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.

Strat Plan Part 2, AGM, Sport Awards

2012 AGM Comes to a Close

Many thanks goes out to all those member clubs who attended the 2012 Annual General Meeting on Saturday, April 13, 2013 at the Rexall Centre Player's Lounge. We had one of our highest attendances in years, with 117 people representing 49 clubs. The full business conducted was videotaped and posted on the OTA's YouTube Channel OTATV1 in case you missed it. In addition, you'll find the most popular seminar, "How to attract and retain new members at your club", on our YouTube channel, and all the seminar presentations posted on the OTA Resource Centre on google drive (check with Jay Neill at the office if you don't already have your link). Also posted there is the 2012 Annual Report.

I'll be looking over the AGM survey forms shortly and report back on some of the feedback in May, especially on recommendations for future seminars.

2012 AGM

Pictures from the day can be viewed on our Facebook page.

2012 Ontario Sport Awards Held April 18, 2013

Another exciting evening for coaches, athletes, volunteers and sponsors at the 2012 Ontario Sport Awards held at the Marriott Airport hotel. I counted 40 tables so there were likely between 350-400 in attendance. The OTA nominated Sharon Arnold for a Syl Apps volunteer award for tennis and was honoured along with 29 other volunteers at this event last night. For a full list of all the winners, visit http://www.mtc.gov.on.ca/en/sport/sport/awards_winners_2012.shtml.

Sharon has been involved with tennis for over 55 years. Early in her career she taught tennis at the U of T and was instrumental in the birth of the Doug Philpott inner-city children's foundation and still serves as secretary and chair of the Program Committee. Sharon received the DSA award in 2004 for her work with disadvantaged youth. Congratulations Sharon! Pictures from the evening are also on our Facebook page.

OTA Strategic Plan Part 2

One of the seminars held after the AGM on Apr 13 was a review of the latest OTA Strategic Plan. The full presentation is posted on the OTA Resource Centre. In my March blog post, I outlined examples for our first Goal and I continue this month with our second goal:

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

Summary of Strategies

• Support competitive opportunities for players with an active competitive structure
• Promote player development
• Maintain an effective ranking system
• Assist member clubs in attracting  top tennis pros
• Encourage enthusiasts to become instructors and officials
• Continue with OTA charitable fundraising in support of junior development

Examples

• A strong partnership with OFSAA to deliver province-wide tennis competitions for high schools, culminating in a large playoff event at Rexall Centre in June - 310 players competing in 10 events
• The NEW U9 Champions initiative and tournament. Club events will be held over the summer with a final tournament Nov 8-10, 2013 at Rexall coinciding with a charity/fundraising dinner at the Cricket Club on Nov 9th.
• Maintain an active competitive structure with sanctioned competitions year-round – bonus for clubs and academies to promote tennis, attract players and generate additional revenue – Ontario has 2208 registered players, 360 sites with 841 events
• Promoting online software to streamline club operations and programming (eg: Visual Reality (VR) Tournament Planner for sanctioned tournament management, 3^rd-party offerings)
• Launch of the new rounds-based ranking system in late 2013 using VR system
• Coaching certification through OTA office – 212 new instructors and 40 upgrades in 2012. Is your tennis pro registered with the Tennis Professionals Association (TPA)?
• Tennis Canada provide officials training twice annually – roving, chair umpires, line umpires for Futures events, Rogers Cup, etc. – important to maintain strong pool of officials to promote fair play at tournaments – 24 new umpires certified in 2012
• OTA offers an active Job Line for Club pro hiring and even hiring of club monitors and assistant pros

Strategic Plan PART 1 & OTA AGM

In the Winter 2013 OT Yearbook edition, I briefly talk about importance of a business strategic plan to set the direction of tennis in Ontario. In the next four years, it is the job of the Executive Director, Jim Boyce, and his talented staff to translate that plan into specific programs and steps necessary to meet or exceed those expectations.

Let me give you some examples of how the OTA will achieve those expectations, starting with

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

Summary of Strategies

• Tennis promotion, raise awareness
• Digital strategy
• Grassroots participation
• Encourage casual play
• Enhance OTA member club structure & value-add proposition

Examples

• Provide a more comprehensive and accessible Resource Centre (new) for member-clubs – requires club input to stay relevant. This will be unveiled at the upcoming AGM (see below)

• Increase readership of OTA publications: OT magazine (online), Club Connection (new), e-news and e-mag – we welcome input / contributions to articles

• The Kids’ Tennis school program will continue to introduce progressive tennis to new schools and connect them with board members and club instructors to help promote the club membership and programs – 34K participants, 23 inner city schools, 402 new teachers for 2012

• Grassroots promotion: New inflatable smash cage at special events (CNE, Ottawa), partnership with Tennis Canada on Little Aces programming in designated regions (STF Scarborough and possibly Ottawa in 2013)

• Enhance and expand the OTA Premium Member Club program. Increase sponsors and expand outside of the GTA

• Improved club communications to maintain brand awareness and OTA member benefit offerings. Encourage clubs to better communicate benefits to their own members via club website  (eg: MTC) – 7 new clubs in 2012, 20+ targeted for 2013

• Take advantage of regional representation and programs/funding they offer. Do you know who your regional chair is or what they offer? eg: North Central and Southwest offer rebates to run tournaments, subsidies for instructor training

• OTA Members’ Day coming up in May – 815 participants in 2012

• Assist clubs and regions in improving relations with municipalities (eg: Ottawa, Mississauga)

• Pilot training programs to regions focused on club operations and enhancing programs – eg:  How the Long Term Athletic Development (LTAD) model and the 8 stages of development can be integrated into club programming

Annual General Meeting - Mark Your Calendars!

By the way, at this year's OTA AGM, set for April 13, we have planned for three (3) breakout sessions for members to attend, one of which will be presented by me and cover detail on the strategic plan with specific examples and time for Q&A, similar to what I've provided with Goal #1 above. I encourage member clubs to attend this AGM and take advantage of the time to network with fellow club executives and attend these seminars. The other two seminars include a discussion on how to attract new members to your club, and a review of a set of generic bylaw templates for both incorporated and unincorporated clubs.

We will also demo our new OTA Resource Centre available exclusively to OTA member clubs and academies. It will contain a growing selection of templates and documents that clubs will find useful. We are hoping many clubs will also be willing to share some of their best programs and articles on the library to make it even more relevant to our members.

An AGM information packet will be mailed to your club mailing address no later than March 22nd. I look forward to seeing you there!



Members at last year's AGM