{"id":33453,"date":"2023-08-17T20:20:57","date_gmt":"2023-08-18T00:20:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=33453"},"modified":"2023-08-24T19:17:42","modified_gmt":"2023-08-24T23:17:42","slug":"road-tennis-blazes-trail-in-aurora-as-accessible-sport-heads-to-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/road-tennis-blazes-trail-in-aurora-as-accessible-sport-heads-to-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"Road Tennis blazes trail in Aurora as \u201caccessible\u201d sport heads to schools"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In his native Barbados, playing lawn tennis was seen by many as something aspirational. It was considered expensive, as far as sports go, and one that could only be played if you had just the right equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But road tennis, a variation on the game played with paddles and a wooden plank serving as a net, made things significantly more accessible for Lionel Eli, and led him to a future representing the country in the Davis Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Canadian resident for more than 40 years, Eli has joined forces with local sport supporters, the Town of Aurora, and the York Region District School Board (YRDSB) to bring road tennis into local schools, the wider community, and see it become ubiquitous in this country as road hockey has been for generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Community leaders came together at Aurora Heights Public School last Wednesday, August 9, to \u201claunch\u201d the sport in York Region and Canada. The event was also the launch of the sport within the YRDSB as part of its physical education curriculum in the coming school year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is an exciting day,\u201d said Mayor Tom Mrakas. \u201cWith the popularity of racquet sports, I think this is an amazing thing to have started not only in York Region, but right here in the Town of Aurora. We\u2019re pretty excited about it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Mayor, who was joined at the launch my local MPs Tony Van Bynen and Leah Taylor Roy, as well as MPP Dawn Gallagher Murphy, thanked community-builder Ron Kellman, a native of Barbados himself, and Ward 1 Councillor Ron Weese, who also serves as President of Sport Aurora, for their work in making the launch a reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking forward to this going globally and for it starting right here in the Town of Aurora, I can\u2019t think of a better place to begin this journey.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the Canadian journey of road tennis technically began last year when it was demonstrated at the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame\u2019s annual gala. Hall of Fame President Mark Gravett, who was present for last week\u2019s launch, said getting 500 formally-dressed attendees to set up a makeshift court and give the sport a try was a \u201cperfect\u201d sight to behold, and even caught the eye of Canadian tennis champ Daniel Nestor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt just snowballed,\u201d said Gravett. \u201cWe had young people at the gala, older people, everybody was playing and that\u2019s what kicked off the conversation and that\u2019s what led us to York Region. I have to say we\u2019re ecstatic that York is basically the pioneer to roll this out across Ontario.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The YRDSB hailed the collaboration and the opportunity to introduce the burgeoning sport into local schools, one he described as \u201cvery accessible and inclusive\u201d for students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was a theme touched upon by MP Taylor Roy as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs communities and towns, we talk a lot about diversity and inclusivity, and this is a great, fun way to promote that,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is a sport that is inclusive of all people, of all abilities to a certain extent, and it\u2019s a great way to reach over to Barbados, another country where we have so many diplomatic [connections]. It\u2019s a great way to do it by playing a game, having some fun, and have cultures come together as well. From the perspective of mental health and physical health and getting people out, there\u2019s always something about a new game, something that\u2019s different, something that\u2019s international that people really latch onto.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Added MPP Dawn Gallagher Murphy, \u201cAs the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Health, I look at this as encouraging and moving people towards the physical and mental wellbeing and that starts with sports and new sports like this so people can get engaged in a very simple but fun way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was no better testament to the impact of road tennis, a game which is played very much like the lawn variety but with a splash of table tennis game play thrown in for good measure, than Eli, who helped demonstrate the athletic endeavour with young players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have lived in Canada for 45 years and I grew up playing road tennis in Barbados because it was a sport you could play,\u201d he said. \u201cLawn tennis was considered a very expensive sport, so we played road tennis on the street. I transitioned from road tennis and became a professional tennis player; I played at the US Open, I played at the Davis Cup for Barbados, have two tennis academies in Toronto\u2026 this is a sport that can take you to any level that you want once you\u2019re involved in racquet sports.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the initiative\u2019s Technical Director of Road Tennis overseeing plans to get the sport in schools, he sees myriad possibilities on the horizon, including having York Region schools compete against each other with the top school \u201ceventually going to Barbados to compete in tennis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have big plans for tennis and we want your help \u2013 and it seems as though your help is there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Councillor Weese agreed, adding it is an \u201cimportant opportunity\u201d for Aurora and York Region to be at the \u201cfront end\u201d of introducing a new sport to Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNowhere else has this been developed and it certainly hasn\u2019t been included in the schools because we believe that the schools are the best place to start this type of a thing,\u201d he said. \u201cThe sport seems to be accepted by [Education], so I think it is a big opportunity to grow a sport quickly and we\u2019re proud Aurora has been selected to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n\r\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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