Major boost for KZN tennis
Tennis development in Kwa-Zulu Natal received a major boost when the National Lotteries Distribution Trust Fund granted KZN Tennis a R1 million grant.
The funding is to be applied to a much needed junior high performance programme in the Province, for talent identification and for four “Play and Stay” Development Hubs throughout Kwa-Zulu Natal.
Two existing successful Development Hubs in Chatsworth and Phoenix/Tongaat will be transferred to KZN Tennis management and two new Hubs will be set up in the Kokstad area in East Griqualand and the Richmond/Eston area in the Midlands. The four Hubs will make up the development project which now be funded from the National Lottery grant.
Already the Chatsworth Hub has over 450 children as part of their “Play and Stay” programme which is the grass root International Tennis Federation start out programme for the game.
Children from all the hub based areas will be invited to participate in tennis activities at the four hubs which will have equipment provided to them from within the grant funding. The hubs will be an important feeder for the intermediate and high performance programmes of KZN Tennis.
Kwa-Zulu Natal over the years has produced top class junior players who have gone onto the world tennis stage and excelled. These include Kevin Curren, Johan Kriek, Ross Fairbanks, Greer Stevens, Gary Muller, Ellis Ferreira, Bev Mould, Kevin Ullyett, Robbie Koenig, Wesley Moodie and Natalie Grandin.
This national breeding ground of champions now will, with the National Lottery grant, be able to continue identifying talented juniors and aims to produce champions of the future through a specially set-up high performance programme catering for the top boy and girl juniors in the Province.
The High Performance Programme, which is aligned to the Department of Sport’s and SASCOC’s Long Term Athlete Development Programme, will be designed and managed by the professional coaches of KZN.
Gavin Crookes, President of KZN Tennis, expressed his excitement with the granting of these funds for tennis in the Province. “The funding comes as a welcome boost for both development and the high performance tennis in KZN.”
Crooks further expressed his gratitude to the National Lotteries Board for enabling the Provincial Federation to develop tennis in rural areas of the Province.
(File Photo: Gallo Images)
- ECR Sportswave