12 Days of OTA

In the spirit of Christmas and the holiday season, I thought I'd ring in this month with my twelve (12) highlights the OTA has brought to the province this year.

1.       OTA's new "Raise the Net" initiative has reached over 96 clubs, over 5500 people, utilizing over 4000 volunteers so far this year. Surveys have been issued and will be examined for improvements and plans for 2015. Check out www.raisethenet.ca and locate the CLUBSTRONG resource centre under CLUBS.

 

Sahaj Gives RTN Presentation to STF

 

2.       Capital Kids has been a great success this season. Programs ran at 4 different locations across Ottawa – Jules Morin/Bordeleau Park, Sheffield Glen Park, Judge Park and Alta Vista School from early June to end of September. 770 kids between the ages of 6-12 registered and participated in the program at least for one 4 week session (some did 2, 3 or all 4 sessions). Lessons were offered between 3 and 5 times per week (depending on the location) with over 80% of kids playing twice per week. There were 9 coaches, 3 volunteers, and 7 juniors instructors active in delivering lessons throughout the summer.

3.       Little Aces in Ottawa  reached 31 elementary schools in the Ottawa area between January-June, introducing tennis in the gym/schoolyard to approximately 4700 kids between the ages of 5-12. This in turn lead to connections with 8 member clubs and their local schools. Similarly, the Scarborough Tennis Federation (STF) Little Aces reached 984 kids across 8 schools in the region. The goal of all clubs should be to get more kids trying tennis at the local schools nearest their facilities. By trying out the sport, they will likely rave about it to their parents and hopefully start on a lifelong path of love for the game.

 

TC enjoys some tennis in Scarborough

 

4.       Kid’s Tennis concluded the initial 6 week program with Holland Bloorview children’s rehabilitation school. The program was very well received and we are in the process of booking new dates for 2015. There were 130 kids and 55 volunteers participating in this program during the initial introduction of the program. We will continue to build this relationship with the school and volunteers for future growth.

5.       Pizzaville Smash Cage - 20 clubs and festivals used this new inflatable cage, both in the GTA and Ottawa

 

In Front of the Smash Cage at Sunshine event closing

 

6.       Tennis Rocks Festival in June with the ICTA - 38 teams, 200 kids participated

7.       The new national and provincial ranking system went live in April for the Juniors. Work continues on refining the algorithms used to develop an accurate ranking and the office continues to collect feedback. Since May, there has been an increase of 32% in junior tournament event entries.

8.       Thanks for our DSA winners for 2014: Julio DiCresce from Bolton T.C. and Renate Crizzle from Heron Park T.C. A full listing of past DSA recipients can be found on our website.

 

Renate & Julio accept their awards

 

9.       U9 Champions held for the 2nd year at Rexall Nov 7-8. The OTA Eliminated the regional play-downs and had one large draw (38 girls, 71 boys). Because of the size, the format was changed to a flight system comprised of 14 draws which guaranteed each player 3 matches. Congratulations to Stefan Simeunovic of Ontario Racquet Club (ORC) and Victoria Mboko of ACE Academy for their wins and each will receive a $6,000 grant for further training. The finalists, Adrian Smith of Timberlane and Madison Lee of ORC each receive a $4,000 grant. These grants are thanks to the generous donations from Mr. Murray Rubin. More details from this and last year's event can be found on the OTA's website under Player Development.

 

Award winners at the 2014 U9 Champions, with Murray Rubin

 

 

10.   There is a great article in the fall issue of OTA magazine...a rare interview with OTAExecutive Director Jim Boyce.

OTA Executive Director Jim Boyce

11.   A small board committee worked with OTA staff in 2013/14 to develop a draft of a comprehensive Volunteer Policy including background check requirements for OTA employees, coaches, officials and volunteers. This initiative forms part of the OTA's overall Risk Management Plan that has been in place since 2009.  The policy has been approved and includes details such as the role of the volunteer to the success of tennis in Ontario, volunteer rights and expectations, volunteer training and orientation and volunteer recognition. It also includes new requirements for conducting various levels of police background checks (PBCs) for OTA volunteers, employees and other paid positions such as coaches and officials. All this material is available now on the resource centre. Background checks take affect Jan 1, 2015 and will be required for all officials and coaches and select volunteers. These and other policies can be found on the CLUBSTRONG resource centre.

12.   The OTA participated this year for the first time in the 3rd annual Raonic Race-For-Kids fundraising event organized by Tennis Canada. Our team, the "OTAFuture Stars", raised over $9,000 for the charity, with the total amount raised across 16 teams coming in at $130,000. Our celebrity team captain was ATP and Canadian Davis Cup tennis star Frank Dancevic, who gave every challenge great energy and enthusiasm. More information can be found at The Milos Raonic Foundation website.

