The LTA, in partnership with GB Tennis Girls (GBTG) and the Wimbledon Junior Tennis Initiative (WJTI) saw participation once again increase in the events 3rd year.
All Competitors and Volunteers
The introduction of the fun, local and competitive league in 2015 is aiming to tackle the gender split between those competing against their male counterparts, whilst sharing the lifelong skills tennis can bring.
The events continue to grow and 2017 saw 14 teams with 30 players in the 8 & Under events. Organisers were delighted to introduce the 9 & Under events this year, with a further 15 teams and 31 players competing. In addition to the competition, workshops took place at Tennis World Middlesbrough and the Northumberland Club, where presenters and parents / grandparents / guardians shared the life skills tennis can bring such as social, wellbeing and feel good factors. For example, making friends, working with a team, commitment and improving your personal bests rather than focusing on winning!
Two venues hosted the leagues between January and April and were run by Claire Smith and Alison Cartmell respectively. The Tees Valley events were held at Durham University Queens Campus Sports Centre, Stockton, along with Tennis World, Middlesbrough, where Claire welcomed 27 players representing Longfield, Northallerton, Saltburn, Tennis World, and Yarm Tennis Clubs. There were then 15 Mini Orange players representing David Lloyd Teesside, Hutton Rudby, Tennis World and Yarm Tennis Clubs.
This was replicated at David Lloyd Newcastle and the Northumberland Club, where further teams competed in their respective league. This included 18 players from 8 Mini Red teams, where Collingwood, Bohemians, Blaydon, Cramlington, David Lloyd and Ponteland were represented. The Mini Orange welcome 16 players from Cramlington, Forest Hall, David Lloyd, Bohemians, Northumberland Club and Northumberland Tennis Academy.
The events welcomed players, volunteer umpires and referees, with the hopes of encouraging younger girls to keep playing through positive role models.
This is a key intervention to encourage girls to enjoy being around friends in a fun and relaxed environment and referee Claire Smith was delighted with her respective events in Teesside;
‘It was brilliant to introduce the 9 & Under event this year along with the Mini Red. Importantly the players really enjoyed the experience! It’s so rewarding to hear they want to play more and have made new friends along the journey!”
The conclusion of the 2017 league saw 6 Mini Red teams compete in the Mini Red and a further 4 in the Mini Orange at the Regional Final, which took place at Sunderland Tennis Centre on Sunday April 2nd.
Mini Red Teams qualified into the final from Tees Valley and Newcastle respectively, and included two teams from Blaydon, Collingwood, Northallerton, Ponteland and Yarm. The Mini Orange saw Cramlington, David Lloyd Teesside, Forest Hall and Tennis World compete against each other.
The Final was absolutely fantastic and you could see how much the girls had improved over the months by fully committing to their tennis including practicing and competing regularly.
Mini Red and Mini Orange Team Winners Photo: Collingwood Mini Red Team (Amelie Tones and Faye Brannen) and Cramlington Mini Orange Team (Ava Doyle and Laila Wallace)
Parents, grandparents and super fans watched a total of 12 Mini Red and 10 Mini Orange matches across the 3 hour final! The girls played with smiles, fast feet and great sportsmanship, which helped provide everyone with entertaining tennis. Once all the matches had been concluded the final scores were totalled and the final positions are highlighted below,
Mini Red
- Collingwood (North Tyneside)
- Yarm (Stockton)
- Blaydon 2 (Gateshead)
- Ponteland (Northumberland)
- Northallerton (North Yorkshire)
- Blaydon 1 (Gateshead)
Mini Orange
- Cramlington (Northumberland)
- Forest Hall (North Tyneside)
- Bohemians (Newcastle)
4 = David Lloyd Teesside (Stockton)
4 = Tennis World (Middlesbrough)
All the girls were eager to keep learning and enjoying their tennis with the upcoming summer season. Jo Cunliffe (Regional Tennis Participation Manager) was delighted with this year’s event;
“To see the girls enjoying competing and making friends along the way is one of the most rewarding things to witness. The social side of tennis is one of the most important reasons that keeps people playing the game, and we hope the GB Tennis Girls Mini League, with the support of the Wimbledon Junior Tennis Initiative sees them enjoying the sport for the rest of their lives!”