Tennis truly is an all year round sport and the North East’s local schools competitions highlight this.
Since October 2012 there have been a large number of local cluster competitions being held across the region in the Tony Blair Sports Foundation (TBSF) Year 3 Tennis Challenge Cup. The event is one of the most prestigious Year 3 competitions in the whole country which saw 334 schools take part last year and saw Yarm Primary take the regional title.
In addition the Sainsbury’s School Games will be taking place. The School Games sees tennis continue for Year 4 pupils in Tees Valley, Northumberland and Tyne & Wear) and builds upon the tremendous success of the Tony Blair Sports Foundation competition. County Durham will see a Year 3 event along with disability competition for primary and secondary aged young people. Tyne & Wear will also be hosting a disability event alongside the Year 4 competition.
Incredibly both schools competitions are coming to a conclusion over the next 3 weeks and will see 9 County Finals and 1 Regional Final (TBSF) take place. The finals stretch from Northumberland to Tyne & Wear, Tees Valley and County Durham and will see 62 schools and around 500 young people competing to find the respective County and Regional Champions!
The information for each event can be found below,
Tony Blair Sports Foundation Year 3 Tennis Challenge Cup
County Durham Final
Sunderland Tennis Centre, SR3 1PD. Wednesday June 26th, 9.30am – 12.30pm
Tyne & Wear Final
Sunderland Tennis Centre, SR3 1PD. Thursday 27th June, 9.30am – 2.30pm
Tees Valley Final
Tennis World, Middlesbrough, TS4 3SA. Friday 28th June, 9.30am – 12.30pm
Northumberland Final
Churchill Community College, NE28 7TN. Tuesday 2nd July, 10am – 1pm
Two schools from each County Final above will qualify through to the TBSF Regional Final taking place as highlighted below.
The Grand Final
Sunderland Tennis Centre, SR3 1PD. Friday July 12th, 9.30am – 2.00pm.
Sainsbury’s School Games
Tees Valley Final (Year 4 Competition)
Laurence Jackson School, Guisborough, TS14 6RD. Thursday June 27th , 9.30am – 2pm
Northumberland Final (Year 4 Competition)
Wentworth Leisure Centre, Hexham, NE46 3PJ. Friday June 28th, 10.15am – 3pm
County Durham Final (Year 3 Competition and Primary and Secondary Disability Event)
Graham Sport Centre, Maiden Castle DH1 3SE. Friday July 5th, 10am – 2.15pm
Tyne & Wear Final (Year 4 Competition and Secondary School Disability Event)
Sunderland Tennis Centre, SR3 1PD. Tuesday July 9th, 9.15am – 2.30pm
The break taking schools competitions not only encourage primary aged pupils to pick up a tennis racket but also aim to engage and train young people to help support the events. This includes local clubs, coaches, School Game Organisers and other networks working with feeder Schools, Colleges and Universities to up skill young people to enable them to learn and develop skills invaluable to not only the competition but themselves. Furthermore the Aegon Schools programme aims to train teachers to encourage them to deliver even more tennis in their schools!
The great partnership between the Tony Blair Sports Foundation, Tennis Foundation, Lawn Tennis Association, Youth Sports Trust, Government and sponsors creates an all-round programme, which is ultimately growing the number of people involved in tennis.
Paul Williams, Schools Tennis Manager at the Tennis Foundation added: “The TBSF and School Games festivals provide a great opportunity for school pupils to pick up a racket, many for the first time, and supports British tennis’ mission of getting more people playing tennis, more often.
“With more than 16,300 schools supported through the Aegon Schools Tennis programme with free teacher training, resources and equipment and 50,000 primary and secondary school pupils playing in schools tennis competitions every year there’s never been a better time to get involved.”