Pupils from the Buchan School have won the tenth anniversary finale of the annual Zurich Primary Schools Mini Tennis Programme.
In a hotly contested Championship Day held at Albany Tennis Club in Douglas, teams from seven primary schools – Ballacottier, St John’s, Buchan, Kewaigue, Marown, Andreas and Ballasalla – took part in a round-robin tournament. The Buchan and Ballacottier reached the final, with Buchan emerging triumphant.

The Championship Day follows a six-week coaching programme where seven year old children from across the Isle of Man are given the opportunity to enjoy tennis lessons in class. The programme is led by Albany Tennis Club’s Head Coach, Ian Watson, with the support of a number of other Lawn Tennis Association qualified teachers, and funded by Zurich.

For the majority of the pupils, the Zurich Primary Schools Mini Tennis Programme gives them their first ever experience of the sport.

Zurich’s Communications Manager, Merita Taylor, commented: “I would like to congratulate all of the children who took part in the Zurich Primary Schools Mini Tennis Programme Championship Day, and particularly so to those from the Buchan School who won the tournament outright. The standard of play was fantastic given that, just six weeks ago, many of the children had never even held a tennis racquet.”

Zurich Primary Schools Mini Tennis Programme Lead Coach, Ian Watson, added: “It’s very evident from the last six weeks how much enjoyment the children have taken from their tennis coaching, as well as how much they have grown in confidence whilst learning new skills. This is a very valuable programme and I would like to thank Zurich for its support in delivering this.”

Photo - top row (L-R) – Tennis Coach, Margaret Drake, IOM LTA representative, Brian Walton, Zurich’s Communications Manager, Merita Taylor, and Tennis Coaches Ian Watson and Charlotte Walker, and bottom row – Buchan School pupils (standing) Jared Shepherd (l) and Ben Leinwand (r) and (kneeling) Ryan Colquitt (l) and Phoebe Davies (r), winners of the 2016 Zurich Primary Schools Mini Tennis Programme Championship Day.