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SalBolton — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 07:36:57 CST

GHANA TENNIS AID

Ghana Tennis Aid is a UK based founded appeal of collecting tennis/sports equipment to give underprivaledged communities in Ghana and other parts of Africa, the opportunity to play tennis under the umbrella of a Gap Year company www.realgap.com

Ghana Tennis Aid is in association with UK Tennis Charity TENNIS FOR FREE www.tennisforfree.com TENNIS FOR AFRICA www.tennisforafrica.org and has been nominated for the Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) Humanitarian Award 2010

Ghana National Tennis Coach Noah Bagerbaseh and GTA Founder Sal Bolton

Coach Noah - Ghanaian National Head Coach

' This is to thank everyone who has helped to take Winneba and Ghana tennis to another level. Since July 2007 as Tennis for free volunteer coaches, the volunteers and contributors have brought a lot of happiness to Ghanaian tennis youth, especially those in Winneba. The National Sports College Academy in Winneba received several donations of rackets, tennis balls, clothes, shoes,and some coaching equipment. With these donations, the tennis development project in Ghana was enhanced and new school training programmes were introduced to catch them young talent.

Tournaments and competitions have soon became part of the development project. The donated items were used as prices after every tournament and competition. The basic schools around the university of Education in Winneba also benefited from donations like mathematics text books,English reading books, pens and pencils.

Also, the volunteers were able to raise some funds to sponsor one of our tennis players to the ITF training centre in Pretoria, South Africa for one month. This player is now fast establishing himself as one of the best tennis players in Ghana.

The continuous donations of tennis equipments from the UK through the construction company(Taylor Woodrow) has enabled this academy to be an outstanding tennis training centre in the sub-region. We are forever grateful to you and may God richly Bless you. Noah. '

awwww thanks Coach!

PEOPLETALK RADIO RELEASE SIX PART AUDIO BOOK 'THE CALL OF AFRICA'

Thu, 10 September 2009

Sal Bolton spent the best part of 8 months writing a memoir book about her experience in Ghana that inspired this appeal. She was lucky enough to get an oppurtunity to adapt, edit and narrate the story by PeopleTalk Radio into six 10 minute episodes to be listened on Podcast or downloaded onto Ipods.

www.peopletalk.libsyn.com

Episode One: Africa is calling
Episode Two: Gateway to Africa
Episode Three: First impressions
Coming soon......
Episode Four: Voyage to The North
Episode Five: To Walk With The Elephants
Episode Six: Making a Difference

Narrated and written by Sal Bolton
Directed and produced by Nigel Killick

‘You can do it for 3 months or longer, West Africa, country called Ghana – you could teach the kids how to play tennis there’….

Akwaaba! These 6 short episodes depict memoirs from the stories of young University Graduate Sal Bolton making a soul searching decision in taking the sport she loves to aid the underprivileged communties of deepest darkest Africa to the land of the Black Star, Ghana.

The episodes follow Sal’s adventures from the encouraging words of a university friend to make a difference in the world after a heavy night of student partying in England….to the unpredictable Tro Tro rides of the dusty congested backstreets of Accra, an adrenaline fuelled adventure across the biggest lake in Africa and roaming the roads of the unknown to walk with the elephants, and receiving her very first marriage proposal whilst being sold a steering wheel. The series highlights the interesting and comedic customs and etiquette she encounters as an ‘Obruni’ in Africa, whilst interacting with the ‘happy go lucky’ local Ghanaians in their habitat and also the heartwarming inner peace she finally finds whilst offering a hand to those less fortunate.

These stories are adapted from a forthcoming book, The Call of Africa which hope to inspire and open the eyes for anybody that’s ever wondered what its like to be a young white girl living and breathing this magical continent in the aim of making a difference.

I would like to acknowledge and thank Cat O’Connor for her help with this project
http://www.myspace.com/catoconnor
Ghana Tennis Aid web page:
http://ghanatennisaid.wetpaint.com/
View photos of the Ghana Tennis project at
http://www.myalbum.com/Album=6WM6QZ6B

Direct download: 2_Gateway_to_Africa.mp3
Category: Audio Books -- posted at: 6:49 AM

LATEST APPEAL - Summer 2009
School Books for the Winneba School
Over 500 Books collected!!!!!!!!!

Ghana Tennis Aid launched a summer appeal to collect school books for the children attending the local school in Winneba. Learning resources are a scarcity in Africa, and the University Practice Secondary School where many of the tennis children attended. The school has a new library, built in 2007 but the shelves were empty of learning resources so this is where we've stepped in to help. Thanks to Cheam Library and various individuals and establishments in the South London area. Over 500 books were collected and sent to the school in October. See Winneba School Book Appeal

School Tennis For Sierra Leone

Ghana Tennis Aid and Tennis For Africa are seeking to do a follow up trip to Sierra Leone to the school to revitalise some tennis activity and are looking for flight sponsorship or any funding help aswell as the need to refurbish the tennis courts. If you would like to help, see more about the school at Sierra Leone School Tennis Appeal

Email salbolton@live.com or jchubbard@hotmail.co.uk

Ghana Tennis Aid supports Right To Dream www.righttodream.com a charity that is trying to raise $1 million to build a multi sports academy in Ghana aiming to give children a sporting chance in Africa by offering scholarships in sport and education to impoverished children who's talents go unnoticed.....

If you'd like to donate anything you can to Right To Dream please go to www.justgiving.com/righttodream

Watch the video for UK Tennis Charity Tennis For Free where there's no need to pay to play - the way it should be!
http://www.digitaldelicious.com/Client_TFF_Full_Edit_05_Play.html

So.... 1. GTA asked various individuals, local tennis clubs and retailers to collect and donate anything that can aid a tennis lesson (i.e - unused tennis rackets, balls, bags, shoes, clothes, sports equipment) 2. Then..can take it on the flight for a magical adventure to Africa yourself (Thank You Astreus Airlines www.flystar.com) or shipping it by the help of those FAB people at companies Taysec, Robert Claire and COBA UK 3. Donations arrive in Africa and get to the communties and hey presto!

Ghana Tennis Aid was featured on British Television Channel 5 'Five News' with Natascha Kaplinsky February 2008

Watch more videos on Tennis in Ghana here

AFRICA

By founder Sal Bolton

´The Appeal first started collecting anything tennisy in early 2007 when I took a 5 month gap year trip to Ghana, West Africa to teach underprivaleged communities how to play tennis as a volunteer with 'Global Sports Xperience' who helped deprived communities all over the world through sports and non sports orientated projects.

