## **Reference and administration details** ~~EE~~ |**Charity Name**|Great Ayton Tennis Club| |---|---| |**Other names charity is known by**|GATC| |**Registered charity number**|1170990| |**Charities principle address**|16 The Dorkings, Great Broughton, Middlesbrough, TS9 7NA| ## **Names of the GATC management team including charity trustees** |~~ee~~
~~ee~~|**Trustee Name**
~~ee~~
~~ee~~|**Office (if any)**
~~ee~~
~~ee ee~~|**Date last (re)elected (Trustees Only)**
~~ee~~
~~ee~~| |---|---|---|---| |1 Sid Blackmore
~~ee~~
~~ee~~
~~a~~|1 Sid Blackmore
~~ee~~
~~ee~~
~~a~~|Trustee
~~ee~~
~~ee ee~~
~~ee~~|AGM 2024
~~ee~~
~~ee~~| |2 Theresa Brentnall
~~ee~~
~~a~~
~~es~~|2 Theresa Brentnall
~~ee ~~
~~a~~
~~es~~|Trustee
~~ee ee~~
~~ee~~
~~ee~~|AGM 2025
~~ee~~
~~ee~~| |3 Helen Cole
~~a~~
~~es~~
~~a~~|3 Helen Cole
~~a ~~
~~es~~
~~a~~|Trustee
~~ee~~
~~ee~~
~~ee~~|Appointed 2025 seeking member ratification at AGM 2026
~~ee~~| |4 Allan Dixon
~~es~~
~~a~~
~~ee~~|4 Allan Dixon
~~es~~
~~a~~
~~ee~~|Chair
~~ee~~
~~ee~~
~~ee~~|AGM 2025
~~ee~~
~~eee~~| |5 Sarah Dixon
~~a~~
~~ee~~
~~a~~|5 Sarah Dixon
~~a ~~
~~ee~~
~~a~~|Trustee
~~ee~~
~~ee~~
~~ee~~|AGM 2025
~~eee~~
~~ee~~| |6 Denise Essex
~~ee~~
~~a~~
~~ee~~|6 Denise Essex
~~ee~~
~~a~~
~~ee~~|Hon Secretary
~~ee ~~
~~ee~~
~~ee~~|AGM 2023
~~eee~~
~~ee~~
~~ee~~| |7 David Joy
~~a~~
~~ee~~
~~a~~|7 David Joy
~~a ~~
~~ee~~
~~a~~|Trustee
~~ee~~
~~ee~~
~~ee~~|AGM 2023
~~ee~~
~~ee~~| |8 Marian Matthews
~~ee~~
~~a~~
~~a~~|8 Marian Matthews
~~ee~~
~~a~~
~~a~~|Trustee
~~ee~~
~~ee~~
~~ee~~|AGM 2025
~~ee~~
~~ee~~| |9 Wayne Stephenson Trustee
~~a~~
~~a~~
~~a~~|9 Wayne Stephenson Trustee
~~a ~~
~~a~~
~~a~~|9 Wayne Stephenson Trustee
~~ee~~
~~ee~~
~~ee~~|AGM 2024
~~ee~~
~~ee~~| |~~a~~
~~a~~
~~a~~|~~a~~
~~a~~
~~a~~|~~ee~~
~~ee~~
~~ee~~|~~ee~~
~~ee~~
~~ee~~| |10 Barry Adamski
~~a~~
~~a~~
~~a~~|10 Barry Adamski
~~a ~~
~~a~~
~~a~~|Treasurer
~~ee~~
~~ee~~
~~ee~~|(non-trustee)
~~ee~~
~~ee~~
~~ee~~| |11 Joanne Joy
~~a~~
~~a~~
~~a~~|11 Joanne Joy
~~a~~
~~a~~
~~a~~|Welfare Officer
~~ee~~
~~ee~~
~~ee~~|(non-trustee)
~~ee~~
~~ee~~| |12 Irene Reah
~~a~~
~~a~~|12 Irene Reah
~~a~~
~~a~~|Membership Officer
~~ee~~
~~ee~~|(non-trustee)
~~ee~~| **Structure, governance and management** |**Type of governing document**|Constitution adopted 5th January 2017 (last amended 21st March 2024)| |---|---| |**How the charity is constituted**|Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)| |**Governance**|The club complies with Privacy (GDPR) legislation introduced in 2018.
Furthermore the club is an LTA registered venue and has in place policies
to include Safeguarding, Diversity & Inclusion and Whistleblowing.
