Special Interest Tennis enrolment

Special Interest Tennis program entry requirements

Traditionally to gain entry to the special interest program, prospective Australian students must have an Australian tennis ranking (ATR) for boys of 2000 or less and for girls 1000 or less. This ranking indicates that students are playing at a competitive level and have the necessary skills to successfully complete squad drilling. In addition to this, students intending to gain entry to Marryatville High School via the special interest program will need to meet the following criteria:

have a demonstrated commitment to engaging with the academic program from which they come
a letter of recommendation from their school principal or delegate that speaks to their character strengths
a willingness to be a role model for the Marryatville High School community
a nominated tennis referee such as a private coach or club president.

**IMPORTANT - Applications for year 7 and 8 2022

As we are all aware, because of COVID and its wide and varied impacts, the past 12 months have been extremely challenging. With the suspension of tournaments, we acknowledge that for most students, it has not been possible to meet our previous Australian Tennis Ranking requirements for entry to the program.

To maximise student opportunity, we have therefore re-evaluated the way we will assess prospective applicants for entry as special interest tennis students to Marryatville High School from 2022 onwards.

As an academics first high school, Marryatville aims to allow students to combine their studies with a pursuit of tennis excellence. To this end, prospective applicant should complete the Special Interest Tennis Application Form (below) and where possible, provide an Australian Tennis Ranking or a current Universal Tennis Rating (UTR).

To compliment these ratings, parents or caregivers for each student will also need to provide:

video footage of their student’s ability to drill on both the forehand and backhand side, as well as their serve, volley, overhead and ability to maintain a rally during competitive play
footage can be sent either via email to mhsinfo701@schools.sa.edu.au in a series of files or as a link, or if this is not possible, placed on a USB and delivered to our front office at 170 Kensington Road Marryatville SA 5068
written permission for the school to share this footage with our professional coaches for analysis. This footage will be used to decide whether we proceed with an on court trial here at the school.

Once it has been established that we will proceed with an on court trial, we will then require:

a tennis referee, who will either write a reference or be willing to speak with us and again, this will require your permission for us to do so
a primary school academic/character reference from a member of the administration that speaks to your student’s commitment to his or her studies and the school in general
your student’s two most recent school reports.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to get in contact with the school or our Special Interest Tennis Coordinator, Mr Tony Byles tony.byles347@schools.sa.edu.au

We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Tennis application form

Students who do not meet the Australian tennis rankings criteria but wish to be considered for entry into the program must meet the following:

Stage 1

The student will need to submit a letter of application, supported by a relevant testimonial letter indicating why entry should be granted. This application should be supported by video evidence, demonstrating an ability to drill successfully. Such evidence should clearly show the students ability to:

serve, volley and maintain a competitive rally on both the forehand and backhand sides
evidence of competitive play.

Stage 2

On court coaching assessment at Marryatville High School.

Student Expectations

All students enrolled in the special interest tennis program are expected to compete in Saturday morning tennis competitions for Marryatville High School during terms 1 and 4 and this involvement constitutes a part of their term assessment.

Students are expected to purchase the special interest tennis uniform, specifically, a Marryatville High School tennis shirt and jacket, as well as navy blue shorts and tracksuit pants.

For information about Tennis SA visit: www.tennis.com.au