Serving up big dreams
Coach Keiryn Lenoy has seen enormous growth in her Big Serve Indigenous Tennis Program squad over the past six months and believes the sky is the limit going forward. The program, facilitated by Cairns Regional Council and developed in partnership with Tennis Queensland, Tennis NT and Deadly Tennis, will send 26 local players to participate in the inaugural National Indigenous Tennis Carnival to be held in Darwin across September 6-9.
COACH Keiryn Lenoy has seen enormous growth in her Big Serve Indigenous Tennis Program squad over the past six months and believes the sky is the limit going forward.
The program, a national pilot facilitated by Cairns Regional Council and developed in partnership with Tennis Queensland, Tennis NT and Deadly Tennis, will send 26 players to participate in the inaugural National Indigenous Tennis Carnival to be held in Darwin across September 6-9.
“It has taken about six months of work to get these indigenous programs running up in Cairns,” Lenoy said.
“It is pretty amazing for the kids to be presented with this opportunity. Some may have only picked up a racket over the last school term and now they have a trip to Darwin to further learn the game.
“I was presented with a lot of opportunities growing up to play the sport and I wanted to do the same for these guys.”
The Big Serve program has been led by Indigenous Far North tennis program ambassador Lenoy, who is a previous scholarship recipient through the Evonne Goolagong Foundation.
Tennis Queensland CEO Mark Handley said the program was a unique chance for young players to build confidence, sporting skills and selfesteem through tennis.
“This is an important pathway in tennis for our young indigenous talent, one which has encouraged teamwork, sportsmanship and excellence both on and off the court,” he said.
“We wish those players selected the best of luck in Cairns, and hope everyone who took part in the Big Serve program continues to discover the many exciting opportunities there are in tennis.”