From: The Racketeer 12, April 1995
The Story of Mapperley Park Tennis Club
Part 7 - The Glam Seventies
by Chris Weir
Chris Weir yet again delves into the parts of history that other historians daren't touch.
While the Seventies trendies were stepping into their platform shoes and rocking to the sounds of Gary Glitter and the Bay City Rollers, what was stirring down at MPTC? How did we cope with it all? In those heady days of high fashion were eyebrows raised on Club Night when the ladies arrived m the latest daring fashions or when the men appeared with three-inch sideburns and hair falling over their ears? And in the heat of battle did partners follow speeding tennis balls with exclamations of 'Dig that crazy shot' and 'Cool man'?
Sadly the club's minutes are silent on these burning issues of the day. There was practical work to be done, there were budgets to be balanced, courts to be maintained, tournaments to be organised. In 1970 there was the usual hectic round of League fixtures against familiar dubs such as: Mansfield, Musters, Boots, West Bridgford, Newark and Wollaton; and against those no longer with us: Western, Radcliffe-on-Trent, Basford Hall, Sherwood Rise, Rolls Royce, Newcastle and Tattershall. In addition there was the opening tournament on the 3 May, the President's Day tournament on the 14 June, the Ladies' Day tournament on the 28 June, and the Men's Day tournament on the 5 July.
In 1970 subscriptions were £5 5s for full membership, £3 15s for under-21 s and £2 10s for under Ms. During the course of the 70s the teams battled on, though sometimes facing difficulty. In 1975 the Ladies' team in Division 6A had to apply for re-election to the League, having been through an especially lean time. And in an era when perhaps it wasn't quite 'cool' to play tennis, membership dropped slightly, in 1971 to 146 members, but the club's active programme of matches and social events held the membership at a figure well over a hundred for the rest of the decade.
To help raise funds and retain its membership the club put on 'tennis and tea' Sunday afternoons, wine and cheese parties, barbecues, jumble sales and a 'must' for the annual social and tennis programme was President's Day, which in true Wimbledon style became much famed for its culinary feast of strawberries and cream. To help further boost funds the club 'loaned' its premises to Costains the builders (for tennis) on an occasional basis, and to Trent Polytechnic Lawn Tennis Club, subject to the club's usual rules.
The club's committee must have been kept busy all year round. In 1970 Mr. G. Crowe replaced Mr. P. C. Cullen as President, and in 1972 the position passed to Jack Britton. In that year Mrs. O. E. Jeffrey became Hon. Secretary, Mr. R Barraclough Hon. Treasurer, Mr. F. T. Bradley Hon. Membership Secretary, Mrs. S. V. Darlaston Ladies' Match Secretary, Mr. C. W. Allen Men's Match Secretary, and Mr. R. A. S. Gibbons Mixed Match Secretary. Committee members were Mrs. K Allen, Miss S. Green, Mrs N. Hewitt, and Dr. P. Darlaston who was appointed Hon. Secretary in 1974. In 1979 Mr. and Mrs. Pullman, tireless supporters of the club were appointed Joint Presidents, and Dr. E. A. French was appointed Hon. Secretary. In 1978 the club made a new kind of appointment, that of Club Captain, a position that was held by Mr. F. Raistrick.
One of the particular concerns of the committee was the availability of coaching and considerable effort was put into this by the Club Captain, members of the committee and individual players. Among the initiatives taken at the time was the introduction in 1978 of the Prudential Grass Roots coaching scheme and work with the juniors was developed through hours of work by Sally Green, and David and Catherine Corder.
But the hard working committee (did the members ever get a chance to play any tennis?) faced even bigger concerns in the late 70s. There was the condition of the two hard courts, and as if that alone wasn't bad enough, the poor condition of the clubhouse. By the 70s MPTC had four courts, two grass courts at the 'lower' end (furthest from the clubhouse) and two hard courts at the 'upper' end Of the two hard courts the one nearest Carisbrooke Drive was a 'semi-loose' so-called 'Griselda' surface, the other was bitumen. Both had been laid for some years and both had deteriorated badly under constant play and extreme weather conditions. New hard courts were badly needed; a fact recognised by the committee as early as 1975, but the club's finances were strictly limited It was to be several years before work on new courts could go ahead. Estimates from various companies were obtained for different types of surface: 'porous concrete' (though this was very expensive); En-Tout-Cas 'Playdek'; and 'Asphumus', a similar surface to En-Tout-Cas by the Yorkshire firm of Thornton.
With members pressing the committee to replace the courts, the need for finance became urgent. Both the city and county councils were approached for loans, but without success, and in the end a scheme was introduced to attract loans from members, in combination with a fund-raising drive. This method proved successful and the 'Asphumus' surfaces were put down over the winter of 1979/80, the committee opting for green courts with red surrounds. The total cost was over £6,000.
Right through the early 70s the clubhouse had been showing signs of wear and tear, so again funds had to be raised through members to renovate the building to bring it up to a reasonable standard. Again the committee and members succeeded and following extensive roof repairs, the installation of a new sink unit and water heater, improvements to the changing rooms and decorative work, the clubhouse was restored to health. So if the Seventies weren't all that 'glam' for MPTC it is only because no-one had enough time - they were all just too busy, Man!