Come Celebrate With Us

It has been written before that I try not to write too much about the ATA in this column and it seems as if I might be contradicting myself lately. The thing is, this is a very exciting time for the board of directors and staff of the tennis academy because if one were to see in this week’s edition of The Anguillian, the doors to the facility will finally open to the public on May 23. A couple of weeks ago, Celebration of Youth was about the ATA summer camp. Unfortunately, many summer programmes are still in the development process so it has been difficult to publish anything about different options this year as yet.

Almost 14 years ago, Mitch Lake and others had a dream to bring world class tennis to Anguilla. On May 23, the dream will be complete as the general public will be able to view the best tennis facility in the Lesser Antilles. This opening will also be accompanied by the NBA Tennis Invitational Tournament. It will be the first ever tournament held at the ATA and everyone who can play tennis is invited to enter. Persons who enter will receive a commemorative t-shirt. Also in this week’s edition of The Anguillian, one can see a flyer detailing the tournament.
It is with the help of local businesses, and organizations such as the National Bank of Anguilla, Caribbean Commercial Bank, Social Security Board and Cable and Wireless Anguilla, that the ATA has get this far. Substantial contributions were made by the aforementioned institutions that total almost USD $350,000 towards the construction of the building and courts. Of course, many others have made contributions to the building and children’s programme and their help has definitely made a positive impact on the lives of junior tennis players. The After School Programme currently has almost 100 children enrolled of which 20 have been invited to join together to form a “tournament group.” From this group, these children will represent Anguilla internationally and eventually we hope to get all of them tennis scholarships to the USA if they so desire to continue training.

Indeed this is a very exciting time for the ATA, sponsors and of course tennis players. I urge everyone who loves tennis to enter the tournament and celebrate the opening of the Anguilla Tennis Academy.