Israel Tennis and Education Centers Foundation serves up a win during its Florida tour

Posted on: 04/04/2024
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On March 19, I attended the Israel Tennis and Education Centers Foundation’s finale of its annual tour in Florida. The ITEC competition took place at the St. Andrews Country Club in Boca Raton.

It was a special evening as Jewish tennis greats Brad Gilbert and Aaron Krickstein were on hand to play alongside and support the ITEC youth ambassadors.

The ITEC ambassadors, each with a heartwarming story to share about their ITEC experience, competed in exhibitions at tennis facilities in North Miami, Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Sarasota.

The ambassadors that competed at St. Andrews and throughout Florida included:

  • Arina Diatlenko, 11, emigrated from the Ukraine when the war broke out and now lives in Ramat Hasharon
  • Alin Masri, 11, her center located in Jaffa is a melting pot of nationalities
  • Inbar Poni, 18, recently joined the IDF and lives in Ramat Hasharon
  • Rom Malka, 14, his Beer-Sheva community has faced a barrage of rockets since October 7th and ITEC is the only place he has felt safe
  • ITEC coach Amit Kakon was evacuated from his home and was happy to tour the US representing ITEC