On the 18th November 2011 at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton the third annual young competition organiser camp began. 15 of the top ‘under 25’ competition organisers from all over the UK assembled at this special event. George Marlow and Matt Tew were Warwickshire’s two representatives.
We all arrived on the Friday night, and we had a detailed tour of the tennis centre. This was fascinating and most of us could relate to it, as we were tennis players ourselves. That evening involved team building activities, involving closed eyes, open legs, imaginary map of the UK and a compass. We then met in our groups and got to know each other some more. We decided on team names and by end of the night had “Southern Seagulls”, “Pink Seagulls” and “Advantage”.
Saturday consisted of teambuilding activities to help develop our ability working in teams. This was a very different experience for all of us, and great fun. There were many activities such as scavenger hunting, and acting like sheep which George did especially well….or not! For the rest of Saturday and Sunday morning, other activities included competition refereeing situation role plays, a mini red tournament (which the Pink Seagulls won) & personal development planning. We also had a professional line umpire talk to us about his experiences on court, and details about how to get involved in similar ways.
The overall winning team were the ‘Pink Seagulls’, and by no surprise, George and Matt were in this team, and were a solid backing in the quizzes, great scavenging ability and superb tennis talent.
We even got time for a few sneaky late night matches during the weekend.
It was a great weekend that was entertaining, interesting and well worth the trip.
We definitely would recommend it other young competition organisers out there!
View the blog and video from the camp on the LTA website!
By George Marlow and Matt Tew