OSWEGO, NY – After weeks of drills at various locations around the county, young tennis enthusiasts recently had the chance to have some fun with their new skills.
“Although the USTA Tennis Program started in 2006, this year will be the 11th year for the tennis carnival, which began in 2007,” according to Shane Evans, supervisor of the USTA Tennis Program at the Oswego City-County Youth Bureau.
The carnival was on Saturday (August 12) from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. (with a slight rain delay around 2 p.m.) at the Riley Elementary School tennis courts, 269 E.Eighth St.
“The carnival is our end of the year celebration! We invite all of our children that have attended our program to come relax, have fun, and play tennis. It sort of culminates the summer not only for the kids but for my AmeriCorps members as well,” said Evans. “The USTA Tennis Program sponsors the carnival as a way to provide our participants with the chance to learn the basic skills of tennis and the thrill of competition while in a fun setting.”
The carnival is hosted by the Oswego City/County Youth Bureau.
“This year, we have two new AmeriCorps members, Brynn Waloven and Danielle Sperato, coordinating the event,” Evans said.
Waloven, Sperato and Evans spent the summer taking the tennis program to 13 different sites, including various recreation programs and town parks in places like Oswego, Fulton and Mexico.
The carnival was free of charge and was a way for the participants to showcase what they’ve learned during the program. Several volunteers assisted Waloven, Sperato and Evans in providing a good time for the participants.
Free prizes were provided for all. The youngsters earned prizes like jump-ropes, hats, sunglasses, water bottles and more for competing at different skill areas.
They had to return a serve and try to get the ball to land in one of several decorated boxes, and during the obstacle course, the youngsters had to control their tennis balls on their racquets as they navigated the route.
A very popular activity this year was ‘water balloon’ tennis where youngsters got the chance to swat small balloons filled with cold water in place of tennis balls.
“Some of the sites that we have traveled to this summer include Riley Elementary, Fulton Y, Camp Hollis, Hannibal Library, Camp Zerbe, Cleveland, Sandy Creek, Pulaski, Constantia, Granby, Fulton CYO, Schroeppel and the Fulton parks,” Evans said. “Some of the sites do not have tennis courts. But, we were still able to set up some nets and have fun!”
Last summer, they had 999 participants, Evans said.
“This year, we’re well over 1,000. It was my goal to reach out to more than 1,300 children this summer,” Evans said. “Although I will not know until the absolute end of our program, I would say we have had a very good year.”
For more information about the USTA Summer Tennis Program, contact Evans at [email protected]
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