CREATING ACCESS TO PLAYING TENNIS
Tennis Ireland in conjunction with a range of Partners is creating access to Tennis for players with a range of different disabilities. The sport began 18 months ago with a programme to create access for people with an Intellectual Disability (ID) to tennis. After a number of months this acquired the name of "Enjoy Tennis" as it seemed to summarise perfectly what the initiative was about. The success of this programme has now encouraged/enabled the sport to pilot, develop and deliver initiatives for players with a range of different disabilities.
Enjoy Tennis
1. Players with an Intellectual Disability (ID): -The programme has grown from there being no players in January 2015 to five hundred in July 2016. These 500 players are playing in almost 50 tennis clubs across Ireland (see below supplementary info for a map showing the locations of the programme around Ireland).
2. Players with a profound level of Autism: - The Pilot programme was completed with our partner St. Michael's House (SMH), based at Malahide Tennis Club. This was essentially a research project initially to determine whether we could identify a coaching model that would work for players with this level of Autism. The pilot has proven that players with this level of disability can enjoy playing the game and improve their skills through coaching. There are many players with the ID programme sessions that would also have a diagnosis of autism. However, this part of the project is aimed at the more profound level. For example, the group from SMH would be largely non-verbal and demonstrate the other behaviours consistent with a profound level of autism (see supplementary information for photos of the Malahide group in action).
3. Respite Care: - We have piloted using tennis as the basis for respite care weekends for players with an intellectual disability. On 11 and 12 June 2016, the first respite group stayed in DCU in the student accommodation. Over the weekend they had a variety of tennis activities ranging from coaching to having a special exhibition match between Davis Cup players for them.
4. Blind/Vision Impaired players: - This version of tennis was launched at Mayfest with Vision Sports Ireland. Two Pilot coaching programmes has now been completed at the Tennis Ireland National Tennis Centre and at Shankill Tennis Club, a second pilot is taking place at the Tennis Ireland courts at DCU. Following the pilots, the following further events will now take place:
a. A national roll out of the Blind/ Vision Impaired Tennis with Vision Sports Ireland and the Local Sports Partnerships; and
b. The 2017 Cork Sports Ability Day will include “a come and try” event and a promotional stand from Tennis Ireland.
See supplementary info for video of the Sunday blind tennis sessions in Shankill TC and a summary note which gives further information on Vision Impaired Tennis in Ireland
5. Spinal & Acquired Brain Injuries (including stroke): - In conjunction with the Irish Wheelchair Association a programme has begun at the National Rehabilitation Hospital. The pilot is now complete and the sessions are continuing on an interim basis. The review was based on feedback from the physio/sports team at the hospital and the players. Subject to funding we will now launch long term programme in September at the hospital. This may also be extended to players with spinal injuries. The current status is that we have asked the hospital to tell us their ideal scenario where the programme could cater on a weekly basis for x number of groups involving number of players. See Supplementary information for further information on this written by the NRH.
6. Wheelchair tennis: - The rollout is scheduled for Autumn 2016 with the IWA. An initial preparatory step towards this was the IWA Summer camp including tennis this month. This comprised of 12 wheelchair users and 12 AB siblings/friends. Along with the IWA team and the Tennis Ireland coaches, the group was assisted by the Irish no 1 wheelchair tennis player, Gareth Greene, who is ranked in the top 100 players worldwide.
The Model
The programme for each of the different disabilities is based on a model that we have evolved over the last 18 months. This is varied according to the nature of the disability and the structure of the organisations working in the area. The key aspects of the model are still evolving but can currently be described under the following headings.
1. Partnerships between Tennis Ireland and the relevant partner organisations: - Tennis Ireland works with a number of partner organisations e.g. service providers in the field of ID such as SMH, the Cope Foundation in Cork and Middleton, Carmona, the NLN, Cairdeas in Tullow, St Patrick’s in Kilkenny and other National Governing Bodies, such as the Irish Wheelchair Association, Vision Sports Ireland and the Local Sports Partnerships.
2. Linkage: - Creating the linkage between tennis clubs and local disability organisations in their communities.
3. Capabilities and Confidence: - Building the capability and confidence of Tennis Ireland licensed tennis coaches in coaching players with varying types of disability. This is done at two levels; at CPD workshops (e.g. in ID tennis and Vision Impaired tennis) delivered to the existing cohort of coaches, and also embedding disability coaching in Tennis Ireland coach education, thereby producing an annual cohort of coaches already trained in the area. The coaches have responded very well to the introduction of disability tennis. Remarkably a not uncommon report from the coaches in the clubs is that it is the most satisfying coaching hours of their week.
4. Funding: - Bringing funding to finance/enable an initial period of professional coaching for the players and training for the volunteers.
5. Feedback: - Consistently evaluating the player satisfaction/feedback and impact of the programme with the pilots and ongoing groups.
6. Club involvement/ Integration: Involvement of club members as hitting partners/ assistants to the coach. This starts to embed disability tennis within the club and is critical to achieving the long term result that we're after, which is the continuation of disability tennis in the club beyond the funded coaching stage. This arguably is one of the most important elements of the model. It results in a number of benefits/ impacts:
a. It begins the process of integration of the players into the club as relationships form between the hitting partners and the players.
b. It has the effect of dissolving the nervousness that can exist for club members who may not have had contact with players with a disability previously. This happens typically half way through the first session!!
c. The club volunteers “bring” the disability tennis and the world of disability into conversations within the club – e.g. the volunteers from the session with St Patrick’s in Kilkenny go on to talk about it at the mixed tennis morning the following day.
d. Post the funded coaching programme, the volunteers are the critical component in the sustainability of the model, ensuring that the weekly sessions and the integration objective remain active.
