Second Annual Dinner and (Glittering) Awards Ceremony

October 2024

Bishop Monkton Tennis and Pickleball Club confirmed its reputation as one of the village’s most friendly and welcoming clubs with its 2nd Annual Gala Dinner and (Glittering) Awards Ceremony at the Masons Arms on Thursday 17th October.

Brief opening remarks from the Chair, Jonathan Pimley emphasised the growth of the club in the last 18 months, thanking the whole committee for their efforts, but particularly Dorothy Culshaw for her outstanding work organising and coaching pickleball –comments which were later echoed by member Colin Philpott in his amusing and relevant remarks.

Greg MacDonald, Graham Banks and Susan Stead were all Award winners for various acts of skill, determination and kindness over the year-highlighting the fact that club revolves as much around friendliness and team spirit as it does around racquet sports.

The Mason’s provided a superb dinner for the 20 attendees, with both an interesting menu and extremely efficient service-thanks to the team for their hard work.

Moving forward the tennis courts remain open for use by members all year round and indoor pickleball sessions are on Fridays in the village hall between 4pm and 6pm.

======================================================

 

 

Pickleball Inaugural Championship - A Great Success

August 17th 2024

The drama of the Centre Court  enveloped Pickleball on Saturday as entrants packed their paddles (aka bats) and gathered for the inaugural Bishop Monkton Pickleball Championships.  Over the following 2 hours a near capacity crowd would discover who could best combine their own natural talent with the skills learnt over the season from award winning coach Dorothy Culshaw.

Based on a round robin doubles format where everyone played with and against everyone else, players kept their own scores from each round-then the 4 players with the highest individual totals entered a play-off format to decide the overall Champion.

The players who made the final 4 were Chantal Ireland, Ruth Abel, Graham Banks and Dorothy Culshaw and after a tense finale Graham Banks was crowned ‘Champion Pickleballer of the Year’.We would like to thank everyone who came for their participation and sportsmanship and for contributing to a really fun afternoon.

Pickleball sessions run on Monday and Friday afternoons (from 2-4pm and 4-6pm respectively) and on Wednesday evenings from 6pm. Non- members are welcome to come along at any of these times for a free taster session-we will lend you a paddle (aka bat!).

-------------------

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tennis Club Holds First-Ever Annual Dinner At Mason's

November 2023

Dorothy Culshaw awarded ‘Coach of the Year’

The introduction of pickleball was the brainchild of club member Dorothy Culshaw who first played the game while visiting family in the United States. Pickleball sessions have been held three times a week on the tennis courts in the village throughout the summer and autumn alongside regular tennis sessions. Currently, the club is holding a weekly indoor pickleball session every Friday afternoon in the Village Hall.

The dinner, held at the Masons on Wednesday night, was attended by 19 of the club’s 38 members. Membership numbers have increased dramatically this year since the addition of pickleball alongside tennis and the Club has renamed itself to include pickleball in its title. 
Dorothy was given a special ‘Coach of the Year’ award at the dinner in recognition of her contribution. Dorothy told the dinner “It’s great to see so many new faces involved with our club. Pickleball is such a fun game and it’s very easy to pick up. The game starts with an easy underarm service and is played on a small court which makes it accessible to all abilities and ages.”

Paul Wade said: “The Masons was the perfect venue for our dinner and they did a great job with a delicious great value menu and excellent service. It’s fantastic that the club is expanding. Pickleball has brought us new members, some of whom are people who feel they are no longer able to play tennis but also people completely new to the club.”