December Musings

Tennis Toronto AGM Attendees

Regional News

This time of year has again been busy with Regional AGMs. I've attended meetings for West Central, STF, Tennis Toronto and Southwest regions. All have been very informative and those who attended found the interactions and discussions very helpful. Adrian Baldeo will be stepping down as regional chair in April, along with committee members Rita Lee and Arthur Wolf. Please join me in thanking Adrian and his team for their leadership over the last twelve years and we wish them well in the future. Please also welcome Alan Maguire as the new chair of Tennis Toronto along with his new team of volunteers. Alan has been actively involved on the committee in the past and will be a great addition to our Board.



OTA ED Jim Boyce with STF Board

OTA Southwest Region Chair Wayne Saigeon greets members

West Central Regional Chair Julio DiCresce

Faceoff 2012

For the second year in a row, Canadian superstar Milos Raonic held his Faceoff event at the ACC in front of a crowd of about 6000. I was fortunate enough to have a front row seat at the event...actually an on-court spot right behind the players, as one of 14 line officials trying to track their serves and groundstrokes. The atmosphere was even more electric than last year, and having Andy Roddick and Serena Williams there just added to the excitement. I can't count how many times the fans sitting at court level at either end of the court got hit with serves from Milos and Andy over the course of the evening. It was even more amazing trying to get a good look at where that ball was landing, especially with the bright lights overhead. Overall a fun evening!

 

 

Future Stars Tour

This is the second year of OTA's Future Stars Tour, with over 170 unique competitors in the U9 and U10 age categories. Over 40 stops were held during the 2012  Indoor and Outdoor season. I was happy to attend their yearend recognition event at ORC on Dec 15th. The top 15 players attended and were treated to a hour of tennis drills followed by a tasty lunch and awards ceremony. Thanks to Tennis Canada for helping to sponsor the event - it will be launched Canada-wide in 2013 and of course be run for the third year in Ontario. For more pictures of the event, check out our Facebook Page.

 

OTA Strategic Planning Update

Another key meeting of the Strategic Planning Committee wrapped up recently and I believe we have some important updates to share with OTA member clubs. Thanks to the entire committee for taking the extra time and reflection required to analyze the changing tennis landscape and translate that into some new and fresh initiatives that will lead the association over the next four years. All our OTA club presidents will have a chance to provide feedback this month on the draft plan before the Board approves in March 2013. If you haven't seen a draft copy yet, please contact your regional chair.


On behalf of the Board of Directors and staff of the Ontario Tennis Association, I would like to wish you and your families a very happy and safe holiday season.

 


Sincerely,

Scott Fraser, OTA President

 

L-R: Rob Nicholls, Liz Wood, Sid Schecter, Dianne Weatherby,

Wayne Saigeon, Jackie Sheehy, Simon Bartram, Scott Fraser,

Michel Lecavalier, Adrian Baldeo, Dale Roberts, Miro Ejem,

Jim Boyce, Julio DiCresce, Steve Andrews

Missing: Dayle Levine

Giving Thanks - A Veritable Feast of Regional Activity

STF Tournament Gets Media Attention

I love it when clubs and regions provide feedback on all the activities and tournaments that are happening in their community. That's why I am so impressed at what the Scarborough Tennis Federation (STF) is doing to promote grassroots tennis. STF held their annual Junior tournament on Sep 29 at the West Rouge Tennis Club in six age categories. All STF clubs are OTA-member clubs and send competitors to play at this regional event. STF's main goal is to provide their juniors with opportunities to experience tournament match play, consequently preparing them for future participation in OTA tournaments.

This year, the final results were even posted in the Toronto Sun, thanks to STF Media Relations contact Glenn Sutherland. I encourage all clubs and communities to work hard to provide playing and competing opportunites for young children. Let your local community paper know about what's happening and they will be more than happy to report results and spread the word that tennis is fun for kids of all ages.

Under 12 Boys Singles Finalists. James Quinlan from Charlottetown Tennis Club defeated Vaseehar Ajanthan from North Bendale Tennis Club. Also pictured is OTA Regional Chair and STF President Dianne Weatherby

Can-Am Tennis Tournament at Fort Erie Tennis Club

Scott Maskell from Fort Erie wrote to me last week and reported that, "The 2012 Can Am Tournament was a huge success with 96 participants and many spectators from the United States and the Southern part of Ontario". The tournament was in mid June and included dinner on the Friday night, breakfast and lunch on the Saturday and lots of prizes. Here were the final standings:

Mixed Doubles :

Grand-Final: Sheri Perdziak & Drew Puleo defeated Mary-Anne Grande & Sam Deora

Consolation Final: Alex Kemeter & Kathi Plugg defeated Wendy Haggerty & Andy Olvet

Mens Doubles :

Grand Final: Mike Robinson & John Giocoechea defeated Scott Gould & Russ Reinagel (see picture below)

Consolation Final: Chris Bonn & Tim Cochrane defeated Tady Saczkowski & John Goodin

Ladies Doubles :

Grand Final: Thitima Christopher & Kathy Goodin defeated Lisa Noworyta & Erica Weiss (by injury default)

Consolation Final: Cheryl Athoe & Tami Micallef defeated Chris Trefiak & Marlene Mader

Men's Doubles Winners & Finalists

South West Region Serves Up Success at the Niagara Academy of Tennis

 

Thanks to Maureen Chudyk for writing in and reporting that, "It was a very successful summer at the NiagaraAcademy of Tennis." Along with their high performance international summer camp, they hosted six (6) South West Regional events for players from U10 to Adult. The regional competitions were well attended and the blend of international and local players gave it a special flavour. One of the highlights of the tournaments was a weekly BBQ for all the competitors. The OTA funding from the region helped make all of this possible. It provided the resources to have staff to organize the events and to purchase prizes and trophies to the winners.

Juniors Winners are all Smiles!

 

Positive Feedback is Always Welcome

It's human nature to focus on the negative aspects of a service organization. I read articles in the Toronto Star all the time from columnist Ellen Roseman about how Bell or Rogers or whatever organization is treating customers badly. The OTA is a service organization and our great staff never forget that when dealing with club questions and issues. The recent OTA club survey reflected the positive experiences that clubs have had with staff members and regional volunteers when requesting service, asking questions or resolving problems. I recently received some very positive feedback from Brighton Tennis Club in East region, telling us that the regional chair, Dale Roberts, provided some OTA-branded clothing to the club for their yearend tournament. In the words of member Kathryn Corbett,

"Now, on our courts and all around Brighton, people will see that snazzy Wilson shirt and those crisp OTA T-shirts being worn with pride ... We have included a link to OTA on our Brighton Tennis Club website to be sure our members are aware of the role OTA plays in our province and community ... Thank you for doing your part to keep tennis a vital part of our town".

Thanks to everyone who takes the time to provide praise for all the good things being done to help promote tennis. Keep the emails coming!

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