Schools

 

SCHOOLS TENNIS INITIATIVE

At first sight, tennis may not look like an obvious choice for delivery through the school PE programme. Questions often arise such as, how can we play tennis with no nets? Is it not dangerous with the hard tennis balls? What about all the different ages and abilities?

In order to show how easy it is to offer a different sport as part of the games strand, and to introduce a fantastic sport to as wide an audience as possible, Tennis Ireland has developed its new Schools Tennis Initiative with a programme which launched in September of 2012.

Schools who become involved in the programme can organise coaching programmes either as after-school clubs or during curriculum time with their local coach. All Tennis Ireland coaches work from the Tennis Ireland school lesson plans, a set of lesson plans that work directly from the games strand of the curriculum. For schools that are perhaps not in a position to pay for a coach, the plans can be downloaded free of charge from the Tennis Ireland website. Further information is  available on Schools Tennis Ireland website (CLICK HERE)

Each game has a link to a video where you can see the game in action. The lesson plans are complemented by assessment cards that can be given to pupils at the start of the course, and which allow pupils to chart their progress. Certificates are available for download and are great for presentation days. Substantially discounted equipment, such as the red balls and mini rackets are also available from Wilson.

If you have any questions about the lesson plans or would like help with finding a coach or getting access to equipment please contact your local Regional Development Officer:

North Leinster - Tara Congdon - Email: tara.rdo@tennisireland.ie Mobile: (086) 8351475
South Leinster - Darko Palavra - Email: southleinstertennisrdo@tennisireland.ie Mobile: (086) 8228235

 

LEINSTER JUNIOR AND PRIMARY SCHOOLS LEAGUE 

The Leinster Junior and Primary Schools Tennis League started in 1991 and it has grown considerably since then.

The competition runs during the last term of the School Year, usually between March and the end of May, and has 2 phases:

  • The qualifying phase is run using a Round-Robin type Draw. Whenever possible, teams in Divisions 2 and 3 are grouped geographically.
  • Elimination or Knock-Out phase. Finals are held usually the last week of May.

There is an event for Boys and a separate one for Girls in each Division. Division 3 and new for this year Division 2 also have a mixed event. Teams consist of 6 players playing in three doubles teams. Therefore each tie is made up of 3 doubles matches. The first pair to reach 9 games wins their individual match in the tie.

Teams are divided into different sections based on ability. There are 3 Divisions. Schools are asked to enter their teams in the division they think adequate but Leinster Tennis reserves the right to change a team from one division to another if the players in that team are considered too strong or not strong enough for the division the School has requested.

All teams should register all the players in each team (including substitutes) before the draw is made. This is necessary to make sure that teams are placed in the right divisions.

Entry Forms become available sometime in January. The Draw is made in late February and matches start in March depending on Easter dates.

For more information email info@leinstertennis.ie

 

ENTRY FORM AND INFORMATION

The CLOSING DATE for School's Team Entries is usually around the middle of February. Entry Forms and Online Entry are available in “Our Tournaments” and printable Entry Forms are accessible from the News section on the Home page.

The team's players, schedules, draws and results will be published on accessible from "Our Tournaments" page.

 

 

GETTING READY: RESOURCES AND CONTACTS

One of the main aims of the League is to give young players the opportunity to practice the game of tennis in a friendly, pressure free environment. Tennis is frequently seen as a highly individual game which is not always the case. It can be played at any age and it does not require sophisticated equipment. In fact, in Leinster there are hundreds of teams playing League regularly, some of them with players in their 70s.

The Schools Tennis Ireland website provides downloadable FREE tennis lesson plans for both primary and secondary school teachers. CLICK HERE to access them.

 We have requested all affiliated tennis clubs in Leinster to facilitate their local primary/junior schools if they do not have their own courts. So if you would like to enter your school but have a problem with courts please contact your local tennis club as they may be able to facilitate you.

Parks Tennis also runs coaching for players from 6 to 7 in many Leinster Parks. Click here to find more information on the Parks Tennis programme.

 

SECONDARY SCHOOLS LEAGUES

The Secondary Schools Leagues are run during the last term of the school year. There are two Leagues:  

  • The Boys Secondary Schools League is coordinated by a Committee whose secretary is Shay Keenan (St Conleth’s Secondary School).
  • The Girls Secondary Schools Coordinator is Eimear Sloan you can contact her by email : esloan@st-andrews.ie

The 2024 Senior Girls Secondary Schools Finals 

Carrickmines LTC 13th May 

A very successful day of tennis took places in Carrickmines Tennis Club.

Mount Anville retained the Senior A Cup. Wesley College won the Senior B Cup. Mount Anville did the double as they also won the Senior C Cup and Mount Sackville became the Senior D Cup Champions. Thanks to the Horn Family for providing a stunning new Senior D Cup in memory of former professional tennis player and coach John Horn.  

 

Thanks to hosts Carrickmines LTC, lead organiser Eimear Sloan (St Andrew’s College) and Head (Represented by Federico Raffa) and Tennis Point (represented by Roger Henry) for their support of the Leinster Girls Secondary Schools League.” 

 

[John Horn (6 November 1931 – 26 August 2001)  was a British tennis player who won the Wimbledon Boys' singles Championship in 1950. Horn's best result at a Grand Slam event was reaching the third round at the 1952 Wimbledon Championships. After retiring as a professional player, Horn worked as a tennis coach in Ireland, spending many years coaching at Rathdown School and had a huge influence over generations of Irish tennis players.] 

 

“Mount Anville retained the Senior A Cup. Wesley College won the Senior B Cup. Mount Anville did the double as they also won the Senior C Cup and Mount Sackville became the Senior D Cup Champions. Thanks to the Horn Family for providing a stunning new Senior D Cup in memory of former professional tennis player and coach John Horn.  

 

Thanks to hosts Carrickmines LTC, lead organiser Eimear Sloan (St Andrew’s College) and Head (Represented by Federico Raffa) and Tennis Point (represented by Roger Henry) for their support of the Leinster Girls Secondary Schools League.” 

 

Looking forward to the Junior and Minor Finals next Monday 20th May.