Tennis aims to boost physical activity among school children

Currently delivering the sport to more than 2,600 schools, reaching more than 326,000 students as part of the health and physical education curriculum, Tennis Australia is committed to increasing physical activity within schools and aims to get more children on court than ever before.

Tennis is also one of the leading deliverers through the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) Sporting Schools initiative. In Term 4 last year tennis was one of the top sports delivered to Australian schools and in Term 1 this year a record 590 schools have already requested the tennis program.

The sport’s primary school program is linked to the highly successful junior participation program ANZ Tennis Hot Shots, featuring smaller courts, racquets and low compression balls. A secondary schools program is set to continue the pathway and promote lifelong physical activity for students.

The new Tennis for Secondary Schools program will be launched around the country over the coming weeks at state professional learning workshops, with secondary teachers learning how to apply tennis and address the Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education student achievement standards at their schools.

Tennis Australia Director of Participation Paul Cammack said the sport continued to make progress in ensuring tennis was accessible to all Australians, advising “we are proud of the support we continue to provide in the schools space and the genuine educative purposes our program offers. This includes delivering more than 80,000 racquets to first year primary students around the country to kick start their tennis journey.

“It’s a bigger challenge than ever to provide access for kids to be physically active. One of the great things about tennis is that it’s a sport for life. The skills developed through physical education in schools in a fun, social and inclusive environment, can be the start of an enduring love of the sport, creating healthy habits and lifetime physical activity.”

The Tennis for Secondary Schools professional learning workshops will be held around the country to educate teachers on the new resource, which was developed in collaboration with the Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation (ACHPER) and assist them in providing tennis at their schools, kicking off in Melbourne on Thursday 1st March.

Tennis for Secondary Schools professional learning workshops:

Thursday 1st March, National Tennis Centre, Melbourne, Victoria

Tuesday 6th March, Queensland Tennis Centre, Brisbane, Queensland

Wednesday 7th March, Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre, Sydney, NSW

Thursday 8th March, Canberra Tennis Centre, Canberra, ACT

Thursday 15th March, State Tennis Centre, Perth, Western Australia

Wednesday 4th April, Launceston Regional Centre, Launceston, Tasmania

Thursday 5th April, Domain Tennis Centre, Hobart, Tasmania

Monday 9th April, Memorial Drive Tennis Centre, Adelaide, South Australia

Image: ANZ Hot Shots, courtesy of Tennis Australia.

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