The Tribune

The AiD Junior Tennis Nationals is scheduled for June 15-16 for the U8 & U10 divisions and June 21-26 for the older divisions U12-U18.                       

With over 130 entries in this year’s Nationals, the event promises to be filled with some great competition allowing the players to display their skills and talent.

“We are excited about the number of new players to the tournament landscape which indicates the development of the next generation of players and the love of the sport is steadily continuing,” the BLTA said.

“This development is occurring throughout the Bahamas as players from Abaco, Exuma, Eleuthera, Grand Bahama and Nassau will participate at the BLTA’s National Tennis Centre this month. Providing this arena for our junior tennis athletes to develop and grow is very important for the sport.”

The BLTA also held a refresher course for its umpires on Friday, June 6, on the tennis rules and regulations in advance of its upcoming AiD Jr Nationals to ensure the existing umpires are retooled and the officiating team is kept engaged and educated.

Michael “Mickey” Williams graciously conducted this very productive session. The BLTA appreciates the service of veteran official Willliams.                       

“We are thankful to those volunteers who took time out of their busy schedules on the holiday to attend the training session,” the BLTA said. “The BLTA recognises that to continue to develop the sport all these stakeholders (players, coaches, officials etc.) must be developed and given opportunities to ensure continuity, to widen the talent pool and to obtain tennis sustainability.”

The AiD Jr. Nationals kick off on Saturday morning where players in the U8 and U10 will participate.

Both of these age groups are the developmental groups and the tournament provides an introduction for their competitive tennis journey.

The older divisions will follow on June 21 as the event awards the most ranking points for juniors in the U12-U18 on the BLTA’s tennis calendar.

“We wish to thank AiD for supporting this event and coming on board once again to assist in the junior development of our players through healthy and wholesome competition,” the BLTA said.

“We also thank Powerade, Custom Computers and Dasani for their contributions.”