A record 346 teams are set to take part in 2012/13 AEGON Team Tennis Schools Senior competition across the country, the highest number of entries since its inception in 2001/02.
Entry is up 33% on last year and will see around 1,500 students aged 16-19 playing in a competitive league for their school or college’s Boys, Girls and/or Mixed team this autumn.
There has been an increase in numbers across boys’ and girls’ as well as mixed teams following the success of Andy Murray and Laura Robson at the London 2012 Olympics where they won the Mixed Doubles Silver Medal.
Oliver Scadgell, Head of Competition & Programmes commented: "The Competitions Team have worked closely with the Tennis Foundation to deliver a high quality experience for all secondary schools and further education colleges in recent years. Combined with the impact of London 2012 and in particular Andy and Laura’s Olympic silver medal, we are delighted to have seen entries for the Senior Students 2012-13 competition reach record levels and now look forward to seeing all the teams competing in their league matches through October and November."
The AEGON Team Tennis Schools Senior Students competition is free to enter for all schools and colleges and aims to encourage lower rated players to play competitive tennis and provide teams with the opportunity of reaching a national final. Players must have a rating no better than 7.1 and must be in Years 11-13.
The entry period runs from June - September with local league matches being played October through to December. Winners of the local leagues progress through to the knockout rounds from January, with the National Final taking place in March.
Bolton Arena played host to this year’s finals in March, where three days of excellent competition resulted in victories for Wilmslow High School Girls, Hills Road Sixth Form College Boys and Ellesmere College Mixed who were each crowned champions at the AEGON Team Tennis Schools Senior Students Finals 2012.