YEAR ENd 2008 - Ontario Tennis Association

ROGERS ROOKIE TOuR GROWS uP
The popular Rogers Rookie
Tour, which has been running
in Ontario for the past
three years, is going national!
In a move which demonstrates Rogers’
commitment to the growth and promotion
of tennis in Canada, the concept of
the rookie tour has been evolved into a
new national program to bridge the gap
between introductory tennis and the
provincial junior competitive circuits
throughout Canada.
Rookie Tour events have met with a
great deal of success in Ontario, B.C.
and the Prairie and Atlantic regions.
The national Rogers
Rookie Tour program
will build on the experience
and success of these
events to reach thousands
of junior players each year
at tennis clubs and tennis
centres throughout the
country. The program is
designed to encourage
young players to continue
to develop their tennis
skills through the “compete” phase of
the tennis pathway. By providing a fun
low key introduction to competitive play
it is hoped they will view competition
positively and become lifelong players,
competitors and tennis enthusiasts.
All events in the Rogers Rookie Tour
will be non-elimination tournaments,
offering unranked youngsters a funfilled
and exciting event with multiple
opportunities to play without the fear
of being eliminated if they lose. They
provide a positive learning environment
where boys and girls up to the age of 18
can develop and display their tennis and
• Great first tournaments for new
competitors.
• Competition for players up to age
18.
• Number of matches guaranteed.
• All players receive a T-shirt,
Rogers prize and participation
certificate.
• Under 12 competitions use
Progressive Tennis (a system
which uses a progression of
court sizes, balls and racquets for
youngsters 5-12 yrs old).
• Introduces players to the
provincial competitive structure.
sportsmanship skills while competing
against a variety of opponents.
For a list of Rogers Rookie Events
across Ontario visit the OTA Junior
Tournament Calendar at www.tennisontario.com
under Player Development.
For more information contact Flora
Karsai at fkarsai@tennisontario.com.
22
OTA YEARBOOK / WINTER 2009