21 August 2011, Sweetcrude, Lagos – The NNPC/Chevron Joint Venture will on Monday, August 22, 2011 commence a three week summer tennis clinic for children aged 5 – 18 years.
It is part of commitment by the joint venture (JV) to promoting youth and sports development in Nigeria and one of the two tennis events sponsored by the venture, the other being the Junior Masters Tournament held early in the year.
According to the General Manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs at Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL), Engr Femi Odumabo, the objective of the clinic is to engage the youths particularly during the holiday period; develop their tennis skills and afford them an opportunity to participate in Lawn tennis events and tournaments.
“The long term benefit of this initiative is the development of skillful tennis players that would be able to earn sustainable living in Tennis. The programme targets mostly the less privileged in the society but is open to all shades of interest groups.
“The clinic will culminate in the selection of 15 worthy participants to form the Chevron Youth Tennis Team that would be trained and sponsored for competitions within and outside the country. In the last two years the number of participants from Lagos State increased from 60 boys and girls to 100 for the annual Holiday Tennis Clinic. The programme has produced a sizeable number of National Lawn Tennis players at all age groups”, Odumabo said.
It would be observed that the annual Summer Tennis Clinic is one of Corporate Responsibility programmes executed by the NNPC/Chevron JV to add value to the lives of the youths in Nigeria.
In furtherance of the company’s support for tennis, in 2009 and 2010 the JV sponsored seven members of the NNPC/CNL Tennis Team that participated in Lagos State Governors Cup while modern ball machines were purchased in 2010 for the year round training to expose the participants to modern tennis training aids.
