Club Governance, Safeguarding and Management

Shotley & Benfieldside Tennis Club is a private members club with a strong sense of commitment to and involvement with our local community.

The Club’s goal is to promote the sport of tennis and encourage community participation in tennis, to build and maintain a strong relationship with the local community and provide access to the Club’s facilities for the benefit of the community.

CLUB GOVERNANCE, SAFEGUARDING and GDPR

The Club recognises the importance of good governance, strong policies and correct procedures in order to ensure the safety and welfare of all our members and guests. The Club has a particular duty to safeguard the interests of our Junior members, children who visit our Club and vulnerable adults at risk. Our commitment to best practice in this area is reinforced in the Club's Safeguarding Policy Statement.  

Andrew Rudge is our Club’s Welfare Officer, responsible for the care and safeguarding of all children and vulnerable people who use our facilities. He is always available should any member or visitor have any concerns they may wish to share. Contact Andrew on 07718 932188 at any time if you wish to discuss any matter of concern. Under Andrew’s guidance the Club has developed important child-focussed procedures covering a Code of Conduct for all players, and a Junior Team Travel Policy with a Consent and Emergency Contact Form. Reference can also be made to the LTA Code of Conduct that provides a complete statement of the standards of conduct that are expected and required of all participants.

Additionally, the Club has adopted formal policies on Safeguarding, Diversity and Inclusion and Whistleblowing which can be downloaded at these links.

The Club fully respects the rights of members to the safe protection of their data and has fully adopted the standards and requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation 2018. The Club will never pass any data on members to any third party, and will only use that data in relation to communications and matters related to the Club and its activities - the Club GDPR Policy for members can be downloaded here.

COMPLAINTS

The Club has an established procedure in the event of any member wishing to raise a complaint in relation to any aspect of the running or conduct of the Club that is not covered by the Welfare and Safeguarding policies described above. We will ensure that complaints are listened to carefully, and that members are treated with respect, fairness and confidentiality when making a complaint.

Complaints by members should be made in writing to the Welfare Officer, Andrew Rudge (contact details above), using the Complaints Procedure Form. They will be reviewed (subject to the subject matter of the complaint) by the Welfare Officer and Chairman in the first instance. We will endeavour to address all complaints within 14 days, and will reply in writing. If you are unhappy with the response, then you should appeal in writing. The Committee will then consider the complaint and appeal, and appoint a sub-group to investigate and conduct the appeal. All complaints and their outcomes will be reported to the Club Committee, but will not be recorded in any minutes which are made public to the wider membership.

CLUB MANAGEMENT

The day-to-day running of the Club is managed by a Committee of volunteer members who are drawn from all sections of the community and who bring a wide range of skills to the Club.

The Club Annual General Meeting is held in March and is an opportunity for the Committee to report to members on performance over the past year and for members to contribute their own thoughts and ideas on the Club’s future direction.  The AGM Agenda includes the election or re-election of Committee members for the coming year. 

Members of the Committee will usually take responsibility for a particular aspect of the Club's operation. Currently the Committee comprises: 

CHAIRMAN & SECRETARY      Tony Pensom

TREASURER/BAR MANAGER  Fraser McEwen-King

CLUB CAPTAIN/COACH          David Esther

MAINTENANCE                       David Graham

FUNDRAISING/EVENTS          tbc

MARKETING/SOCIAL MEDIA   Liane Shield

WELFARE OFFICER              Andrew Rudge

JUNIOR OFFICER               Dave Hocking

MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY     Yvonne Pensom

MATCH SECRETARY               Vince Kennedy

COMMITTEE MEMBERS          Kath Smith, Connor Atess, Mark Woodhall, Caroline Parker

This group of elected officials meet on a regular basis to discuss the running of the Club.

The agenda and the minutes of these meetings are available for all members to inspect and all members are encouraged to become involved in the running of the Club. 

The Club has a full Constitution in accordance with the requirements and guidance of the LTA. Click here for a copy.