THIS year has seen three teams from Minehead Tennis Club take part in the National Junior Club League, an event involving over 3,000 teams from across the country.
The winning teams at county level go through to a series of regional finals, from which four teams emerge to play the national final in October.
Mason See and Oliver Kelham, playing competitive tennis for the first time, represented Minehead in the Boys 11 and Under round robin section in April, together with Andrew Sear.
They found themselves up against much stronger teams from Bridgwater, Burnham and Trull and were unable to win any matches.
Minehead's 13 and Under Girls' team of Emma Hoyland, Florence England and Laura Parker had convincing 5-0 wins against Wincanton and Taunton and needed to beat Burnham to go through to the regional final.
The match was finely balanced at the half-way stage with Emma and Laura winning their singles but Florence narrowly losing a hard-fought match against a higher rated player on a tie-break.
The Burnham players then showed great composure to win the all-important doubles rubber, worth double points, and went forward as winners to the county stage, with Minehead runners-up.
The most successful of the Minehead teams was the Boys' 13 and Under team of Peter Hoyland, James Eagle, Jamie Milton and Michael Hutchinson, who defeated Taunton, Wiveliscombe, Trull and Yeovil in the round robin section of the event with the loss of only one point.
The county final against Taunton saw all three singles go to Minehead, giving them an unassailable lead of three points although the doubles went to Taunton 7-5 in the tie-break game.
The team then travelled to Bournemouth on one of the hottest weekends of the summer to play the first round of the South-West Region play-offs against West Hants.
James, Jamie and Michael refused to be overawed by the occasion, in spite of playing on an unfamiliar clay surface and against players with ratings four or five bands higher.
James used his top spin ground strokes effectively, Jamie attacked at the net whenever he could and Michael ran every ball down and never gave up, but the West Hants team proved too strong, winning all three singles and the doubles comprehensively, leaving Minehead to look back with satisfaction on the most successful run for a junior team in the club's history.