Whilst studying Geography at University, humanitarian topics on African countries made me more aware of the realism of poverty and deprivation people in the Third World face everyday.

So...when a friend showed me the oppurtunity of doing the gap year Tennis Project in Ghana, I felt I could help give underprivaledged children the opportunities I had through playing tennis. I knew how scarce equipment would be, a major obstacle for anything in Africa (you'll rarely find a child who can afford their own pair of shoes) and with Tennis - balls lose their bounce, racket strings break and you kinda need proper shoes to play a proper game....so the GTA Appeal was born.....'

GHANA (for obvious reasons) Alot of the stuff collected from the appeal has been taken or shipped to the communites where Global Sports Xperience placed volunteers at The National Sports College, Winneba, Accra, and a local ophanage.
See Ghana Tennis Project with Global Sports Xperience 2007

SIERRA LEONE Italian based charity 'Tennis For Africa' auction player memoribilia and fundraise from tennis events for projects in Africa. One of their projects is starting children playing tennis at a CKC school in Bo in Sierra Leone where rackets, balls and tennis nets
have been donated from the appeal :) See Sierra Leone School Tennis Appeal

Supporting...

UGANDA

GTA supports Denise Gwatkins UK charity 'Daniel's Dream' www.danielsdream.org.uk to help orphaned children who were living in a very dilapidated orphanage. In February 2008 and 2009, Denise went out to Uganda with a load of tennis equipment and introduced the game to children who had never used a racket before. Her charity aims to help Daniel, who has been helping children for years, to keep his orphanage in Uganda going and to buy a plot of land to build a boarding school - aint that cool! Ghana Tennis Aid donated a tennis net and tennis balls from local tennis clubs for Daniel's Orphange in Kampala.

Contributors to GTA in all shapes and forms...... Thanks guys! [Big Breath....huhh]

Special Thanks to Christian Singer of Wilson Europe for supporting by sponsoring Wilson equipment for the appeal - Thanks!

WEST AFRICAN BUSINESS ASSOCIATION

ROBERT CLAIRE

COBA UK www.coba-uk.org

TENNIS IN SURREY MAGAZINE

GHANA LEARNING PROJECTS www.ghanalearningproject.com

JUNIOR TENNIS CLAY REGISTRY

CHEAM SPORTS www.cheamsports.co.uk

BUDGENS SUPERMARKET - CHEAM

CHEAM LIBRARY

MUSCHAMP PRIMARY SCHOOL

CHEAM HIGH SCHOOL

A HUGE THANK YOU!!! TO IAN AND JULIE WILKES FOR THEIR VERY COOL SPONSORSHIP HELP AND EVERY SINGLE PERSON WHO GAVE ME SPONSORSHIP TO GET TO AFRICA.....

AND THE FOLLOWING TENNIS CLUBS.....

ST ANDREWS LAWN TENNIS CLUB http://www.cheamtennis.co.uk/

HARTSWOODS LTC http://www.hartswoodtennis.co.uk/

WORCESTER PARK LTC

PURLEY SPORTS CLUB http://www.purleysportsclub.co.uk/

SUTTON CHURCHES LTC www.clubtennis.co.uk

LTA NATIONAL TENNIS CENTRE

SURBITON RACKET AND FITNESS CLUB www.surbiton.org

CARSHALTON LAWN TENNIS CLUB www.carshaltontennis.org.uk

Latest News

SalBolton — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 11:17:06 CST

DECEMBER 2009

CKC School in Sierra Leone recieve donations of tennis equipment and tennis activity begins again :) See statement from Anthony Sheriff - see Sierra Leone School Tennis page

Tennis donations of balls, rackets, shoes and magazines reach Accra and are donated to the Tennis community at The National Sports College, Winneba

OCTOBER 2009

WINNEBA SCHOOL BOOK APPEAL

BIG THANKS!!!!!!

OVER 500 BOOKS!

Throughout Summer 2009 over 500 school text books, subject books and learning resources were donated by various individuals, schools and establishments in the London Borough of Sutton and surrounding area. The books have been shipped and will aid learning resources and fill the empty library at the University Practice Secondary School, Winneba in Ghana to increase learning oppurtunities to African students :D Special thanks to the following for their help and donations.......

Cheam Library Sutton Churches Tennis Club
Purley Sports Club
Cheam High School
Aberdour Preparatory School
Mushamp Primary School
Cheam Park Farm Infants School
Hazel Hurst School - Wimbledon
Hall School - Wimbledon
The Sutton Guardian
Radio Jackie
Taysec Constructions Ltd

and the various individuals around town for being cool and bothered to have that book clear out.!...:P Cheers

St Andrews Lawn Tennis Club, Cheam donate used tennis balls and Aberdour Preparatory School, Surrey donate text books to the Winneba School Book Appeal. Thanks! :)

SEPTEMBER 2009

PeopleTalk radio release the first three episodes of the six part audio book 'The Call of Africa' on their website - written and narrated by Sal Bolton, the story documents the experience of life in Ghana and the inspiration behind the the appeal. :D

Special Thanks to Cheam High School in South London for their recent donation of GCSE School Text Books for the Winneba School Book Appeal

Andrew Maidment makes a donation on behalf of Carshalton Lawn Tennis Club of tennis rackets and clothing. As Tennis For Free and California Raisans sponsor tennis balls and sports flasks for the appeal Thanks!

Cheam Library offers to be a depot for unwanted books to aid the Winneba School Book Appeal (Thanks Ricky :D) After the appeal appears in the 'Sutton Guardian' 300 books have been donated by the local public and special thanks to Muschamp Primary School in Carshalton, South London for their amazing donation. Thanks :D

Thanks to Sutton general public and supporters of 'Tennis For Free' for donating their own books for the book appeal

AUGUST 2009

Donated tennis balls from Sutton Tennis Academy, London, UK reach Noah and the clan at Winnneba so they can keep on playing :D

First shipment of School Books and books from Ghana Learning Project for the Winneba School Appeal arrives at the school! Philip Baah, PE teacher writes......

'I am now sorting the books out for donation, to both the primary, Junior High School and some probably for the

Senior High schools especially the advanced geography and art books.

Thanks very much for the help from everyone and the chance you are all providing for Ghanaian most especially

children and students in Winneba. It is my hope to help them put it to the best use.

Schools are on vacation and would re-open in the first week of September at which time the Presentations would

be made and to give the donated pens out to those who are graduating to the 1st year Junior High.'

Thanks everyone.......

JUNE 2009

Application to the PTR Foundation in the USA for a grant to re build the war torn Tennis Courts of the CKC school in Bo, Sierra Leone - fingers crossed!

