Wheelchair Tennis Players Net Extra Boost from Coaching Camp
25 August 2006by Paul Rushton
The listing was posted by WheelPower - British Wheelchair Sport - News
The City of Nottingham Tennis Centre was the focus of attention as it hosted a tennis camp as part of the Norwich Union Junior Heroes Programme on 22 and 23 August.
The camp, organised by the British Tennis Foundation, attracted over 50 players from across the country including a large junior contingent and members of the National Development Programme. Participants were coached at varying levels from novice and improver upwards in the skills needed to play wheelchair tennis.
Among those taking part and seeking to improve their tennis skills was Clare Strange, a member of the GB Women’s Wheelchair Basketball squad. British number one player, Jayant Mistry, the former World No 1 Quad player Mark Eccleston and fellow Paralympian Kevin Plowman passed on skills and helped inspire the players who made the trip to Nottingham.
The camp forms an integral part of the Norwich Union Junior Heroes programme, a three-year project in association with WheelPower, the national organisation for wheelchair sport to allow disabled children across the UK to sample sports activities such as tennis, athletics and wheelchair basketball.
Martin McElhatton, WheelPower’s Chief Executive who also coached at the camp commented: “Taking part in sport is an excellent way to maintain a healthy lifestyle, especially for children and adults with disabilities. It instils confidence, builds physical strength and can often lead to a tremendous improvement in quality of life. Just as importantly, sport is a sociable and fun way to make new friends and lead an active lifestyle. Events like this Tennis Camp also provide a fantastic focus and with London 2012 only six years away, some of those who attend this week’s camp could well be our gold medal winners of the future.”
Norwich Union’s three-year partnership with WheelPower includes donations totalling £300,000. Sportsmatch, the business sponsorship incentive scheme for grass roots sports in England, has this year awarded an additional £37,500 towards the Norwich Union Junior Heroes Programme.