Scores of children have competed in a tennis tournament at Burnham-On-Sea’s Avenue Tennis Club this week.
48 children from St Josephs, St Andrews, Berrow Primary and Kingsmoor Years 3 and 4 took part in 12 teams of four players.
Head Coach at the Avenue, Tim Seymour, says: “It was great to see so many children from local schools competing in the tournament.”
“For many of the children it was their first experience of tennis competition and playing at a tennis venue.”
“The atmosphere during the event was fantastic and the enthusiasm of the children was infectious.”
“I would like to thank the staff and pupils of the schools for making it such a successful event.”
“I would also like to thank all the club members from the Avenue who came down to assist, helping the children with the scoring and overseeing the matches.”
A total of 124 matches were played during the tournament with St Joseph’s Team 1 overcoming St Joseph’s Team 2 in a very tight final match.
This event took place a week after the Avenue Tennis Club was awarded a grant of £2,400 from Sedgemoor District Council to help fund the delivery of tennis within local schools and to develop tennis programmes for those players with disabilities in the local area.
The Avenue’s Coaching Team, headed by Tim Seymour and Paula Stitch. commented that during the Covid pandemic the activity level of children and those with disabilities declined quite considerably and has had a significant effect on the physical literacy, fitness, and mental wellbeing of these groups.
“This funding will help us redress some of that balance and we very much look forwards to working with the local schools and organisations in the coming months and years.”
If you are interested in playing tennis, details of the opportunities available at the Avenue Tennis Club can be found on their website www.avenuetennis.com. Coaching at the Club is run by Tennis Extreme headed up by Tim Seymour and Paula Stitch and details of all the coaching opportunities they offer can be found at www.tennis-extreme.com.
