Between some torrential showers, Wellington Tennis Club hosted their annual Red and Orange Ball Tournament where teams of four children competed. Teams were entered from Wellington, Bishop's Lydeard, Trull and Wiveliscombe Tennis Clubs. 

In the Red Ball tournament children used the slower red ball, on half a court, using mini nets. Teams of 4 were seeded and they  played against the same seed from the other teams. The winner was the first to score 10 points. There were some great rallies where children showcased their top spin skills, too.  As they progressed the children gained confidence and started to move their opponent around the court to win points. Bishop's Lydeard won the Red tournament with some consistent play.

In the Orange tournament, slightly older children played on almost a full court with the Orange ball. Again, they were seeded and played 3 or 4 matches lasting ten minutes each. The children who won usually served well and were able to vary their shots to win points. 
The tournament ended with some playoffs between four children who had won all their matches. In the Orange tournament, Wellington  'A' team won overall with both Jonathan Thorne and Molly Rickard winning all their matches. Aidan Eldridge and Naomi Southcott were the remaining pair.  All the children who entered received a LTA certificate.
Sue Rackley adds, "Although coaching is necessary and is good fun, ultimately  most children enjoy the competitive aspect of the game so our coach incorporates monthly matchplay into our coaching program to maintain their interest."
As usual, for such events, there was a lot of background preparation. Philippa and Reg Deem prepared the courts meticulously whilst John Barrington, who is on the Somerset LTA  committee as well as Chair of Trull Tennis Club, is responsible for creating the timetable of tournaments, liaising with all the Clubs as well as creating and running the competitions. 
Sue says, "John also organised the 12U, 14U and 17U Junior League match schedules, collates and inputs the results  to enable the children's rankings to increase. This is an incredible amount of work. We are so grateful for all his dedication to tennis in this part of Somerset." 

Photo: Entrants from the Orange ball tournament with Sue Rackley presenting  John Barrington with a card and gift as a token of appreciation for all his organisation for  the tennis tournaments throughout the summer.