THERE was much youthful exuberance as four Cheddar Valley first schools took part in the inaugural mini red schools tennis tournament at Cheddar Tennis Club last week.

THERE was much youthful exuberance as four Cheddar Valley first schools took part in the inaugural mini red schools' tennis tournament at Cheddar Tennis Club last week.

The tournament followed a series of tennis taster sessions over the previous few weeks for Years 2 and 3 children run by the club's professional coaches at Axbridge, Cheddar, Weare and Draycott and Rodney Stoke First Schools.

Mini red is the first stage in the LTA's popular mini tennis training programme, aimed particularly at four to seven year olds and involving a variety of fun skills and drills to improve movement, agility and hand to eye co-ordination, as well as teaching the fundamentals of tennis. The tasters were run during curriculum time and at the end of the courses four children were chosen to represent each school in the tournament held at the tennis club.

The youngsters played both singles and doubles, at the end of which the smallest school, Draycott and Rodney Stoke came out on top and returned to school proudly bearing the winners' trophy. All the children who took part received certificates presented by club coach Stephen Pearce who ran the event with great calmness and efficiency.

The aim of the tennis tasters was to introduce children to the sport and those interested in continuing can do so at the club where coaching classes are run throughout the year during term time for all ages and abilities, after school on Fridays and on Saturday mornings.

There are also two summer tennis courses for children; July 29 to 31 and August 18 to 20. For more information contact head coach Dean Cornish 01934 750402 or junior secretary Alison Locke 01934 744695.