 

OTA Future Stars Team with Celebrity Captain Frank Dancevic

 

Summertime Catchup

Sorry to those who have been following my blog as I've been slow in providing more regular updates. This summer has been very busy with OTA activities and other non-tennis distractions (yes, my honey-do list does need some attention as well). Let me begin ...

Ontario Open / Roman Cup

The last few years I've been attending the kickoff to the Ontario Open and Roman Cup in Ottawa, which runs July 30 to Aug 4. This year we had record entries in all junior age categories; literally hundreds of kids descend on the Rideau Tennis Club to participate in this tournament. On the Wednesday night Jim Boyce and I attended a President's seminar arranged specifically for the OTA member clubs in Ottawa. Also there to give a presentation on our new Raise-the-Net program was manager Sahaj Jayanth and local Ottawa OTA regional manager John Wins-Purdy. What has happened here over the last couple of years has been truly amazing. From only a handful of clubs with little interest in what the OTA offered, to 14 clubs with a large commitment to build strong programming. The Ottawa region is now the envy of regional clubs in Ontario, with programs like Raise-the-Net, Little Aces, and Capital Kids which provides free tennis lessons to kids in under-served and less fortunate neighborhoods around Ottawa. In total the funding amounts to over $300K for the next 3 years, with on the ground support by John and his team. Club Presidents who attended were very pleased with all the support and recognize the value these programs bring to their community.

OTA Executive Director Jim Boyce with my wife Kim

Raise-the-Net and the Thunder Bay Tennis Club

Speaking of Raise-the-Net, the engagement so far has been very positive. Sahaj has been making a number of visits around the GTA and beyond, promoting the Long Term Athletic Development (LTAD) model  and how it best fits with community club programming, providing advice on all aspects of club operations and much more. Mark Piovesana, President of Thunder Bay T.C. had a very successful fundraising event in support of junior tennis, running for 24 hours  straight from July 18-19 and used OTA's Raise-the-Net services to help attract more involvement from the community. They raise a few thousand dollars to purchase kids tennis equipment and instruction. They are also working hard toward raising funds for an indoor facility down the road so lots going on there.

Little Aces Ramps up in Ottawa and Scarborough

Both Ottawa and Scarborough had successful Little Aces launches recently. John handled the one in Ottawa on April 23 with about 200 kids attending at the Tennis Centre West Ottawa, (watch the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nx5OegQMxM). A big thanks also goes out to STF regional chair Dianne Weatherby and her team for the successful launch of their Family Fun Festival, on June 28 in the parking lot of L'Amoreaux Tennis Centre, over 250 kids in attendance (Check out pictures at http://www.tenniscores.com/newindex.php?newid=0dgPSWd9Ky4%3D). The launch represents the start for introducing League play for young children using the progressive tennis system: smaller racquets, larger/softer balls, smaller court size. This program was developed by Tennis Canada and has been successful in other communities across Canada. In fact, a Minor and Teen league program guide should be available for all our community clubs shortly that will guide them in setting up their own League play for kids up to age 17. When ready it will be posted on the Raise-the-Net resource centre which can be accessed via the Raise-the-Net website.

OTA Presidents' Day 2014



Q&A with guest ATP player Brayden Schnur

It has been nine years of tradition to hold a special Presidents' Day event on the opening Monday of Rogers Cup, and this year was no different, with over 200 people attending, representing 100+ member clubs. This year we were delighted to have Tennis Canada's President and CEO Kelly Murumets address the group (CLICK HERE for the video), followed by a special Q&A with up-and-coming ATP player, Canadian Brayden Schnur (CLICK HERE for the video). Brayden played many OTA tournaments as a youth and now attends the University of North Carolina. There is a great 2-part interview with Brayden posted in ONCOURT, well worth reading: Part 1, and Part 2. At the end of the interview I predicted he would become a top 10 ATP player...no pressure Brayden, we wish you great success!



