In sport, playing to win is a priority to almost one and all. Yet, intense competition, especially in individual disciplines like tennis, can deter youngsters from enjoying and benefiting from the real values of such a sport.
Enjoying experience and enthusiasm for the game, brother and sister Claire Arrigo and Christopher Gatt, both former national tennis team players, took the initiative to set up the St Andrew's Tennis School at the Pembroke Rackets Tennis Club (PRTC).
The school's main goal is to introduce tennis to a wider audience and, secondly, to scout for young talent and train these kids to represent Malta and be part of the national team in future.
The school, only set up in April of last year, stresses the fun and social side of tennis which is an ideal sport for boys and girls to engage in outdoor exercise, while having fun and making new friends.
This is how the idea of Participation Day came about - putting the focus on participation rather than winning, where the junior players automatically relax and enjoy the game rather than worry about winning or losing.
The second Participation Day was organised a few days ago where a group of kids, aged from four to seven, played tennis team games and went through fitness races. The older ones played a mini tournament along with fun tennis games.
At the end of the event, sponsored by Next, all players were presented with mementos for their participation.
Both Claire and Chris travelled around Europe as juniors.
"Now, through St Andrew's Tennis School, we would like to see more kids being given the same opportunities we had within the game," Chris remarked.
It is an ambitious project when one remembers that, at 17, he attended the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida for a year where he played the likes of Andre Agassi and Jim Courier and obtained a tennis scholarship at Ohio State University.
Claire followed in her brother's footsteps and got a scholarship at Weber State University, Utah.
During that four-year period, they attained their degrees and played college tennis around the US. They both returned to join the national team, Chris holding the Malta champion spot and both representing the country on the international scene such as Davis Cup, Federation Cup and Games of the Small States of Europe.
The idea of the Participation Day has been successful and the second 'Day' saw an increase in the number of juniors enjoying themselves in an active and social environment.
The next St Andrew's Tennis School event will be Participation Comino over a weekend in April where two days of tennis fun with an overnight stay at the Comino Bay Hotel are planned.