Tennis in Anguilla

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2002: Tennis Students at Carimar and Malliouhana

Source:  The Anguillian
Date:    Friday, July 26, 2002

About 170 young tennis amateurs descended on the tennis courts of Carimar and Malliouhana to enjoy the last week of tennis camp. Nine coaches from overseas along with three local coaches are perfecting the skills of their charges.

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Chris Wade

Chris Wade, one of the American coaches, who worked at Cap Juluca from 1993 to 1996, started the camp in 1996 with the assistance of Mitchelle Lake. Wade credits Mitchelle with the growth of the camp which started with twenty youngster (now 170); then spanning one week, now three weeks.

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Tyler Cothrow of Tennessee

This year, Mitchell has added a cultural exchange component to Tennis Camp by including young persons from the United States. They came from New Jersey, Kentucky, Colorado and Tennessee and are being hosted by Anguillian families. Juliana Forster and Tyler Cothrow, both of Tennessee, are of the view that "[Anguilla] is a nice island."

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The limited number of tennis facilities to the growing number of young tennis enthusiasts is one of the setbacks facing the camp over the years. Mitchell is continuing to canvass for support to develop this sport, and hopes that the powers that be will one day catch on to his enthusiasm. "Anguilla must invest in more courts to get the most out of [tennis]. You cannot effectively work with 25 kids on one court," said Wade.

Wade considers the sport as another means for Anguillian young people to realize their dream of going to an American college.

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Shanice Rawlins from St Kitts

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