Schools from Hounslow, Bromley and Hackney took home the spoils at the Balfour Beatty London Youth Games Mini Tennis finals at Westway Sports Centre in Kensington on Thursday 14 July.
The event was a culmination of a capital-wide competition which gives a unique regional competition opportunity to over 2,000 year three and four Londoners, involving 300 London schools.
Thursday’s final featured the top two teams from five separate qualifying rounds which have taken place in recent weeks throughout London. The event is delivered through a unique partnership between the Balfour Beatty London Youth Games and the Tennis Foundation.
St Mary’s Primary, who represented the London borough of Hounslow took the overall title after a tight final against Pickhurst Junior of Bromley which finished 2-2, but went to the West London borough on countback.
Hackney won bronze after Betty Layward Primary beat Bancroft’s of Redbridge on countback after their 3rd/4thplace play off had also tied at 2-2.
Hounslow Team Manager Angela Bell said: “I’m hugely proud, first time we made it through to the London Youth Games finals. We only started playing tennis in local schools about two years ago.
“Last year we did well, but it’s the first time we made it through, I think the kids have played so incredibly hard, and I think they have improved so much today against really fierce competition, so to go home with the main prize is just a delight.
“You could see them sweating, going for very point. They are absolutely thrilled and you know what, they will want to pick up a tennis racket, and go out and play again and that is really what it is about.
“I think it is going to really raise the profile of tennis in our school, I’m sure there will be more kids from the school who will now be trying really hard to make it into the team next year.”
Bromley’s Team Manager Jude Williams - who is also a Teacher’s Assistant at Pickhurst - said: “It’s a real achievement. The PE teacher at Pickhurst is really into tennis. The girls play once a week and the boys play two or three times a week.
“They are also members of clubs too. One of the team went to Wimbledon and watched the junior final and was quite inspired by that. Tennis is really the boys’ thing. The girls play other sports, but they boys are totally devoted to tennis.”
Hackney Team Manager Jan Coombes said: “I am very pleased. At the start of the season, they were way off this level. At the preliminaries, regional, they lost to the team we have beaten today in the third/fourth place play off. They have come on in leaps and bounds in the last few weeks. There is a lot of potential in Hackney.
”I think this competition is a great thing. At one time, school sport had died a death. Sport and competition was a dirty word. As a secondary teacher when kids came through to me, it was too late. These are the type of competitions that inspire them. If you don’t inspire them at this age, it’s a waste of time trying when they are 12 or 13. It is so, so important.”
The Balfour Beatty London Youth Games is Europe’s largest annual youth sports event and was first launched in 1977. Funded by Sport England National Lottery, with over 64,000 participants aged 7-18 from 33 London borough teams taking part in 60 competitions across 30 sports covering 26 event days.
Former participants at the London Youth Games including Olympic 400m champion Christine Ohuruogu, Paralympic wheelchair racing champion David Weir and England and Man Utd footballer Rio Ferdinand.
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