This Sunday we will be presenting our annual junior sportsperson trophy  - this was originally donated by John Winterbottom 

John was a very active member of the club until his late 70s who sadly passed away in 2014 

He joined the club when he and his wife Valerie moved up to Cheshire in the 1980s after John retired from a successful business career in the south of England to be near their daughter and her family.  

He caused quite a stir when he first arrived, he didn’t speak like most of us do in Cheshire and he was always immaculately dressed in white and unfailingly polite.  

He became famous for his call of “no, no” when an opponent’s serve was out, delivered in a way that reminded one of Dan Maskell. 
 
He joined the committee after a short time and soon became a key member of the team.  He was old school in his manners but he brought a lot of new thinking to the committee based on his experience in business and his previous club in the South.  

He was a keen fund raiser for the club.  He used to mastermind the ticket distribution for the grand Christmas raffle which we used to run.  Members were given books of tickets to sell to family and friends and John always got them to pay for the tickets up front. We still don’t know how he used to manage this with some of the more careful with money members of the club but he could be very persuasive when he needed to be. 

John played a major role in the 1990 Centenary Celebrations which lasted all season from securing the sponsorship to organising the magnificent fireworks display which ended the year. 
 
John always cut a dashing figure being the first to wear a white dinner jacket to one of our events.  

When playing matches he would always comb his hair between sets while others were drinking water or towelling down. 
 
Many ex-juniors will remember John manning the bar at the annual LTA Junior Tournament.  Along with the sweets, crisps and fizzy drinks he would dispense advice on manners and encourage mental arithmetic by encouraging the kids to work out their own change.  

He also asked them all how they were getting on; congratulating the winners and consoling the losers.  John’s support for juniors and the game of tennis was evident in this trophy that he presented to be awarded annually to the junior who best displayed the spirit of tennis. 

He also encouraged tennis amongst the older generation being  one of the founder members of the Hardy Perennials and he was thrilled at how this has developed into a major activity within the club.