It is with pleasure that I present my report for the 2024 season. As is customary, I will start by thanking the Board of directors and staff for their hard work and support this past season. Special thanks go to three members leaving the Board. Michelle Feddema has done a great job with the HR portfolio the past few years and her skills will be sorely missed. Susan Murphy has managed the complex portfolio of Programming for many years and has been a active member of our website upgrade team – she too will be missed and we wish her well. Finally, Lynn Gale, who has been on the Board for over a decade holding portfolios that included Treasurer, Policy and By-Law and, most recently, Technology will also be stepping down. I will personally miss him – my sounding board for many policy, legal and financial matters over the years.
As many of you will have noticed, we have made significant improvements to the website in recent years. The next improvement will be implemented in time for the 2025 season when the singles ladder will be incorporated into the website.
We continue to see an extremely high demand for tennis and pressure on our facility. Bear in mind that it has been almost 25 years since the Town of Oakville last invested in a managed tennis facility (Bronte). Our Town has grown significantly during that time and the popularity of our sport continues to grow.
It has also been clear, for a considerable amount of time, that there is significant demand for indoor winter tennis. Long-time members may recall that adding a dome to our courts was investigated and, after significant opposition from local residents, abandoned in the early 90’s. At the beginning of this season we established that current engineering made it physically possible to “Dome” our eight courts, and with that information we approached the Town to understand their position on the concept of a winter dome at Bronte Tennis Club. Whereas there was clear acceptance of the need for additional summer and winter tennis capacity, there was also a strong perception by our councillors that any proposal to dome our courts would flounder in the face of local opposition. On the positive side, it was confirmed that four to six new outdoor courts would be built in the near future at the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex, and that the Town would consider a winter dome over those courts.
The ultimate outcome of these discussions was that Bronte Tennis Club would continue without significant changes for the foreseeable future, and it is with this in mind that the Board will plan for 2025. As a Board it remains our objective to maximize court utilization for our members and the community, and also to afford the opportunity to play to any member who wishes to do so.
Briefly revisiting previous requests and discussions, the Board will not be implementing a court booking system as that would adversely impact court utilization and the social culture that we have built over many years.
I would like to conclude with a thank-you to the members for another wonderful season, for your continued support and contribution to making this club the best in the region. We look forward to welcoming you back in 2025.
Eddie Bodbyl, President