12 November 2019 | Tennis ACT

Telopea Park School have claimed back-to-back titles in the Todd Woodbridge Cup ACT Final after defeating Mother Teresa Primary School 6 rubbers to two, on Monday 28 October at the Canberra Tennis Centre.

The competition which is open to Year 3 and 4 students, is played on smaller modified courts suitable for red modified balls.  The competition is designed to encourage grass-roots tennis participation in schools and encourage a healthy and active lifestyle among children.

Schools qualified for the ACT Final by finishing in the top two at their Regional Gala Day, with over 370 students competing at four events.

Telopea Park School PE Coordinator, Cathy Marot, was pleased the team were able to retain their title, with tennis now having a big impact in the school.

“Everybody was trying very hard to play their best game and to be a good sport.

“Tennis has become a very strong sport at Telopea.  We do [tennis] during class time, during the term and then the kids give up their lunchtimes to come and play and practice together and they improve their communication and they become good friends.  It’s not only playing tennis, it’s being fair and cooperative to each other.”

The day had a big impact on the participating players with the Telopea Park students saying,

“It was very exciting, fun, it was a new experience for me, pretty sure for the rest of the team, and hope to do it again pretty soon.”

“It was very fun, interesting, I hope the people in Year 3 coming into Year 4 will try to do it, win for us and keep the tradition going.”

“We did a really good job and Team A will have a lot of fun in Sydney and the people who come next year will really enjoy it because it’s really fun and we all learn a lot of sportsmanship and we all become friends.”

Mother Teresa Assistant Principal, Craig Hart said it was an enjoyable day out for the students.

“The kids did a great job and most importantly had a lot of fun doing it.  It was an opportunity to take the skills we’ve been learning at school through the tennis program and showcase them on a scale all around the ACT which was great.

Telopea Park will now progress to play for the Todd Woodbridge Cup in Sydney on Monday 18 November.  In 2018, Telopea became the first ACT team to claim the Todd Woodbridge Cup when they defeated St Patrick’s School, Albury in the final.

Todd Woodbridge Cup ACT Final Participating Schools