The ANZ Tennis Hot Shots Racquet Roadshow has continued in the capital, with a further 52 racquets given out at Giralang Primary School and 24 at Brindabella Christian College Charnwood Campus.
Four local schools were involved with the six-week National roadshow, 198 free Tennis Hot Shots racquets given to ACT kinder kids in under 48-hours.
Since January 2015, Tennis Australia’s School Partnership Program has supported the initiative with the total number of racquets distributed in the ACT now 686, thanks to ANZ.
Australian tennis hero, Todd Woodbridge stunned students again on day 2, sharing his rise to fame and showcasing his trophies, including his treasured silver and gold Olympic medals.
Principal of Giralang Primary School, Belinda Love, said the students love tennis and are highly engaged in the sport.
“Having Todd here today is really making it real for the kids,” she said. “It’s teaching them vital skills at a grass roots level and a key message that anything is possible”.
“We do tennis from Kindergarten right through to year six. In terms 1 and 2, each class participate once per week for 45 minutes, plus we do a number of clinics with our local tennis coaches”.
Love continued “Tennis is the best healthy activity you can get. We have our local tennis coaches come in, build teacher capacity and essential skills and it has fostered that love of getting out, being active and encouraging a healthy lifestyle”.
Before he turned pro, Woodbridge spent five years as a tennis junior player living in Canberra with an AIS scholarship, attending Lyneham High and Lake Ginnenderra College.
When asked by a Giralang Primary School student if he attributed all of his success to his time in Canberra, Woodbridge said yes, absolutely.
“Canberra is really important to me,” he said. “Without moving to Canberra I don’t think I would have been able to achieve what I did”.
Tennis Australia’s School Partnership Program aims to give children the opportunity to pick up a racquet and play tennis as part of their health and physical education.
As a Tennis Australia partner school, schools receive an equipment pack, a comprehensive teaching resource with lesson plans mapped to the Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education developed for all student levels, professional learning opportunities and opportunity to apply for line marking and on court funding assistance.
Giralang Primary School Sports Coordinator, Keiren Blackwell encouraged all schools to get more involved.
“We’ve had two grants approved this year, and received 60 racquets and pop up Hot Shots nets,” he said. “Every teacher in the school is on board, and any of them are now able to pick up the resource and go through a tennis lesson at any time”.
Nationwide more than 213,883 children played ANZ Tennis Hot Shots in 2015/16, making it one of Australia’s most popular sport participation programs.
Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley firmly believes sports like tennis are vital to children’s health and wellbeing at a young age.
“Sport has, and continues to play, a very significant role in the lives of all Australian families and communities,” Tiley said.
“Schools provide great opportunities for children to participate in sports, which in turn develops the physical, social and emotional skills which are critical to a child’s development.
“At Tennis Australia, we are very proud to support Australian schools and teachers in the delivery of sustainable health and physical education programs. Tennis values the importance of health and physical education, and the role which sports play in providing opportunities for children to be active.”
ANZ Head of Marketing Australia Carolyn Bendall added: “ANZ is committed to supporting the growth of tennis at all levels – from our association with ANZ Tennis Hot Shots through to our sponsorship of the Australian Open. It is great to see how this is playing out in local communities.”
Read more about Woodbridge’s first two school visits in Canberra at Charles Conder Primary and Kingsford Smith School on Monday 5 June 2017. You can also check out our Facebook album including images from all four school visits.
For more information on how you can become a Tennis Partner School please visit http://www.tennis.com.au/schools.
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