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The Colchester and District Friendly Tennis League Finals took place at Little Clacton Tennis Club on Saturday 7th September. The weather was ideal for tennis, bright and dry with no discernible wind.
The ladies’ singles final was between Chloe Metson and Elena Appoggi, both of the Spring Lane club. It was played to a very high standard, yet in keeping with the spirit of the Friendly League. Although keenly contested, Chloe always seemed in control and ran out winner 6-1, 6-1. It is the third successive year that Chloe has won this title.
The men’s singles title was contested by Stanley Waterson of Spring Lane and Shane Sparrow of Dedham. The match featured strong hitting and very good serving by both, with only one double fault in the whole match. The match was close with many deuces in the second set but Stanley won 6-2, 6-2.
There were not enough entries this year to run separate boy’s and girl’s singles competitions, so there was a single junior singles competition. The final was contested by Isabella Clarke of Spring Lane and Jasper Wilding of Kirby, showing that girls can definitely hold their own against boys. In fact, the match was hard-fought in a very good spirit, with many good shots by both players. Jasper won the first set 7-5 and was becoming dominant in the second set when be broke a string in his racquet! Fortunately, he was able to borrow a spare from a bystander and eventually won the second set 6-3.
The veteran ladies’ doubles final was contested by Jane Kennedy and Pan Harvey of Lexden Hill and Emily Watford and Mimi Okazaki of Kirby and Spring Lane respectively. Although Emily and Mimi ran out winners 6-3, 6-2, the score belied the play as seven games went to multiple deuces and many of the rallies were long with both pairs making some excellent shots.
The veteran mixed doubles final was contested by Loess Overbury-Tapper of the Officers’ Club and Alex Temple of Lexden Hill against Val Coy and Terry Hoddy of Wivenhoe. This was another close match with fantastic rallies and Alex in particular serving really well. Val and Terry are a well-established pair and played together really well, yet Loess and Alex eventually won 6-3, 6-3.
In the men’s doubles final, Matthew Capon and Jack Sheeren of West Mersea played against Clive Brooks and Simon Moore of Lexden Rackets. This match featured hard hitting and excellent shot-making. After a slight dip in the second set when Clive and Simon seemed to be becoming dominant, Matt and Jack came back to clinch the second set and win the match 6-2, 7-5.
The veteran men’s doubles final was played between John Carpenter and Kevin Eastaugh against Andrew Hodgson and Oliver Saunders, all of the Officers’ Club. John and Kevin were 5-3 up and seemingly on the way to the first set when Andy and Oliver staged a comeback to take the set to a tie-break. However, John and Kevin got their second wind in the tie-break and ended up winning the set 7-6. They were more dominant in the second set, eventually being victorious 6-2.
Having been victorious in the veteran ladies doubles earlier in the day, Emily Watford and Mimi Okazaki took on Elena Appoggi and Kate Wilson of Spring Lane in the ladies doubles final. This was played in the traditional Friendly League spirit with some nice, competitive rallies but Emily and Mimi proved too strong and won 6-3, 6-2.
The mixed doubles final was between Janet Davies and Alex Temple of Lexden Hill and Elaine Johnson and Jack Sheeran of West Mersea. It took a championship tie-break to separate the two pairs in a very close and highly-contested match. Elaine and Jack won out in the end 6-7, 6-4, 10-7.
Finally, the married couples final was between Andy and Sherry Hodgson of the Officers’ Club and Sarah and Geoff Creese of West Mersea. This was another very close-fought match and a bit of a marathon with one set going to each pair, meaning another championship tie-break was needed to decide the outcome. Andy and Sherry eventually won this 10-3.
The trophies for these competitions and the leagues which had taken place over the whole summer were awarded by Christine Clark (chair) and Bob Salmon (treasurer). The Friendly League committee thanked Little Clacton for use of their excellent facilities and warm welcome. Christine thanked Sherry Hodgson for organising the individual tournaments, Steve Oldacre for overseeing the leagues, and Bob Salmon for the procuring the trophies. We are grateful to everyone who helped out on the day, especially the score-keepers and those who manned the kitchen to keep the refreshments flowing.
