Learning the rudiments of tennis

Freddie’s tennis hopes are assured with foundation

The emphasis on sport for Israeli youth has room for substantial improvement and investment. One has to ask why this important element of education and good health is neglected and ignored in our schooling system. It seems that only those who grasp the importance and potential of appropriate outlay for sport try to introduce a taste of the possibilities that do exist.

For example, the potential of tennis to stimulate positive social outcomes is recognized in many countries. The tennis environment has affirmative social elements. To begin with, the sport embraces both genders equally. And although it is regarded as an individual sport, coaching, training and competitions in tennis succeed in bringing participants together in one place to enjoy the challenges of competing and developing in performance. In addition, personal responsibility, cooperation between players and respect for rules, equipment, coaches and fellow players are necessary and are fostered through the on-court processes.

British tennis enthusiast Freddie Krivine had been a supporter of the Israel Tennis Centers and women’s tennis in Israel since the 1970s. When he emigrated from Britain to Israel in the 1980s, he became president of the Israel Tennis Association. He soon realized that the Arab sector of our society had neither knowledge of nor facilities for tennis. He believed that investing in tennis facilities for this sector and introducing it to the challenges and pleasures of the game could help to bring Jewish and Arab youth together. So he embarked on a tennis project for young Arabs across the country. He found ways to obtain the necessary financial support for the construction of tennis courts and coaching facilities for Arab communities. As the development program progressed, so did the implementation of the coexistence programs.

After Freddie Krivine passed away in 2005, his daughter Jane wanted to ensure that the program would continue and flourish. As Jane told me, “We are incredibly lucky in having two wonderful relatives in London who have been our key donors since my father began the project.”

With their generosity and backing, the Freddie Krivine Foundation was officially established and has succeeded in developing tennis schools, coaching facilities and courts. Local coaches have been trained, and work with enthusiasm.

Today the foundation, with the backing of municipal councils, runs tennis schools in Isfiya, Daliat el-Carmel, Jaljulia, and Jisr el-Zarka, as well as the coexistence school in Beit Hananya where children come every day from Jisr and Fureidis to play with the local children. The courts at Beit Hananya were refurbished with a generous grant from Mifal Hapayis, the Israeli lottery organization. The tennis facilities and schools which were originally funded by the Freddie Krivine Foundation in Nazareth, Maghrar and Abu Gosh are now able to run independently.  Although the foundation continues to subsidize the coaching, participants are charged an agreed fee, which promotes interest and commitment from their families. There are positive results, and now more and more Arab youth and mixed Jewish/Arab teams compete in regional and national junior tennis tournaments. As Jane says, “What inspires us to continue is the way the Jewish and Arab children connect through playing tennis together in the coexistence program.”

Some of the costs of the new tennis court and practice area in Isfiya were offset by a welcome donation obtained through the efforts of Canadian artist Paula Blumenfeld, who is deeply involved in the Hand in Hand Education Program in Israel. She has close friends in Isfiya and wanted to assist the community to replenish some of the damage caused by the appalling Carmel fire two years ago. She arrived with her son especially to share the pleasure of the opening. The representative of the local council praised the project, declaring that tennis was a welcome and positive sport for local youth. Out on the courts, sporting T-shirts with the logo'Team up with Tennis’, one could see the youngsters determinedly hitting the ball, as well as feel their pleasure evident in their positive body language. The tennis stars of the afternoon were Barra Aboud from the Bedouin village of Karbia and Alona Elyochin from Yokneam.

The foundation also provides grants for young Arab players to become professional tennis coaches, and it is a pleasure to see them in action and survey their satisfaction, as well as that of their pupils when they succeed in hitting a winning shot. Also volunteering as a coach in the project is Kate Dehmer from the U.S., who is studying at Haifa University (see her article). Twelve of the best young Arab players from this area take part in a weekly program with Jewish children at the Israel Tennis Center in Yokneam. They also receive travel and coaching grants. Each Tuesday afternoon, the children are provided with transport from their home towns to Yokneam and back to enjoy tennis training and sharing time with their friends. The foundation also sponsors Barra’s daily travel costs to Yokneam where she is one of their leading juniors.

“Tennis is life, and the friends I have made are like family,” Barra says, and Alona agrees with her.

Their dream, and that of others too, is to succeed worldwide.