More than 150 mainstream and education support students participated in the Bunbury Tennis Inclusion Day on Friday March 26.
The round robin competition saw students from year four to six from Cooinda and South Bunbury Primary Schools play in mixed teams of eight.
Nominated as team captains, the education support and Autism program students helped coordinate and lead the teams for the day.
Delivered as part of Tennis Australia's three-year partnership with the Movement Disorder Foundation, and working with specialist and mainstream schools with special education units, the South West initiative aims to strengthen the confidence of students with disabilities whilst encouraging them to get more active.
Thanks to Sport Aus and the Sporting Schools funding made available for private coaches to deliver specialist programs, the event comes as a culmination to five weeks of in school tennis coaching by Tennis Excellence coaches, Andrew Woodward and Josh Grace.
Tennis West Schools Development Coordinator, Carina McMillen said the day was a wonderful opportunity to get students of all abilities on court.
"The event was first run in 2019 with about 60 mainstream and special education students from South Bunbury Primary School. It was so well received that it was planned as an ongoing event," she said.
"Unfortunately the impact of the pandemic meant we were unable to host the 2020 event.
"The significant growth in participation numbers reflects the demand for inclusive activities in sports and highlights the need to ensure these opportunities are ongoing."