Rogers Cup ATP 2014



Catching up with Roger at the Lindt chocolate tent

Rogers Cup is always a busy time for me because I usually spend half the week as a line umpire on court, following by the last half of the week involved with Tennis Canada and the Council of Provinces (COP). The COP always meet as a group wherever the men are playing, so this year they all traveled from their home provinces to Toronto for three days of meetings and enjoyed some top tennis. I must say I do have the best seat in the house when I'm on court with these great players. This year I was lucky enough to be in the presence of: Bernard Tomic, Brayden Schnur, Marcel Granollers, Donald Young, Frank Dancevic, Gilles Simon, Dominic Thiem, Andy Murray (on centre court!), Nick Kyrgios, Jeremy Chardy,  Marin Cilic, Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

On the work side, I met with a great cast of coaches and tennis academy owners for an OTA Player Development Committee meeting (chaired by our own VP of PD, Tom Kern). Also attending from Tennis Canada were Debbie Kirkwood, director of High Performance as well as TC CEO Kelly Murumets and VP of Tennis Development Hatem McDadi. Bar none one of the best meetings I've attended. Not only did I learn a lot more about the competitive structure, I found there was a very good respect for opinions and ideas. The goal has always been to find ways to improve the competitive structure in Ontario and I think the group is well on their way of accomplishing that.

On the COP side, we discussed many issues of common interest with Tennis Canada, and I believe cooperation and communication is steadily improving, even more so under the direction of Kelly. All in all a fantastic week of great tennis and productive dialogue with those who are passionate about the game of tennis and wish to prove that what we have going in Canada right now is no fluke.



 



L-R: OTA President Scott Fraser, Tennis Canada President & CEO Kelly Murumets, OTA ED Jim Boyce
 and OTA Past President Michel Lecavalier

Sunshine Project Shines on Final Weekend

It's not often the OTA experience such high calibre energy and professionalism while working a joint project. When Carolynna Gabriel came to us over a year ago with a request to support her Trillium application, we saw something in her that tweaked our interest. Her passion and energy is unbounded and she continues to pursue this idea that tennis can be opened up to all youth, not just those who can afford it. The Sunshine Project was born and officially launched on March 22 at West Humber Collegiate Institute and has never looked back. What a fitting tribute to an outstanding first year that the closing ceremonies be held at the very place it started.



L-R: Youth coach Camisha, Pomme, Carolynna and Scott enjoy closing ceremonies
at West Humber C.I.

Using OTA's expertise and long-standing excellent reputation in communities across Ontario, Carolynna and her team at Wilmington Tennis Group were able to secure a Trillium grant to run a three-year program that will run each spring for about 6 weeks, providing subsidized tennis lessons for kids age 6-12 in a number of lower-income neighborhoods. After completing her inaugural year, the project has managed to attract almost 300 new kids to the sport, and with the help of KidSport Ontario, many of those kids will be able to continue their enjoyment of tennis through free membership at a number of community clubs in the surrounding area.

This project has one of the strongest collection of partners I have seen in a long time, thanks to Carolynna's perseverance. This includes the City of Toronto, the Ontario Tennis Association, the Ontario Trillium Foundation, Canadian Tire’s Jumpstart foundation, Tennis Canada and Pine Point Tennis Club. After the ceremonies I had a chance to speak with Canadian Tire Jumpstart employee engagement manager Freida Rubletz. She has worked with a lot of sports organizations over the years and was extremely impressed with the way this project came together from the very beginning.

Thanks to all the sponsors L-R: School Trustee John Hastings, Richard Crowell, Trillium volunteer Derek Nighbor.
Front Row L-R: Councillor Vincent Crisanti, Carolynna, JJ, Jumpstart manager Freida Rubletz , Rimzy and Scott

One last story I really need to share is that of father and son duo Richard and Noah. It is a story I hear all too often, but at the same time it is so inspiring. Richard tells me "I raised (Noah) alone in Toronto, Canada without any other family since he was 16 months old.  He started to be involved in tennis since he was 3 or 4.  He has passion for tennis but need more training and practice". He goes on to praise Carolynna and her team, "He makes friends on the court.  That is one of reasons I have been so grateful to Carolynna and her team for creating an opportunity for kids like my son."

Richard explained to me that because of his son's excitement with the whole program, he himself has started to play tennis as part of a family sport. Richard used to play in China and had long forgotten about the sport. When Li Na came on the circuit, he said it changed everything. They got inspired again and are now looking forward to continuing their love of the game. He goes on to say, "I feel motivated to re-pick up rackets and perspire on the tennis court too.  It is good for physical and mental health."

Richard, I couldn't have said it better myself!

Thanks to dad Richard and son Noah for sharing their
tennis story with me!

Fed Cup History

What a privilege it was to be able to attend the exciting Fed Cup matches in beautiful Quebec City over Easter weekend. The purpose of attending was not only to witness history in the making, but to give the Council of Provinces (COP) a chance to meet new Tennis Canada President Kelly Murumets and spend some quality time discussing priorities and challenges.

