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PADEL TENNIS | HOCKEY CLUB | CRICKET CLUB | CARGO GYM | COMPTON CROQUET SURVEY REPORT
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A message from the Chairman, Roger Myall “It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the very first Saffrons Sports Club newsletter. I hope that this is the first of regular updates from the board of trustees as we look to keep our membership informed about what is happening at the club. As you will hopefully be aware, we are seeking to evolve the business model of the club. Since 1886 the club has provided sports facilities for the people of Eastbourne and throughout its existence it has relied upon income from the sports sections in order to do this. This model only just enables us to survive and doesn't provide sufficient income to create a suitably sized ’sinking fund’ to cover future projects. So, around 5 years ago the board took the decision to start work on a development plan which looked to remodel the club with a view to generating more income which we could use to sustain its long term future. The development plan that we have created looks to bring new users to the site who will stay longer and spend more. The first phase of this plan will create a 4-court padel tennis facility which is being built by our partners at Padel4all along with an outdoor hospitality area which we intend to become a ‘destination' providing an appropriately targeted food and beverage offering. Negotiations are underway with potential operators and I look forward to updating you on this as plans progress. One of the key things moving forwards is going to be communication and this is something which has historically been seriously lacking. We have to improve communication from the board of the charitable trust down to individual members and we shouldn’t rely on the member clubs to do this. This is the reason why I asked Jack Meacher (cricket & hockey) to help us create this newsletter and so I would encourage you to get as many people as you can to sign up to receive it. In this first newsletter I think it’s worth explaining the structure of the club and why The Saffrons as a whole should be so important to you and every individual member of our sporting sections. When I talk about ’The Saffrons’ I am talking about the Eastbourne Saffrons Sports Club Trust, which is a charity registered with the charities commission and, in essence, the ‘umbrella’ organisation which holds the lease from the Compton Estate (Duke of Devonshire). As the legal tenant of The Saffrons the trust is responsible for maintaining the site and everything on it (trees/walls) to a good standard as set out in the lease. This involves the day-to-day running of the club, paying the rent, employing the staff, providing playing surfaces, floodlights, equipment, machinery etc etc. As you might imagine, this does not come cheap and so the trust asks each member section i.e. Eastbourne Hockey Club, Eastbourne Town Football Club and Eastbourne Cricket Club for a contribution to these costs. In addition we also sub-let areas of the ground (Nursery, Croquet, Cargo Gym etc) to generate additional income because the income from the member clubs is nowhere near sufficient to cover the costs of running the club. So, with the above in mind, as we look to improve the offering at the club please do support The Saffrons as a whole because the cost of your sport is directly subsidised by the charitable trust and so, by supporting us you are supporting your own sport. Finally, I welcome any questions, comments, ideas and energy that you as individuals might have so please feel free to get in touch with me on chairperson@thesaffrons.org - I’d love to hear from you. Kind regards Roger"
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Hello everyone, by way of a quick personal introduction, I’m Peter Runacres and I’m delighted to say that I am the manager at what will be the new Eastbourne padel tennis centre. I have a young family and have lived in the local area for over 15 years and have played tennis, and more recently padel, since the age of 5. I have been with Padel4all since the start of the year where I have been assisting with the project through the pre-construction phase and with the day-to-day coaching and management responsibilities at our Southend centre. On behalf of Padel4all we are very much looking forward to being part of the Saffrons sporting family. Since receiving planning consent we’ve been working closely with Roger and the committee to ensure that we are integrated on site, not only to complement existing communities, but to also help establish a new one. As we near the construction phase I look forward to meeting you all in person and forming relationships which will help all our sports succeed. I look forward to providing a further update on progress in the next newsletter. Best wishes, Peter Mobile: 07476 557551 Email: peterr@padel4all.com
