This Issue At A Glance...

2020 Roundup:               Anne Clark, IC of GB Chair, shares her thoughts
The Class Of 2021:         Introducing our IC of GB new members for 2021
Listening Exercise:        How we plan to respond to your feedback
 

A Message From Anne Clark

I hope this finds you well. 

On 1st February we welcomed a number of our new Members at a dinner and social mix-in hosted at the Wimbledon Club. Little did we realise then what a strange year 2020 would be and that would be the only event the Club would hold in 2020… 

In May, Benson Greatrex stood down as chair of the IC of GB with Anne Clark taking on this role.  

I had pleasure in helping present the IC of GB Sportsmanship Award to Gordon Reid in August before his successful trip to the USA where he and Alfie Hewett won their fourth successive US Open men’s wheelchair doubles title. 

We saw a first with our AGM taking place online postponed from the original April date to September, with John Feaver taking over as President from Mark Cox. Mike Carroll, Craig Edmondson, Alan Purnell and Chris Gorringe also decided to stand down – their inputs to the IC of GB have been considerable and we hope that they will continue to contribute.  

Although we had to cancel all matches, one thing this year has highlighted is the important role tennis (and all sport) plays in our physical and mental health. Tennis is seen as a ‘safe’ sport provided people act responsibly, on and off court. 

Even when we haven’t been able to get out onto a tennis court, there have been many initiatives based from home, improving fitness, footwork skills, activities involving forms of online competition (quizzes, remember the toilet roll challenges?! cake baking with a tennis theme ....). The friendships and community spirit inspired by our sport has been a strength to many. It is also a timely reminder that we are part of the IC family and it is even more important in times like these for all ICs across the world to stay connected and support each other. We will share the year end IC Council update with all IC of GB members as soon as possible.

The IC of GB is making plans for 2021 with a full fixture list, trying to balance the matches postponed from 2020 alongside the 2021 fixtures. We will however be closely monitoring the Covid-19 guidelines and will adjust the schedule accordingly, so please do keep checking the website. The match managers very much welcome expressions of interest if you would like to be considered for any particular matches. We hope to be able to schedule in an event to welcome our new Members for 2021 later on in the year.  

In the last communication I said that we would be sharing the listening exercise survey outputs. I’ve attached a few of the main points below – more to follow in 2021. 

On behalf of the IC of GB I would like to wish you and your families a very peaceful, happy and safe Christmas as we look forward to a much busier (tennis-wise) 2021. 

Regards, 

Anne Clark 

Chair, IC of GB

The Class of 2021!

Congratulations and a warm welcome to all our new members for 2021!

New Full Members                      

Ben Draper  
Emily Arbuthnott
Laura Deigman   
Michaela Modebe
Thomas Wride
Sue Boulter
Andrew Hutchinson
Martin Gillam
Monica Becerra
David Rawlinson
Chris Ornstein
Ruth Weston     

We urge our new members to play as many fixtures as possible during their first year.
Some matches do have specific eligibility criteria. Contact the relevant match manager or any member of the fixtures sub-committee who will be happy to guide you.

IC of GB Listening Exercise: Update
 

Participation

109 members responded to the survey, equating to a 22% response rate.

The quantity and mix of responses indicated a representative sample.

Summary

• 84% of respondents are “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the IC of GB  
• Playing standard, fixture diversity and the social element emerge as reasons why IC of GB membership is highly valued  
• A small number of fixtures and social events stand out for their popularity 
• Limited fixture locations, injuries and “other commitments” are the key barriers preventing wider participation although 40% of respondents would like to play in more fixtures 
• The vast majority of respondents are happy with the social programme  
• Respondents were overall very happy with the method & frequency of communication and feel that there is an opportunity to move paperless for annual club updates 
• Over 40% of respondents would like to volunteer for the IC of GB in some capacity. 

Main Findings By Area:

FIXTURES 

• Working well: 
  • Popular matches include Ted Avory (USA); IC of France; AELTC 
• Actions:  
  • Review fixtures with lower interest levels and diversity in fixture location. 
  • Address the not asked/ not able to play concerns  

SOCIAL EVENTS 

• Working well: 
  • Success and popularity of IC Ball and IC Garden party  
• Actions: 
  • Additional opportunities to add to / evolve social calendar 

COMMUNICATION 

• Working well: 
  • Email as main means of communication although social media also widely used  
• Actions: 
  • How to maximise email database coverage 
  • Right solution for a hard copy handbook  

MERCHANDISE 

• Working well: 
  • Significant interest in purchasing IC merchandise  
• Actions: 
  • Right range/ pricing/ method of sale 
  • Link to fixture participation  

VOLUNTEERING 

• Working well: 
  • High interest in volunteering across all aspects of the IC of GB  
• Actions: 
  • Committee to agree at earliest opportunity the best way to match prospective volunteers with the right opportunity for them. Many thanks to those of you who volunteered to directly support the IC, your generous offers of support will be followed up. 

IC of GB Useful Contacts

Hon. Secretary: Chris Clark
Hon. Match Secretary: Adrian Blackman
Hon.Membership Secretary: Kate Gowar
Communications: Amanda Elliott, Hugh Jaques, Boyd Cuthbertson