First, the matches. Even though Slovakia's A Team failed to participate, it was far from a slam-dunk affair. First match up on the Saturday had Alex Wozniak pitted against fast-rising Jana Cepelova. Admittedly, Alex was likely not the favourite to win this match, but she somehow found a way to pull it off in three sets with some ugly turns and twists along the way. My wife and I were seated at court level at one end of the PEPS stadium on Laval University campus. I could almost reach out and touch the players we were that close. Throughout the match we were simultaneously cheering and bowing our heads in disbelief of a shot gone bad. But a win is a win, and kudos to Alex for digging deep when it mattered.



Fed Cup Team celebrate victory!

The second match with our feature player Genie Bouchard against Kristina Kucova, was an equally tough battle. Genie herself admitted her game was off and she was struggling at times. You could see it in her mannerisms, frustration in her face, tossing her towel wildly at times to the ball kids. She felt like the underdog, but that's when Genie seems to raise her game up a notch, and that she did to finish out the match and put Canada up 2 to 0 on Day 1.

Our Canadian team is now among the elite 8 world group in Fed Cup with a chance to go all the way in 2015. We had an almost sold-out stadium over the weekend (3k per day). We also had national TV coverage with SportsNet and TVA along with local and national newspaper coverage, all great at growing the game and building momentum and star power.

COP Meet Kelly



Council of Provinces meets during Fed Cup, shown here with TC President Kelly Murumets


Now it wasn't all fun and games for the COP. Friday evening and Saturday morning gave us all a chance to meet the lady behind an organization that continues to build its reputation and visibility on the world tennis stage. If you watch Kelly's latest interview with SportsNet, you will note she already has very clear ideas about where Tennis Canada needs to head going forward. In person, Kelly is very affable, warm and inviting and you can tell she is also a very astute business woman. I and the rest of the COP feel she very much embraces the partnership mentality with the provinces and will stay very engaged as we look to close gaps, promote transparency and understanding, improve the competitive structure and opportunities for young players, and build tennis participation across Canada.



Fed Cup Team Loves the OTA!



A Trillium Grant-Writing Primer

This is the time of year when community clubs begin planning for their outdoor season. It is also the time when the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) begins accepting applications for grant funding (the deadlines for applications are March 1, July 1 and November 1).

OTF funding provides a unique opportunity for incorporated community clubs with limited resources to improve infrastructure and programming in many ways. Many clubs over the past six years have successfully applied for and have been granted funding for initiatives such as court resurfacing, court rebuilds, fixing decks and practice walls, adding bleachers, shelters and sheds, installing lighting, purchasing computers, ball hoppers and ball machines. Funding amounts have ranged from $20,000 to over $100,000 depending on the project scope.

To help spark your interest, I've included some highlights from a recently held OTF workshop on this subject. OTF have excellent resources that are willing to spend time with your club executives to help them get started on the grant writing process. As well, OTF's presentation from the Fall 2013 Grant-writing workshop can be found on OTA's Raise the Net resource centre, available to all OTA-member clubs through the Club Connection newsletter. If you don't receive this newsletter, please contact Jay Neill at the OTA office.


Overview:

• Club must be incorporated as a not-for-profit organization
• Operating grants are for an organization’s ongoing program costs. Operating grants may be for a single year or multi-year but may not exceed a maximum of five years
• Project grants are for one-time activities or activities with a defined time frame. Project grants may be for a single year or multi-year but may not exceed a maximum of five years
• Capital grants (up to a max of $150K) are for renovations and equipment purchases. OTF encourages applications that promote multi-use community spaces or shared spaces and equipment, or improve accessibility or increase energy efficiency.
• The competition for capital $ is much greater than that for programs (Capital: $1 granted for every 7 to 9 requested, this is 15% of their fund, Programs: $1 granted for every 3 requested)
• OTF are more likely to support projects that include green initiatives and improved accessibility
• Trillium does not erect buildings, but renovations to existing facilities are acceptable. Caveat: they do not fund municipal properties, so if your clubhouse is owned by the city/municipality, you would not be successful in obtaining funding for that component. OTF would however assist with furnishings, security system, etc
• First time applicants should request pre-application counselling with a OTF program manager. Many times these are initiated by OTF in 15-minute time slots that clubs reps can register online for and are scheduled and held in a community centre in your municipality
• Clubs cannot ask for grant money after the project has started so be aware you must have your proposal submitted first before any work is started.

Greater and favorable consideration will be given to projects that:

• Engage partners
• Increase access to the community
• Improve the experience
• Are multi-purpose or have more than one kind of impact on the community
• Are combined in purpose with other areas supported by Trillium
• Provide continuous/long term improvements
• Can be sustained after Trillium funding is completed

Remember ...