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Latest Padel Updates We are in the final stages of selecting the main contractor and we hope to be on site this month to start the enabling works. The build is expected to take 16 weeks and therefore we are planning to be open early in the new year. Orders for the covered canopy and the 4 courts, including 1 outdoor show court, have been placed and are in the manufacturing stage. We have a programme of works which, working alongside the committee, will help improve the overall Saffrons site including, additional and better quality car parking, enhanced landscaping around the car park and clubhouse, new fibre installation and upgraded electrical supply to facilitate installation of LED lighting to padel, football and hockey. Once open we look forward to providing regular intro sessions for those new to the sport and a full programme of activities which cater for all ages and abilities including; Social and Matchplay sign-up sessions Group and private coaching Junior training and Clubs Ladies only sessions Team padel matches Local and regional competitions Outreach events aimed at introducing this fantastic and fast-growing sport to the Eastbourne community
We will operate as a play and play facility but will offer a membership that provides discounted court and session prices plus a host of other member benefits. We intend to offer a limited pre-opening offer for membership which will be communicated to Saffrons users first later in the autumn. To whet your appetite, click on the video below which shows a timelapse of what’s coming
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Eastbourne hockey club are excited to dust off their hockey sticks ready for the new season to begin after taking a well needed break. The astroturf pitch at Saffrons hasn’t been completely empty over the break though, In June Eastbourne hockey hosted the second annual Saffrons’ sixes tournament which helped raise over £4,000 for meningitis research foundation. We also held “back to hockey” training sessions for those who wanted to give hockey a go or return after a while of not playing. They finished training with a recent 6-1 win against South Saxons in a pre-season friendly and we look forward to welcoming these players to our established teams this season. Both 1st teams have begun training for the new season. The ladies 1XI welcome Maxine Bird as their head coach for another season in the South East Premier league as well as returning international goalkeeper Lauren Roberts to the team. The team head to Marden to take part in a pre-season tournament on the 31st of August where they have been successful in the past, good luck team! The Men’s 1XI continue to be coached by Kevin Johnson on Thursday evenings, Kevin is also the international Welsh Ladies head coach and brings a wealth of knowledge to the team. The Mens 1XI narrowly missed out on promotion to the South East Premier League last season despite an impressive run of consecutive wins so will be looking to push for promotion this season. New teams this season include the Under 16s girls team, the Ladies 2XI and 3XI will be taking on the National tier 4 cup competition and the new 2XI mixed team is taking part in a local friendly league. Eastbourne Hockey Club continue to field 5 Men’s teams and 3 Women’s teams each week on Saturdays as well as 2 junior teams and regular age group tournaments. Club weekend this year is the 7 / 8th of September where both 1st teams are hosting South Saxons in a pre-season friendly. All other teams are taking part in a mixed 6 a side mini tournament. Junior club day will commence on the 8th. We welcome new players of all standards, come get involved and join us on club day or for one of our training sessions on offer. Instagram - @Eastbournehc Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PitchIn4EBHC Link to Join Teamo - https://web2.teamo.chat/club/register/eastbournehockeyclub
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End of Season Update As the season approaches its final stretch, all our teams are pushing for a strong finish. We proudly field four Saturday XI’s, alongside several junior and women’s teams competing across divisions in Sussex. It’s been an action-packed summer, and our players have shown immense dedication on the field. August has been a celebration of junior cricket! Our Under 18s secured one victory from three matches, with skipper Alex Heasman delivering a stunning 121 against St. Peters. The Under 14s dominated their group, winning all four of their matches and finishing top of the table, while the Under 16s and 13s won three and two games respectively. It’s been an inspiring showcase of young talent, promising a bright future for our senior teams. We were thrilled to welcome back Alastair Orr and Henry Crocombe to our 1st XI for recent fixtures. Both now play professionally—Alastair for Hampshire and Henry for Sussex—but took time to return to their roots. With Henry’s break in county fixtures and Alastair recovering from injury, it was a joy to see them back in an Eastbourne shirt, giving back to the club that helped shape their careers. Though the season wraps up in September, it's never too late to get involved! We welcome anyone interested in giving cricket a try to join our training sessions. And with training continuing through the winter, we’re already gearing up for an exciting new season ahead! You might have also noticed a new bench outside the score box. This is to commemorate Dick Blake, who loved cricket from an early age and spent many happy hours at the Saffrons, umpiring and scoring for over 30 years. When Eastbourne won the national cup in 1997 Dick joined the squad in their trip to Lord’s to score, describing it as the highlight of his sporting life. Dick’s family called the Saffrons his second home, so to have a bench with his name on it felt to be a fitting tribute. Thank you again for everyone’s support this season!
