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Tuesday 17 June 2025

Golf News: Partnership with the Villarceaux Golf Club

The Golf Section's partnership with the Villarceaux Golf Club continues to bear fruit.
* This summer, we are holding Open Days to enable people to discover Villareceaux.
* Children are encouraged to try the Villarceaux Golf School
* The SAC Spring Cup will be on Saturday 24 May
For information and reservations, please contact John McCallum, or +33 6 15 15 22 61.
More details are in the main article.

Golf News: Spring Golf Weekend 25/26/27 April at Golf d'Ailette results

We visited the Golf d’Ailette (Chemin des Dames, 02860 Chamouille - some 150km northeast of Paris) for our Spring Golf Weekend on April 25th, 26th and 27th. 
We had a wonderful weekend in Champagne country on a very interesting course. The Weekend competition, individual stableford Brut and Net was won handsomely by Muriel Jones with 41 points net.

SAC Junior Cricket: the new season

If you haven't already enrolled, please fill out the SAC Junior Cricket  Registration Form.
The head of Junior Cricket is Adhavan MANORANJAN, contactable via .
Communication within the section is via a WhatsApp group, so if you're not already there, contact Adhavan to join.
Players urgently needed to form a team to play in the La Rochelle Summer Cricket Tournament on 16 & 17 August (See the poster here.) 
See the main article for this season's schedule.

Tennis News: First team match of season & Social tournament on Sunday

The Club has a busy tennis schedule this Sunday.
For those who would like to see some competitive tennis, our men's team has its first match of the season against Sèvres. Benjamin Sharp is the team captain, with William Sharp, Timothé Sharp and Melvyn Cooke making up the rest of the squad. The singles matches are due to start at 08.30, with doubles from 11:00. There is sure to be some good tennis on show so if you are at the club please give the team your best support!
Our season-opening social tennis tournament starts at 10:30. There is still time to sign up using this link (see also this article) for a day of friendly tennis to catch up with your tennis partners and meet new ones. Philippe Ayme-Jouve will be our master of ceremonies.
Finally, please don't forget to enter SAC's annual knock-out tennis tournament, set to run until the end of June. Register for the singles and doubles using this link or see this article. If you are looking for a doubles partner -- mixed, women's or men's -- please get in touch with the Tennis Committee and we will try to find somebody for you.
The TC

Tennis News: SAC's Spring Social Tournament Sunday 27 April

To celebrate the opening of the clay tennis courts and mark the start of the spring-summer tennis season, please sign up for the Sunday 27 April round-robin social tennis tournament.
All adult tennis-playing members are welcome. It's a round-robin, mix-in format, so everyone is guaranteed plenty of fun doubles tennis.
Your master of ceremonies on the day is the irrepressible Philippe Ayme-Jouve.
The tournament starts at 10:30. Please arrive on time in your best tennis whites - SAC tennis dress code applies.
This is the HelloAsso registration link: SAC 27 April Round Robin Social Tennis Tournament or use the QR code in the main article and see the poster.

Tennis News: 2025 Survey Findings

The Tennis Committee is delighted to say we had a fantastic response from members to our 2025 tennis survey. (See the full survey results here - pdf)
Tennis is the main reason why around half of members join the club, while the level of tennis and interest in the sport is tilted toward the family, social, intermediate players versus advanced, competitive players. There is a strong desire for the club to improve the all-weather availability of the courts.
The enthusiastic response to the survey certainly encouraged the TC to press ahead with more organised tennis this year.
First up is the round robin tournament on Sunday 27 April (see here). If you have not signed up yet, please do so here via this HelloAsso link. Details are also available at the club.
We will be announcing details of the club's internal tennis tournament to run through May and June very soon, and we will be announcing plans for regular Sunday social tennis too and are looking at the logistics for setting up a tennis ladder.
Our coaching partner, Tennis Academy has children's tennis camps planned for the coming holidays.
Full details in the main article.

Tennis News: SAC Internal Tennis Tournament 28 April - 28 June

It's time to sign up!
Registration is open for the SAC Internal Tennis Tournament, which will run from the week of 28 April until Finals Day and prizegiving on Saturday, 28 June.
Members (16yrs +) are welcome to sign up for the singles and/or doubles draws using this link or the QR code in the main article. There's a five euro entry fee each for doubles and 10 euros for singles.
The entry deadline is 6 pm on Sunday, 27 April.
We will adapt the format according to the number of players who enter each draw but expect that there will be a mixture of round-robin and knock-out rounds to make sure that everyone gets at least a couple of matches.
Read the main article for full details.

Ian Cully (11/08/1944 - 25/01/2025) RIP

Ian CULLY, who died on 25 January, was a longstanding and valued member of the SAC - together of course with his wife Pat who was very active on the membership front. Ian was a keen member of the cricket team, causing bewilderment amongst opposing batsmen with his Burmese brand of spin bowling. Still under the sports heading, he was once a cunning squash player and became a keen golfer when Villarceaux became the main venue for new and existing SAC golfers. More importantly no doubt, Ian was a major figure on the SAC Management team, serving for many years as Club Treasurer at a time when the Club was fortunate enough to have many more members than at present. See the main article for details about the funeral arrangements (12 February).

