On Saturday 8th May, we had a suprise party for Steve Tiddy. This was to celebrate and recognise the amazing achievement of being captain of the STSC Men’s National Tennis Team for 25 Years and, in that time, winning 4 National Titles – something which is a record at the time of writing this.
Many of the great players who have played for Steve over the years created video messages for Steve, which were played on the screen shortly after Steve’s arrival. Those players include current and former Davis Cup players and coach – and many other world-class tennis players.
Here are those messages:
Steve seemed genuinely suprised and Delighted – these were his words in an email to Chairman, Peter Ward afterwards:
Dear Peter
I was genuinely surprised & very humbled by the incredible 25th party celebration Sutton Tennis & Squash Club provided for me last Saturday. The feeling of emotion was still very much with me on Sunday afternoon when the words & tributes I was still calibrating. It was an incredible experience & I thank you very much for everything you did.
I am only too well aware that there was an incredible amount of hard work that went into the preparation of the event which has become clearer since Saturday & I want to thank both Karl & Laura for their hard work in creating a very special moment in my life. The fact that Gill & both Kieron & Jo, Alastair & Laura & Emelia we’re able to share that moment is something I will never forget.
Please on behalf of my family personally thank both Laura & Karl who did a brilliant job & worked so hard to pull this together. The tributes were ‘wow’. In fact I didn’t recognise me.
Please also thank Lucy for her catering & great news she is at the Club.
With Kind Regards Steve
PS - How did Chris keep it a secret 😂😂
Below you can see a couple of items of interest which show what an achievement it has been for Steve over the 25 years. The first is the ‘Roll of Honour’ showing all the winning teams since 1993, including STSC’s record-breaking 4 wins AND 7 times runner-up. The second is a video with some nice pictures, facts and stats.
There were speeches from Chairman Peter Ward, Wayne Black, former Club President Stuart Duthie, Steve Lewis, Tom Burn and of course the typically rousing speech from Steve himself.
In the words of Miles Maclagen in his video message, Steve is the man who doesn’t know what no means, something echoed by Wayne Black in his entertaining speech. Through his passion, enthusiasm and competitive spirit, Steve has managed to get all these great players to play for the club again and again – and not just to play for the club but to become part of the fabric of the club.
Here’s to another 25 years and a few more titles Steve!