FOLLOWING the success of the two senior men?s and ladies? teams in gaining promotion in the Exeter and District Tennis League the two second teams both recently completed their league programmes. This is the first time for four years that Okehampton have been able to enter four teams in the Exeter League and highlights the return to strength of the club. Both men?s and ladies? second teams were strongly based on a youth policy seeking to find the first team players of the future. In the ladies Siobhan Aslett, Hannah Packer and Billie and Emily Sanderson made consistently good performance throughout the year and for the men both Paul Russell and Thomas Hall provided some fine results during the season. All the younger members of the teams were under 16 years old, with the youngest being 13. They were asked to play against players with much more league experience and all six juniors showed great improvement with the opportunities they have been given. Throughout the year the club has also increased its number of junior members playing on Wednesday evenings. These sessions will continue during the winter and are primarily intended for juniors between the ages of 11 and 16. Saturday mornings are set aside for the Under 11s, where children between the age of 4 to 11 have the opportunity to develop their ball and racket skills. All these activities take place on the new tennis courts next to the All Weather pitch or in the Parklands Sportshall. Further details can be obtained from David Carter on 840521. Thanks are expressed to all the adult members who have supported the development of the juniors during the year. The club will continue to provide tennis for adults on Tuesday evenings and Saturday afternoons throughout the winter months, starting from October 1. Junior members are also welcome at these times, although adults do take priority. Again details can be obtained from David Carter. The club held its closing summer mixed doubles tournament on Sunday September 17. The matches were played on a round robin basis. In a closely fought final A Herrod-Taylor and Jackie Cox defeated D Arnot and Beth Carter. The winners fought back from 2-4 down to win eventually 7-5, and be presented with the Okoyi Cup.
