Skip to content
University of East London
  • Staff login
  • Student login
  • Study

    Study

    Site Navigation - Quick Links

    • Why UEL?
    • Undergraduate prospectus
    • Postgraduate prospectus
    • Sport at UEL

    Undergraduate study

    View all of our undergraduate subjects.

    Explore now
    • COURSES
      • Undergraduate
      • Postgraduate
      • Getting back into education
      • Subjects
      • May starts
      • Apprenticeships
    • STUDENT INFORMATION
      • Student life
      • Current students
      • New students
      • Accommodation
      • Term dates
      • Fees and funding
      • Scholarships
    • VISIT UEL
      • Open days and events
      • Our location
  • International

    International

    Site Navigation - Quick Links

    • Why UEL?
    • Undergraduate prospectus
    • Postgraduate prospectus
    • Sport at UEL

    Virtual Open Events

    Need support during your admission journey?

    Attend our virtual events
    • APPLYING
      • Advice for your region
      • Pre-degree courses
      • Immigration advice and compliance
      • Transferring to UEL
      • International admission deadlines
      • Pre-sessional English
      • Malvern House pathway programmes
    • STUDENT INFORMATION
      • Accommodation
      • Term dates
      • Fees and funding
      • Scholarships
    • VISIT UEL
      • Open days and events
      • Our location
      • Virtual open events
  • Your career

    Your career

    Site Navigation - Quick Links

    • Why UEL?
    • Undergraduate prospectus
    • Postgraduate prospectus
    • Sport at UEL

    Are you an employer?

    Advertise a vacancy on our platform today.

    Get started
    • STARTING YOUR CAREER
      • Career Zone
      • Explore your career
      • Career coaching and mentoring
    • GETTING A JOB
      • Meet employers
      • Be your own boss
      • Volunteering
      • Work while you study
  • Partners

    Partners

    Site Navigation - Quick Links

    • Why UEL?
    • Undergraduate prospectus
    • Postgraduate prospectus
    • Sport at UEL

    Are you an employer?

    Advertise a vacancy on our platform today.

    Get started
    • Partnerships at UEL
    • Train your workforce
    • Share your skills
    • Connect with our people
  • Our research

    Our research

    Site Navigation - Quick Links

    • Why UEL?
    • Undergraduate prospectus
    • Postgraduate prospectus
    • Sport at UEL

    REF 2021

    Read about our Research Excellence Framework submissions and results

    Impact case studies
    • Postgraduate research students
    • Research impact
    • Partnerships
    • REF 2021
  • About

    About

    Site Navigation - Quick Links

    • Why UEL?
    • Undergraduate prospectus
    • Postgraduate prospectus
    • Sport at UEL

    Connected campus

    We are improving our three campuses for people to study, work and live.

    What we're doing
    • OUR UNIVERSITY
      • Our schools and subjects
      • Staff
      • Governance
      • Professional services
      • Vision 2028
      • Alumni
      • Accreditations
      • Sustainable Development Goals
    • TEACHING AND SUPPORT
      • How we teach
      • Mental wealth
      • On-campus nursery
    • GET INVOLVED
      • Events
      • News
    • GET IN TOUCH
      • Our location
      • Contact us
  • Home
  • About UEL

Tennis scholar pushes changes and diversity in sport

Hero Carousel

Arum Akom Guap video tennis scholar

Arum Akom on increasing the numbers of young black players and making positive changes in the community

See all of our News articles

Published

01 March 2022

Share

Share On Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on LinkedIn

A University of East London (UEL) tennis scholar has been recognised for his work to promote diversity within the sport through working with disadvantaged children.

Arum Akom, who is studying a Masters in Sports Management, features in 'Causing a Racket - Exploring Britain's black tennis scene', a new video by youth platform Guap.

Arum, who is head coach at the Butterfly Tennis Club, Camberwell Grove, is passionate about increasing the numbers of young black players and making positive changes in the community.

    Arum Akon Guap tennis scholar

    Arum Akon Guap tennis scholar

    Arum Akon Guap tennis scholar

     

     

    Arum explains why he is motivated to increase diversity within the sport. He said, "I am from a disadvantaged background myself, and my parents didn't have the finances themselves to pay for tennis lessons. However, I was lucky enough to get free lessons in Camberwell through the club's project, and I progressed up the ranks to become a county player.

    Now, I want to give back to as many children as possible. To get to the top of the game, it all comes down to finance. That is the barrier even when the talent and drive is there. Since the pandemic, there has been an increased interest in tennis, and I am passionate about helping young black players get involved in the game, particularly where they feel it is not the sport for them."

    Arum's tennis club uses club funds to offer bursaries to disadvantaged young players, and there is now more of a balance at the club, he says.

    As well as playing for UEL's competitive tennis team, Arum uses his UEL Masters experience in his work as a high performance coach, including at the Bank of England Sports Centre in Roehampton for their university team. Arum's ultimate goal is to become a high performance coach at the highest levels of professional tennis. He is currently being coached and mentored by self-taught high performance coach Barry Bartley, who is teaching Arum the fundamentals of the game using the Simple Science method!

    "It is so nice to see the bond between a parent and child as they develop on court. I want to give parents and children that opportunity while recognising diversity in tennis," Arum adds.

    The Guap video merges fashion and tennis, and Arum features in it after answering a call out on social media.

    His other goal as part of his personal brand 'Accomplish Anything' is to build a tennis centre in Uganda, where his roots lie. In December, he attended meetings with the Uganda Tennis Association and is currently looking for sponsors for a centre for adults and children alike.

    "During the national lockdown in February 2021, I managed to go to Kampala and work with the children from a charity called Tennis For All Uganda (TFAU). TFUA seek to change lives, one game at a time, through structured tennis programs. They empower, mobilise, and educate children from the slums of Kampala by offering tennis, health education and social support. This was a wonderful experience as the children really appreciated the coaching, something which they don't get often.

    "This also allowed me to get a better understanding of the current situation of tennis in Uganda. Following this, I visited the Lugogo Tennis Complex which is also situated in Kampala which is the main tennis centre in Kampala. I met with a few of the coaches at the club, and explained my plans to develop tennis in Uganda which they loved and want to be a part of," Arum adds.

    • Watch the 'Causing a Racket' video here
    • Visit Arum's website Accomplish Anything here
    • Visit his Instagram here
    • Coach Barry Bartley Instagram

    Share

    Share On Facebook
    Share on Twitter
    Share on LinkedIn

    Communications team

    Contact us for press and interview requests

     

    +44 (0)20 8223 2911
    pressoffice@uel.ac.uk

    Help us make this site better by telling us what you think about this page

    Social Media

    Follow us on social media:

    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Youtube Instagram TikTok

    University of East London

    University Way

    London, E16 2RD

    United Kingdom



    T. +44 20 8223 3000


    Explore UEL

    • About UEL
    • Take a virtual tour
    • Calendars
    • Freedom of information
    • Governance management
    • Services and departments
    • Find us
    • Contact us

    The University

    • Undergraduate
    • Postgraduate
    • News
    • Events
    • Jobs

    University of East London

    University Way

    London, E16 2RD

    United Kingdom



    T. +44 20 8223 3000


    Copyright ©2023 University of East London

    • Accessibility
    • Data protection
    • Sitemap
    • AccessAble
    • Modern slavery
    • Legal and compliance
    • Cookie settings
    • Privacy