YEAR ENd 2008 - Ontario Tennis Association

PROGRAMMING hIGhlIGhTS
In 2008 the OTA serviced more
than 200 clubs and 2200 registered
individuals through a variety of
programs organized in four areas.
PLAYER DEVELOPMENT
2008 saw huge growth in the competitive
structure. One factor in this growth
was the introduction of progressive tennis
tournaments. More than 1145 events
were sanctioned at 327 tournament
sites. This was a 50% increase over plan.
Tournament Player Registration reached
2,252 and 1270 players participated in
Provincial Championships,.
Our players performed exceptionally
well at the national level. Team Ontario
junior players won 10 national junior
singles championship titles, including
7 of 8 outdoor national titles. Team
Ontario won gold at the Canada Games.
In 2008, 3 Certification Clinics for officials
were delivered through the OTA,
resulting in 12 new certified umpires. In
Coach Certification, 203 new instructors
were certified and 76 coaches were
upgraded to a higher level of certification.
The National Tennis Centre regrouping
program, a joint Tennis Canada OTA
program held in Toronto, also expanded
as young players from the initial under
10 and under 12 groups moved into an
under 14 program.
The 2009 plan calls for all player development
programs to sustain the 2008
volumes. In addition, the new Rogers
Ranking head to head system and an
upgraded version of the Baseline system
will be implemented in the spring.
This will include the integration of the
provincial and national tournament
schedules.
MEMBERSHIP &
REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
The Club Insurance program remains
the most valued and used program
the OTA run for clubs. 132 clubs used
liability insurance and 74 clubs used the
Directors and Officers insurance.
64 Tennis fairs were delivered with a
total of 1392 participants. 788 members
attended Merchant of Tennis OTA
member appreciation day at 2 locations.
The Progressive Floor Tennis and Give
Tennis a Shot programs, which deliver
introductory programs to schoolchildren,
saw huge participation increases,
more than 3 times and 2 times the numbers
planned respectively. 24 inner city
schools started the Progressive Floor
Tennis program. 342 teachers were
trained to deliver the program resulting
in 39,360 children participating in the
program, while the Give Tennis A Shot
cardio tennis program was introduced
to 27,813 children and 195 teachers were
certified in cardio tennis.
In addition to these programs 2009 will
see the club manual, a significant information
resource for clubs, updated and
expanded with some parts available to
clubs on line.
MARKETING & COMMUNICATION
A full 32 page Year Book was produced
as a fourth issue of Ontario Tennis
Magazine. The Tennisontario.com
web site received 44.2 million hits and
926,000 unique visits. The OTA Tennis
Matters fundraising program generated
$43,533 compared to the expected
$30,000.
FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION
The 2008 Budget called for a small
deficit (basically break even) but in fact
actual results showed a small surplus
mainly due to improvements in some
revenue categories. A break even budget
has been established for 2009.
A new 4 year strategic plan will be
presented at the association’s AGM for
approval by the Club Presidents. Club
President’s have already been given the
opportunity to review and comment on
a draft plan. This move should ensure
that the association’s priorities are
responsive to and aligned with the needs
of member clubs. The approved plan
will be published in the Spring issue of
Ontario Tennis.
16
OTA YEARBOOK / WINTER 2009