We're delighted to announce that the I play 30 coaching program organised by the club and led by coach George Manley, have been jointly named as the 2021 winners of the Disability Award in the Hampshire & IOW LTA Tennis Awards .
The award was granted for the planning and delivery of a series of inclusive I Play 30 activity sessions for children in Kingfishers Class at Liss Infants School.
Planning for the sessions started in 2020 when the Club became aware that the tennis charity, Bright Ideas for Tennis (BIFT), wished to expand their inclusive activity program I Play 30 and that Liss Infants School were opening a new SEN unit with provision for children with learning disabilities.
By early 2020 the I Play 30 concept was running at a number of Clubs in the UK, mainly in Surrey and the Midlands. The programme was specifically designed for adults and children with learning, sensory and physical disabilities and for those experiencing mental ill health.
All sports and group activity can help reduce isolation and improve mental health, but as Danny Sapsford, co-founder of BIFT notes, “Tennis is particularly well placed to help – it’s a sport that anyone can play, can be adapted for any level of ability, impairment or disability and is complemented by a very beneficial social element”.
Delayed due to the pandemic, the sessions in Liss began in April 2021. They were incorporated into the school day and ran for 22 weeks before pausing in October for the winter. The programme was a new collaboration with Liss Infants School and the first expansion of the I Play 30 programme into the Hampshire & IOW LTA region.
The sessions at Newman Collard Tennis Club were planned and delivered by coach George Manley and supported by volunteers and teachers. All involved were integral to the delivery of a successful programme with the inclusion of volunteers making all the difference - they make I Play 30 sessions unique, helping to maximise the social, communal and fun aspect of tennis.
Liss Infants School is one of a number of mainstream schools in Hampshire with special resource provision for children with additional needs. Emily Aston, Assistant Headteacher and in charge of resourced provision at the school said:
“Partnerships such as this are great as so many people benefit – the community, school and the volunteers. The programme will help develop the pupils’ self-confidence, self-esteem and gross and fine motor skills, and we will be able to build on this back in the classroom”.
The Club has made great efforts to encourage participation in all ages and abilities and to ensure that the courts are an asset to the whole village. This latest award follows on from other awards from both Hants and IOW LTA and EHDC. It was the Club’s 50th anniversary in 2019 and this award is evidence of the club’s continued efforts to support tennis in Liss for the next 50 years.
The Club and Coach will be formally announced winners in the Disability Category at a virtual awards ceremony to be held on 3rd February where their names will then go into the hat for the regional awards with the winners of those going forward to the national awards, the results of which will be announced during Wimbledon.
The Club plans to restart the sessions with the school in Spring 2022 and volunteers to support the coach are needed to ensure another successful programme! If you would like more information about the programme or would like to volunteer then please email the club at liss.tennis@gmail.com, or speak to Jane Plant, Delia Clarke or Andy Gray and get the volunteers’ perspective.