Donations of tennis balls and over 150 school books are sent to Ghana via Taysec Constructions Ltd for the National Youth Squad and the kids school library in Winneba

Members of Sutton Churches Tennis Club donate books for the Winneba School Book Appeal - unused books will go towards raising money for Children with Leukeumia. Thanks a Bunch! :D

MAY 2009

Online Ebay Auction by Tennis for Africa sells Ana Ivanovic's Racket and dress for Euro 1032,49 to be put towards rebuilding the tennis courts at the CKC school in Sierra Leone

'Ace' British Tennis Magazine give Ghana Tennis Aid a mention in their May/June Issue :D

Members of Purley Sports Club and Tadworth Childrens Trust donate over a hundred school books for the Winneba School Library attended by the Winneba Academy students

DECEMBER 2008

Communities recieve everyones donations via Taysec, Accra - just in time for Christmas 2008! :P

NOVEMBER 2008

Donations of 5 boxes full of stuff sent to Accra for Global Sports Xperience Tennis Volunteers and for a village in the Akwapem Hills - Thanks everyone :)

OCTOBER 2008

Wilson Europe have offered support by sponsoring 40 rackets and balls :P

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: October 20, 2008 Laura Nickel (773) 714-6703 Laura.nickel@wilson.com

WILSON GIVES BACK Wilson Racquet Sports provides equipment for underprivileged communities in Ghana, West Africa [CHICAGO] – Wilson has pledged to help underprivileged communities in Africa by donating tennis rackets, balls and training tools for Ghana Tennis Aid. In addition to rackets, Wilson provided training tools such as EZ Play, EZ Pace, EZ Foam, all forms of Wilson’s tennis balls with appropriate weight and size used for learning and developing. “Wilson is proud to provide quality equipment to local school children to give them the chance to play a new activity and the opportunity to develop a game for the future”, said Christian Singer, Business Director of Wilson Racquet Sports for Europe, Middle East and Africa. “Many have never picked up a racket before and may not have been given this chance”. Ghana Tennis Aid was founded by Sal Bolton from Sutton Tennis Academy, London, UK. This project was formed when Bolton went to Ghana, West Africa on project coordinated by volunteer organization, Global Sports Xperience and was an ambassador for UK Tennis Charity Tennis For Free. Bolton was exposed to the lack of opportunities for African Children and the need for equipment and instruction. She began to gather tennis rackets and equipment to donate to the communities in Ghana that are aided by Global Sports Xperience volunteers. Wilson Racquet Sports is a division of Chicago-based Wilson Sporting Goods, one of the world's leading manufacturers of sports equipment and owned by Amer Sports. Wilson designs, manufactures and distributes sporting goods throughout the world and focuses on making technologically advanced products which help players of all levels perform better. Wilson's core sport categories include: Football, Basketball, Baseball, Volleyball, Soccer, Youth Sports, Uniforms/Apparel, Golf, Footwear and Racquet Sports (Tennis, Racquetball, Squash, Badminton and Platform Tennis). For more information, visit www.wilson.com.
About Ghana Tennis Aid:
Ghana Tennis Aid recently donated a net and tennis balls to an orphanage in Uganda, and teamed up with Rome based charity Tennis For Africa www.tennisforafrica.org. Collections from the appeal were donated to a school in Bo, Sierra Leone to give a tennis program to the school and opportunities for the pupils and community to start playing. The appeal also aims to send more donations out to other volunteer tennis projects co-ordinated by Global Sports Xperience www.globalsportsxperience.com and is promoting charity Right to Dream www.rightodream.com who are in need of raising funds and equipment to build a sports academy in Ghana to offer sports scholarships to deprived talented children. Ghana Tennis Aid’s website: www.ghanatennisaid.wetpaint.com # # #

SEPTEMBER 2008

British Tennis Pro Anna Hawkins donates tennis shoes and clothing to the appeal - Thanks Chick!

Cheam Field LTC contribute tennis nets for Ghana and for Daniel's Orphanage in Uganda - Thanks!

Sutton Churches LTC contribute rackets and the LTA National Tennis Centre donate tennis balls to the appeal!

Donations to the CKC school in Bo, Sierra Leone arrive courtesy of COBA UK... very happy kids...thanks everyone!

See Sierra Leone School Tennis Appeal

Former British Tennis No. 1 Tim Henman donates a signed tennis shirt - aint he a nice fella!

AUGUST 2008

Tennis in Surrey Magazine publish a story about the Tennis Project in their Summer 2008 issue

Ghana Tennis Aid collection at Hartswood Tennis Club, Chisick gets an article in the Kensington and Chisick Borough Sports Newsletter check it out! Cheers Rob

http://www.lbhf.gov.uk/Images/47-51_Sport_tcm21-98694.pdf

JULY 2008

Mary Thackray British volunteer with Teaching Projects Abroad sends photos and news of introducing new tennis activity in Ghana:

'In Akwapem Hills, 1 hour north of Accra and since bringing a couple of tennis rackets and tubes of balls with me I seemed to have sparked genuine interest and enthusiasm amongst some of young kids and teenagers in the town where I am staying. None of them had played before and to see them pick up a racket and ball and be able to rally with each other so quickly was fantastic to see! There is an old neglected court in the village of Mamfe, the only one in the whole area and we have been to renovate it' ......ay how cools that?

Ghana Learning Project give Ghana Tennis Aid a webpage on their website - Thanks!

http://www.ghanalearningproject.com/ghana_tennis_aid.html

Boxes of tennis donations from the appeal go to Robert Claire to ship to the school in Sierra Leone

July 6th: Sal and the other Right to Dream volunteers run the London 10K to help raise the funds for the Right to Dream Sports Academy in Ghana.......C'mon!

Net Manufacturers Harrod UK www.harrod.co.uk kindly have donated a Steel Freestanding Tennis Net and 4 Mini Tennis Nets to the Winneba Tennis Academy, Ghana who we worked with on the Tennis Project! Awesome!

