Gullivers' International Tennis Tournament

2008 Report

The fourth International Cape Town Tennis Tournament took place during the October half term 2008 with good British support from Mill Hill School in London and the ever strong Reeds School in Surrey.

The eight night tour had plenty of tennis with the tournament running over three days at the Western Province Tennis Headquarters and the girls tournament at UCT (University of Cape Town). In addition to the tournament the schools also played one-off school matches against well known South African Schools, including SACS, Paul Roos, Bishops, Wynberg, Herschel Girls and Somerset College. Mill Hill even added to the cultural experience by being billeted with families from SACS and Herschel for two of the nights.

Mill Hill had six entrants in the boys Tournament and two in the girls, while Reeds brought along 14 boys. The remainder of the entrants came from some of the best tennis playing schools and clubs in the Western Province.

Away from the tennis the schools made the most of seeing many of Cape Town’s top sightseeing and cultural attractions, with visits to Table Mountain, Robben Island, a Peninsular Tour and Newlands Stadium and Sports Science Tour, plus the highlight - a trip to a township. Here we set up a sports coaching clinic at a primary school, which was followed by a meal at LeLapa restaurant for traditional African cuisine and music, it was a real humbling experience.

The tournament produced some excellent matches, in the girls tournament the locals dominated but Mill Hill's Tabitha Mainstone did pick up the division two trophy. The boys tournament had exceptional performances and some memorable matches, one in particular being Josh Southern from Reeds three setter with the local Herzlia player J Luck. Alex Wilton of Reeds dominated the main draw and won the boys Championship trophy.

The tour culminated with the tournament presentation evening taking place in superb private surroundings at Groot Constantia, and a chance for all the players to get out of their tennis clothing in to something more formal. Tournament trophies were presented by Gullivers Sports Travel staff, and staff from both Reeds and Mill Hill had arranged their own end of tour prizes to players.

The success of the tournament has certainly put us in good stead for the next Gullivers' International Tennis Tournament, taking place during the October 2010 half term. If you would like to enquire about taking your school on tour and entering the tournament, and join the many other UK schools who have played in the tournament since its inception in 2002 please email Steve Badham or call 01684 293175.

Steve Badham, Sales Executive

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