Four half-sized courts are being tried and tested for the first time at the Recreation Grounds over the Easter holidays, providing an enhanced learning environment for children taking up the sport. Permanent nets are due to be installed later this week.
The courts are are the only permanent facility of their kins in the Channel Islands.
James Faudemer, head coach at St Clement Tennis Hub, said: ‘It’s quite difficult for children to play on a full-size tennis court and down at St Clement we had nine full sized courts before.
‘You see a lot of kids playing on full-size courts with bouncy balls, which are difficult to control and bounce over their heads. These new courts have the same lines as a normal tennis court but are a lot smaller – like a badminton-sized court. So the children use a compressed red ball on these courts which is easier to hit and play with.’
He added: ‘We started trying to build them in 2020 but there were lots of different hurdles, with Covid-19 and they had to be built in dry weather. But at least they’re here for the summer.
‘The good thing is there are four of [the mini courts] on one big tennis court, which means more people can play. We have 14 to 16 kids [in the Easter camp] playing in a tournament on all four of the mini courts. It’s much less confusing for them too as the courts are all different colours, so it’s very visible and they know where to stand. They are learning a lot quicker than before.’
Full story in Tuesday’s JEP.
