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Genius idea opens up world of tennis

IN years to come, the growth of tennis in Geelong may well be attributed to an initiative that was launched a little over 12 months ago by the sport’s governing body in the region.

Having won $1000 at a community awards night, Tennis Geelong debated how best it could spend its loot before settling on investing in the future of the game.

The committee decided it would give free racquets to juniors taking up a term of coaching or competition tennis, saving parents and children hundreds of dollars before they had even started.

Since then Tennis Geelong has handed out more than 200 racquets to new players as part of its initiative to grow the sport in the region, and secretary Trevor Colbert said the decision was a nobrainer.

“We deliver that out to the clubs, and Rebel Sport looks after us with some really good pricing due to the volume we buy from them,” Colbert said.

“We try to get racquets that match the kids’ age and size, and the clubs have a really good handle on that.

“Last year we ran it and handed out 99 racquets to 16 different clubs across Geelong and Bellarine Peninsula, and this year we have handed out 137 so far.”

Colbert said the real effect of the initiative would not be known for some time, but anecdotally player numbers were up across Geelong.

“There has been an increase in our junior numbers and the earlier you get kids into tennis, the percentages are good that they will continue,” he said.

“Racquets give them the opportunity to get into the sport at minimal cost because it is a bit like any sport, it is not cheap.

“So this is a small way to help parents and kids get into tennis … see how they enjoy it. It will probably take two or three years to see if our numbers hold but they have certainly been increasing over the last two years with these racquets going out.”

Tennis Geelong has also continued its Junior Orange Ball competition, which will run early next year.

Orange Ball is a version of the sport that uses a compressed ball to allow children to practise playing regular shots without having to allow for the bounce of a regular tennis ball.