For full scores see Individual Tournaments
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Junior singles finalists Isabella Clarke (Spring Lane) Jasper Wilding (Kirby) (winner); |
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Ladies Singles finalists Elena Appoggi (Spring Lane); Chloe Metson (Spring Lane)(winner) |
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Mens singles finalists Stanley Waterson (Spring Lane) (winner); Shane Sparrow (Dedham) |
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Mens doubles finalists Contenders for the John Sambrook Cup Matthew Capon & Jack Sheeran (West Mersea) (winners); Clive Brooks & Simon Moore (Lexden Rackets) |
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Ladies doubles finalists Emily Watford & Mimi Okazaki (Kirby/Spring Lane) (winners); Kate Wilson & Elena Appoggi (Spring Lane) |
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Mixed doubles finalists Jack Sheeran & Elaine Johnson(West Mersea) (winners); Janet Davis & Alex Temple (Lexden Hill) |
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Veteran mens doubles finalists Oliver Saunders & Andrew Hodgson (The Officers' Club); John Carpenter & Kevin Eastaugh (The Officers' Club) (winners) |
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Veteran ladies doubles finalists Jane Kennedy & Pam Harvey (Lexden Hill); Mimi Okazaki & Emily Watford (Spring Lane/Kirby) (winners) |
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Veteran mixed doubles finalists Contenders for the Don Rampling Cup Terry Hoddy & Val Coy (Wivenhoe); Loess Overbury-Tapper (The Officers' Club) & Alex Temple (Lexden Hill) (winners) |
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Married Couples Doubles Andrew & Sherry Hodgson (The Officers' Club) (winners); Sarah & Geoff Creese (West Mersea) |
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AGM — Thursday 4th April
The Annual General Meeting was held on Thursday 4th April and the following clubs have affiliated to The Friendly Tennis League for the 2024 season and have entered the following teams:
| East Bergholt: | Ladies Team (2-pair), Mens team (2-pair), Mixed team |
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| Colchester Officers' Club: | Ladies Team (3-pair), Mens Team (3-pair), Mixed Team |
| Kirby: | Ladies Team (2-pair), Mixed Team |
| Lexden Hill: | Mens Team (3-pair), Mixed |
| Lexden Rackets and Fitness Club: | Ladies Team (2-pair), Mens Team (2-pair), Mixed Team |
| Little Clacton: | Ladies Team (3-pair) |
| Spring Lane Tennis Club: | For individual tournaments only |
| Wivenhoe: | Ladies Team (2-pair), Mens team (2-pair), Mixed team |
March 2024
The Annual General Meeting (and fixtures meeting) will be held on Thursday 4th April 2024 at The Colchester Officers' Club, St John's Green, Colchester, Essex CO2 7EZ starting at 7.30pm. The bar will be open if you wish to purchase refreshments.
If your club is planning on entering teams into the Colchester and District Friendly League this year, or players into the individual tournament, this is a great opportunity to find out about the other teams involved and arrange your fixtures for the year. Generally each club sends one representative but all team captains or representatives are welcome.
Finals Day — Sunday 3rd September
The 2023 Colchester and District Friendly Tennis League finals were held at Kirby Tennis Club on Sunday 3rd September, a sunny warm day, with all the matches played and finished by 5pm. This year there was a total of 51 competitors from eleven clubs who had taken part in the event leading up to finals day. Approximately 30% of the players were participating for the first time; of these 10 reached the finals. The finals included players from Dedham, Frinton, Kirby, Lexden Hill, The Officers Club, Spring Lane, West Mersea and Wivenhoe.
Both players in the Men's Singles were new finalists and produced a very competitive and high quality match. The winner was David Binns (Kirby) and runner-up Matthew Capon (West Mersea). The Ladies Singles final was a repeat of last year's final with Elena Appoggi (Spring Lane) making it a much closer match this year but despite Chloe Metson (Spring Lane) braking a racquet string in the second set and having to finish the match using her mum's racket, she still went on to win.
Following David Binns' success in the Men's singles, he paired up with Daniel Ursell to represent this years host club Kirby in the Men's Doubles. They fought hard against James Shuttlewood (Wivenhoe) and Harry Castle (Frinton) to win the first set before having a slightly more comfortable scoreline in the second. The Mixed Doubles was an all Spring Lane event which resulted in the longest match of the day with both pairs taking the initiative during the match. In the end it required a third set championship tie-break to decide the winners. This being first to 10 but when they changed at 6-6 it could still have gone either way, In the end congratulations go to Jenny and Thomas Lloyd for winning the title. Runners-up were Lucas Gold and Rabia Malik. Having competed against each other in the Mixed doubles, Jenny Lloyd and Rabia Malik joined up to play in the Ladies Doubles against their Spring Lane club-mates Elena Appoggi and Sarah Gardner. After a tight first set Jenny and Rabia found their stride and took the title.
Clare Smee changed her partner this year joining up with her Wivenhoe club-mate Chris Jones, to appear her third consecutive Veteran Ladies Doubles final. They faced Caroline Weston and Debbie Sainty (Dedham) who have also appeared in this final in the past. Clare and Chris were victorious making it 2 wins out of 3 for Clare. The Veteran Mens Doubles was the first of Alex Temple's (Lexden Hill) two finals of the day, joining up with club-mate Andrew Simpson to make a successful start, winning a very competitive match against Andrew Hodgson and Oliver Saunders (Officers Club). The Veteran Mixed Doubles was Alex Temple's second final of the day pairing up with Loess Overbury-Tapper (The Officers' Club) for the final round of matches. The second set proved to be a tight affair but Loess and Alex prevailed to win the title from the opponents Andrew and Sherry Hodgson (The Officers' Club).
