Discussion about entry: The Silver Fund: Promoting Wheelchair Tennis in Developing Countries
This is discussion about The Silver Fund: Promoting Wheelchair Tennis in Developing Countries.
This is discussion about The Silver Fund: Promoting Wheelchair Tennis in Developing Countries.
Comments
Hey Mark,
great to see you on changemakers. It was great to meet you at the IPC Sport Forum and hear about the activitities the ITF does with paralympic athletes. Can you say soemthing about how the Silver Fund helps secure facilities for wheelchair tennis for athletes using wheelchairs? This is often a big problem in developing countries where tennis is a sport where only the wealthy can have sport memberships to access courts. Can you also tell us how you cooperate with other changemakers projects using sport with athletes in wheelchairs - for example the mobility wheelchair project, paralympic shool day or the projects in Kenya and Zambia to advance sport for persons with disabilities.
All the best from Berlin!
Heather Cameron
Free University Berlin
University Challenge
Heather
Thanks for your comments. The ITF works through the Tennis Federations in each country accessing the tennis facilities used by the National Federation. Through various intiatives the ITF tries to support through the provision of equipment, information and advice. It is not possible in all cases. The ITF work with a number of partners both formally and informally to promote the sport of wheelchair tennis. We try to share information on all the work we are doing so that any other agencies can make use of our contacts. We can provide publicity information and of course access to our website. We have done some work in Kenya and have contact with Zambia and would be happy to try and cooperate with their projects. A great success story for tennis is in Nigeria where many players are playing on the National Stadium courts. They recently had a national tournament for 150 players. The Tennis Federation run the programme.
Mark Bullock
ITF Wheelchair Tennis Development Officer
The ITF is to be commended for establishing the Silver Fund, Mark, and for its even earlier support of wheelchair tennis around the world. To have created wheelchair-tennis competitions in twenty-one nations is no mean accomplishment, and I'm certain that this has made a considerable difference in the lives of those who've been able to compete only because of the ITF's efforts.
I was wondering how a tennis wheelchair differs from other sports' wheelchairs, such as those used in basketball? And what is the approximate cost of fabricating these chairs?
Steve Byars
Marshall School of Business
University of Southern California
Steve
Thanks for your comments. A tennis wheelchair is very similar to a basketball chair. A basketball chair has a 'bumper bar'. For developmental purposes the same chair can be used for both sports. Also at an introductory level every day wheelchairs can also be used. Tennis wheelchairs can be produced locally in developing countries for a few hundred dollars. The ITF has worked with local producers in many countries to produce low cost chairs - Bolivia, Colombia, Indonesia, Romania, Sri Lanka, Zambia...
My personal opinion is that a key to the development of wheelchair tennis for new players is the use of low compression balls that allow players to play the game from an early stage, including from an everyday chair.
For more information visit: http://www.tennisplayandstay.com/
Kind regards
Mark Bullock
ITF Wheelchair Tennis Development Officer
www.itftennis.com/wheelchair
Hi Mark,
Your programme sounds very impressive and it looks like the ITF is really reaching out to developing countries to promote and develop wheelchair tennis.
I'm interested to know about different approaches to inclusion that you may have come across in some countries. Recent efforts to mainstream disability sport with able-bodied sport are now quite well-known and implemented in developed countries.
In some of the projects you have developed, can you elaborate on the structures that you have to work within and maybe some of the barriers you have come across in setting up a project in a new country. For example, I imagine that some places would have a national disability sport association or committee whilst in others you may work predominantly with the able-bodied tennis association.
What is the ITF's approach to inclusion?
Best regards,
Jackie Lauff
Free University Berlin
University Challenge