are posted to the Box League Page. I would like to thank you all for playing almost all the scheduled matches.

On the basis of these results, I will prepare the November and final month box of this series.

·         Box 1. Tobie topped this box. Next month will be tougher as Barry will join the box and Ivor and Gus have a measure of the play. Glynis did well after her absence but now joins Box 2

·         Box 2. Barry topped this box. And by the skin of the rules, Mark stays in this box, joined by Roger, Gavin and Glynis. Mike will play in Box 3 in November

·         Box 3. Regrettably John has withdrawn from this box and this series of the box league due to injury. We wish a speedy recovery. The matches were very closely fought between the others, with Carol just missing victories by a few points

·         Box 4. Vanessa topped this box and deserves promotion. Never has so many watched the hours of her practice so to succeed. Well done. Suzanne did well despite a tragedy and Marianne seems to have withdrawn for the moment due to injury. We wish you speedy recovery

We are very fortunate that a number of local sponsors have donated some lovely prizes. I will send out tomorrow more details. But there is everything to play for, which will recognize the quality of play, the success and the participation by you.

Best wishes and please check the data and advise me if there are any errors.

Rgds Roger

Ps Prize ceremony 4th December at 12:00, most probably to be followed by a Braai

Roger

Club Dinner Oct 1st 2011

The Club Dinner was a resounding success. The Theme was "World Cup Rugby".

It was held upstairs at the Metropolitan Golf Club.



MC, Neville



Master of Ceremonies, Neville.

After reading his poem by Willie Nelson, called on the Chairman to award the trophies to the Club Championship winners.



The Chairman  Calls on the Winners



Winners, Eric, Siren,Fred, Russel, Anita

Wendy( for Glynis and Mare), and Russel and Anita

 Fred Strebel proposed a toast to the "Fabulous Four", Gus ,Darel, Pat and Ralph playing continuously at Clifton  the last 26 years.

Fred toasts the "Fabulous Four"

Siren and Fred, Vet's Double Winners

Prizes were awarded and the Bob was unanimously chosen as the "Best Dressed Member."

After Prize giving, a buffet meal was served. Members enjoyed each others company and  soon the music provided by Arthur got everyone onto the dance floor.

 

The previous Chairman with his rendition of the "Dance of the 7 veils"

Blast From The Past

Gus has given me some background information about the Club plus a few photo's of earlier days, you may recognise some members!

If you have any interesting facts about the Club's past, please post to the  chairman nicfredman@gmail.com

Some History and Trivia about Clifton Tennis Club.

• The Club was establishd before W.W.2, site plans show two courts prior to 1945.
• The club was revived by returning Veterans who were billited to Clifton.
• Courts converted from clay to all weather in 1958
• Court no 3 was built in 1966.

Lights were first considered in 1967 and discussed in 1981 and only installed in 1992.  Twenty members contributed R1000 each in place of subs for 8 years.

2001 the fees for lights were set at R10 per hour, still intact!

• Colin Carter 1st became a member in 1956.
• Val Clelland joined in 1961.
• Doug Clelland joined in 1972,Bob Kelly in 1993,Stan and Maureen in 1979.
• 1985-6 Gus, Daryl, Ralph and Pat joined and started their regular foursomes.



• 1980 fees for Men and Women on Par
• 1981 membership was R120, difficulty in collecting visitor's fees.
• Membership in 1962 was 40
• 1986 membership peaked at 140.

Welcome to the Clifton Tennis Club Site

 

                                                                        

With our magnificent setting between the sea and the mountains ,Clifton Tennis Club strives to provide  a friendly  atmosphere where the game of tennis can be enjoyed, and members can relax socially .

Facilities

The Club has three outdoor all-weather courts, two of which are floodlit. We have a clubhouse with a fridge and simple kitchen equipment and there are separate changing and toilet facilities. There is a practice wall at the back of the clubhouse.

We do not have a booking system and the courts are available on a first-come-first-served basis. There is a reciprocal arrangement with The Glen Country Club.

Tennis balls are provided free of charge by the Club and may be found in the clubhouse.

Social Tennis

All three courts are reserved for social tennis on Sunday mornings from 09h00 to 13h00 and again on Wednesday afternoons from 16h00 onwards. This is one of the highlights of the Club and gives members the opportunity to play friendly sets with other players of a similar ability.

On social days it is deliberately informal with players taking it in turns to play and with no fixing of partners and opponents in advance. Latecomers do not have preference over those already waiting for a game even though those waiting may have played already. (At the moment we are using a blackboard where you can chalk your name in a block, with other names, or on its own if vacant, to indicate your intention to play.)

All matches on social days should be doubles and may be men’s, ladies’, or mixed or any other combination.  Matches consist of one set with the winners being the first to six games. If the score reaches 5-5 then a single final game should be played.

On Sundays, regular social players take it in turns to make the tea and provide simple refreshments such as cake, sandwiches and fruit. A “Tea Duty” roster is drawn up every few months and e-mailed to those lucky volunteers and pinned on the notice-board at the Club.

Standard of Play

The Club welcomes players of all abilities, from beginners to intermediate and advanced. That said, we do not participate in any of the local leagues and most members enjoy playing friendly matches against players of similar ability.

New members should have attained a reasonable standard before joining one of the social sessions. In other words, an ability to execute the basic shots – forehand and backhand ground strokes, volleys and serve - and to keep the ball in play and direct the ball.

We do not have our own coach but many members use the services of one of the two coaches at The Glen, where coaching is available on The Glen courts.  

Members’ Guests and Unaccompanied Visitors

The Club welcomes guests and visitors, both as a way of meeting and playing tennis against new people and encouraging new members. The daily fee for the guest of a member is R25 per person and for unaccompanied visitors it is R50. The appropriate fee should be placed in an envelope provided beneath the notice boards. Please write your name on the envelope and  post it through the slot of the wooden box in the door to the changing room.

Parking

There is a small parking area at the entrance to the Club for the exclusive use of members and spaces are available on a strictly “first-come-first-served” basis.

Floodlights

There are floodlights on Courts 1 and 2. The fee for the lights is  currently R7 for each 20 minute period. There is a coin-operated meter box in the changing room.  The metre facility is currently being upgraded.

Competitions

The Club Championships take place annually and are usually held in March/April. There is an Open tournament and also one for Veterans aged 55+, which run concurrently.   Both singles and doubles events are played and the finals are generally held on a Sunday.

There is also an annual “round robin” tournament, a one-day event held in Spring.

In addition there may be one or two other friendly tournaments throughout the year.

All tournaments and similar events are usually followed by a “bring and braai”.

Box League

There is a singles Box League that runs throughout the year.

For the latest Box League Points, go to the Box League Page