Schools Tennis Road Show comes to Bolton

The Road Show is organised by the Tennis Foundation and supported by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) as part of British tennis’ drive to boost participation by growing the game at all levels.

The Road Show, which took place at Bolton Arena, is part of the AEGON Schools Tennis Programme which offers a range of resources to help children and young people to get involved.

Paul Regan, Head of Education at the Tennis Foundation, commented:

“Enabling everybody to pick up a racket is a key priority for British Tennis. The Road Show shows PE teachers and staff working in the school sport infrastructure how tennis can be a great sport for children of all ages and abilities, and showcases the extensive resources we’ve developed with the support of the LTA in the past year. We hope it inspires more teachers to offer and deliver tennis, and encourages more kids to take up tennis.”

The annual events are aimed at informing and inspiring the school sport infrastructure to develop tennis within their area.  New resources for secondary school teachers were launched at this year’s Road Show. This follows the launch in 2009 of the primary schools programme.

The Road Show showcases the resources and support British Tennis has available to schools through a range of presentations and on court practical sessions. Places were free of charge and everyone that attended also received £25 free Schools Tennis equipment voucher, entry into a prize draw to win Wimbledon Tickets and AEGON Schools Tennis Equipment Packs, a copy of the new secondary school resources, and an out of School Hours Tennis toolkit.

Stafford’s Martyn Rock, Director of Specialism at Stafford Sports College added:

"These resources are the best I’ve seen in Schools Tennis for the 30 years I’ve been teaching and they provide the tools for all schools to take tennis to the next level. The Road Show was a brilliant mix of theory and practical, expertly delivered and it was clear that all other teachers enjoyed it and found it beneficial!”

Although research shows that 79% of schools (in England) already offer tennis, AEGON Schools Tennis is designed to tackle barriers that might restrict tennis’ availability at some schools. At primary level these can include worries over a lack of space, low teacher confidence and equipment shortage, whereas at secondary level teachers might be put off by a lack of courts or the perception that tennis is a difficult sport.

To address this, the secondary resources include specialist training and a DVD for teachers, including lesson plans for traditional and adapted “mini tennis” for secondary pupils which can help beginners progress rapidly. There are also cross-curricula resources that teachers can use to support learning in other subject areas.

At primary level, AEGON Schools Tennis shows how tennis can be taught in small areas to large, mixed ability groups, whether in the playground or the school hall, and includes an innovative coach-led DVD, meaning the pressure of demonstrating tennis skills is taken off the teacher.  Around 3000 primary schools have also received AEGON Schools Tennis equipment bags free of charge – including rackets, balls and a net – as part of the programme.