The club has a trained Welfare Officer who oversees safeguarding in the
venue. The Club Rules and all policies are highlighted to new members;
displayed on the club noticeboard as well as being available to all on the
GATC website.
All coaching staff including assistants undertake Criminal Records Bureau
checks and are required to maintain relevant Emergency First Aid and
Safeguarding Training in line with LTA accreditation.| ## Welcome 2025 has been a busy year for the club; we’ve had a number of notable successes as well as challenges. Operating as a charity doesn't shelter us from the significant cost of living rises we have seen in our general operating expenses and we are conscious that many families rightly consider carefully where their own reducing discretionary spend is best directed. We are therefore grateful to all members who view their annual membership as a positive and continue to consider GATC as adding value to their lives. As we committed to at last year's AGM, the management team started work during this year on the priorities which, as indicated by you in our survey, are important for the club. This involves a huge amount of time and effort from the trustees and is the type of commitment given that generally goes unseen. This included, but was not limited to: - Carrying out detailed analysis (linking with the LTA, the Yorkshire Region, Outside Agencies etc) and creating a detailed club development plan. - Developing an engagement plan to link with local schools and colleges to drive junior participation. - Obtaining an LTA grant and short term loan to fund secure gate access to the courts, which will remove the need to use padlocks. This will facilitate the club being able to offer limited ‘pay and play’ facilities on courts 4 & 5 as well as provide the ability to offer court access to schools and local organisations who provide accessibility services. The gate system will link with our existing court booking system and provide ‘one off’ access codes valid at the time of the court booking. - Sponsoring Wayne Stephenson to complete his LTA coaching accreditation in order to support the work being done to identify and expand our junior player population - We have reached out to many ‘holiday accommodation’ providers in the local area to investigate whether they will support offering access to the pay and play facilities through our club and have had a positive response. On a broader note, we obtained a grant to support a trial of Pickleball, which will happen at some point during 2026, had a record number of attendees at our annual Open/Family Morning, and received a grant from Seniors Tennis GB/LTA to encourage seniors participation in tennis, which is being used to support our incredibly successful Rusty Rackets initiative. Congratulations to Anne Simpkins on being the first recipient of our Rusty’s ‘Most Improved Player’ Award. As well as holding a wide array of club championships, It was also very positive to include a Ladies Singles Championship for the first time in 5 years; thank you to all participants. We have started 2026 with an emphasis on expanding our social media presence, so consistent messages and branding will be seen across Facebook, Instagram and X (Twitter), where we will continue to share the latest news stories appearing on the club website as well as looking to broaden knowledge of the club, its activities and its members. We once again undertook some significant ‘non annual’ maintenance to ensure some of the longer standing property issues were made good. Details of these are included in our sections on maintenance and finances below. Finally and as always, thank you to all the trustees, club captains and other volunteers for their commitment and time, without which the club could not function in its current form and last but not least the members for their continued support of Great Ayton Tennis Club. Allan Dixon Chair of Trustees ## Membership For 2025, no changes to fees were made across all our membership categories. The club continued to offer free memberships for our infant category. Overall membership numbers reduced slightly during 2025, although overall membership income increased slightly for the year. A breakdown of our membership numbers within each category are:- ||**2025**|**2024**|**2023**| |---|---|---|---| |Adult|114|109|123| |Family|50|62|63| |Guardian|6|5|5| |Infant|12|12|6| |Junior|17|21|33| |Student|6|9|7| |Honorary|8|8|9| |**Total**|213|226|246| ## Club Tennis and League Teams As can be seen in the following notes, Great Ayton continued to offer a wide range of playing opportunities from social play as well as teams competing in the Cleveland and Northern Premier League. - Social play continued weekly on two afternoons/evenings and also on a Saturday morning, where there is also a designated court for accompanied juniors. - Coffee and Croissants continued to be an attractive proposition on the first Saturday throughout the winter months. - Thanks go to Wayne for organising the Club Championships