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As the end of summer approaches we at Cargo Gym are looking forward to embracing the cooler weather. In fact we embrace any weather! We're all about being functionally fit for all seasons and many members join us because we're outside come rain or shine! If you'd like to give us a try then we offer an amazing 7 day trial for £7. You can choose from a range of classes both early morning and evening. We also offer Personal Training and bespoke sessions. We're really enjoying training the Eastbourne Town U18 squad on a Tuesday evening and if we can help with your fitness needs please get in touch. All of our Trainers are fully qualified and have lots of experience with a broad range of clients so we've got you covered. Contact us via our website www.cargogym.fit, via Facebook Cargo Gym or on instagram cargogym. We look forward to meeting you!
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Based in The Saffrons, Compton Croquet Club had the privilege of the Lady Mayor opening its 125th Anniversary celebrations in May 2024 when she enthusiastically described the lawns as one of Eastbourne’s best kept secrets. Whether this is true or not, it is an integral and historic part of the Saffrons Sports ground. In early August 2024, the five excellent lawns of the Compton Croquet Club hosted one of the premier international Croquet Tournaments: the Women’s European Golf Croquet Championship. The tournament featured 32 of the leading women players from nine different countries, including a Compton member who proudly represented England. The standard of play was high and Golf Croquet when it is played well can be quite a spectacle. In most play, there is no difference between male and female competitors, or for that matter competitors of any age. Earlier in the year Compton also co-hosted the Association Croquet Inter-Counties Championship with 22 counties taking part. Sussex finished in third place overall and qualified for promotion to division 1 next year. Compton croquet members have enjoyed playing in internal and external South East Croquet Federation competitions this season as well as social games. We offered a croquet game to young people over four evenings this year through the Guides and Cubs associations. And in mid September we will see this year’s new members competing in the Carter Cup, and at the end of the month, the Association Croquet South of England tournament. Compton Croquet Club continues to thrive hosting both national and international events as well as regular inter-club and club events The club has 80-100 members and we welcome new players on a regular basis through our introductory schemes. If you are interested, please contact Jill Manton our Membership Secretary at ComptonCCMembership@gmail.com
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The Saffrons recently conducted a survey to (a) assess the level of support for potential improvements to the facilities and (b) solicit ideas, suggestions and concerns. Nearly 100 responded. We are grateful for the time that people took to give us their input. In general, there was strong support for the improvements and upgrades we have been working on. As you’d expect, there were some concerns and we’ll take these into account as we develop our plans. There was particularly strong support for The Saffrons having a role to play to provide greater access to the community, whether clubs or individuals. In response to one respondent: The Saffrons itself is not a private club; it is a facility that exists for sports, health and wellbeing. Membership of each of the clubs that call The Saffrons home, i.e., Compton Croquet Club, Eastbourne Cricket Club, Eastbourne Town Football Club and Eastbourne Hockey Club, is open to all. Please contact each of those Clubs for information on membership. There was also strong support to renovate the Club House. A number of respondents asked for more detail. We are still developing the plans, not just for the physical space but how best to utilize it. We will certainly provide more information as our plans become firmer. We anticipate the work will commence on the padel tennis centre very soon. Along with that will come improvements to the car park. Just as importantly, we are finalising the details to refurbish the toilets in the club house. We anticipate that the work will be complete by the end of the year. The state of the loos was called out, justifiably, in the survey comments! Thank you again to all those who completed the survey. We are excited by the opportunities to put The Saffrons on a firmer financial footing while holding true to our commitment to Cricket, Football, Hockey and Croquet. We see The Saffrons as supporting a portfolio of sports, activities and hospitality services for the local community to enjoy and benefit from.
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