Uruguay report 2022 Philanthropy Program – 2022 Report – Program Development “TENNIS TO GROW” Introduction : Another year of our beloved Tenis Para Crecer program has passed, this time the first year post-pandemic. Face-to-face tennis classes could be offered in all the schools of the program in Montevideo and Canelones, from March to December and without interruption. In the younger girls/boys classes, since the pandemic covered a quarter of the lives of these students, many of them showed difficulties in their motor skills, coordination, etc. Once this was detected and understood, strategies were adapted in order to reduce the impact, ending the year in a very satisfactory manner. As a result of the analysis of tennis teachers and school teachers, changes in social behavior such as apathy, irritability, difficulty concentrating were also noted in all children, which also affected learning in school subjects. All this has been observed in a more profound way in schools located in the most vulnerable neighbourhoods. Final REPORT by activity of the 2022 program: 1 – Tennis to Grow: Tennis schools for children March 2022 Beginning of classes in all the schools of the program. After two atypical years crossed by the covid 19 pandemic, (in 2020 there were no face-to-face classes and in 2021, only in the second half of the year, with restrictions). In March 2022, all class activities will be resumed in full, in all teaching centers. In the same year, the full-time Rural School No. 47, from Villa El Tato (department of Canelones), was incorporated. At the same time, classes were also restarted with School No. 268 of Pinar Norte, with which we had not been able to coordinate actions after the restart in May 2021. Fortunately, tennis classes have been restored normally, counting again with the Pinar Tennis Club for their development. In five schools in Montevideo and two in Canelones, a total of 450 girls and boys between the ages of 8 and 12 received classes regularly throughout this year 2022 in person between March and December. By school: 1-School 92 full time - Lavalleja neighborhood - Casavalle area Beginning of classes in March with 60 third and fourth year children. 2- Special School No. 248 - Borro Neighborhood Beginning of classes in March with 60 children with different degrees of intellectual difficulty and learning problems. Approximately half of the school's students have participated in classes with a high degree of interest. 3 - Schools N° 35 Guatemala - Barrio Buceo - start of classes in March with 60 children from 5th and 6th grade. Year . 4- School N° 267 Euskalerria 70 - Classes begin in March with 120 children corresponding to 2 third and 2 fourth grades. 5 - Obra Banneux School in the Marconi neighborhood beginning of classes with 30 children, 5th and 6th year. 6 -Tennis School in Rivera – Active during 2022 subject to restructuring to the extent of incorporating groups from the neighboring city, Livramento, Brazil, added to the work with the NGO SERPROS for the second year. At the same time, progress is being made at the Club on the construction of two new clay courts. School N° 268 Pinar Norte -beginning in March with 120 children of 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th year. School No. 47 Villa el Tato - started in March with 60 children. This school, incorporated just this year, turned out to be a very good fit for the objectives of the program given its particular characteristics. About them, we highlight its enclave in a poor neighborhood, relatively isolated for being in a semi-rural environment without much access to proposals of a cultural and sports nature (it does not even have a neighborhood playground) In the area there are no clubs or sports facilities to which you can access. For a few years now, the largest classes have attended the Pando Sports Square once a week where, among other things, they practice tennis, an activity that we wish we could support in 2023. Through the management of the program, we have contributed to providing some access to the tennis courts in the private neighborhood of La Tahona, relatively close to the school. We will surely deepen this relationship next year. Complementary activities with the Schools This year, two didactic tours were carried out at the Solís theater, coordinated with the "Education" area of the same theater and supported by the company CUTCSA (in charge of transporting the children). With some kids we were able to go to the Carrasco Lawn Tennis stadium to watch matches of the Davis Cup (Uruguay/China) and also the ATP Uruguay Open, together with athletes from the wheelchair tennis and tennis for the blind program. To close the year with the different schools, shared snacks were held, open classes with parents and participation in the celebrations of the 7th anniversary of the Casavalle square. With school No. 47 we close to all tennis on the courts of La Tahona in an unforgettable day. 2 - Other inclusive activities : Tennis for the blind. In March, tennis practices for the blind also began at the facilities of Plaza No. 3 of the AUT, to which was added a series of meetings at the El Pinar Tennis Club where several people with visual disabilities from the city gathered. of the coast and gold coast. Regarding training activities and workshops, we participated in a workshop at the Club Colón organized by the Cachón institution. Workshop offered at the Luis Suarez complex in August. In December we participated with a workshop in the "Derribando Barreras" festival at the Shoping Costa Urbana, on the occasion of disability month. The total number of participants who had at least one contact with tennis for the blind was approximately 20 people, currently 6 athletes who practice regularly. Down's Syndrome In 2022 we continue to maintain close ties with the group of boys with syndrome in the city of Pando "Creando Sueños" supporting them with workshops, including one in which the boys from Peñarol Inclusivo also participated. All these activities are carried out in the padel complex 15 0. Wheelchair tennis The wheelchair tennis training activities began in February, with between 8 and 10 participants from Montevideo, Colonia and Artigas, among which three players have stood out, two of whom have finished the year with ITF points after having participated of two Futures tournaments. A relationship with ADIMO, a group of people with motor disabilities in the city of Maldonado, was established. We shared a day of training and training at the Maldonado Campus in April and we stayed in contact to coordinate actions and give them support, which allows them to develop the sport under our program. The level of the group has had a great evolution, to the point that some players have experienced a significant improvement in their level of play, already reflected in results in international tournaments. This makes it necessary to rethink the structuring of training, sports spaces (fields and resources), division of groups by level of play, etc. This will also make it necessary to increase some workloads, considering the possibility of including physical and psychological preparation, aspects present in any preparation of highly competitive athletes. It has been a very productive year for wheelchair tennis in terms of the different activities in which we participate: - In training, several theoretical and practical workshops were offered in different institutions. - In international competitions, 6 players participated, in addition to the back and forth exchanges generated with the athletes from Cañuelas. He traveled to this city of Cañuelas (Bs. As.) during the July vacation to participate in a week of intensive training with six other Argentine players. That week was crowned by dispute and obtaining the Rio de la Plata 2nd Cup. Edition, by our number 1 player Luciano Varela. In October he returned to the same city, this time with 6 players to play the Cañuelas Open (ITF official date). Then in November our players 1 and 2 of our local ranking, came to the city of Curitiba to compete in their second official tournament of the year, which also awarded ITF points, Luciano winning the consolation wheel in singles. At the end of the year, we received friends from Cañuelas for a week in which a tennis tournament was held at the La Floresta Tennis Club. Based at the Hotel Vista de La Floresta, several training activities were carried out, highlighting a workshop for badminton and another for adapted paddle tennis, being the first time that either of these two sports were carried out in our country. Towards the end of that same week, Argentines and Uruguayans traveled to the city of Colonia del Sacramento where the third edition of the Rio de la Plata "Emilio Fernandez" Cup would be played in memory of our great friend who died this year and promoter of inclusive sports. in the department of Colonia. It was won for the second time in a row by Uruguayan number 1 Luciano Varela. New goals for wheelchair tennis will come in 2023, by the hand of our first 2 players, Agustin Marengo (440 ITF) and Luciano Varela (260 ITF). Qualify for the Parapan American Games, for which you must participate in at least three scoring regional tournaments in each semester of the year, raising the ranking of each player, also thinking about the Paralympics in France 2024.
