Since the tremendous success of the London 2012 Games, the desire to continue the legacy in the North East will be truly evident at the ‘Inclusive Tennis Challenge Cup’ event taking place on Friday 17th May. The inaugural event will take place from 10am-2pm at Tennis World, Middlesbrough.
The event will see 50 young people aged 11-18 from across the Tees Valley area take part in a range of tennis games and activities as part of the Sainsbury’s School Games. The School Games was created to encourage young people to play more competitive sport in school as part of plans to leave a lasting legacy from the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.
To have such an inspiring day for young people across the area will hopefully build upon the great work that has already seen Durham & Cleveland host a Schools Hearing Impaired competition along with an International Wheelchair event that have been running over the last 20 years plus. The ultimate goal is to encourage young players to gain an enjoyment of tennis and a taste of the game itself and the aim following the event is to encourage the young people into local places to play and programmes to continue enjoying the sport!
There has been a big push to set up and promote tennis programmes since the Tennis Foundation launched the ‘Disabled Tennis Strategy’ in 2012 and there are currently sessions and opportunities running at Sunderland Tennis Centre, Northumberland Club and Tennis World itself. These places along with all local Places to Play can be found at the LTA’s ‘find a court’ page.
Paul Williams, Schools Tennis Manager at the Tennis Foundation highlighted,
“A key priority for British Tennis is to grow the base of the game and that means more young people, playing more often. Good luck to all the participants at the School Games event this year and we look forward to seeing some of them take up the game following this inaugural competition in Tees Valley.”
For more information on the Tennis Foundation’s support for primary, special and secondary schools please visit schools tennis.
Please contact Jo Cunliffe on 0795 8233 715 or email Jo.Cunliffe@LTA.org.uk for further information about the event.