🇸🇨 ❤️ Tennis

History of Seychelles Tennis Association

The Seychelles Tennis Association dates back to 1955 when Seychelles College, the only Secondary Grammar School for boys at that time run by the Brothers of Christian Instruction, had one tennis court in red earth or laterite. This court was laboriously carved out of a wooded terrace behind the College block thanks to the initiative and tennis interest of one member of the Religious Teaching Staff who, together with a group of equally motivated students, found time after school hours and over the weekend to clear the bush and flatten out the rugged surface.

Once the court was ready, only a handful of Seychelles College students took up the game. They were mostly boarders (there was a boarding house, then, next to the College mostly for students whose parents lived on Praslin and La Digue) and young aspirants to the Brotherhood who also lived in another sort of Boarding House run by the Brothers themselves.

The tennis court also provided recreational activity to the Teaching Brothers whose residence was just above the court. The only other teaching court on the island was found in Victoria near the ‘Seychelles Club’ (where Barclays Bank Main branch now stands) to which it belonged for the use of its members only. The court was a cemented one and nearly fenced and well looked after.

In 60’s, those who had played tennis while they were at the College (the’ tennis pioneers’) and who had finished schooling kept on playing as ‘Old Boys’ as an after work sporting activity. It must be remembered that there was no formal coaching then. Each one taught himself as he played. We can understand therefore why bad tennis habits have been picked up by those considered as reasonably good players at the moment.

As the number of tennis players gradually increased, it was felt that there was a need for the construction of a second earth court. Students and their teachers worked again very hard on a voluntary basis, clearing and flattening out a piece of land adjacent to the existing court. Around 1960, a tennis committee was set up under the Chairmanship of Brother Austin O’Donnell to provide some sort of organization to the ‘building sport’ and arrange playing times in particular. Owing to our humid wet climate, the quality of the playing surface was not good. It became quickly overgrown with grass and turned muddy during the rainy season. Maintenance of the courts became quite a problem. Members got together and organized fund-raising activities such as public dances held in the Seychelles College Hall and raffles and fancy fairs. Rs 50,000 were thus raised over a couple of months to pay for the cementing of the first court (now the central court) undertaken by COSTAIN. One of its directors, Capt. A. Michel, and a member of the tennis Association, made us a favour by charging us cost price only. Three years later after more funds had been raised, we got the second earth court resurfaced with concrete. This job was undertaken by Public Works Department thanks to the support of two top officials, Mr. Paul Noad and Mr. Hadley, both members of the Tennis Association. The second court cost us Rs. 65,000. The third court (the closest to the clubhouse) and generally considered as the beginners’ court was built fairly recently at the cost of Rs 25,000 entirely on a self-help basis (the treasurer, Brother Paul Letarte doing the lion’s share) with technical guidance from Mr. Vijay Patel of Vijay Construction Company, also a member of the Association.

The STA moved to the newly created tennis complex at Roche Caiman where 5 new courts had been built. This change of venue was due to the building of the new Mont Fleuri School right on our two concrete existing courts. The Chairman, John Adam strongly objected to this and asked Education to leave us one court, at least, at the extreme end to be used by the children of the new school as a sporting activity. It is most unfortunate that the request was not accepted. So, from then on, all tennis activities took place at Roche Caiman.