Minutes of the Bolton Tennis League Committee meeting held at 7pm on Friday 8th August 2025 at Lostock Tennis Club.

Present: Messrs. Caswell, Maslivec, Pearson, Prince, Nuttall, Saunders, Smith, Ms Morley, Ms Perry

Apologies for absence: Cashmore, Taylor, Ms L Cartwright, Ms S Francis & Ms J Holmes.

Mr Cashmore wrote, “With regard to the new system, all seems to be working ok - I closed player registration on 31st July. There are a couple of minor issues which I intend to fix over winter and some new changes, e.g. support for Cecil Cup online match cards, which I will also test over winter before deploying.”

Ms Francis wrote, “ I’ve read the agenda. I’d favour keeping the Google Sheets records for another couple of years. I’ve looked at them a couple of times this season, to look at where players have played previous to this season.”

Minutes of the last meeting: These had been circulated and were agreed.

Matters Arising: The database containing 2021 match cards has been destroyed.

The men's Match Secretary had compiled a reply from points raised during the discussion re the complainant in the Men's League and their visit to another club regarding the playing conditions. We had received a positive reply which had been circulated to those involved on the Committee. The player had since played at the club again without incident.

Re the safeguarding complaint against one player. It was felt that the club had dealt with the matter internally and extracts from their correspondence was sent to the complainant. It did fall short of a personal apology, but the General Secretary felt that it would be better not to pursue this issue for reasons explained at the meeting. He has recently attended the reverse fixture. Only two of the original aggrieved team were present, including one of the named juniors and the opposition was a completely different team apart from one player. It was an entertaining night of tennis.

General Secretary: It had been asked if we could now dispense with Google Sheets. In view of the above, it was decided to keep them for the time being, but to only keep a couple of years’ information in line with data protection as with match cards.

A match had been abandoned close to the end of the final set due to bad light. The rules were looked at, but did not seem to cover the situation precisely. It was thought that little could be done apart from dividing the points. However, it was suggested that an earlier start may be appropriate for two court matches without floodlights. We would defer to the September meeting.

Mixed League: All seemed to be working OK. The Cecil Cup had been played with a win by one and a half points. It was asked if the handicap system could be looked at, as lower teams do not seem to have much of a chance.

Junior League: A club had queried the fact that an opposing club had not fielded a B team, yet their C and D teams turned out. Was this fair? The rule in question was Registration of Players and Eligibility rule 7 (e). In this case, the one-point deduction did not make any difference. We could go into the database and deduct points, but this would not show up properly as a points adjustment. Since this is the only rule that requires this, it was asked if there was a better way. i.e producing a rule without a points adjustment and one with a bit more bite to it. As it stands, it may pay a team to scrap a higher team yet turn out a lower team or teams. Consider for September.

Winter League: Clubs have been emailed for entries for the coming season. The first half starts on Friday, 26th September and runs to Sunday, 30th November.

Treasurer: All monies and bills are up to date.

Tournament: It was agreed to repurpose the Howarth Cup (ex junior cup) and the Ashworth Cup (the afternoon league trophy.)

Report from Mr Prince.
The 2025 tournament started with four days of hot, sunny weather. On the next evening, we had a torrential downpour but were still able to play most of the scheduled matches. Thereafter, despite some less promising weather forecasts, we were able to complete the programme without resorting to any indoor facility for finals day.

The total number of entries was 200, somewhat lower than in recent years. Events which decreased in numbers were the U14 and U18 boys singles, the handicap women’s doubles, the handicap mixed doubles and the 50+ men’s handicap doubles. Some events which increased in numbers were the level women’s singles and doubles and the level mixed doubles. Two junior events, the boys' doubles and the junior mixed doubles, were not held owing to insufficient entries. A new competition for the 45+ men's singles was held and was a success with 13 entries.

In the handicap events, the number of close matches (6-4, 6-4 or closer was 40 out of 86. i.e. 47%. This creditable performance is fairly similar to what has been achieved over recent years.

Both level singles finals at Markland Hill were close, exciting affairs with the men’s singles winner, unseeded Thomas Burnley, eventually triumphing after two hours play, defeating the number one seed Jake Lane. In the women’s singles, also a three-set match, Rachel McCrae overcame Mariam Meftah.

In conclusion, our main thanks must go to Andy, the Tournament Referee, whose huge efforts ensured all finals were completed on time. Also, our gratitude must go to the Liz, the Tournament Secretary for all her hard work both in the preparatory stages and throughout the tournament.

Our thanks are also due to the three host clubs for allowing us to use their facilities for the duration of the Tournament and finally to our own Tournament Committee to help ensure the tournament was a success.

Presentation Evening: The DJ has been booked and we have a presenter. Help is needed around 3pm for set-up.
It was decided that no raffle would be held this year. Kate Caldwell was thanked for the effort that she has put into this over the last two years. The Chairman set a message to Kate thanking her organising the raffle at the presentation evening over the last 2 years.

Dunlop: The 3 year contract for 2025-27 has now been received and the invoice for 2025 has been sent.

LTA Network: The league has been asked to promote the “Young Person’s Welfare Ambassador “ within clubs. The initiative is for clubs to have a young person aged between 14 and 24 to act as a Welfare Ambassador for their club. Full details can be found on the LTA website including a video about the role and the support that the LTA provide.  This a good opportunity for young persons’ development and also for their clubs. Roy will promote this in the newsletter.

Tennis Lancashire has made available a further grant fund totalling  £15,000 to encourage an increase in participation in tennis. The maximum grant per club is £3,000. Closing date 28 September. Full details on the Tennis Lancashire website.

AOB: None

Date and Time of Next Meeting: Friday, 19th September 2025 at Lostock TC