Gauteng Central Tennis

On behalf of the Executive Committee I take this opportunity of wishing you all the very best for 2009 and may it be a good one for tennis, not in our Province but South Africa as a whole.

Not only have we the revamped SA Open starting next week but also the Davis Cup match at home in March to look forward to, and the possibility this year of us challenging for a return to the top flight of that competition.

The SA Open at Montecasino has attracted a strong field and hopefully this will be the start of the re emergence of this event as a “must” on the ATP calendar in the future years for the top players. Those who can remember the halcyon days at Ellis Park with all the top players competing are getting fewer and fewer as time goes on, and it is time for a new generation of spectators to savour these delights.

From our side you may well have seen our calendar, and it was a case of trying to pour a quart into a pint pot as there are so many events including leagues, that have to be dovetailed into all the other tournaments. It is a healthy sign that there are so many events scheduled but one worrying aspect is at the end of the year. The schools break up so late this year that those vitally important Junior Coastal and Inland tournaments are going to need a lot of thought as to how they can all be played as in the past.

These Junior events are a major stepping stone in the development of our future players and it will take more than just a little “fine tuning” to ensure that they all take place.

Talking of juniors – what a pleasure to see such a good turnout for the first two squad sessions at Ellis Park this month. This augurs well especially as a lot of the top ranked players also came along which is an added incentive to other players to be able to practise with and play against the top players in the Province.

It is much too early in the year to be able to give any further details on the re development of the Ellis Park grounds as the builders only returned to work in the middle of the month. There are meetings arranged with representatives of the Johannesburg City Council to discuss the Lease requirements for those clubs who are termed “Municipal Clubs” to ensure their future is on a solid and sound foundation.

REGISTRATION FEES

These are due and payable at the end of February. Full details as to the costs are as follows:

SATA  PORTION                  

Base registration fee for all tennis players is R30.00 per member.

To quote SATA “Affiliated clubs must collect and pay R30.00 per member for every member at their club (includes juniors, open, vets).  This fee is payable irrespective of what playing structures/systems the member may belong to.  This is also to benefit the weekday/social tennis player that is not deemed to be a full member of a club.”

A LEAGUE PLAYER – registration fee is R90.00 per league player.  This is typically a full member of the club. “Affiliated clubs must collect and pay R30 + R90 per member at their club who plays league tennis for their club.  This fee is payable for all league players irrespective of what other playing structures/systems the member may belong to.  If a junior does not play in leagues but plays in tournaments then they would only pay R30 base fee.  Therefore the total SATA fee for a full member of a club is R120.00 p.a.”

N.B. Please note that a junior player that plays in formal senior league structures, is also liable for the R30 + R90 + R120.00 fee.

GAUTENG CENTRAL PORTION

Junior league player (U14league)=R50.00

League player (Jnr, Open, Snr or Vets) = R120.00

Social player = R40.00

TOTAL REGISTRATIONS PAYABLE THROUGH THE PROVINCE AS PER SATA:

                                                            SATA              GCTA              TOTAL

Jnr League player                                             R30.00             R50.00             R80.00

Social Player only(Incl. vets)                             R30.00             R40.00             R70.00

League player                                                   R30+R90         R120.00           R240.00

Jnr Player (Tournaments only)               R30.00                                     R30.00

To quote SATA again, “What it boils down to is that the more you play the more you pay”!

Please bear in mind the following;

1. You must register all your members either under the League Player category or Social Member.
2. As you enrol new members, Registration Fees for them are due to us throughout the year.
3. In order that you can participate in our various leagues, all your Registration Fees must be paid prior to entering the Leagues.

We seek and trust we have your full co operation in this regard.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

The first Grand Slam event of the year is almost over but we did have a representative in both the mens and ladies singles at the Australian Open. Sadly, neither got past the first round.

Wesley Moodie and Jeff Coetzee, although seeded 5 in the mens doubles, lost in the second round to two Australians, so not a good start for any of our players to 2009.

Kevin Anderson is still our top ranked player at 108 with Rik de Voest at 160. Both will be in action at the SA Open and hopefully a good showing there will kick start their year.