In 1933 Yoxford Tennis Club had 32 members and even after the war it was more than 30.
Mrs Pat Horner wrote the final minutes in 1953 then the courts fell into disrepair until the new phase in 1987.
During this time the courts were overgrown and were used for grazing ponies!
Fundraising in the village started in 1985 to refurbish old grass courts in the village hall grounds.
In 1987, under the leadership and driving force of Suzanne Gibbons, an amazing amount of £26,000 was secured from Sport England and Lottery funding.
Yoxford now opened two brand new courts, one also being an all-purpose court to be used for netball and 5-a-side football. The courts were resurfaced and painted, upgraded floodlights and new kick boards were put in, football mats were purchased and a boundary fence erected on the boundary to Oakwood Park.
Sports played within the sports group…
tennis/carpet bowls/table tennis/football/netball
Events were held such as tennis ‘come and play’ open days with BBQ, tennis coaching sessions with professional coach Trevor, fundraising activities including quizzes, Las Vegas Casino nights and dances.
The Tennis and Netball teams very successfully competed in a variety of league competitions and tournaments.
Yoxford also entered the Suffolk Coastal Inter-Village Sports’ Tournaments. This was run for approximately four years with Tim Williams as team manager. A variety of sports were played and medals won, including Rounders, Netball, Cricket, Darts, 5-a-side Football, Tennis, Table Tennis and Bowls.
We were certainly a winning team with amazing all-round talent!
If anyone has any photos of these events we would love to see and display them….
