This was the second week of competition for Tennis Geelong’s Saturday Pennants, including beginners Orange Ball grades.
This season there are 16 teams from 11 clubs across the region split into two sections – a Central/East (Orange Ball Barty) and Central/West (Orange Ball De Minaur).
Ninety players make up the competition with the smaller court and low-compression balls, making it the perfect way for juniors to put their skills into practice with real matches, and parents to learn the finer points of scoring and rules of the sport.
Many are making their debut this summer, along with some hoping to improve on their performance over the winter competition.
Barty consists of teams from Geelong Lawn, All Saints, Wandana Heights, Leopold, Ocean Grove, Point Lonsdale and Drysdale, while De Minaur has Geelong Lawn, Wandana Heights with two teams, Highton, All Saints, St Mary’s, Meredith and Teesdale.
“Wandana Heights Tennis Club has 3 Orange Ball teams all playing in their first season of tennis, and thank you to Tennis Geelong for running the beginner Orange Ball competition,” Wandana Heights junior coordinator Wendy Castle said.
“Our Orange Ball Barty team was beaten by Point Lonsdale today, but (are) having a wonderful time and introduction to tennis. The other two teams played at home in a Wandana Orange Ball derby (De Minaur Blue vs Green).
“All kids are participating in a club-run training session on a Wednesday evening which I am running with the help of parents. We have a lovely mix of families who have just started their tennis journey with their older children and others who are joining their older siblings at Wandana.”
The competition will run concurrently with the Junior Pennant, and while the matches are scored, there is no finals series or official ladders, to keep the focus on learning the game, rather than the scoreboard.
To celebrate a successful season, it will culminate in a gala day on the last home and away week when all teams will play at a common venue to finish the season together.
