A Message From Anne Clark
Dear Member,
I hope this finds you well.
On 1st February we welcomed a number of our new Members at a dinner and social mix-in hosted at the Wimbledon Club. Little did we realise then what a strange year 2020 would be and that would be the only event the Club would hold in 2020…
In May, Benson Greatrex stood down as chair of the IC of GB with Anne Clark taking on this role.
I had pleasure in helping present the IC of GB Sportsmanship Award to Gordon Reid in August before his successful trip to the USA where he and Alfie Hewett won their fourth successive US Open men’s wheelchair doubles title.
We saw a first with our AGM taking place online postponed from the original April date to September, with John Feaver taking over as President from Mark Cox. Mike Carroll, Craig Edmondson, Alan Purnell and Chris Gorringe also decided to stand down – their inputs to the IC of GB have been considerable and we hope that they will continue to contribute.
Although we had to cancel all matches, one thing this year has highlighted is the important role tennis (and all sport) plays in our physical and mental health. Tennis is seen as a ‘safe’ sport provided people act responsibly, on and off court.
Even when we haven’t been able to get out onto a tennis court, there have been many initiatives based from home, improving fitness, footwork skills, activities involving forms of online competition (quizzes, remember the toilet roll challenges?! cake baking with a tennis theme ....). The friendships and community spirit inspired by our sport has been a strength to many. It is also a timely reminder that we are part of the IC family and it is even more important in times like these for all ICs across the world to stay connected and support each other. We will share the year end IC Council update with all IC of GB members as soon as possible.
The IC of GB is making plans for 2021 with a full fixture list, trying to balance the matches postponed from 2020 alongside the 2021 fixtures. We will however be closely monitoring the Covid-19 guidelines and will adjust the schedule accordingly, so please do keep checking the website. The match managers very much welcome expressions of interest if you would like to be considered for any particular matches. We hope to be able to schedule in an event to welcome our new Members for 2021 later on in the year.
In the last communication I said that we would be sharing the listening exercise survey outputs. I’ve attached a few of the main points below – more to follow in 2021.
On behalf of the IC of GB I would like to wish you and your families a very peaceful, happy and safe Christmas as we look forward to a much busier (tennis-wise) 2021.
Regards,
Anne Clark
Chair, IC of GB
|