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Source: Reuters -
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12-year-old Kyle Page can work a 12-hour day and earn a base wage of $12. Sweatshop? Well no, plenty of sweat is involved but it's not from being crammed onto a factory floor - rather life as a ball kid at an elite tennis event.
The ASB Classic and Heineken Open employ scores of ball kids for the Auckland events and hundreds apply - I met a group of them after watching them in action on court four during day two of the ASB Classic.
Most are tournament veterans, most play tennis themselves and can rattle off the names of the big players and all are adding to the friendly reputation of the premier Auckland events.
Team captain Gigi Song (14) is voted by her group the best 'ball kid' in the session I have just watched and is appointed to fill me in on some of the background to her job.
Training is intense - they have three two-hour training sessions before the tournament (and it shows in their organisation and competence as they sprint, kneel and dart around the court) and learn what to do, where to be and how to anticipate the players' needs.
They work in teams; 45-minutes on court, 45-minutes of break time and are rotated throughout the centre and outer courts and have a spare ball kid sitting courtside for every game in case one of them gets sick or needs an urgent toilet break.
The two team captains, who earn a few dollars more as do the kids who work night sessions, keep their group organised throughout the day and each one seems to have been drilled to perfection.
Charlotte Robinson (14 and the other captain) says the critical skills for the job are alertness, co-ordination and ball handling skills - and one of her younger team members confirmed "you don't want to stuff it up while everyone's watching."
The motto of all the ball kids is "players first" and this can mean putting their bodies on the line.
The kids are never targets but things can go array;
"My first time I got hit four times" says Charlotte and young Emily Derlin (10) recounted an accidental towel tussle as she tried to assist a player in a break.
All agree female players are politer and less aggressive on court than the males but "almost all" of the players are kind to them on court and the kids understand the stresses the players are under.
Nothing that has happened on court (of my group at least) has been serious enough to detract from their genuine enjoyment and pride in doing their jobs - and they are all excited about moving from the KIA Motors red uniform when the Classic ends for the Sovereign blue of the Heineken Open.
The only negative in the experience - as the tournament progresses and less games are played less ball kids are needed so some only get a couple of days action.
This 45-minute session is up; my court four crew scurry off and are smoothly replaced by another eager bunch of Kiwi youngsters.
Last question - what are they going to do in their break?
Stretch, eat, play cards and Xbox and "watch tennis".
Of course.
And a shout out to that court four crew - thanks to Gigi Song
(14), Charlotte Robinson (14), Jamie Dobbs (12), Kyle Page (12),
Henry Stephen (13), Emily Derlin (10) and George Stephen
(11).