JUNE 2008

26th: The Appeals collected donations are sent to go to Accra, Ghana
Purley Sports Club members donates 6 tennis nets and 12 Rackets to Ghana and Sierra Leone
STA Coach Paul Fisher donates 12 of his tennis rackets for the communties of Ghana!
Wilson and Harrod UK pledge to donate Wilson Rackets and a Tennis Net to the appeal
Sutton Tennis Academy and Tennis For Free donates Prince Rackets and tennis balls towards the School Tennis Project for Sierra Leone
Surbiton Tennis Club donates Tennis Balls and 30 Rackets to the Sierra Leone School Tennis Project

MAY 2008

28th: Sal does interview on South West London Radio Station 'Radio Jackie' to publicise Ghana Tennis Appeal around The London Borough of Sutton www.radiojackie.com

GHANA TENNIS AID teams up with TENNIS FOR AFRICA volunteer Charles Hubbard to collect tennis equipment for a school project in Bo, Sierra Leone aswell
Tennis Pro Players ANA IVANOVIC gives a signed dress and racket and ANDRE AGASSI gives a signed ball and photograph - will use to raise funds for Sports in Africa

11th May 2008 - Chisick, London,UK

Wonderful Mr Rob Sadler does a FABULICIOUS job of promoting the appeal at Hartswood Tennis Club in Chisick, London collecting 28 rackets and 26 racket bags! Good Job!

www.hartswoodtennis.co.uk

ITS SPREADING - Sal goes and visits all the tennis clubs in the London Borough of Sutton to appeal for them to collect rackets

APRIL 2008

My buddy and fellow tennis volunteer Rob Sadler appeals to his club for tennis equipment in Chiswick and Nick Barrow sets off to round up some equipment in Cardiff!

Save The Children's Spring 2008 Issue of 'Give Time' mentions the GhanaTennis Placement

British Tennis Pro Anna Hawkins donates her Babolat Tennis Bag and offers to help with Ghana Tennis Aid! Thanks Anna!

Stephen Appiah, Captain of the Ghanaian football team donates two t-shirts from his 'Step App' Foundation to raise funds for Sports in Africa on Ebay

11th: TENNIS TODAY Magazine March/April publish article about our Tennis Trip to Ghana

MARCH 2008

15th: With the equipment the appeal and Ross Brown shipped for Ghana courtesy of PWP and the Junior Clay Registry, Coach Noach organised two tournaments for the children in Winneba and Accra and sent photos....ay...aint that cool :)

Global Sports Xperience's website activate a Sal's testimonial and interview with Rob and Joey about the motivation and experience of doing their Tennis Placement in Ghana

http://www.gapsports.com/comweb.asp?ID=1040

Tennis Life UK Magazine (March/April) release interview about Ghana Tennis Aid and Right to Dream

FEBRUARY 2008

28th: The Channel 5 FIVE NEWS with Natasha Kaplinsky Show air the Gap Sports Ghana Tennis Volunteers Film http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5WXp5Qr5bA

13th: 'Tennis Life UK' Magazine put an interview with Sal about the Tennis Project
on their website http://www.tennislife.co.uk/

9th: Interview in 'British Tennis Magazine' released

7th: Boxes of equipment donations from Sal and Ross arrive at the National Sports College! :) Coach Noah plans to do a tournament with the equipment as prizes for the new kids

6th: Sal's boxes of equipment clears Ghana Customs to Taylor Woodrow and agree to take it directly to the Tennis Academy in Winneba - wahooh! result!!!!!!!

JANUARY 2008

19th: Sal is interviewed by 'TennisLife UK' Magazine about the trip
15th: Sal shoots 3 minute film about Ghana Tennis Aid and Right to Dream for Channel 5 News :D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74GXGcDwFGw

Equipment donations from PWP Europe arrives in Ghana - thanks to fantastic Mr Ross Brown

Appeal sends 3 more boxes of donations from the Junior Tennis Clay Registry to Accra

DECEMBER 2007

December 27th: Article about Tennis in Ghana and Right to Dream goes live on website of charity 'Tennis For Africa' in Rome, Italy

http://www.tennisforafrica.org/tennisforafrica_page50.htm
December 18th: Interview on www.tennisforfree.com goes live!

http://www.tennisforfree.com/newsDetails.php/49/0
December 13th: 'Sutton Guardian' first return story about the Ghana Tennis Project printed

Sierra Leone School Tennis Appeal

SalBolton — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 11:13:25 CST

Earlier in 2008, Ghana Tennis Aid collaborated with Italian Charity 'Tennis For Africa' and rackets and balls collected from the appeal, Sutton Tennis Academy, Dulwich Tennis Club in London and Surbiton Racket and Fitness Club were shipped by companies Robert Claire and COBA UK to Christ The King College - A secondary school in Sierra Leone to re-establish the tennis activities in the school which has suffered horrendous hardships due to the past history of the country. The school has not been able to refurbish the tennis courts which had been vandalised during the war years and lay overgrown and flooded with muddy waters during the tropical rains for over ten years. CKC once had show piece tennis courts in Bo, which were designed by Fr. Lambe and opened by the Prime Minister Sir Albert Margai in 1963.

Christ The King Secondary School in Bo, Sierra Leone and the Tennis Courts....mmmmm well the posts at least....

CKC has been no exception to the unfortunate outcome of the war. The poor economic situation and the war has affected development or repairs to the infrastructure of the school, shortage of classroom space to accommodate increased numbers of pupils. The walls and roofs of the school building are riddled with bullets holes and conditions
become appalling, especially when it rains. Sports and games facilities have been reduced to zero, which gives
reason for the school to be very grateful for donations and help - Purley Sports Club donated 5 tennis nets to the school to at least make it look a bit more like a tennis court!

Summer 2009

Bid for a grant to go towards rebuilding the school tennis courts has been put to the PTR Foundation in the USA - fingers crossed!

Online Ebay Auction by Tennis for Africa sells Tennis Racket and dress donated by Serbian Tennis Pro Ana Ivanevic for Euro 1032,49 (£800.00) to be put towards rebuilding the tennis courts at the CKC school in Sierra Leone

September 2009

Recent pictures of the courts after they have cleared the mud and silt away from the surface. It looks so pathetic, cracked and disfigured, yet still showing some of lines on the tarmac. People are showing interest in the work, and COBA UK are at the stage of setting out the parameters of the contract to rebuild the courts.

Pupils and Staff at the school with the donations :D

December 2009

News from Christ The King College, Sierra Leone representative Anthony Sheriff

'There are plans for a field trip to Sierra Leone in order to start work on plans for the work on the
Tennis Courts. There are enough materials and equipment donations in the school to start some tennis activities.
I am aware that some of the tennis balls are being used to play 'Hand Tennis', which was a popular game
even at the time of my days in the school.

Hand Tennis is like Lawn Tennis, except that it is played using the bare hands instead of a tennis racquet.
The lines for the play area are the same as for singles tennis game. The method and rules of serving are the
same. The game was improvised at that time because there were not enough racquets and court space for all
tennis enthusiasts to play. Hand Tennis can be played in the corridors or along the avenue of the school
compound. All it takes is a piece of white chalk to mark the lines on the tarmac, using a double line to represent
the net area. I am hopeful to hear from the ITF through the Sierra Leone Tennis Federation (SLTF) chairman regarding the
planned refurbishment of the courts in CKC. The work can only be started when we are sure there are enough funds
to at least do the re-surfacing - we have not used any money from the Ebay sales of the tennis memorabila as of yet, it is safe in the bank and will only use it for work or materials for the courts.