The supplementary information contains the summary experience of one of the volunteers with the blind tennis programme – it includes the following “When we attended the demonstration of VI tennis, my first exposure to blind sport, the enthusiasm, energy and sheer enjoyment was hugely infectious. I left with a determination that this experience should be shared and, through the e pilot programme at Shankill, it has been”.
7. Awareness/skills: - Building disability awareness among club coaches and volunteers and tennis coaching skills in the service providers through free access to the Tennis Ireland coach assistant training programme and qualification.
8. Competition: - Developing inter-club structures and opportunities for competitive players to compete with each other and potentially leading to participation in the INAS World games in Great Britain in 2017. The programme also provides for inter-club structures for all players. For example in June Glasnevin TC hosted a 3 club tournament involving Glasnevin , Sutton and Clontarf.
9. Special Olympics: - Tennis, has now been recognized as a Special Olympics Sport,(may 2016) providing additional opportunities for competition for ID players and will be a further measure to establish tennis within the family of disability sports.
10. Adaptations in the Game: - Tennis has an adaptive form called mini tennis, which utilises balls with lower rates of compression and lower nets. Where appropriate the coaches use mini tennis for most of our players as they are typically beginners.
The Tennis Ireland strategy in the area is to operate at two levels. On the one hand there is a series of sports programme objectives in relation to skills development, enjoying the game etc. On the other is the integration objective and aligning the objectives with the New Directions strategy.
Resources & Training
Resources:
Following a review of the programme in April 2016, Tennis Ireland decided that to drive the programme forward we needed to inject further resources to the area. We have now appointed part time Disability Tennis Regional Tennis Development Officers. Their role will be to help consolidate the progress to-date as well as pushing on to increase the opportunities we are providing to players with a disability. As the number involved in ID tennis reaches the 500 player figure, it is important that we continue to support and nurture the fifty clubs who are now engaged in various elements of the programme.
In addition to this group, the team of Tennis Ireland Regional Development Officers around the four provinces include the Enjoy Tennis programme in their work with clubs in their region, bringing it to their attention and checking on the status of the programme at the club.
The programme has been led by an implementation group of 14 people, which is comprised of Provincial councilors, volunteers from the programme, Tennis Ireland development officers, service providers and Local Sports Partnership staff.
Training:
1. Tennis Ireland coaches - CPD training workshops were attended by over 40 Tennis Ireland licensed coaches in 2015. This is now being extended for the 2016 CPD training, which will include the new forms of disability tennis e.g. profound autism and vision impaired tennis, which will take place on September 3rd, 2016. In addition we are introducing this training into the Tennis Ireland coach education curriculum from September 2016.
2. Club members & Provincial councilors - Disability Awareness Training and tennis coaching capability is provided for the club members. This includes free access to the Tennis Ireland on line coaching programme for coaching assistants and Disability Awareness training which will be delivered through Cara.
3. Service provider staff - free access to Tennis Ireland coaching assistant qualification.
4. Tennis Ireland Provincial Branch Officers and staff - Disability Awareness training.
Involvement of people with disabilities in leadership roles
Two of the tennis clubs (Wicklow and Glen Albyn) have started a number of their players with ID to take the coaching assistant Tennis Ireland qualification, which involves online modules and coach observation. This will enable the players to work as an assistant to the coach with future groups at the club. One of the clubs in Connacht, Ballinasloe, has formed a management team to co-ordinate the ID tennis in the club and appointed one of the players to this group.
The blind and vision impaired pilot phase is being managed by a team of which 50% are drawn from players and 50% from volunteers/coaches. We’ll use the same approach with the wheelchair tennis project starting in the autumn of 2016.
Input from people with disabilities and organisations
This happens at two levels. First of all, if Tennis Ireland can't partner with the relevant organisation for the disability then we wouldn't feel we could start to work in the area. It’s probably an over simplification but our principle is: Tennis Ireland knows tennis and “organisation X” knows the disability and what is needed to allow the players benefit and participate in the programme. The whole Enjoy Tennis project began with interviews/meetings with Stewarts care, Carmona, Festine Lente, the Cope Foundation and Sunbeam. This is simply the way we do things. Over time tennis people are getting to understand disabilities, such as ID and will in time know more about areas such as blind/vision impairment. It’s a very simple but effective model whereby you combine the knowledge of Vision Sports and Tennis Ireland and identify what might work and what is needed in the context of the relevant disability. Then, to deliver the programme, Vision Sports or the Irish Wheelchair Association will reach out to their members and link the players with the clubs and coaches, who are brought to them by Tennis Ireland.
The other input is that the programmes use a simple evaluation/feedback form after the pilots. This means that the "voice" of the players is deliberately obtained, heard and considered. Depending on the disability, this evaluation is either provided directly by the player or the questionnaire is administered by the service provider. Some of the input/feedback is very simple, e.g. do the players come each week!?
The above is very much a work in progress, with a number of areas still at a review of the piloting stage. It’s important to state that while we are at a fairly advanced stage now with tennis in the field of intellectual disability, the other forms of our sport are at an earlier stage of development. However, the "light bulb" has gone on in the sport. This is at the level of the individual club (both executive committees and club members), the coaches and the National Governing Body.
One of the quotes that stands out is from one of the senior coaches in Dublin, who was speaking at an event earlier in the year when he said "Wednesday mornings, when I Coach with the group from St Michael’s House, is the best coaching hour of my week". That sums it up well for us all.
Another significant quote from National Governing Body level came from one of the member of the Tennis Ireland Board, who said “the Enjoy Tennis programme is one of the most important things we have on now".
In short it’s a privilege to be able to bring these opportunities to players and to do so in a way that we will ensure is sustainable. As the CEO of another National Governing Body said when we were considering starting this work "don’t start something you can’t continue". We keep that advice to the forefront of everything we do.