STUDENTS from across the Riverland battled tough weather conditions to take part in a record-breaking tennis carnival in Renmark last week.
Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 students from 11 schools across the region took part in a Hot Shots tennis carnival at the Renmark Tintra Tennis Club last Friday.
Speaking to the Murray Pioneer at the event last Friday, Tennis SA regional officer Troy McNeil said the more than 300 students taking part made it a record-breaking carnival.
“This is a record turn-out and is the largest carnival we have ever had in South Australia,” he said.
“It is fantastic to see so many kids out.
“This is the first time we are doing a year 5 and 6 carnival in the Riverland, so they are coming along as well as the year 3s and 4s.”
Mr McNeil said the idea behind introducing year 5 and 6 students to the event was simple.
“We have been doing the year 3s and 4s in the Riverland for the past five years now and we wanted to get some more kids playing,” he said.
“We are lucky we have got so many courts in the Riverland, so we can accommodate having more teams.
“We were really surprised how much interest there was from the schools, which was great.
“We have about 17 teams, so that is about 130 students or so in the year 5 and 6 competition.
“Essentially it has doubled our overall numbers for the event.”
Mr McNeil was full of praise for the playing facilities here in the Riverland.
“They are some of the best grass courts in the state at Berri, Barmera, Loxton and Renmark and everywhere else across the Riverland,” he said.
“We are really lucky to be able to host this at this time of the year as well.”
Mr McNeil was hopeful the carnival would help attract new players to Riverland clubs for the upcoming tennis season.
“The whole point of today is to get racquets in kids’ hands,” he said.
“It is really easy to get the kids involved with the sport.
“We are using the smaller racquets and the low-compression balls.
“Even if they haven’t played tennis before, it is really easy to pick up a racket and start playing.
“A lot of them haven’t played tennis before and this is their first experience.
“The whole idea is to get them out here and hopefully they want to keep playing, then we can show them the pathway to join a club.”
Riverland Lawn Tennis Association president John Pick said it was “a great event for the Riverland”.
“Tennis SA are able to hold these types of events all across the state and it is a great way to get kids involved in the sports,” he said.
“As it takes place in more and more areas, hopefully tennis’ popularity can really explode.”
Mr Pick said the carnival was a coup for the Riverland and could see a surge in numbers for the coming season.
“It was great to see so many children active, social and having fun,” he said.
“The next step for these children would be to join ANZ Hot Shots at their local club and so begin a journey that could last a lifetime.”
Tennis SA officials were on hand during the carnival to help ensure strict social distancing protocols were met.