Once more, I thank everyone very much for helping us to make a difference to the lives of the pupils in our school '

About the School..... The History bit.....

In the years following its founding, CKC was renowned as an institution of academic excellence attracting pupils from far away countries like neighbouring Liberia, England and the USA. Most returnees to Sierra Leone from Europe and America found CKC to be the type of school they would adopt for their children. The school produced some of the finest professionals and academics and many of them now occupy positions of responsibility in many institutions in
other countries of Africa and Europe, particularly in UK as well as America and Canada. In Sierra Leone today many Ex-pupils occupy senior positions in government and the civil service.

For over a decade Sierra Leone was in the grips of a senseless war waged by some military adventurists backed by some of Sierra Leone's neighbours who sought to plunder the wealth, human and mineral resources of the country. The war reversed development in every sphere of life in the country and caused a total breakdown of law and order, as a consequence of which most schools and academic institutions in the rural areas were destroyed. Education everywhere in the country was disrupted and schools remained closed for most parts of the years of war.

One thing that remains unchanged at CKC, is the pet crocodile which lives in its enlarged pond constructed by Alumni. It survived the mayhem, but has also suffered due to lack of proper care and attention. The animal is now aged over 36 years and needs to be relocated to a larger pond under plans for construction in the swamp land of CKC.

If you'd like to know more about CKC, please contact Anthony Sheriff tony.sheriff@googlemail.com or go to COBA UK website www.coba-uk.org

Winneba School Book Appeal

SalBolton — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 10:55:10 CST

Ghana Tennis Aid supported fellow charitable appeal Ghana Learning Project who collected nearly 6,000 books for schools in Ghana who are deprived of learning resources and lack of reading materials The primary aim of Ghana Learning Project was to help provide and implement learning materials to schools in Ghana based on their educational needs.

In addition, it is evident that we all own plenty of books in the UK that are going to waste, with many libraries, schools
and individuals in possession of books that are no longer being used.

Winneba School Book Appeal

Inspired by this idea and in support of Ghana Learning Project, Ghana Tennis Aid launched an appeal in Summer 2009 to collect books for the University Practice Secondary Schools new library where the children at the Winneba Tennis Academy attend. The school's library shelves had a some what 'empty' feel about it when we visited it in 2007 whilst talent spotting at the school on the Tennis Project.

Summer 2009 Book Appeal

The need for books and learning resources for the schools new library was highlighted, so Ghana Tennis Aid decided to not only continue collecting Tennis equipment from individuals and South London Tennis Clubs for the Winneba Tennis Academy, but also to appeal for unused books that can be used for school children aged 11 and over. So far, Ghana Tennis Aid has collected over 150 books from various individuals and members of Purley Sports Club and Sutton Churches Tennis Club that will be put to good use at the Winneba School. Thanks!

Updates

AUGUST 2009

First shipment of School Books and books from Ghana Learning Project for the Winneba School Appeal arrives at the school! Philip Baah, PE teacher writes......

'I am now sorting the books out for donation, to both the primary, Junior High School and some probably for the

Senior High schools especially the advanced geography and art books.

Thanks very much for the help from everyone and the chance you are all providing for Ghanaian most especially

children and students in Winneba. It is my hope to help them put it to the best use.

Schools are on vacation and would re-open in the first week of September at which time the Presentations would

be made and to give the donated pens out to those who are graduating to the 1st year Junior High.'

Thanks everyone.......

SEPTEMBER 2009

Cheam Library offers to be a depot for unwanted books to aid the Winneba School Book Appeal (Thanks Ricky :D) After the appeal appears in the 'Sutton Guardian' 300 books have been donated by the local public and special thanks to Muschamp Primary School in Carshalton, South London for their amazing donation. Thanks :D

OCTOBER 2009

WINNEBA SCHOOL BOOK APPEAL

BIG THANKS!!!!!!

OVER 500 BOOKS!

Watch this space..........

Ghana Tennis Aid on the Radio!

SalBolton — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:24:01 CDT

PEOPLETALK RADIO RELEASE SIX PART AUDIO BOOK 'THE CALL OF AFRICA'

I spent the best part of 8 months writing a memoir book about my experience in Ghana that inspired this appeal. I was lucky enough to get an oppurtunity to adapt, edit and narrate the story by PeopleTalk Radio into six 10 minute episodes to be listened on Podcast or downloaded onto Ipods.

www.peopletalk.libsyn.com

Episode One: Africa is calling
Episode Two: Gateway to Africa
Episode Three: First impressions
Coming soon......
Episode Four: Voyage to The North
Episode Five: To Walk With The Elephants
Episode Six: Making a Difference

Narrated and written by Sal Bolton

Directed and produced by Nigel Killick

‘You can do it for 3 months or longer, West Africa, country called Ghana – you could teach the kids how to play tennis there’….

Akwaaba! These 6 short episodes depict memoirs from the stories of young University Graduate Sal Bolton making a soul searching decision in taking the sport she loves to aid the underprivileged communties of deepest darkest Africa to the land of the Black Star, Ghana. The episodes follow Sal’s adventures from the encouraging words of a university friend to make a difference in the world after a heavy night of student partying in England….to the unpredictable Tro Tro rides of the dusty congested backstreets of Accra, an adrenaline fuelled adventure across the biggest lake in Africa and roaming the roads of the unknown to walk with the elephants, and receiving her very first marriage proposal whilst being sold a steering wheel. The series highlights the interesting and comedic customs and etiquette she encounters as an ‘Obruni’ in Africa, whilst interacting with the ‘happy go lucky’ local Ghanaians in their habitat and also the heartwarming inner peace she finally finds whilst offering a hand to those less fortunate. These stories are adapted from a forthcoming book, The Call of Africa which hope to inspire and open the eyes for anybody that’s ever wondered what its like to be a young white girl living and breathing this magical continent in the aim of making a difference.