·         the majority of successful grant applications over the past 6 years have been for community tennis clubs requesting money for court resurfacing or rebuilds, for facility improvements (replace roof,  decks, bleachers), and for resources and equipment needed for improving club programming (hiring pros, purchasing ball machines, nets, racquets, etc)

·         work with your municipality in partnership to potentially expand your sources of funding. Your town/city likely has worked with Trillium before and can help you with grant applications.

·         request a letter of endorsement from the OTA to help further support your application.

 

A full set of FAQs can be found on the OTF website.

 

Sneak Peek at 2014 Priorities

On behalf of the OTA board and staff I wish you a Happy New Year! With any new year comes the desire to reflect on our successes and challenges in the past year, while looking forward to new goals in the coming year.

If you recall last year's OT Magazine Yearbook review, I spoke about the completion of OTA's four-year Strategic Plan. I also wrote a three-part-series (March, April, May 2013) in my President's Blog providing more detail on how the OTA will translate that plan into more specific programs and steps necessary to meet those expectations.

For the upcoming Yearbook review I will cover a number of Strat Plan highlights from 2013 covering each of the four goals in that plan. Many of them, such as the new ranking system implementation and the piloting of the new "Raise the Net" program for community clubs, will carry over into 2014 and directly benefit competitive players and member clubs. Please watch out for that edition coming out in late February.

To kick off this year, let me review a few priorities our board and staff will be working on your behalf.


GOAL #1: Attract More People to Play and Support Tennis on a Sustained Basis

• Work has begun on the development of OTA's digital strategy with the goal of identifying some key priorities that can be implemented over the coming years and includes improved use of website with improved content, targeted use of social media tools like Facebook and Twitter, more video content (OTA TV) and the development of an OTA mobile app for access to apps like the OTA Club Card and the new Ranking & Tournament Management System.
• The Club Connection news releases which first began in June of 2012 are published six times a year and are packed with useful information for member clubs. Look for the first 2014 edition coming out shortly with a link to the new OTA Raise the Net online resource centre.
• By having our regional committees work with municipal park and rec staff, we expect progress to be made on updating and improving the Tennis Club Policies for both Toronto (including Scarborough and North York) and Markham. This will benefit all clubs operating in those cities.
• Further develop and expand our club member base in the Ottawa region by delivering more programming that directly benefits the clubs (eg: Raise the Net, Little Aces). As well, our STF region will have an official Little Aces launch this year. The OTA has also submitted an application through Trillium's regional stream for Capital Kids, an Ottawa-based project aiming to broaden access to tennis by providing cost-free tennis lessons for 8500 kids over 4 years.
• The OTA will partner with Wilmington Tennis to deliver The Sunshine Project, which will provide 900 elementary students in the northwest region of Toronto with subsidized tennis lessons. Thanks to the Ontario Trillium  Foundation for funding this project over 3 years

GOAL #2: Provide opportunities for players to improve at every level

• Go live with the new provincial ranking system and tournament management system in the April timeframe
• Increased member club participation for Year 2 of the U9 Champions program
• Continue to grow and maintain and active competitive structure. In 2013 there were over 2200 registered players
• Continue to grow and maintain high level coaching certification training. In 2013, 223 people took the instructor course alone

GOAL #3 & 4: Encourage and support volunteerism at the provincial, regional and local levels. Ensure accountability and relevancy of OTA programs and services

• We encourage all member clubs to send representatives to the OTA's 2013 AGM to be held on Saturday, April 12, 2014 at the Rexall Centre player's lounge. Along with the business portion of the meeting, we will be having our official launch of the Raise the Net program and provide details in the form of a group breakout session. Stay tuned for more information. Highlights of last year's AGM can be viewed on YouTube
• Our volunteer policy along with background check guidelines will be published this year and will be made available to member clubs
• Recognizing volunteers in our community continues to be a top priority. Clubs can call the office directly to get award certificates printed to present to club volunteers in recognition of their outstanding contributions. As well, Distinguished Service Award applications will be accepted until the end of April, so please take the time to submit your special candidate. If chosen, they, with close family and friends by their side, will be honoured at a banquet in October at the Toronto Cricket Club. Highlights of last year's event can be viewed on YouTube
• The Council of Provinces (COP), of which OTA is a member, will continue to work co-operatively with Tennis Canada to align our plans and programs for the betterment of tennis across Canada. With the recent announcement of TC's new CEO, Kelly Murumets, we at the OTA are especially excited about the new opportunities that lie ahead for both organizations.