Hurricane Refugees Enjoy Tennis Clinic

As part of The North American IC Rod Laver Junior Challenge in The Bahamas, 25 kids who are refugees from Hurricane Dorian enjoyed a tennis clinic run by coaches and the junior players participating in the Junior Challenge.

In September, Hurricane Dorian devastated two northern Islands of The Bahamas and for almost two months the kids in the clinic have been living in temporary accommodation on the capital island in Nassau.

On the second day of the Junior Challenge, 25 refugee kids were brought to The National Tennis Centre where the coaches and juniors were initially organised in to four groups. There were juniors from each country put in to every group which also helped them get to know each other. Over the next two hours the refugee kids then rotated through the groups in a series of different fun drills which they enjoyed.

At the end they were split in to groups to have a volleying match with soft balls across a tennis court. The juniors in The Junior Challenge went behind and to the side of the refugee kids to help keep the rallies going. There was much laughter and everyone enjoyed the whole event.

Before the kids left they were given small gifts and a tennis ball so they could hopefully continue some of the fun games they had back at their temporary homes.

Overall it was a great success and a superb experience for both the refugee kids and the juniors from The Junior Challenge. Perry Newton, the BLTA Head of Junior Development was also involved and is looking in to ways of continuing future clinics for these unfortunate refugee kids.

It was a good example of the IC Philosophy of "Hands across the net, friendship across the ocean" as the kids had crossed the Bahamas seas to come from their devastated island to the main Bahamas Island where they are currently living. The Philanthropy Clinic also helped the Juniors in the Challenge appreciate their own good fortune and it provided a lesson in "Giving back".