More than 600 students from St. Andrew’s Grammar have formed the colourful shape of the Greek flag as a show of support for Team Greece who will be competing in the United Cup tennis tournament at RAC Arena in Perth, Western Australia next month.
The blue and white coloured human flag will coincide with a school visit of the United Cup’s majestic trophy, which is touring across Western Australia from Geraldton to Busselton this month.
The United Cup will feature 18 countries in a mixed-teams tennis tournament all competing in a round-robin format, vying for a spot in the finals. Each team is comprised of up to three male and three female players.
Team Greece will once again feature men’s world number 11 Stefanos Tsitsipas and women’s world number 32 Maria Sakkari.
Greece will be pitted against Spain and Kazakhstan in group C of the Perth draw and will be hoping to surpass their quarter final success last time they competed at the Arena in 2022/23.
St. Andrew’s Grammar is one of the fastest growing schools in Australia, boasting 900 students and is the only Greek Orthodox day school in WA.
Principal Craig Monaghan said it made sense for the school and students to show their support for Team Greece and help inspire the next generation of tennis stars.
“We are part of the wider Hellenic Community of Western Australia, and this is a great opportunity for our students to get involved in a fun activity and show their support for Greece,” Mr Monaghan said.
“They’re looking forward to learning more about the trophy and the tournament. It’s the next best thing other than having Stefanos and Maria visit the school, so all the staff and the students are pretty excited.
“This could also unearth the next generation of tennis stars so it’s a great opportunity to get involved and expose the game to more kids.”
Standing at 50cm tall and weighing 14 kilograms the hand-crafted United Cup features 36 sweeping rods to represent the 18-country mixed doubles partnerships, each shaped by hand.
The United Cup was made by Thomas Lyte, who are best known as world class designers, makers and restorers of many of the world’s most iconic trophies including the Laver Cup, and trophies for the ATP Finals, the FA Cup, the Rugby World Cup and the Six Nations Championship.
The tournament starts in Perth on December 27 with Greece facing off against Spain on December 28. For the full schedule click here.
