Liverpool Mayor backs Kid's Day
Over a thousand local school children packed into Centre Court today for a special mixed doubles match in preparation for the 2010 Tradition- ICAP Liverpool International Tennis Tournament at Calderstones Park.
The event, compered by BBC Radio Merseyside’s Alan Jackson, also featured the Lord Mayor of Liverpool Hazel Williams who got in on the action as part of Liverpool City Council’s efforts to get kids active in the area.
The afternoon began with Mayor Williams hitting some balls with young Norwegian junior talent Ulrikke Eikeri before the main match featuring three-time Grand Slam Doubles Champion Mark Knowles.
“It’s very important for the council to help put on events like this and judging by the response we’ve had today I think we’ve got a healthy generation to come.” said Williams.
Knowles and his partner, Canadian junior Eugenie Bouchard, were up against local talent Neal Skupski and his partner Eikeri with the teams playing two super set tiebreakers in front of a raucous crowd.
Skupski and Eikeri raced into a commanding early lead and eventually took the first set 10-4. However not to be outdone, Knowles and Bouchard fought back in the second to level things up at 10-7. A final deciding point was played to determine a winner, with Knowles showing his class to hand his side the victory.
The event at Calderstones Park is part of Northern Vision’s plans to develop sport programmes for kids and encourage local children to get active. The tournament has seen 35,000 children over 8 years participate in their kids program in association with the Liverpool City Council.
Frank Doherty, the Council’s Principal Sports Development Officer, was full of praise for the event: “Throughout the week we’ve got about a thousand kids a day coming here, so in terms of engaging the community and the young kids, this tournament is really unique”
Doherty also emphasised the importance of the event for the local community as a whole: “We think it’s very important to tackle health and obesity problems in the area and to inspire kids coming through. If a percentage of the children here today take part in our initiatives as a result, it’ll have a positive future impact on the general health and wellbeing of the city.”
The official 2010 Tradition- ICAP Liverpool International Tennis Tournament gets underway tomorrow at Calderstones Park, featuring ATP star Paul-Henri Mathieu and female tennis legend Martina Hingis.
Tickets are also available from Northern Vision’s dedicated Liverpool International Tennis Tournament website www.liverpooltennis.co.uk, Ticketmaster, the Echo Arena and the 08 Place.
Sean Molyneux
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