Member Login



The Bash and Pro Tournament - a letter from the Chairman

There seems to be general agreement amongst members who attended The Bash that it was a resounding success and helped raise much needed cash to help fund the Pro Tournament. The Bash also celebrated the winners of the 2017 club tournaments, as well as bringing together a wide cross section of club members to socialise in the elegant Chandelier ballroom of The Spa Hotel. I am therefore proposing that the club try to hold a similar event on an annual basis, albeit varying the format from year to year.

The Pro Tournament, run a week after The Bash and for the first time offering equal prize money for the women and the men, was also a major success. Very high standards of squash entertained all those that watched, and we even had some members volunteering to play at the last moment! With good attendance from club members there was a great atmosphere and it was very nice to have some tiered seating for the first time – courtesy of new sponsors JVIP.

To run the Pro Tournament the club needed to raise £4,000 in prize money and thankfully we had several individual club members making small contributions totalling £550, three corporate sponsors who paid a total of £1,500 for advertising boards to be displayed on the courts for a year and Harvey’s also kindly provided free beer worth a total of £500. Despite all this, just two weeks prior to the tournament there was still a shortfall of around £1,500.

We covered this shortfall by raising £1,600 at The Bash through events such as Heads and Tails and the auction of prizes donated by sponsors. We have been made aware that some members were unhappy with the level of suggested contributions on the night, so it is undecided as to whether this format will be repeated. However, members should be aware that if the Club had been forced to cover the shortfall for the Tournament it would have represented some 10% of the club’s annual cash balance and without members offering sponsorship 30% of the club’s excess annual funds would have been exposed. In fact, we managed to raise a further £425 from ticket sales at the Pro Tournament although this outcome was not known until the day of the tournament itself. Nevertheless, the combined receipts from The Bash and Pro Tournament now show an approximate gross profit of £500 and that is after offering a free dinner on the night to all the 2017 winners (at a cost to the club of £750). It could be argued that we should not offer any free tickets at all and then there would be no pressure to raise any money at the next event!

The committee would like to hear your thoughts on whether we should try to run another (similar) Pro Tournament (with or without a linked social Bash event to raise money). I believe the committee should always take the lead on issues like this and although we all agree we should have a social Bash once a year we have split views on the Pro Tournament – some think we should run one of some kind and raise some money but others are against any fund-raising at The Bash and would prefer a Pro Exhibition match with the opportunity for club players to have a game against a Pro squash player. There is clearly a risk to the club’s funds in pursuing a Pro Tournament so it is important we have your feed back.

To be clear, we do have options:

1) We can go with the same format again and have The Bash support the Pro Tournament.

2) We can just run some exhibition matches with the opportunity to challenge a Pro all for a manageable sum and no fund raising at The Bash

3) We could explore links with other outside entities to run a different type of tournament.

In the latter case we would reduce our financial exposure (so no fund raising at The Bash) but we would probably no longer be able to host a TWSRC Pro Tournament in memory of Colin Payne.

We seek and need your feedback, as it is your money at the end of the day. You can stay anonymous by noting your comments in the book at the bar or alternatively you can reply in confidence to mark.grovesgidney@btinternet.com. Whatever you do please tell us your thoughts.

On a final note, I would just like to announce that Dean Newberry has been appointed Club Captain, so let's wish him every success in his new role!

Regards

Mark Groves-Gidney

Chairman

30/01/2018

News & Events

July 2025

June 2025

May 2025

April 2025

March 2025

February 2025

January 2025

December 2024

November 2024

October 2024

September 2024

August 2024

July 2024

June 2024

May 2024

April 2024

March 2024

February 2024

January 2024

December 2023

November 2023

October 2023

September 2023

August 2023

July 2023

June 2023

May 2023

April 2023

March 2023

February 2023

January 2023

December 2022

November 2022

October 2022

September 2022

August 2022

July 2022

June 2022

May 2022

April 2022

March 2022

February 2022

January 2022

December 2021

November 2021

October 2021

September 2021

August 2021

July 2021

June 2021

May 2021

April 2021

March 2021

December 2020

November 2020

October 2020

September 2020

August 2020

July 2020

June 2020

May 2020

April 2020

March 2020

February 2020

January 2020

December 2019

November 2019

October 2019

September 2019

August 2019

July 2019

June 2019

May 2019

April 2019

March 2019

February 2019

January 2019

December 2018

November 2018

October 2018

September 2018

August 2018

July 2018

June 2018

May 2018

April 2018

March 2018

February 2018

January 2018

December 2017

November 2017

October 2017

September 2017

August 2017

July 2017

June 2017

May 2017

April 2017

March 2017

February 2017

January 2017

December 2016

Not receiving Email Newsletters?

  • Login and check you email address is correct.
  • Contact Us if you changed your email address.
  • Check you spam/junk folders (and mark the message as "not spam/junk" if you find it there).
  • Add "twsrc@no-reply.mycourts.co.uk" to your Contacts list or email address book.
  • Contact your email service provider and ask them why you're not receiving messages sent from twsrc@no-reply.mycourts.co.uk.

Hotmail/Outlook Users

  • Login to your Hotmail/Outlook account.
  • Click Settings > View all Outlook settings > Junk Email
  • Add "mycourts.co.uk" and "no-reply.mycourts.co.uk" to your Safe Senders and domains.

GMail Users

  • Go to Gmail Settings > Filters and Blocked Addresses. If "Tunbridge Wells Squash Club <twsrc@no-reply.mycourts.co.uk>" appears in the list of blocked addresses, select "Tunbridge Wells Squash Club <twsrc@no-reply.mycourts.co.uk>" and click "unblock selected addresses".

Other email service providers may have similar settings -- please follow their instructions. If not, contact their support desk and request delivery of messages from twsrc@no-reply.mycourts.co.uk.

mycourts ® is a Registered Trademark of HBI Consulting Ltd
Copyright © 2005-2025 HBI Consulting Ltd