I would like to acknowledge and thank Cat O’Connor for her help with this project http://www.myspace.com/catoconnor

Ghana Tennis Aid web page: http://ghanatennisaid.wetpaint.com/

View photos of the Ghana Tennis project at http://www.myalbum.com/Album=6WM6QZ6B

Direct download: 2_Gateway_to_Africa.mp3 Category: Audio Books --

Before and after our trip to Africa, I was interviewed about the appeal and about what us guys did to help the kids through tennis in Ghana on South West London Radio Station 'Radio Jackie'

With Amanda Akass

GHANA

WINDY BAY FM, Winneba, Ghana

9th AUGUST 2007

Me and Dave being interviewed Live about the National Tournament we were hosting at the Winneba Academy

RADIO PEACE FM, Winneba, Ghana

OCTOBER 18th 2007

Radio Peace is the biggest radio station in Winneba so I requested to the studio to Interview myself and my fellow tennis volunteers Ed Banks, Polly Crawford, Kate Leafe and Ross Brown in a live 30 minute slot about Ghana Tennis Aid, the work of Global Sports Xperience and how we were rejuvenating Tennis back into Winneba. Speaking of the talent spotting and the tournament we had organised for the new generation at the Tennis Academy.

One of the Junior National Players, Albert, came to translate our English into the local language Fante for the Winneba population, so we were told to speak very slooooooowwwlllllyyyy.

This ended up being an unforgettable hilarious experience because the DJ got our names wrong and was introducing the male volunteers with female names live on air!!!!

Links of GTA

SalBolton — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 17:34:29 CDT

Join the Facebook Group - more videos, more photos

Real Gap - the organisation that makes the Ghana Tennis Project possible!. Real Gap provides hundreds of gap year and travelling ideas in over 45 countries around the world - volunteer work, paid work, teach English, learn a language, or new skills, sports and adventure travel. Check the project out at their website.

These guys are raising funds to build a much needed Sports Academy in Ghana to offer scholarships in sports and education to deprived children who show a talent in sport, including tennis, very much like the dudes we taught. This project will undoubtedly change the futures of many children
If you'd like to help..please visit www.justgiving.com/righttodream

UK Tennis Charity who I went to Ghana as an ambassador for to spread the Tennis Gospel. Tennis For Free aims to increase participation in tennis in the United Kingdom for all ages regardless of ability, background, race and financial circumstance by providing tennis instruction for free in public park tennis courts.
Watch the video here http://www.digitaldelicious.com/Client_TFF_Full_Edit_05_Play.html

Tennis For Africa is a charity based in Rome, Italy and aims to fund projects in Africa through tennis events and auctioning sports memoribilia. It was through them Ghana Tennis Aid has donated tennis equipment and raised money with for a deprived school community in Bo, Sierra Leone

In support of aiding the future of Africa's underprivileged communities, Ghana Tennis Aid is pleased to support Ghana Learning Project - an appeal to help provide and implement learning materials to schools in Ghana based on their educational needs.

Daniel’s Dream is a UK based charity founded by Denise Gwatkin in 2009, supporting a Ugandan charity, Kampla School of Excellence Ministries (KSEM), set up to run an orphanage for 30 boys and helps another 55 disadvantaged children in the community. In support, Ghana Tennis Aid has donated tennis balls and a tennis net to the orphanage recieved from local donors of the appeal.

Daniel's Dream - Uganda

SalBolton — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:26:14 CDT

Daniel’s Dream is a UK based charity established in 2009 by tennis coach Denise Gwatkin and Caroline Cardew-Smith supporting a Ugandan charity, Kampla School of Excellence Ministries (KSEM), set up to run an orphanage for 30 boys and another 55 disadvantaged children in the community of Rugabe, a district on the outskirts of Kampala.

Daniel and the boys at dinner and wash day!

In July 2007, Denise had a vision of teaching tennis to children in the dust of Africa. Consequently in March 2008 she went to Uganda and spent a month teaching tennis in schools in Kampala. While there she met Daniel Ntale, who runs KSEM, and visited the boy’s home. She was enormously impressed by Daniel and his friend’s efforts to voluntarily help underprivileged children to have a better life and resolved to try and do as much as she could to help them on her return.

Denise and her donations.......

The ultimate dream is to buy some land and build a boarding school with a football pitch and tennis courts and to be able to help many more children, including girls, to have a better quality of life and invest in Uganda’s next generation.

Daniel and the boys are very keen on improving the tennis facilities available, there are very few courts in Uganda, the best ones are at the Uganda Sporting Federation in Kampala, but they cost a lot to hire and are only used by children who can afford to hire and pay for coaching or those who are exceptionally talented. It is a catch 22 situation as without anywhere to play that is reasonably flat they can’t practice or get any experience. When Denise went out the last two years she has taken rackets and balls, and this year Ghana Tennis Aid donated tennis balls and a net recieved from an appeal for the orphanage.

Preparing the centre court !

She also gave some coaching to a couple of the boys who are keen and who already play badminton at school (they don’t all want to play football!). These boys are now helping to show the others the basics and were delighted to have Denise helping them improve. They now have a piece of land that they are hard at work to make into a tennis court before the main summer holidays.

For more information

www.danielsdream.org.uk

Watch Ghana Tennis Aid Videos!

SalBolton — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 16:44:50 CDT

Meet the Future Ghana Tennis Stars - Winneba Tennis Academy

Serious Skills

Hidden Talent

The Big Guys! - Serving Drill

Jeff's Forehand

Mercy

Ghana Tennis Aid In The Press!

SalBolton — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 17:46:12 CST

Tennis Life UK Magazine March/April 2008

Tennis Today Magazine March 2008
British Tennis Magazine March 2008

Sutton Guardian, 13th December 2007

'Give Time' Magazine from Save The Children, Spring 2008

Tennis in Surrey Magazine Winter 2007 Tennis Pro PTR International Magazine May/June 2007

Sutton Guardian May 24th 2007
British Tennis Magazine March 2007

Tennis in Surrey Magazine Summer 2008

London Borough of Chisick and Kensington Council Paper June 2008

Professional Tennis Registry 'Tennis Pro' Magazine June 2008

Sutton Guardian May 29th 2008

Sutton Guardian December 18th 2008

Wilson Press Release October 2008

Ghana Tennis Project with Global Sports Xperience 2007

SalBolton — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 08:25:52 CDT

July - November 2007

The Crew !

