British tennis is today announcing an exciting digital competition, aimed at young people, that gives them an opportunity to talk about, and celebrate, the tennis they play in their school.
Primary, special, and secondary schools are being invited to create a short video showcasing ways in which their pupils are taking part in tennis, not just by playing but in other ways across the curriculum that engages the whole school community. Ten lucky schools will win a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play tennis under Big Ben at the Houses of Parliament in London with some of the stars of British tennis.
The judging panel, which will be made up of representatives from British tennis, as well as Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson and the British Tennis Youth Group, are looking for submissions that demonstrate innovative ways of delivering tennis and the promotion of a healthy and active lifestyle through tennis with a focus on enjoyment and respect between pupils.
Rt Hon David Cameron MP, Prime Minister, said: "I am delighted to be able to support the LTA and Tennis Foundation's new schools competition that celebrates the important role sport plays in the lives of children and young people. The 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and Andy Murray's tremendous victory at Wimbledon last summer were historic moments in this country's sporting life. Initiatives such as this schools' competition will hopefully build on the legacy they have helped create, encouraging and inspiring even more children and young people to grab a racket and give tennis a go."
Mr Speaker of the House of Commons, Rt Hon John Bercow MP, said: "I am delighted to be able to host the winners of this competition on the Westminster Estate this summer. I am passionate about the importance of children and young people being active from an early age, and sport has a key role to play in this. British tennis is making a significant contribution to sport provision across the education sector, with its tennis programme now in over half the schools in the UK. This competition provides an exciting opportunity to celebrate tennis in our schools, as we look forward to another exciting summer for British tennis."
Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, Tennis Foundation Trustee, said: "Tennis is great for keeping children active, it's totally accessible and you can play it anywhere. That's why I'm delighted to be involved in this special competition from British tennis and I encourage pupils, teachers and parents to get involved and make a video."
Edward Timpson, Minister responsible for school sport, said: "We know just how important it is to engender a love of sport in children from an early age, which they can then carry with them throughout their lives. Competitions like this can contribute to that. It's also why this government is giving £150m per year to primary schools to spend on improving sport and PE, and trusting head teachers to spend it on what they think will benefit their pupils most. That could include hiring specialist tennis coaches or organising tennis competitions between schools – and may even help us to unearth another future British Grand Slam winner."
Alison Oliver, Managing Director at the Youth Sport Trust, said: "We are very pleased to be supporting the Tennis Foundation on this hugely exciting competition. It is a fantastic opportunity for schools to celebrate their pupils participation and achievement in tennis in a fun and engaging way. This competition adds to the great work that we are doing with the Tennis Foundation across the Sainsbury's School Games programme, which is providing thousands of young people across the country with opportunities to take part in competitive tennis activities."
Michael Downey, Chief Executive of the LTA said: "I'm delighted that we're working with the Tennis Foundation on this exciting competition that not only promotes tennis in our primary, special, and secondary schools, but also celebrates our great sport. The work British tennis undertakes across education is integral to the long term growth of our sport, and we will continue to work with all our partners to ensure as many young people as possible have the chance to play and enjoy tennis in our school system."
Geoff Newton, Executive Director of the Tennis Foundation, said: "We're thrilled to be launching this competition to build on British tennis' existing schools programme which has reached more than half the schools across Great Britain. This is an exciting opportunity for schools to showcase the innovative ways in which they use sport to engage their pupils and we're really looking forward to see what tennis means to pupils up and down the country."
One overall winning school will also be invited to attend a schools tennis experience day at the National Tennis Centre.
The competition builds on British tennis' Schools Tennis programme, which is delivered by the Tennis Foundation in partnership with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA).
The programme aims to increase and improve tennis participation in schools, remove barriers by training teachers to deliver a fun, quality tennis experience in confined spaces, and create links to enable young people to continue playing in the community.
Since April 2009, the Schools Tennis Programme has supported over 17,000 schools with free teacher training, resources and equipment.
The competition is now open for entries and will close at 5pm on Friday 4th April 2014.
HOW TO ENTER
The Judging Panel are looking for entries that demonstrate what tennis means to the school and how the school uses tennis as a means to:
(a) be innovative in delivering PE and school sport;
(b) promote healthy and active lifestyles across the whole school community (including pupils, school staff and parents);
(c) maximise pupil progress both 'on and off the court'; and
(d) encourage the LTA's Fair Play values of Enjoy.Respect.
It's really simple to enter – just follow these three steps:
• Step 1: Speak to teachers, pupils and parents at your school and get everyone excited and thinking up ideas to include in your video.
• Step 2: Get making your film and make sure you include some footage of tennis activity on and off court.
• Step 3: Submit your video to British tennis via the simple file sharing website www.WeTransfer.com with schools@tennisfoundation.org.uk as the recipient email address. All entries should include a contact name, contact number, full school name and postal address.
For more information please download the competition's full Terms & Conditions here.
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