this year. There were strong entries in all categories, the eventual winners being Sophia Wild (Ladies Singles), Dan Harley and Jonny Shields (Men’s Doubles), Ollie Hindle (Men’s Singles), Richard Graham and Joanne Joy (Mixed Doubles), Sophia and Luana Wild (Ladies’ Doubles). - The Newhouse Trophy took place with Leo Lyons and Luana Wild retaining the title. - Rusty Rackets had a very strong and committed attendance throughout the year meeting on a Thursday morning where Denise Essex continued to provide invaluable support and encouragement. Huge thanks to Denise. An autumn visit to Danby tennis Club for a friendly tournament followed by breakfast in the Fox and Hounds, a Christmas tournament at Tennis world and a Christmas lunch to round off the year reflects the positive social aspects of this group. Not only have the players improved their tennis skills but this group are always keen volunteers for helping to run club events. - We had a particularly successful campaign across all our teams in the Cleveland League which can be seen in our final league positions below. - Particular congratulations to our Ladies A team for winning their division with a special mention to Joanne Joy, who ended the season winning more ‘points’ than any other player within that division (nearly 100 individuals). In 2025 GATC fielded: - 11 teams in the Cleveland Tennis League - Men’s A also participated in the National Premier League - Men’s A participated in the Cleveland Cup |**_Team_**|**_League_**|**_Captain_**|**_Division_**|**_Position_**| |---|---|---|---|---| |_Ladies A_|_Cleveland League_|_Miriam Fawcett_|_Division 2_|_1_| |_Ladies B_||_Claire Sheridan_|_Division 2_|_3_| |_Ladies C_||_Irene Reah_|_Division 4_|_3_| |_Men’s A_||_Wayne Stephenson_|_Division 1_|_2_| |_Men’s B_||_Kev Rowley_|_Division 1_|_6_| |_Men’s C_||_Wayne Stephenson_|_Division 4_|_2_| |_Men’s D_||_David Joy_|_Division 6_|_4_| |||||| |_Mixed A_|_Mixed League_|_Richard Graham_|_Division 2_|_4_| |_Mixed B_||_Craig Sheridan_|_Division 3_|_2_| |||||| |_Vet’s A_|_Vets’ League_|_Jane Bourne_|_Division 1_|_split 2025/6_| |_Vet’s B_||_Claire Sheridan_|_Division 2_|_split 2025/6_| Particular thanks to all team captains for their selfless management of the squads and to all players who represented the club during the season. ## Social Events and Fundraising Once again the club ensured that our offering to members extends beyond purely providing courts for play. Members of our social committee again dedicated their time to plan and manage a number of events providing important opportunities for social interaction for members and friends. - Quiz nights (February and November) at The Royal Oak continued to be extremely popular with tickets selling out almost before they were published! A special mention to quizmasters David and Jo Joy. These events provide a welcome boost to club funds. - The change of time from afternoon to morning for the annual Family Day proved to be a very successful move drawing in a record number of people. - The Strawberry Tea was on the calendar for July; on this occasion we were treated to live music by club member Al Aithchison. Over £240 was raised for club funds. - The annual BBQ was held in June. Approximately 50 people came along to enjoy the sun, the tennis and the food. - £367.49 was raised through _easyfundraising_ . This is an ongoing initiative bringing in a regular income for the club. ## Coaching LTA Accredited coaches, Mark Barras and Nic Weschenfelder, continued to support GATC by offering sessions for both groups and individuals. ## Adults - Take up for Group Adult sessions (beginner and intermediate) remained strong with coaching on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, floodlights enabling the groups to continue all year round. - The well attended, popular Saturday morning Cardio group helped to improve fitness and have fun at the same time. - Coaches also provided 1:1 coaching for Adults & Juniors. ## Juniors - Coaching for junior groups was also supported with several groups each week throughout the year _._ ## Maintenance Keeping the grounds, court facilities and the club house in good order is vitally important for our club. These annual tasks - big and small - are overseen, and in many cases carried out by Sid Blackmore. Sid has a number of people who he can call on who assist him in this role. Thank you to all who have contributed. ## Courts - Following annual cleaning, courts 4 & 5 were repaired and repainted to remove damage caused by the overhanging sycamore tree and now look really smart. The offending tree was, after obtaining necessary legal permissions, cut back to prevent overhanging of the courts and proximity to the floodlight tower. - Courts 1,2 and 3 were power washed again in the spring and have been almost completely free of pooling and playable all year round, which is a huge step forward compared to two years ago. Correct maintenance of all courts will be required in the spring of each year to keep them safe and flood free. - Some