....For the 10 month build up before heading out to Ghana, I knew how scarce sports equipment and resources were in Africa, so inspired by a friend of mine Lucy Mills, who did Football Aid in Ghana with the same company, I set up my own appeal ‘Ghana Tennis Aid’ in Association with Global Sports Xperience and UK Charity ‘Tennis For Free’ who I went to Africa as an ambassador for. It appeared in tennis magazines, the internet and local newspapers appealing to the public and sports companies to donate money and tennis/sports equipments towards the community I would be working with in Africa. ‘Tennis For Free’ donated brand new rackets and balls from their sponsors and as a result I was interviewed on a local South London Radio show. This got tennis clubs to collect unused rackets and coaching equipment and local sports shops, ‘Save The Children’ and ‘Sutton Tennis Academy’ where I give some lessons in London donated tennis clothing for the appeal. Approaching Trusts and sponsors resulted in over £1,500 in sponsorship and donations from Sutton Sports Council, The Torch Trophy Trust – London, Sutton and Cheam Round Table and from the general public. I ended up collecting over £2,500 worth of tennis rackets, clothes, shoes, tennis balls and coaching equipment and Construction company Taylor Woodrow kindly agreed to ship the equipment out to Accra for me. After our trip, racket specialists PWP Europe and The Junior Clay Tennis Registry cleared out their stock and sent more equipment out to the tennis volunteers in Ghana for the tennis community which is great!

Donating the equipment from Accra when we arrived in Ghana - with the help of Bernard, we picked up the equipment from the Taylor Woodrow/Taysec depot in Accra who had kindly shipped it out for me – signed a few forms and hey presto was all ours!

Donating the tennis equipment made the work of collecting and appealing all worth it. Arriving at the Tennis Academy at the National Sports College in Winneba, a small coastal town in the Eastern Region of Ghana west of the capital Accra, we met Coah Noah and the National Junior Squad (coolest bunch of dudes ever) who had very little to work with so it was great for us volunteers to be able to say ‘here have 400 balls instead of 20’. We also donated a ball basket and cones so the players could have some structured drills aswell as being able to set up the tennis court using the equipment to give private lessons and conduct ‘International Tennis Number Assessments’ which is a test to rank the players if they wanted to compete.

We gave the children some t-shirts and new shoes to replace the falling apart ones they were playing in and also giving children who were sharing a racket their very own one was a very rewarding to do. We taught them new games and were able to help improve their co-ordination with exercises using the sports equipment.

Childs play.......hehe

Ahhh Aunty...one of the very few chicks in Ghana who really play tennis and The One and Only Coach Noah - we used part of our project fee to pay for a locker to be built so he could keep all the donated equipment in......

Drills with the Junior National Squad....pretty good :P

Ghana Tennis Aid National Tournament 2007

SalBolton — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 16:45:36 CDT

Greg, a former tennis volunteer had sent over lots of brand new tennis balls for the players so with all the brand new clothes and rackets we had brought to Ghana, myself and other tennis volunteers Dave Semple and Emma Hutchings organised a 3 day knockout tournament consisting of a 16 draw Mens Single Tournament, Ladies Singles and Boys and Girls under 14 contest at The National Sports College in Winneba. The Head Coach at the sports college, Noah invited players to compete with a one cedi entry fee (about 60p) while we constructed the draw and made posters to put around campus of the University of Winneba.

The best thing about Ghana is that everything is so easy to organise and you can pretty much do anything! The interest was huge and the tournament ended up being labelled ‘National’ as we had players and coming from all over Ghana to stay at the university to compete – it felt like Wimbledon – very exciting! We also had referees coming to help manage the tournament as well as recruiting children to be ball boys and ball girls and others as line judges.

Refreshments alway on hand - water boys struck gold

The tournament was the talk of campus and Coach Noah arranged for us volunteers to go and talk live on air about our intentions for helping tennis in Ghana and the tournament on Ghanaian Radio Station ‘Windy Bay FM’. It also gave me a chance to thank Taysec/Taylor Woodrow’s involvement and the other sponsors and parties who contributed.

The games begin.....

Ghanaian style of winning a tennis match....:P

The tournament lasted 3 days with outstanding quality tennis, a few injuries and a tennis atmosphere that I’ve never seen – when you watch a serious Ghanaian tennis match there’s a lot of banter, people running on the court and lifting the winner into the air in celebration! even Windy Bay FM came down on Finals Day and interviewed us again courtside! The players took it in turns to umpire all the different matches with eventual winners were Charles Abu for his electrofying men’s singles, Lizzy and Jeff Bagerbaseh for the 14 & Under and Anita Kodjoe was the eventual Ladies Winner– even Em had a go at competing in the Ladies Singles!

FINALS DAY - PRIZE CEREMONY

Mens Singles Final

CHARLES ALLOTEY beat EUGENE HAMMOND

7-6 (13-11) 4-6, 6-4

Ladies Singles Final

ANITA KODJOE beat AUNTY MARIAMA

Girls 14 & Under Final

LIZZY BAGERBASEH beat FRANCISKA NYARKO

4-0, 4-1

Boys 14 & Under Final

JEFF BAGERBASEH beat HERMAN ABBAN
6-1, 6-2

At the prize ceremony, we awarded prize money from our volunteer placement fee to the winners and runners ups aswell as spare trophies, medals and certificates that I’d brought over from the UK. The players were also given a brand new racket, and a bag each of sports clothing and other prizes. All the women and girls who competed were awarded prizes to encourage competition aswell as the quarter finalists and semi finalists. To finish we had awards for ‘Best Senior Performance’, and ‘Best Junior Performance’ of the tournament where a new Babolat tracksuit and Tennis Bag were prizes up for grabs. And then it was all over…………………. but great memories………..

Best Performance Awards....

Best Senior Performance, Enock Godi and Best Junior Performance, Ramzy Sampane - Well done Boy! :P

The Team....

Coach Noah, Radio Windy Bay DJ with myself, Dave and Em

Because the tournament was such a success the draws and results were sent to the International Tennis Federation (ITF) of West Africa for their records of active tournaments in West Africa.

Talent Spotting Clinic

SalBolton — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 18:53:21 CDT

TALENT SPOTTING – SEPTEMBER 2007

With over 50 rackets and new coaching equipment, Coach Noah, myself and other tennis volunteers Rob Sadler, Joe Page and Ed Banks suggested the idea of getting a new generation of tennis players at the academy.

So... we arranged with the local school on the campus ‘University Practice Junior Secondary School’ to go and visit the school’s Headmaster and discussed the opportunity of allocating a period in the pupils timetable to come to the Academy for talentspotting clinics.

Back to school.....been a while

We did 3 days of spotting clinics with children aged 8 – 12 years taking 50 children each clinic. We first split them into numbered groups and allocated them to a tennis volunteer. We all had designated activities we would do on our court and rotated the groups amongst the coaches every 20 minutes, noting which students showed possible potential. The activites included teamwork, co-ordination, movement, speed, physical conditioning and basic tennis skills with the sports equipment and rackets we had donated - all good fun!

