Smashing tennis from Vale youngsters
Young tennis
aces from primary schools in the Vale of Glamorgan have warmed up
for Wimbledon by showing off their skills in a countywide
competition.
Held at three local tennis clubs, the championships were
organised by the Vale Council’s Dragon Sport team in conjunction
with Tennis Wales and coaches from the local clubs.
Teams from nine different schools took part, meaning that over
150 children served and volleyed their way through matches in three
different age groups.
In the competition for the youngest pupils from year three,
Evenlode School in Penarth took a clean sweep by winning the boys,
girls and mixed titles. The year five tournament saw victories for
St Andrew’s Major in the boys and girls events, while Sully won the
mixed title. A further mixed title was also won by Sully in the
year six age group, while St Andrew’s Major were the girls
champions and Llansannor took top spot in the boys event.
All of the winners now go through to the next round of the
national primary schools tennis competition, sponsored by
‘Aegon’.
Impressed by
the standard of play and enthusiasm shown by the young Vale
players, the Vale Council’s Active Young People Co-ordinator Ben
Williams said: “It was fantastic to see so many young people
enjoying tennis. The standard of play was very high and it was a
thoroughly enjoyable championship for all involved. I’d like to
thank the three local tennis clubs who hosted events – Windsor LTC,
Penarth LTC and Dinas Powys LTC – as the competition couldn’t have
happened without the hard work of the clubs’ professional coaches
and their commitment to providing a high quality experience for the
boys and girls.”
All of the children who played were also given a voucher
entitling them to a free Saturday morning at their local tennis
club to try and encourage as many youngsters as possible to play
the sport regularly.
The Dragon Sport is a Sport Wales initiative, run locally by the
Vale Council, which aims to get primary school pupils active from a
young age by encouraging greater numbers of seven to 11-year-olds
to take part in extra-curricular sport. You can find out more by
visiting our Dragon
Sport pages.