COUNTRY MEMBERS ENJOY GREAT WEEKEND ON AND OFF THE COURT

Report by Will Chawner

The weekend was packed with exhibition tennis and serious, hard-fought matches. Standing-room only in the galleries and dedans ensured an almost tangible excitement as spectators cheered and gasped at every beautifully timed stroke. And ... away from the warm-up matches for the World Real Tennis Championships at Queens, the 2012 Country Members' Weekend was getting underway at Bristol Real Tennis Club, where a similar level of  commitment was being applied off the court. 

There was a good turn out for the weekend, from our most 'experienced' participant John Houseman, with his characteristic warnings to his opponents prior to each serve, to our youngest supporters, the Lawrence girls, whose immaculate behaviour and unwavering support enabled their father, Andrew, to go on to be the overall victor. Other contenders for the main prize were Nick ter Averst, whose consistent approach to Saturday's matches had set him up for what seemed like a stroll to the line on Sunday - but then Saturday night happened and Eddie Ault, who played well over both days. Saturday night was spent at a noisy pub and a quiet, intimate restaurant in Clifton, where tactics for the next day were discussed and honed over a bottle or two of red. The Ponsford Dedans challenge was won by Nick ter Averst whose gentle, floated shots turned out to be just a little more accurate that Nick Boustead's torpedoes but we all agreed there should be more points awarded for power next year!

As always, the Country Members would like to extend their thanks to Kevin for his help throughout the weekend. I would also take this opportunity to thank Nick Ponsford for sharing his proprietary, scoring-matrix technology and also Judy Ponsford and Angela Probyn for their kind help with lunch.

Finally, I would like to thank all the Country Members whose company I enjoy greatly, for making the weekend the occasion that it always is.