Foundation gets Wimbledon fever!

With Wimbledon in full swing this week, participants on Tottenham Hotspur Foundation programmes have been getting involved in a number of tennis-related activities.

Four Tottenham Hotspur Foundation tennis players from Queen Elizabeth’s School in Barnet and Park View School in Haringey competed at the first Premier League 4 Sport national tennis competition.

The tournament, held at the prestigious National Tennis Centre in Roehampton, saw 12 teams made up from school children engaged in the Premier League 4 Sport tennis programme come head-to-head to mark the end of a successful first year of the project.

Tennis was one of four sports that joined Premier League 4 Sport in 2013 and aims to bridge the gap between young people and local tennis clubs in their community. Tottenham Hotspur Foundation is one of 15 Premier League Football clubs delivering tennis sessions to the local community.

Seeing off fierce competition from a number of other Premier League Clubs, in both doubles and singles games, 14-year-olds Mehrdad and Louis earned themselves a respectable sixth place, whilst the girls, 15-year-olds Jessica and Shriya, finished a comfortable seventh.

To reward all players for their efforts and sportsmanship throughout the morning’s tournament, the teams were invited to pose for photos with the Premier League trophy before spending the afternoon at Wimbledon to gain some tips and insight from the professionals at the All-England Championships.

Tottenham Hotspur Foundation has delivered over 70 tennis sessions to schools across the boroughs of Haringey, Enfield, Waltham Forest and Barnet since the launch of the project.

Earlier this week, over 60 primary school pupils showed their dedication to the sport when they took to the courts to showcase their tennis skills in Tottenham Hotspur Foundation’s tennis festival, delivered in partnership with StubHub.

The Key Stage One pupils from schools in Enfield took part in a series of tennis-related activities at Southgate Weld Tennis Club, helping to develop techniques and increase fundamental sports skills. Festival stations included traditional tennis games, jumping, skipping and hopping, throwing, catching and bouncing to develop children’s motor skills and confidence in sporting activities.

Grant Cornwell, Chief Executive Officer, Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, said: “At Tottenham Hotspur Foundation we work closely with local schools across our four boroughs to help increase opportunities for long term participation and pathways in sport and physical activities, using sport, including tennis, as a vehicle to help create a lifelong enjoyment of sport for children, groups and individuals within our communities.

“Both the Premier League 4 Sport and our programmes offer a fantastic opportunity for young people to access high quality tennis coaching in an innovative and fun way and we look forward to working with a lot more schools over the next year.”

If you or your school are interested in getting involved in our sports programmes please contact foundation@tottenhamhotspur.com for more information.