The last few weeks have been very busy for schools tennis competitions in Leicestershire with a number of tournaments taking place around the county. There has been a big drive to increase the range of schools competitions to provide more opportunities for young players.
The first event to take place was the Y7/8 Schools County Final which was held at Knighton Tennis Centre in Leicester on Monday 30th June. Four schools had qualified for the new event from Partnership Finals that have been played over recent weeks including Brookvale, Casterton, Judge Meadow and Sir Jonathan North / Lancaster School. The final proved to be incredibly close with a tie on the number of wins and the result eventually being decided on games countback with Brookvale eventually beating Sir Jonathan North / Lancaster School into second place.
The next event to take place was the Y3/4 School County Final which was also being held for the first time this year. Seven schools qualified for the event at Knighton TC on Monday 5th July including Launde, John Fisher, Granby, Badgerbrook, Wellsley, Brownlow and Thringston. After another very close battle Badgerbrook eventually emerged victorious beating Brownlow by just one point. The trophies were presented by John Chapman, Chairman of Tennis Leicestershire.
The Y3/4 and Y7/8 tennis tournaments are a new addition to the schools competition calender this year and were refereed by Richard Wilson from Tennis Leicestershire in partnership with Jenny Sugarman, the Competition Manager for tennis. Event organiser Paul Sheard commented "We were really pleased with the Y3/4 and Y7/8 schools finals. It was the first year we've run the new competitions and the response from the players, teachers and parents was really positive. Next year we will be looking to increase the number of school sports partnership taking part and I'm confident that the event will go from strength to strength".
There was also separate Boys and Girls School Doubles held at Knighton on the 29th and 30th June. Lancaster Scool claimed a title doubles in boys winning the 12&U and 16&U events, with Bushlow picking up the 14&U title. In the girls tournaments Leicester Grammar School won the 12&U title, Welland Park claimed the 14&U trophy and Loughborough High were victorious in the 16&U age group.
In addition, two schools from Leicestershire have qualified for the finals of the Abderdare and Glanville Cups and we would like to wish Robert Smythe and Loughborough Grammar School good luck in their respective finals.