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Yarm Primary School Lift Tennis Challenge Cup

Friday, Jul 06, 2012 in Sports Foundation

With the nation gripped with tennis fever and closely following the action at Wimbledon, the heat was also on in the North East at the Grand Final of the 2012 Tony Blair Sports Foundation Tennis Challenge Cup.

Friday 6 July saw the eight best teams of Year 3 pupils from across the region take part in the competition’s Grand Final which was held at Sunderland Tennis Centre and was attended by the Mayor and Mayoress of Sunderland, Cllr Pat Smith and Baroness Hilary Armstrong. For the first time, the event also included a competition for visually impaired tennis players and one for students who had gained Tennis Competition Organiser and Tennis Leader qualifications through The Tony Blair Sports Foundation.

The competition showcased some impressive performances from the 64 pupils who had qualified to reach this final stage, and all of the young competitors enthusiastically rose to the challenge of playing for the chance to lift the winner’s trophy. The 2012 Tony Blair Sports Foundation Tennis Challenge Cup has seen 334 North East schools enter the competition, with over 2,600 children competing throughout the initial cluster stages of the event, through to the County Finals and then the Grand Final. The Foundation has been equally delighted to have qualified 275 new Tennis Competition Organisers and 237 new Tennis Leaders between April 2011 and July 2012 to help support the running of this competition. The Competition Organisers and Leaders who helped to run the Grand Final performed as impressively as the Year 3 pupils and were a credit to their schools.

After the competitors had completed their matches and had taken part in some testing skills challenges using Tennis Factory equipment, the final scores were calculated. Yarm Primary School were announced as the 2012 winners, with last year’s winners Darras Hall First School taking the runner up spot. Speaking after the prize giving Tracey Hillerby, PE Teacher at Yarm Primary School explained that her pupils had been working hard on their tennis skills in school and that some pupils also took part in tennis at local clubs. She said:

“Winning the Tony Blair Sports Foundation Tennis Challenge Cup is a massive achievement. The pupils are a pleasure to work with and we also receive fantastic parent support too.”

Jeanette Pickard, Chief Executive of The Tony Blair Sports Foundation also commented on the success of the competition:

“I would like to congratulate all of the finalists at this year’s Tennis Challenge Cup, and especially the winners Yarm Primary School. This competition is all about giving these pupils the chance to take part in tennis and to have fun so I am thrilled that so many have been involved this year. The Tennis Competition Organisers and Tennis Leaders who have qualified through the Foundation have also been fantastic throughout the competition – without these volunteers the competition simply would not take place so I would like to thank them for their hard work.”

The Tony Blair Sports Foundation would like to thank everyone who has been involved in this year’s Tony Blair Sports Foundation Tennis Challenge Cup, especially the LTA, the Tennis Foundation, Factory Eleven and all volunteers, schools, coaches, teachers, parents and pupils.

The final results of the Year 3 Tony Blair Sports Foundation Tennis Challenge Cup:

1st Yarm Primary School, Yarm – 127 points

2nd Darras Hall First School, Ponteland – 122 points

3rd Ingleby Mill Primary School, Stockton – 121 points

4th St Peter and Paul’s Catholic School, Cramlington – 111 points

5th Rickleton Primary School, Sunderland – 87 points

6th St Margaret’s Primary School, Durham – 60 points

7th Priory Primary School, Tynemouth – 58 points

8th St Patrick’s RC Primary School, Consett – 52 points

The final results of the visually impaired competition:

1^st John Hawkins

2^nd Wendy Glasper