The announcement of an 80% increase in new membership at the Port Alfred Tennis Club was greeted with enthusiastic applause at the club’s AGM on Monday, February 6.
The uptick means the club, which confirmed the addition and nomination of new office-bearers for 2023, has reflected positive growth in income.
Club treasurer Pierre Coetzer attributes the influx of members to the introduction of social tennis days. “We’ve introduced night tennis on Wednesdays and night tennis on Fridays. That doubled our social playing fee amount and we are actually looking to increase it this year.”
Coetzer said the introduction of night tennis was a game-changer. “Things took off after the introduction of night tennis … and the younger folk especially like night tennis as it gives them more options,” he said.
Coetzer said load-shedding was impacting negatively on the club’s finances however, due to the rising cost of diesel that kept generators working. He said there were plans afoot to ensure the lights stayed on during night games. “We are planning three-phase electricity system to the clubhouse and the introduction of a three-phase generator that will keep the lights on all the time, seamlessly during night games.”
Club captain Adriaan Potgieter said the club’s much-anticipated return to the Bathurst District League Tennis Association was one of the high points of the 2022 season. “For both the B and C league we were able to field a team for every fixture which was a huge accomplishment.”
The club fulfilled 11 fixtures in B League participation, ending the 2022 season in 6th place.
Potgieter was high in his praise of their C league commitments, with the team ending in a “respectable” second place after winning four and losing two out of the six matches played.
The newly-established Corporate Cup proved to be a huge fillip for the club’s finances, with total profit earned from the event realising R 36 000. “ To ensure the Corporate Cup continues to grow, we have decided to increase the number of teams from 6 to eight for the 2023 corporate cup.
“This year’s Corporate Cup takes place from May 2 June 10. Matches will be played on Tuesday evenings,” he said.
Club chairperson Jo-Anne van Rensburg said the increase in members was evidence of their mission statement “to create a thriving, sustainable tennis club that promotes player development and social tennis, in a friendly environment”.
“We have seen remarkable growth in our membership, increasing from 50 at the end of 2021 to 90 in 2022. The average monthly participation in social play has also risen, from 113 in 2021 to 187 in 2022. Our monthly playing fees have experienced an upward trend, going from R3,370 in 2021 to nearly R8,000 in 2022,” she added.
Major projects planned for this year include the building of a new (fifth) tennis court at a projected cost of R400,000 and the installation of security cameras.
Office-bearers:
Chairperson: Jo-Anne van Rensburg:
Club captain/vice-chairperson: Adriaan Potgieter
Treasurer: Pierre Coetzer:
Maintenance manager: Jaco van Rensburg
New members with positions/portfolios to be decided at their first committee meeting to be held next week:
Theo Pretorius
Wade Labuschagne
Sean Schultz
Caro Dell
Annette Haupt
