Burnham-On-Sea tennis players have taken part in the annual Jo Gooden ladies doubles tournament in memory of a former club member.
Held at the Avenue Tennis Club in Burnham, the event is played in memory of Jo Gooden (nee Champion) who was a prominent participant in club, county and national tennis as a junior.
She was tragically killed in a traffic accident at a young age and her family have been loyal supporters of the club for many years.
Jo’s father, Dick, presented a trophy for the tournament in her memory and, since his death a few years ago, is also remembered with great affection at the event.
Jo’s sister, Jean Booth, comes along every year to present the prizes and continues the tradition started by Dick of donating engraved tumblers for the winners to keep.
The tournament includes players of all standards who combine to have a sociable and enjoyable day’s tennis with players from various clubs.
The event is run on a round robin basis with a draw for partners so everyone plays with someone from a club other than their own and this year a number of spectators came along too to catch up with old friends and watch some entertaining tennis.
Refreshments were provided by The Avenue and delicious cakes were brought along by Jean Booth for tea to make this an excellent day out for players from around the county.
This year there were entries from Avenue, Wedmore, Street, Yeovil and Winscombe.
Some competitive matches were played with Wendy Pryce (Avenue) and Tracy Johnson (Yeovil) beating Angela Tinnion (Avenue) and Sara Hall (Yeovil) in the final.
The next social fun mixed doubles tournament, Ian’s Sunday Service, will be run on Sunday 14th October from 10am when all are welcome to attend and play. There’s no need to be a member – please come along and join in and see if you like the Avenue Tennis Club.
The tennis club has a month’s free membership offer available for anyone who wants to give tennis a go and wants to get an insight into the club before joining.
Qualified coaches provide coaching throughout the week for all ages and abilities. Membership of the club allows access to play on one of the eight floodlit courts (4 Astra turfed and 4 Tarmacadan), together with access to a fantastic clubhouse with a well stocked bar, wi-fi and superb changing facilities for all.
The club has organised social and competitive tennis throughout the week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, together with a variety of subsidised coaching sessions for juniors and adults and Vinny Minis on a Friday evening – free to junior members, ladies and men’s teams that compete in the North Somerset Tennis Leagues.
As well as tennis the club runs a number of other social events B-B-Q’s, Wednesday evening suppers and a variety of other lunches and events. Details can be found on the website www.avenuetennis.com.
