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