This month, we’ve talked to Amanda Hoffman and Clare Crawshay-Williams from the Executive Committee of Rye Lawn Tennis & Squash Club.
Plenty of people in Rye will know that the club exists but perhaps not much about its long history – tell us a bit about it. The club is over 100 years old; it was first founded in 1922 as the Rother Meads Tennis & Games Club.
The club has always had strong links with the All England Club and we’re very proud of that. Chris Gorringe, who was CEO of Wimbledon for 26 years is also our former president and is now on our advisory board and remains heavily involved in our annual tennis tournament. He regards our tennis courts here in Rye as some of the finest in the country.
Our chairman is Jonathan Jempson who is passionate about the club and always has been – he’s really put his heart and soul into the club over the past 40 years.
It’s been well loved and supported throughout the years and constantly invested in, so our facilities have grown, and our grass courts are the jewel in our crown.
2. But that hasn’t always been the case, has it?
No! Our older members will recall when our 8 courts weren’t near the quality they are today. The ‘Rye Bounce’ was infamous! You didn’t know how high the ball would bounce or the direction of travel.
Club member and trustee Freddy Menzies took on the task of improving them. He worked with Chris Gorringe and got in touch with the head groundsman at Wimbledon who came down and surveyed the courts and gave us clear guidance on what we should do to improve them – he also supplied us with our grass seed. The annual renovation of the courts from the early 1990s started to make a big difference but what took us to the next level was the laser levelling of the courts in 2010. The relationship with the All England Club continues today through Neil Stubley, who is head of courts and horticulture at Wimbledon.
We’ve gone from great courts to excellent courts. The process isn’t an easy one, it takes a lot of work – Freddy and Adam are our groundsmen and it’s a year-round labour of love, but the serious work happens at the end of our season with the September renovations. For the last three years we’ve worked with a company called Fineturf who also work on maintaining the courts at Wimbledon and the pitch at The Oval. It’s a fascinating process and if you’re really interested, we have a video about it! Great courts take a lot of investment though – the cost of maintaining them to this quality runs into the thousands and has trebled over the last year – which is why our fundraising and sponsorship team works so hard!
3. What’s the club like?
We are open to all. We are conscious that tennis clubs often come with a certain perception – people think they are just for the few who grew up lucky enough to be taught how to play, but we’re on a mission to encourage people to come along and see that we’re not like that at all.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner or haven’t played for decades or you’re an experienced player - we have a great range of facilities and are friendly and welcoming. We have coaching and tournaments and social events too – a great clubhouse and a croquet lawn as well!
4. Tell us about the Annual Invitation Tournament.
Our club is very well known for the tournament – held each August it sees around 200 players take on the challenge on our courts. This year it runs from the 2nd - 5th August, and it welcomes players from all over the world and of all standards. There are eight different events, anyone can play any event, but non-members are charged a fee.
Lunches and teas are available every day and it’s a really fun event to support and enjoy. We’ll have local artisans and makers exhibiting in our clubhouse. We also have a dance/disco on the night of Saturday 3rd August.
On Tuesday 6th August, we have our annual two-generation tournament too, which was a sell-out last year with over 100 players of all abilities. It’s a round-robin event very popular with locals – you can play with relatives – it’s open to all ages provided there is at least 14 years between each player!
5. What’s the story behind the Prentice Cup and its links with Rye?
The Prentice and Seabright Cups are respectively the men’s and ladies’ tennis matches held between joint teams from Oxford and Cambridge Universities, and Harvard and Yale Universities. The Cups date back to 1921 and have been traditionally contested every two years, played alternately at Seabright Lawn Tennis & Cricket Club in New Jersey, and the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon.
Our relationship with Havard and Yale dates back to when the tournament was run by Bimby Holt. Tony Billington, Barry Weatherill, Chris Gorringe and Robert Dolman were, and some are still, on the committee of the Prentice Cup.
For much of the tournament’s history, only men participated. This changed in 2004 when competition between women was introduced for The Seabright Cup.
Looking for a venue as a warm-up for the match in the UK, Rye was chosen as that venue. The tradition has continued, so every four years, a mixed gender team, half from Harvard and half from Yale comes to play at our Annual Tennis Tournament before they play their matches at the AELTC against Oxford and Cambridge. We’re very excited to welcome them again this year.
6. What is your background – how did it lead you to this business?
Amanda: I’ve played tennis all my life, my husband is local to Rye, my grandparents had a house in Rye and my aunt is a seriously good player. When we moved down here, we got involved with the club through the junior tournament as I have three kids. I took on the running of the junior tournament and helped organise the open day and that’s how I started getting involved. I’m now on the Board, and I chair the executive committee.
Clare: My career has spanned being a management consultant and a marketing director as well as a mum. I was born and raised in Beckley and came back to the area in more recent times to look after my mother. That was the point at which I joined the club. I started to get involved and was reminded how wonderful it is to play on grass. It’s a great club to be a part of.
7. What makes the club unique?
Our location – we are a wonderful place to play tennis. And if we haven’t said it enough already – the grass! Our Padel court is also pretty unique too – the sport is growing fast.
8. We know there’s a slightly revised structure to the club now with a new executive committee that you head up - hoping to grow the membership and develop partnerships with local businesses – what’s the best advice you’ve been given about taking on the task?
Yes, that’s right we still have Jonathan Jempson and Robert Dolman and many brilliant people on the board but the day to day running of the club has transferred to a group of 13 incredibly able volunteers who share the same goal of helping the tennis club thrive.
We’re only two months in - so all advice is gratefully received, but we’re believers in the 100-day rule – crack on and get things done!
9. What are your business values?
I think a passion for racquet sports is common to all our members and our volunteers.
Our heritage is important to us – we’ve been around for over 100 years which is amazing – we’re about preserving the best of tradition but making sure we’re moving forward and staying relevant at the same time. And of course we’re immensely proud of our relationship with the All England Club.
10. What are your plans for the club – what are you focusing on?
We’re looking at our membership to consider how best we can attract new members and be more inclusive. We’re looking at developing corporate partnerships as part of this process so we can extend our membership in new ways and reach new people, while also being mindful of our existing members and their use of the club.
We’re absolutely determined to make the club more accessible, to become a place with philanthropic ambition – we want people who live locally who might not have the funds – to enjoy the benefit of racquet sports in their lives.
We’re running an ad in the Kino cinema in town so your members may see that and hopefully, it’ll entice them to come and look at what the club has to offer.
Of course, we’re also looking at sponsorship opportunities to ensure the club continues to thrive – we’re a not-for-profit and keeping our fantastic facilities in tip-top condition requires constant investment.
11. What are the challenges your business faces this year?
As with most places – rising costs are a constant challenge. As we’ve already said – the cost of maintaining our courts has trebled in the last year. Everyone is finding they have less disposable income right now and of course, that impacts membership. We also face a perception challenge – the Lawn Tennis Association has a big initiative to make tennis more inclusive – and we need to create more awareness about our club here in Rye – given we’re tucked away on Military Road; some people don’t even know we exist!
12. What are you most proud of at the club?
Well, we absolutely have to say our grass courts!
We were also the first tennis club in England to have a Padel court – and now Padel is hugely popular around Europe and growing fast here in the UK.
13. The biggest change you’ve seen to the club since you’ve been here?
Padel! It has made racquet sports much more accessible – you don’t have to be experienced at it to have a good game. It’s all about long rallies and that makes it fun for everyone. Tennis – by comparison, takes a lot longer to get good at.
Check out the Club's website here and become a member here! You can also check out their Facebook page here.
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