Samoan school students help with tennis
Local Samoan school students are training hard to be ball boys and girls and line umpires for the Tennis tournament at the XVI Pacific Games.
Yvonne Carruthers is coach and Sports Competition Manager for the sport at the Games and has seen how excited they are.
"This is a good experience for the kids to really be involved with something new, as well as a lot of discipline," she said. "Some of them aren’t tennis players, but are here to help."
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For the tennis players among the group it's an opportunity to experience the sport at an international intensity.
"This is a really professional level of tennis and it's good that they learn by just watching what’s going on," she continued.
Their first training was during Independence Day weekend and made possible by the engagement of students from different primary schools in Samoa.
"These are the kids from the schools that we are in partnership with Tennis Samoa," she added.
"Mostly from Samoa Primary, Ah Mu Academy, Vaiala Beach School, a couple of St Mary's, All Saints Anglican, Peace Chapel and Robert Louis Stevenson.
"They're happy to be involved in the bigger picture, a bigger part of tennis at the Pacific Games.”
Yvonne highlighted the importance of sports for the students and their involvement in the Samoa 2019 Pacific Games.
"Tennis is another option for them in the future, either they can choose to stick with tennis or they can choose to have a career with education and professionalism," she said.
"The most important thing is to get the kids involved in sports that continuously develop them and help them with their future."
The ten-day Tennis tournament will start on 9 July at Apia Park Tennis Courts, located next to the Apia Park Stadium. It's home to the Samoa National Tennis team and boasts seven tennis courts all featuring plexi-paved surfaces.