Tennis News: 25 January Annual Meeting results

The Tennis Section held its annual meeting last Saturday to review the past year and elect a new Tennis Committee.
For the 2025 season, the new Tennis Committee is: Matthew Curtin (chairman), Victoria Migliore (tournaments), Christine Butterworth, Philippe Ayme-Jouve (master of ceremonies, tennis courts), Michael Golub, Aymerick Chastenet, with observers Georgina Marrison (Friday night social tennis) and Sarah Whitley (liaison with Children’s Section, holiday camps).
Please see the main article for a fuller report.

Children's News - February Holiday Camp options

We are pleased to open registrations for a new Holiday Camp option, joining Tennis Ambition's offer of quality tennis lessons and multisport activities in French, alongside Discovery Club's English immersion activities for children of all language levels, including native English speakers. The Holiday Camp will run during both weeks of the upcoming February school holidays (17-21 and 24-28), and is open to children ages 3 to 14, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, with an option to stay until 5:30 pm.
The base price for a full 5-day week of 7 hours per day is €350, tax included. (€50 per half-day)
We invite you to contact Genevieve, the camp director, by email at with any questions, or you may register directly using this Link.
Non-members of the Standard Athletic Club are invited to participate in this holiday camp as well, so please feel free to spread the word to other parents you know who might be interested.
(See posters and QRCodes in the main article.)

New Year View From the Management Team

It is our pleasure to wish all Members and their families the very best for 2025.
The changing over of the calendar also gives us an opportunity to look back on 2024 and forward to what we would like to achieve for our “Shared Second Home” in 2025.
2024 was a year of continued steady progress, coupled with planning for further major improvements in 2025:

  • Continuity. We continued on the path of steady physical and financial improvement that we have followed since 2020. While the accounts are not yet in, we do have a good overall view on 2024
    • Our brand new basketball court, fencing and net (Click for a photo of the net; or of the court in use). 
    • Preparation for final stages of repair of the Club’s historic pavillon (built by the British Army in 1946 to replace the old Clubhouse, destroyed by the retreating occupying army). We have relocated the container which had been damaging the Clubhouse and had prevented us from repairing and painting the final 10% of the siding. (Click for photo). This will now be repaired in spring 2025.
    • We expect to be profitable once again: i.e., the Club is generating the funds necessary to funds our day-to-day activities, and the average long-term replacement of our infrastructure
    • An increasingly healthy overall “balance sheet” situation, with debt payments declining
    • Concretely, we can see this in continued investments
    • A re-launch of our social media presence (particularly Instagram)
  • Planning for 2025
    • Members approved the pool project and financing in June 2024: there has been much work behind the scenes to complete the project financing, obtain the necessary authorisations, and begin the work. (Click for photo)
    • Plans for increased activity at the Club (as voted for at the AGM), with initial steps around children’s activities.
    • Padel: the Padel sub-committee is hard at work and will lead to recommendations for discussions at our 2025 AGM.

What, therefore, do we hope to achieve in 2025? 3 items are on top of the MC agenda.

  • Pool, pool, pool and pool. We are looking forward to re-opening our pool for this year’s season. This is a €400K investment which will provide joy to Members for decades to come.
  • Activities.
    • You may already have noticed additional “family friendly” activities. Sarah has brought new leadership and energy to this vital work, with more planned for this year.
    • Bar and Restaurant: More activity as we improve food offerings.
    • Cleaning: A new approach, with an external provider who is giving us much-imporved service service. This has also freed up the apartment previously occupied by our on-site cleaner, with potential to convert this space for wider use.
    • Front desk: Increased staffing levels over the spring and summer months.
  • New international Members. The new pool will provide a great excuse for a party and a chance for us all to show off our “Shared Second Home”. With a new pool, 5 new tennis courts, and a new basketball court, we will again have facilities to be proud of.

Adult Tennis coaching during February holidays (17-28 Feb)

Shake off the winter blues and get ready for spring with some tennis coaching!
On behalf of Team Ambition, which provides tennis lessons at SAC, we would like to announce a special offer of tennis lessons for adults during the upcoming February school holidays.
Gregory and Heissen propose two evenings of coaching a week for groups of up to five at a rate of 75 euros a group. 
As for when, we are talking about the weeks of 17 Feb and 24 Feb; Tennis Ambition suggest either Monday and Tuesday or Wednesday and Thursday, with 90-minute sessions starting at either 18:00 or 19:30.
Please sign up with Tennis Ambition here: (phone: 0624208027)

Tennis News - 2025 perspective

Your new Tennis Committee (see photo in the main article) is making early progress preparing for an absolutely smashing season ahead.
Full details will be forthcoming in the weeks ahead, but prepare yourselves for our annual clay-court opening social tournament, the annual club knock-out tournament, and news on Team and other competitive and social tennis.
We will soon be sending round our second SAC Tennis Survey to canvas members' views on tennis at the club. So stay tuned.

Tennis Coaching News: Festival, 2025/26, Summer Camps, Group Classes

Hot News from Tennis Academy Ambition
* There will be a Tennis Festival from 2 to 5 pm this Saturday, 14 June
* Registration for the 2025/6 coaching season will begin next week
* Summer Camps: Registration is still open, a few places available, and there's an extra week from 21 to 25 July. (But oOnly 6 places left from 7 to 11 July)
* Group classes will end on the weekend of 28/29 June and resume at the beginning of September. Group lessons will not be available on this Saturday between 1 and 5 pm due to the Tennis Festival.
Full details in the main article.