History

The twinning partnership between Droitwich Lawn Tennis Club and Arzbach SV Tennis Club continues to grow strongly. The partnership between the two tennis clubs was born out of the town twinning some 19 years ago and since then many excellent friendships have developed across the channel.

Over the years there have been many different organizers of the tennis twinning, currently Jenny Neithöfer is in post for Germany and Geoff Hedges for England. Both have been involved in the twinning from an early age and hope to ensure the twinning continues to grow by recruiting new families.

The yearly friendship tennis tournament which originally was the centre of attention of the weekend is now accompanied by visits to culturally interesting places and outings into the very local and beautiful countryside. With each visit there are plenty of opportunities to learn and understand the differences in everyday life for each country.

Each year the hosting club endeavors to find an exciting adventure for the group to enjoy on the penultimate day of the weekend. In Arzbach this often involves heading out on foot into the wonderful and beautiful forested valleys that surround the area, usually with a few surprises along the way! These have included; target shooting with air rifles, pulling an antique hand cart (full of beer), a spectacular giant geyser and some exciting fair rides!!

Back in England In recent years we have walked from tip to tip of the Malverns, waded through the Cotswolds in a spectacular thunderstorm, steamed up the Severn Valley, climbed the steep slopes of Symonds Yat and last but not least held an archery and golf competition (oh, and a small football penalty shoot-out). These adventures provide a great opportunity for the whole group to get together, enjoy some laughs and set a challenge for the following year’s surprise adventure!

Over recent years there has been an increasing interest from the younger members of the Arzbach club, which gives us hope that the partnership between the two clubs will continue to exist for many years to come. We hope that over the next few years Droitwich will also be able to increase the amount of younger members and new families that are involved in the twinning weekend.