Phil Gingell

Dear [[firstname]] [[lastname]]

Many of you will now be aware of the very sad passing of long standing member and friend, Phil Gingell, last Friday evening. Phil had been playing tennis as usual on Tuesday morning, but fell ill after coming off court. He received immediate attention from those at the club. In particular our thanks go to Michael Yates, Neil Johnson and Robert Goodwin who used the defibrillator and administered CPR before the paramedics arrived. They gave Phil the best chance before he was transferred to CMK Hospital. Sadly Phil died a few days later with his brother and sister at his bedside.

Phil was almost a fixture at the club and he will be missed by us all. His tennis style was unique, earning his fond nickname of “Spinny Phil”. Always available to chat, whether that be about tennis, his house renovations or frequent travels to the far east. Our thoughts and condolences are with his family, friends and loved ones at this very sad time. He went too soon.

There are a few wake up calls associated with this very sad event. It took members and the police nearly 48 hours to track down Phil’s family. On every membership profile in the booking system is a field for emergency contacts, visible to yourselves and the club administrators only. Please could all members urgently complete this field. On inspection, for three quarters of adults the field is blank, and only one in ten over sixty have an emergency contact listed. When logged into the booking system, go to the Members Directory and there is a link to update your contact details. Scroll down to Emergency contacts and when filled in, remember to click the Submit button. If you prefer, please email admin@ssltc.co.uk with your nominated name and contact phone.

It was fortunate that Robert Goodwin was at the club and had been trained in CPR just a few weeks ago. But he was the only one trained and able to work on Phil in that critical time before the paramedics arrived on Tuesday morning, it being before the coaches’ normal start time. The more members that are CPR trained the better the chance that someone with the right skills is onsite next time. To this end, the club is planning to arrange CPR training for club members. More details to follow, but we urge as many as possible to take up the training.

Rest in peace, Spinny Phil.

23/07/2026