Tennis in Robin Hood's County

Preface

If you belong to a tennis club in Nottinghamshire, you are a living participant in a story that began nearly 125 years ago. Since that time many people in the county have, like you, satisfied their urge to play tennis by joining a club. How many it is impossible to say; certainly thousands. At one end of the spectrum is the stalwart, the dedicated committee man or woman who was probably born on a tennis court and who, with a small band of like-minded masochists, forms the backbone of any club. At the other end, the impulsive mayfly whose this-looks-like-fun-I-think-I'll-join-attitude results in two or three visits to the courts before their interest wanes. For them, and all shades in between, the tennis club has provided innumerable hours of fun and frustration. This book is, in part, a celebration of these people, their inspiration in starting a club, their determination to keep it going and their desire simply to play tennis.

The Centenary History of the Nottinghamshire Lawn Tennis Association, 1889-1989, by Jack Moore, provides an invaluable picture of the county's tennis history in general, but until now there has been little research on the clubs. Most players will be aware of at least one or two clubs that have closed, or know something about the history of their own clubs, but have little idea what a huge iceberg lies beneath this tip. I was in the same position until I had the opportunity to look through some old editions of the Notts. LTA Handbook, I found league tables and club directories awash with unfamiliar names. Clearly many clubs had come and gone. Where were these clubs? How did they start, who started them and how long did they last? The more I looked the more clubs I found. It turned out there were many clubs that had never joined the Association, some of which had even taken part in their own leagues and other competitions. There are clubs in existence today, which, though well known to their own members and most people in their locality, have, like lost tribes in a rain forest, remained hidden from the outside world until now. Also hidden has been the early history of Nottinghamshire tennis, when the game was confined to a privileged few and the first clubs came into being. The main aim of this book is to tell the story of these clubs, from their origins to the present day. That is not to say the complete story can be told -- this is after all a history of amateur clubs concerned with a specific sport in a single county, not a subject which has enthused generations of archivists, librarians and historians. Although few stones have been left unturned and much, often unexpectedly, has come to light, many clubs are represented by a bare mention, while others remain in darkness.

Nothing lasts forever and many tennis clubs, some highly successful in their time, have fallen by the wayside. Another aim of this work is to record as many of these clubs as possible. The term 'club' is used to include any organised body, solely or partly dedicated to tennis, whether as a private club, or as the tennis section of a company's or other organisation's sports club. The first part of the book is a roughly chronological account of the county's clubs and leagues; it is not intended to present any profound insights into the social history of tennis, or any deep analysis of the development of the game. Many of the photographs have not previously been published and provide some fascinating glimpses of bygone tennis. To incorporate every detail of every club would have produced an indigestible mass, so complementing the history is a directory, which provides many facts and figures for reference or casual browsing. This is followed by a record of the winners and, in some cases, runners-up of all county-based competitions in which clubs have taken part. Such competitions do not run themselves; the last section lists those dedicated individuals who have devoted time to organising them.

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