The top young tennis players from schools across South Wales are coming together for their big events of the year. The South Wales Mini Tennis Schools finals take place in Port Talbot and Cardiff over the next two weeks, featuring 448 children in 112 teams from 14 different local authority areas. The youngsters have qualified for the finals through competitions in their local authority areas. The mini tennis red finals (for Year 3 and below) were at Afan Lido, Port Talbot, yesterday (Thursday June 12); the mini tennis orange finals (for Year 5 and below) are at the David Lloyd Centre, Cardiff, on Tuesday June 17; and the mini tennis green finals (for Year 6 and below) at the same venue on Thursday, June 19. The events will feature players from: Cardiff, Merthyr Tydfil, Newport, Caerphilly, Torfaen, Monmouthshire, Powys, Vale of Glamorgan, Bridgend, Neath and Port Talbot, Swansea, Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, and Ceredigion. Mini tennis gives players, aged 10 and under, the chance to enjoy the fun of competitive tennis. They play in teams of four - boys, girls and mixed - at three levels, according to age and ability. These are modified versions of the full game on smaller courts with slower balls and small rackets. As children get older, the court and racket sizes increase and the balls get bouncier! The schools mini tennis competition is run by Tennis Wales, the governing body for tennis in Wales, in conjunction with Dragon Sport. Information on these events and on all aspects of tennis in Wales is available from Tennis Wales at 029 20 463335 or http://www.tenniswales.org.uk">www.tenniswales.org.uk
