West Herts and Watford LTC

🎾 Sunshine, Strategy, and Cupcakes 🧁
Our ladies team had a cracking match practice in the sunshine yesterday! They followed it up with a proper strategy meeting, complete with the most essential supplies: a good brew and homemade cupcakes. 😋
Wishing the ladies the best of luck for the season ahead. Smash it, everyone! 🎾☀️

A massive well done to everyone who took part in the West Herts Tennis Club Winter League! We endured some very cold and wet matches 🥶. Congratulations to our Premier League Champion, Spas, and runner-up, Mark! 🏆

In the Best of the Rest category, a huge congratulations to Champion Tian and runner-up Nikola! 🎉 Special thanks to Derek for organising another fantastic season. Well done to all involved! 🔥

We're set to receive £8,000 from Watford Council’s Neighbourhood Grant to improve the club's accessibility and enhance the Courtside seating area. A special thanks to Rob Range for submitting the application 🙏🏼

🌟 The council is set to invest up to £300,000 through the Neighbourhood Grant to fund local initiatives that make a real difference across the town. This funding comes from the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), paid by developers, to support and strengthen local communities.

📅 Applications for the next round (2026–27) will open in summer 2026, so local groups are encouraged to start planning their projects!

Potential projects for this year’s funding include:
🤝 Mediation Herts
🕯️ St Mary’s Church Watford
🏊 Kingsway Junior School PTA
🍲 KEL Gospel Ministries
🛠️ Random Café
🎳 Herts Bowling Club
👵 Live and Learn Club
🎠 Courtlands Residents Association
🥊 West Herts ABC & Educational Support
👶 Home-Start Watford & Three Rivers
🧰 Watford Sheltered Workshop
🎾 West Herts Sports Club
🌿 Friends of Cassiobury Park
🤸 Dolphina Gymnastic Centre
🎭 Rifco Theatre Company
⚡ Glen Rovers Hurling & Football Club
🔧 Sustainable South West Herts (Repair Café)
💡 Grand Union Community Energy
🪧 WBC Transport & Infrastructure
🏉 Watford Rugby Club

🔗 Read more here: https://bit.ly/44clWz5

🌟 Big News! 🌟

We're thrilled to announce that our very own Ivan has received an incredible invitation to compete in the Australian Open—marking the first-ever Grand Slam event for visually impaired players as part of the main event! 🎉

To support Ivan on this amazing journey, his family has created a fundraising page to help cover travel and training costs.

Every donation counts, no matter how big or small! If you work for a company interested in sponsoring Ivan, please reach out to us.

Let’s rally together to give Ivan, Team GB, and our club this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! 🙌🏼

You can donate and learn more here: [Help Ivan Win the Australian Open for GB](https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-ivan-win-australian-open-for-gb)

Thank you for your support! 🌍❤️
watford.observer

Donate to Help Ivan win the Australian Open for GB!, organized by Ivan Rodriguez Deb Ivan has been visually impaired since birth due to a rare connective tiss… Ivan Rodriguez Deb needs your support for Help Ivan win the Australian Open for GB!

🌟 Good luck to our Ivan at the European Visually Impaired Tennis Championship in Poland! 🎾 We're so proud that he’s been chosen as the Team GB flag bearer. He’s playing in the semifinals today, and we’re hopeful for the finals tomorrow! Let’s go, Ivan! 💪🏆

Please support our application by voting for West Herts Sports Club. Your vote will help improve accessibility to the blue courts and provide a shed for parents, players, and spectators. Thank you! 🙏🏼🤩🎾

🌟🎉 Huge congratulations to our amazing members, Gill and Shirley, for conquering the Shine Night Walk in 8 hours and 17 minutes! 🏃‍♀️💪 We at West Hearts Tennis Club couldn't be prouder of you both! 🥳🎾

Gill shared, "So we did it! The significant radio silence since finishing can be explained by these photos. I look delirious and exhausted—I was under the weather before we even started, but Shirley was there to encourage (or maybe drag!) me through." 😂❤️

Together, they raised over £2000 for Cancer Research UK! 🎗️💖 We're beyond grateful for the support of our generous community. Thank you to everyone who contributed! 🙌💙