MONTEGO BAY, St James — Tennis Jamaica on Tuesday gifted several schools here with racquets and balls, in a continued bid to nurture and develop the sport across the island.

The equipment — a gift from the United States Professional Tennis Registry — was handed over by Douglas Burke, Tennis Jamaica’s national director, to Lisa Chin, co-ordinator of the regional schools’ tennis programme, during a brief ceremony at the Aqua Sol theme park.

The ceremony, which was also attended by the five coaches who will propel the programme here, namely Patrick Daye, Charles Gordon, Gavin Haughton Ian Johnson and Paul Ladrey, also saw Burke giving the representatives an update on his organisation’s plans.

“We are inviting the schools to become associate members of Tennis Jamaica. This means that they will be entitled to the benefits we have to offer. Our coaches will work with the schools’ Physical Education (PE) teachers to nurture young talent in western Jamaica. We are committed to the task of taking on the responsibility of growing the game across the island,” he said.

Montego Bay is very proud of the talent that has emerged from the west, particularly Nia Rose and Shadae Findley who will be playing in the World Junior Tennis Under-14 team championships in Port of Spain, Trinidad, this weekend.

Tennis Jamaica’s regional director Simon Casserly, who will serve as an umpire at the championships told the Observer West that the two have been doing exceptionally well on the lawn tennis circuit, having been introduced to the game at an early age.