The Married Couples Doubles was a new event for the Friendly League and proved to be popular with those who took part. The match was played in the spirit of the Friendly League and all were still speaking to their partner at the end! Christine and James Metson (Spring Lane) become the first couple to win the title beating Sherry and Andrew Hodgson (The Officers' Club).
At the end of the event Christine Clark, chair of the league, presented trophies and individual shields to the winners, with a token prize to the runners-up. The Friendly League also has team competitions running through the summer months and the shields were presented to the winning teams of 2023. Little Clacton won the Ladies League with runners-up Lexden Rackets, Lexden Hill Cyfeillgar won the Mens League with runners-up Lexden Hill Venlig and the Mixed League was won by Lexden Rackets with runners-up Wivenhoe. Christine then thanked Sherry Hodgson for organising the Individual Tournament again this year and the volunteers who had umpired the matches on finals day.
For full scores see Individual Tournaments
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Ladies Singles finalists Elena Appoggi (Spring Lane); Chloe Metson (Spring Lane) (winner) |
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Mens singles finalists David Binns (Kirby) (winner); Matthew Capon (West Mersea) |
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Mens doubles finalists Contenders for the John Sambrook Cup Harry Castle (Frinton) & James Shuttlewood (Wivenhoe); David Binns & Daniel Ursell (Kirby) (winners) |
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Ladies doubles finalists Rabia Malik & Jenny Lloyd (Spring Lane) (winners); Sarah Gardner & Elena Appoggi(Spring Lane) |
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Mixed doubles finalists Thomas & Jenny Lloyd (Spring Lane)(winners); Rabia Malik & Lucas Gold (Spring Lane) |
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Veteran mens doubles finalists Andrew Hodgson & Oliver Saunders (The Officers' Club); Andrew Simpson & Alex Temple (Lexden Hill)(winners) |
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Veteran ladies doubles finalists Caroline Weston & Debbie Sainty (Dedham); Clare Smee & Chris Jones (Wivenhoe)(winners) |
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Veteran mixed doubles finalists Contenders for the Don Rampling Cup Andrew & Sherry Hodgson (The Officers' Club); Loess Overbury-Tapper (The Officers' Club) & Alex Temple (Lexden Hill)(winners) |
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Married Couples Doubles Christine & James Metson (Spring Lane) (winners); Sherry & Andrew Hodgson (The Officers' Club) |
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30th July: Death of David Jones
 Right to left, David with former Friendly Tennis League Chairmen Les Lamb and John Sambrook |
We were very sad to hear that David Jones passed away on 30th July at the age of 89. David had a long association with the Friendly Tennis League and he and his wife Jackie were Individual Tournament Secretaries from 1973 to 1979. David then went on to be C&D Chairman for many years while also being Chair of Phoenix Tennis Club. Our current chair, Christine, knew him well and says that he was a lovely man to whom the whole of the Colchester and District tennis community owe a large debt of gratitude. |
AGM — Wednesday 5th April
The AGM was held on Wednesday 5th April and the following clubs have affiliated to the Friendly League for the 2023 season and have entered the following teams:
| Colchester Officers' Club: | Ladies Team (3-pair), Mens Team (3-pair), Mixed Team |
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| Dedham: | Mens (2-pair) |
| Kirby: | Ladies Team (2-pair), Mens Team (2-pair), Mixed Team |
| Lexden Hill: | Two Mens Teams (both 3-pair) |
| Lexden Rackets and Fitness Club: | Ladies Team (3-pair), Mens Team (2-pair), Mixed Team |
| Little Clacton: | Ladies Team (3-pair) |
| Spring Lane Tennis Club: | Ladies Team (2-pair), Mens Team (2-pair), Mixed Team |
| Wivenhoe: | Ladies Team (2-pair), Mens team (2-pair), Mixed team |
AGM — Wednesday 5th April at The Colchester Officers'
Club starting at 7.30
The Annual General Meeting (and fixtures meeting) will be held on Wednesday 5th April 2023 at The Colchester Officers' Club, St John's Green, Colchester, Essex CO2 7EZ starting at 7.30pm. The bar will be open if you wish to purchase refreshments.
If your club is planning on entering teams into the Colchester and District Friendly League this year, or players into the individual tournament, this is a great opportunity to find out about the other teams involved and arrange your fixtures for the year. Generally each club sends one representative but all team captains or representatives are welcome.