By BRENT STUBBS
Senior Sports Reporter
bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
THE last time the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association’s Junior Development Committee hosted its Tennis-A-Thon, more than $5,000 was raised for local charities.
On Saturday, the popular event will return to the National Tennis Centre and this time, the BLTA is hoping to provide the opportunity for the junior players and their coaches to benefit.
Kim O’Kelley, the chairman of the organising committee, said the BLTA finds itself in a dilemma with no funding left after it had to absorb the expenses incurred from the hosting of the 2012 Bahamas Women’s Open Tennis Tournament. She said the idea of putting on the tournament will serve as dual cause.
While this will enable the federation to raise the necessary funding to assist the junior development programme, it will also focus on getting the players to be more consistent in their performances on the court.
“We are trying to bring the cultures together and get the youth together,” O’Kelley said.
“We have all these teams coming up and the players are just training, so we want to get the coaches involved and it’s a win-win situation for everybody.
“The coaches can get some money, the BLTA can get some money and the players can get some money to go towards their training or for their national trips.”
As for the actual Tennis-A-Thon, O’Kelley said the players will get a chance to see how long they can continue to hit using just one ball.
The last time it was held, William ‘JJ’ Fountain hit 563 balls in a row against former touring pro Mark Knowles, Davis Cupper Devin Mullings and “ageless wonder” Leo Rolle.
O’Kelley even stepped in and pinched hit for the veteran players because of how long Fountain stayed on the court.
Knowles, who was recently honoured at Wimbledon for his longevity as a member of the Bahamas Davis Cup team, will be returning to hit along with Davis Cuppers Marvin Rolle and Kevin Major Jr Fed Cup players Kerrie Cartwright, Danielle Thompson and Nikkita Fountain are all listed to participate.
Additionally, Bradley Bain will be joining John Antonas and brothers Leo and Larry Rolle as well as Robbie Isaacs. In all, about 15 coaches have consented to be on hand to hit against the junior players during the day.
The action starts at 10am on three different courts. Each junior player will step on the court and hit against a coach. The objective is to try and keep the ball in play for as long as the players can. Each player will have two attempts to participate before they are done.
At the end of the tournament, the BLTA will determine who’s going to be the longest rallying junior in the Bahamas.
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