News & Events
 |
Summer Group Coaching (July 09)
Jon will once again be holding some group coaching sessions throughout the summer months. Groups will be for up to 4 players and will last for 2 hours at a cost of £20 per person. Current dates organised are:
Sunday 26th July 2-4 (For Players between 35-55)
Sunday 2nd August 11-1 (For Players between 35-55)
Sunday 2nd August 2-4 (For Players 55+)
Sunday 9th August 10-12 (For Players 55+)
Sunday 9th August 2-4 (For Players between 35-55)
Sunday 16th August 2-4 (For Players 55+)
Summer League (June 09)
This year for the first time we will be holding a Summer Team League competition. Teams will consist of 2 players who will each play one 8 game set of singles and one 8 game set of doubles. Teams will be in Round Robin leagues of 6 and will play each of the other 5 team by the end of September. The best placed teams will then go through to a knock-out stage. We will report on how teams are doing as the season progresses.
The Goldblatt Cup (May 09)
This year the Goldblatt Cup was played in two groups of four with the winner and runner-up from each group progressing to the semi-finals. Group 1 saw Sarah Sullivan and Liz Fisher progress through and Group 2 was won by Gill Goddard with Ciara Sullivan going through as runner-up. This set up the intriguing prospect of a mother and daughter battle as last years runner-up Sarah Sullivan took on her daughter Ciara. Anyone expecting Sarah to feel sympathy for her daughter was sadly mistaken as Sarah battled through 6/3 to make the final again. The other semi-final saw Gill Goddard progress by the same score against Liz Fisher. The Final was a classic battle as Sarah went off into the lead only for Gill to claw it back and finally triumph 6/5. Many thanks to Ros Shaw for providing lunch and Will for all his marking.
Full Report For All Finals Day Matches (May 09)
Finals Day took place this year on Sunday 18th May and once again there were a series of close fought and exciting matches throughout the day. A full report of all matches can be seen on the Domestic Tournaments page.
Peter Heck (May 09)
It is with great sadness that we have to announce the death of Peter Heck. Peter has been a member at Hatfield for over 25 years and will be very well known to many of you. His enthusiasm and sense of humour will be sorely missed both on and off the court. Together with his son Simon, he won the Parent and Offspring event 3 times, first taking the trophy in 1985 and finally securing success in 2007. Our thoughts and best wished to Simon and his family.
Billy Ross Skinner (February 09)
This was the eleventh successive year that the Hatfield Club had hosted the Billy
Ross-Skinner British Mixed Doubles Invitation Championship. This year for the first time, amid arctic conditions, the event was sponsored by Neptune Investment Management, who has replaced the British Land Company after a long run as the principal sponsor of Real Tennis in Britain.
The Championship is open to the top sixteen Ladies available in the World, with their male partners selected
from a spread of Clubs to provide balanced pairings, each with an even chance on paper of winning the title. The format of the tournament is unusual in that it has a complicated repêcharge system, such that players arriving on an unfamiliar court can have one bad match in the first two rounds and still progress to the Final.
The event was won by the Karen Hird (Holyport) and Steve Brewerton (Hatfield) who beat Catherine Walker (Hatfield) and Anthony Clake (Oxford) by 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in a very exciting and fluctuating Final. Thus Karen, on her 20th birthday and still no more than 5 foot tall retained the title she won with Andrew Petrie (Cambridge) last year. Her partner, this year and representing the Home Club, only came into the competition on Friday night as a very late replacement for David Pigott (Bristol & Bath), who found himself snowbound in the West Country.