minor cracking of the playing surface has been noted, and remedial action will be needed in the next year or two. ## Grounds - At the Parish Council’s request, we have cut back some of ‘our’ bushes and overhanging tree branches along Levenside to better facilitate the grass verge cutting by the council. - Larger more visible signs have been installed at the entrance to the car park. - Some parts of the perimeter fence were in poor condition due to trees falling on them and wind damage during storms. The fence has been repaired and supported where necessary. ## Facilities - A new double outside socket has been installed above the water tap to enable the ball machine to be used on courts 1,2 & 3. Unfortunately, the ball machine is broken and is away being repaired. When it is returned, any member wishing to use it is requested to seek instructions in its use, as it is more complicated than the old one (which is still available) and can be damaged by misuse. - As we have anti-frost heating in the clubhouse, to prevent damage to the water system (this activates automatically at 5 degrees C by a thermostatic controller), may we remind members to **ensure they close the clubhouse door at all times during colder weather** to minimise the cost of electricity in the winter months. ## Community Links Great Ayton continued to link with the wider community. - The annual visit from Marwood infants school took place in the summer organised by Sara Papworth. - An away day to Danby Tennis Club took place in September where Denise organised a friendly tournament followed by breakfast in The Fox and Hounds. Thanks to Denise and Barbara for helping. - A lovely sunny evening in July saw Great Ayton host Danby Tennis Club for a friendly match in July. Irene devised an interesting format with men’s, ladies and mixed games being played. Thank you to Irene. - A pilot visit involving 10 service users from Beyond Boundaries - a North Yorkshire-based community organisation supporting adults with learning disabilities, people with mental health challenges and school groups was hosted in September. The afternoon was enjoyed by all and provided the club with valuable insight to help shape future inclusive provision. Treasurers Accounts Summary & Report Income and Expenditure Account 1st January 2025 - 31st Decembfrr 2025 Balance 18L January Current Aco)unt Cash SaviTrJ A￿￿nI 2024 £35.205.91 £39.38 2025 £3.836.58 £386.48 £30.356.67 £34.579.73 Totsl: £35.245.29 Incom•: SubscriplK) Easy Funding C)onabonslGrants LwJhts Mat(* Fee￿11$ 2024 £15.466.CM) £232.27 £680.25 £895.IXI £960.05 £1,288.20 £0.00 £1,693.17 £125.(10 £Y8.67 2025 £15,638. £367.49 £8iJO.00 £644.CM) £1,209.IKI £1,166.80 £30 00 £1,815.17 E10.00 £399.50 Expenditurn: 2024 2025 Subsc*lion fws £339.36 £372.16 Loan repaym•nt £1,666 66 £833.32 Sohcrtor £1,391. £000 Uts'htso￿c￿JnUl tax £1,304.71 £2,125.48 Admin.IDoThstsc £10.25 £73.91 Ren￿nSUrance £1.055 11 £2.674.75 8811￿Ulprn?n1 £2.374.09 £899.32 League foo￿LTA £970 1)) £1.040.00 bsits £405.12 £o.(N) Gmundthrt$ M8ini•nanc• £12,547.52 £12.9)4.58 mis￿lIane9US £288.35 £644.55 Court HI Fund A8￿1r￿ Mwllanew8 Prnmium Ace*Junt Interest Totsl Incom•: £21.686.61 £21079.96 T¢*￿ ExpMdllur•: £22.362.17 £11.568.07 lftcom•- Expndltsr•: 665.56 £511.89 B•l•nce lex.loan) Current Ac£ounl £3,836.58 Premium Acc¢)unt £30,356.67 Cash., £386.48 Totsl £34,579.n OutstsrM1ing LTA loan. £833.35 £4,269.60 £30,756.17 £85.85 £35,091.62 Net end of Year Balanco: £33,746.38 £35.091.62 John Harri•on A￿1110( B•ry AdaffAkl Trn8surèr 1NkL i&/,/¥ Treasurer's Report for 2025 The Club started the year with a balance of £34,579.73, which was down on the previous year by over £600. The main sources of income continue to be from subscriptions, coaching and fund raising. Although income from lights and match feeslballs totals more than £1,800 this is off set by the cost of electricity for the lights and the purchase of balls for matches. For the second year there was a drop in income from the lights which, even allowing for the accounts being closed on 31st December which is mid winter, it appears playing on dark evenings might be losing its appeal. The social committee continued with an outstanding effort and raised over £1,800. The main expenditure was on maintenance of the grounds and courts. For the second year this has been more than a half of the Club's annual expenditure and it seems this will be the case in future years. Solicitor's fees and website costs no longer apply and this year the final payment of the LTA loan was made. The final balance for the end of the year was £35,091.62. Whilst this might seem sufficient to run the Club it is not much of a reserve when the annual turnover is increasing each year and is now more than £22,000 with the net income being only a few hundred pounds. Faced with ever spirling costs the net income could be negative although with the proposed subscription increases and the possibility of income from pay as you go that hopefully will not be the case. Barry Adamski (treasurer)