Future Ghana Tennis Stars

Out of the children who participated in the tennis clinics, we selected 25 and invited them to come to daily training after school to encourage a new generation of young tennis players. They used the donated rackets and some were so keen they would be waiting with a huge smile at the tennis courts a few hours before!

WINNEBLEDON – JUNIOR TOURNAMENT FOR THE NEW GENERATION

16 – 18 OCTOBER 2007

To encourage healthy competition between the new players, we organised a Junior tournament at the National Sports College and named it ‘Winnebledon’ for Boys and Girls Under 12. We were interviewed about this on
Winneba's biggest Radio Station 'Radio Peace' in a 30 minute live slot. Tennis volunteer Kate Leafe brought some sweets so we used them as prizes with certificates for the winners. Ace!

New Kids on The Block.....

International Tennis Number Assessments

SalBolton — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 18:45:36 CDT

With the donations of cones, extra balls and a ball hopper –we were able set up the tennis court to give the Junior National Squad an on court assessment to get an International Tennis Number (ITN). This on court assessment is widely used in other parts of the world to rank a tennis players ability for competition. The ITN is slowly progressing worldwide in the tennis world to encourage all tennis players to get this number.

The assessments involved marking out the tennis court in relation to the ITN Assessment guidelines to test the players groundstrokes, serve and volleying depth and accuracy. A timed athletic and speed test was also included in the assessment. This was a great addition to the National Juniors training routine as it was challenging and exciting for them to get their own number between 1-10 (1 being Professional) as a ranking for competition.

Rob setting up....I think its over 6 foot but just to make sure.....

All yours Coach.....

Serious Skills going on boys...

Tennis in Accra

SalBolton — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 07:48:06 CDT

RIGHT TO DREAM UNDERPRIVALEDGED CHILDRENS CENTRE

TENNIS IN THE ORPHANAGE

During our stay in Ghana's capital Accra, GSX volunteers would regularly visit an orphanage run under the umbrella of 'Right to Dream' where we could go spend time with the kids and teach them stuff and constantly mark their work and give them more (they cannot get enough believe me!). We donated a short tennis set for them to play at their break times. They also used it for weekend games and for their sports days.

STREET TENNIS

When I was staying in Accra – I gave some mini tennis rackets and balls to Ghanaian children playing on the street across from where we were living, so they could have a new activity to play.

Kelvin and his lil' buddy :P

Rob and Joey's 12 Hour Tennis-A-Thon

SalBolton — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 11:50:19 CDT

THE 12 HOUR TENNIS-A-THON

SEPTEMBER 25th 2007

Two of the tennis volunteers endured the hot African Sun to play 12 hours of tennis at the National Sports College, Winneba on September 25th 2007 to raise money to send one of the best juniors for a scholarship in South Africa. Rob ‘Posh Tom’ Sadler and Joe ‘Joey’ Page played tennis non stop from 6am to 6pm for sponsors to contribute towards a plane ticket to Johannesburg to send Jeff Bagerbaseh, 14 to try out for a tennis scholarship. He could not afford the airfare so myself and other tennis volunteer Ed Banks donated $500 from my appeal and Rob and Joe decided they wanted to undertake this challenge, Rob never having played tennis continuously for that amount of time before and Joe had never even played a competitive tennis match before!

They had t-shirts specially made for the event and over the 12 hours of peanut butter sandwiches, drinking milo, chasing children who would steal the balls, Coach Noah shouting at them that they were crazy and the pain of aching muscles and impressive blisters – they eventually prevailed, playing a impressive total of 26 sets of tennis and making $300 towards the ticket. The tennis-a-thon was so interesting to the campus population and passers-by that the tennis players had to hold the crowd back to stop them running on the court.

Well done boys!

The battle begins..... 6 am

INTERVIEW WITH ROB AND JOEY

Why did you guys do the tennis-a-thon in the first place?

R: LOL, Coach Noah (head coach of tennis placement at Winneba) was open and honest about the dire financial state of the Winneba Tennis Academy, we wanted to help in some way and later the idea came to head.
J: I wanted to do a baked bean bath originally, but they didn’t have any Heinz!

Did you think it would be difficult playing for that long?

R: I thought as soon as we had the idea and announced it to the other volunteers, I thought we were crazy considering the length of time, the stifling heat and the fact that I hadn’t even played half of that length of time continuously before!
J: I thought it would be difficult and was a little nervous after we had announced it publicly – I felt we had a lot riding on us – no going back now! And also the fact that as a keen rugby player I had never played a competitive game of tennis before let alone for 12 hours.

So how did the Tennis-A-Thon go?

R: At the start at 6am, Ed (another tennis volunteer) came out to umpire our first set. I think we were both in a state of disbelief we were actually going ahead with this – thankfully the weather was overcast and we both prayed it would stay that way. (it didn’t)
J: We started well even though I was half asleep. Halfway through it was quite impossible and at times hard to keep score, but Ed kept score and Sal brought us out bread and Milo.
R: About 5 hours in – my mind started to wonder and at one point I got so dazed I was going for winners left, right and centre to keep the points as short as possible!
J: Blister time around 7 hours into it and a previous back injury from rugby made it a little difficult for me at times. We attracted quite a crowd of passers bys and some of the students at the university – by virtue of good looks, good tennis! Haha. It even went as far as two of the academy players having to keep the crowd at bay.
R: Coach Noah hadn’t realized it was just the two of us doing the 12 hours and jokingly told us we were crazy!

How did you feel after the 12 hours was up?

J: We felt relieved that we’d done it and felt very proud of both of us that we’d achieved something worthwhile during our time in Ghana.
R: I felt pretty jubilant and glad having done what I’d set out to achieve and also pretty smug that I’d won!
J: LOL, We’ll play 12 hours of Rugby and see if he wins!

Best Moment, Worst Moment?

R: Best – serving an ace on the final point of the tennis-a-thon! Worst – 9 hours in, on knackered legs having to chase after a kid who’d stolen one of our tennis balls!
J: Best – winning the opening point of the tennis-a-thon and peanut butter sandwich time! Worst – I was physically sick in the early stages which wasn’t too great (bad chicken and rice the night before)
What has the money you’ve raised gone towards?
R: The money has allowed up and coming world class junior Jeff Bagerbaseh who trains with us to fulfill his life long dream of taking up a tennis scholarship in South Africa – without the money he couldn’t have gone.

Would you ever do it again?

R: Defintely! I’ll be rounding up the troops at my club in London to do 1 hour shifts but I’d don’t think I’ll be inviting any of the first team!
J: Not in the near future now the Rugby season’s started, but it’s a good story to tell.

…………Jeff got on the plane to South Africa that November and trialed for the scholarship he is likely to get.