THE ORGANISER of a Christmas junior tennis tournament in Paphos is inviting entrants to take part from across Cyprus, and an ex-Wimbledon umpire is to help her umpire it.
Jenny Avis of Topspin Tennis Coaching in Paphos has organised the competition, which will take place on December 6 at the Venus Beach Hotel in Paphos.
Avis re-located to Paphos in September 2007 and has previously coached tennis in the UK after playing at a national level in the 1970s and 1980s.
“It’s my dream to set up a tennis academy in Paphos, based on the UK model and next year I hope to be actively looking for backers and sponsors,” she said.
At present there is no tennis club in Paphos, and Avis believes there’s a lot of talent, which needs nurturing.
“It’s not about churning out robots like some academies do,” she said, “although I’m sure there are a few world class players of the future training on the island now. But some of these kids are under so much pressure, and are playing up to 28 hours of tennis a week.”
Avis believes tennis is a social game and should be enjoyable.
“I’m trying to bring tennis to everyone,” she said, “especially the children, but it has to be enjoyable for them.”
Currently Avis has about 20 students mostly English, Russian, Ukrainian and Cypriot.
“I will be umpiring the Christmas tournament along with Maggie Wright, who is also a resident of Paphos, and she has umpired a ladies’ final at Wimbledon,” she added.
There will be a qualifying round, which will place the children in the relevant groups before the tournament commences at 10.30am.
Three groups will take part, and boys and girls will play together, using a round robin method, rather than a knock out style. The participants will be grouped together by experience of the game and not by age. Each group will be no larger than eight.
The minimum age for entrants is seven years, and the maximum is 13 years.
There are criteria set for each of the groups. The first must have a basic understanding of the rules of tennis, be able to rally, and grasp the point scoring system. They must be able to serve either over-arm or underarm, but not necessarily from the baseline.
Group two is the intermediate level, and entrants must be able to play points, games, sets and matches un-supervised, and again understand scoring, although all the games are umpired. They must also be able to complete an over-arm serve from the baseline.
Group three is the advanced level, and players will be experienced, or perhaps have played in previous tournaments.
Each group winner will receive Wilson rackets and equipment as well as trophies, which will also be presented to the runners up.
An entrance fee of €10 per child will be charged.
For further information contact: TOPSPIN TENNIS COACHING
Telephone: 00357 26652939 Mobile: 00357 97681998
E-mail:[email protected] www.topspintenniscoaching.com
