December 16, 2016 By Sahr Morris Jnr
Sierra Leone Tennis Association (SLTA) has on Wednesday commenced work on the Hill Station Lawn Tennis Courts site for the construction of four (4) fenced tennis courts with sitting accommodation.
The construction works, which is funded and supported by the International Tennis Federation through the Grand Slam Development Fund committee, would also see the construction of a gymnasium, multi-purpose hall and an office at the site, which would house the National Tennis Centre.
Secretary General of SLTA, Yayah Koroma, said despite the support from ITF, they were in need of more funds.
He said: “We are sending letters and proposals to corporate institutions, embassies, individuals etc. to kindly extend their financial and/or material supports to the project that would be geared towards the development of tennis in Sierra Leone.
“Without trained coaches and better facilities, it will be very difficult for tennis to develop in in any country. That is why the Association in collaboration with the National Olympic Committee of Sierra Leone and the ITF has been organizing level 1 coaches’ education courses and most recently a level II course was conducted in Freetown,” the SLTA scribe said.
He added that now that they have the coaches, who could deliver on high performance training, the Association was pushing hard to ensure they have the required facility for the athletes to prepare themselves and compete internationally.
Koroma also revealed that the facility would not only serve the elite players, but also veterans and social players.