BERMUDA'S junior tennis players will get a boost at the end of the month when Bermuda Lawn Tennis Association vice president Coleridge Place stages his fifth Birthday Golf Tournament Fundraiser at Belmont Hills.

Place, a long time player and coach, said this week: "The funds raised by this tournament will help our juniors go abroad and compete in international competition to better their game."

The tournament will take place on Saturday, January 31 and Place said: "Five short years ago a seed was planted and a vision took root. That was on the occasion of my 50th birthday when I held a fundraising golf tournament specifically to raise funds for BLTA junior tennis players to compete in International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior summer circuit tournaments in order to elevate their game and ultimately equip players for a higher level of competition wherein they could win world-ranking points and educational scholarships from the ITF."

The funds raised have helped two young players get invitations from the ITF to join their ITF/COTECC Regional Training Camps in Bahamas and Mexico in each of the last two consecutive years. "That is no small feat since only 12 players are invited from the region (20-plus countries)," said Place adding, "two of our junior players are currently attending tennis academies overseas on a full-time basis. We also now have a player, Tyler Smith (age 12), with enough world-ranking points who is seeded in the 14 and Under events."

Place said he will continue to advance "my vision of assisting Bermuda's top junior tennis players".

He added that he would welcome the public's "continued participation by way of tee sponsorship or donation of a prize for either the golf tournament or raffle to be held immediately following the tournament".

For more information on the tournament call 538 8603.