A big thank you to all those who took part in the season-opening friendly tournament last Sunday. What a pleasure it was to be back on our clay courts in such brilliant spring weather!
Note also the Team's win over Sèvres last Sunday (See here).
We're not sure who to credit for the sunshine, but for the courts, a big thank you goes to Caroline Lambert, who looks after the grounds, Philippe Ayme-Jouve on the TC and Roland Tchertoff on the MC for all the work getting them ready.
With those tennis muscles flexed, we hope everyone is warmed up for some more organised friendly tennis, with our first Sunday Tennis Mix-In taking place this Sunday, 4 May. Just register by court #1 at 14:15 for a 14:30 start (first come, first served). We'll assign partners so everyone gets a good game during the afternoon as well as a chance to meet other tennis players with some friendly women's, men's and/or mixed doubles.
On the competition front, thanks to all those who have entered the Club's internal knock-out competition. If you have not received notice of your first opponents in the different draws, you will do so soon -- look out for emails from tournament organisers Christine Butterworth and/or Victoria Migliore. The knock-out tournament runs through May and June. Players are responsible for arranging their own matches and letting the organisers know the results. You'll get full details by email.
The Tennis Committee
The next tournament will be on Tuesday, 13 May at 2.30 pm). See the main article for the new quiz -
2nd bid of opener in the sequence: 1 Diamond Pass 2 Clubs Pass ("La redemande sur 1 Carreau passe 2 Trefles").
Yes, time for BBQing! Please make your reservation well in advance at the bar or by email to so the staff can prepare it.
Pricing: BBQ: 28€ - includes charcoal and tools; Charge per person (plates, glasses, cutlery): 1€; Corkage: wine 4.50€; soft drinks 1€.
The Club's closing times in May are 10 pm from Sunday to Thursday and 11 pm on Fridays and Saturdays.
On Saturday, 26 April at 11:15 to 12:15, there will be a trial yoga class for children.
Octavia (a born and bred Londoner) from Yogaventuriers https://yogaventuriers.carrd.co/ will be coming and teaching in English. The class will be designed around a story to keep little minds focused. First, a book reading, then going through the story using yoga poses and movement. The classes are lighthearted and fun, getting kids moving in a focused way that they can carry over to different activities. The kids get to practice their English with a native speaker, and we all benefit from creatively moving our bodies. We will provide yoga mats, and this trial class is free for members. If it goes well, we hope to introduce a class every Saturday from September.
This Saturday's Yoga class is currently fully subscribed. Please let know if you'd like to get on the waiting list for future classes.
On Sunday, 27 April, we celebrate Easter with the children, starting with an Arts and Crafts workshop at 2 pm, followed by an Easter Egg hunt!
(The sessions are currently fully booked.)
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
For information and reservations, please contact John McCallum, or +33 6 15 15 22 61.
More details are in the main article.
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.
We will visit 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.
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.
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.
See the main article for some pictures taken during the tournament.
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.
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.
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
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).
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.
The SAC Cricket Section Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on Sunday 2 February at 2 pm. It will be held both at the club and online.
Our cricketers are once again heading south to the Desert Springs resort in Andalucia from 15-18 Feb for a T20 competition against Granada, the University of Bristol and another.
The Cricket AGM is planned for Sunday 2 February 2024 at 2 pm at the club and also remotely.
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.)
