USTA Northern - Local Tennis Org - NRPA/Tennis In The Parks

NRPA/Tennis In The Parks

Tennis in the Parks

Nearly 70% of all tennis is played on public courts.

USTA Northern To Hold Tennis In The Parks Luncheon March 26. Click here for more information.

Nearly 70% of ALL tennis in the United States is played on public courts, meaning park and recreation agencies play a vital role in the overall health of the sport. Since 1998, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) and the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) have entered into a strategic partnership, the emphasis being on advancing mutually beneficial efforts that increase the support for and visibility of parks and recreation...and to grow public tennis.

The jointly developed Tennis in the Parks (TIP) initiative began in 2002, and aimed at increasing access to quality public tennis facilities as well as increase opportunities for the public to enjoy the sport. In that year, the USTA and NRPA launched the TIP program to increase the number of get more qualified instructors working at park courts. A year later in 2003, the program expanded to support marketing and new program formats.

In 2005, both organizations agreed that this should not be an exclusive opportunity, but should instead assist communities eager to improve and expand public tennis in the United States.

Tennis in the Parks Aims To Do The Following
*Expand quality tennis programming in everything from instructional needs to building junior team tennis and adult league play. Enhancing marketing efforts and advocating partnerships is also a large.

*Focus on making sure that public facility funding and public tennis infrastructure is in optimum condition. During 2005, $1 million in matching TIP grant funds helped from the USTA helped finance projects that totaled $25 million in tennis facility construction and renovation projects across.

*Develop an advocacy agenda, helping mobilize communities in their grassroots efforts and to ensure sustainability in the public sector. This includes facility master planning, supporting community projects that include tennis, and launching an online assessment survey to help identify and determine priority needs each year.

Eight (8) critical areas fall under the Tennis in the Parks platform:
- Hiring qualified instructors
- Retrofitting facilities
- New Program Formats
- Staff training
- Developing community partnerships
- Marketing
- Developing Community Tennis Associations
- Purchasing equipment

Tennis In The Parks Funding
The public facility funding grant is the most comprehensive element of the Tennis in the Parks Initiative. This category requires the following:
    1) Completed on-line pre-assessment form  & 2) 2007 Public Facility Funding Application

Any agency that have been officially designated as part of the 2007 Tennis in the Parks Initiative are eligible to apply for funding and will receive an official grant application.

USTA Public Facility Funding Grant
All communities with a complete on-line assessment can request a facility funding application. This application will need to be filled out and submitted by one of the three deadlines listed below:

GRANT DEADLINES
Period I - March 7, 2007 (May 9)
Period II - September 12, 2007 (awards announced Nov. 9)

GRANT CATEGORIES
Category I: Grants up to $2,500 from USTA National that must be matched dollar for dollar for court improvements including fixed amenities, e.g. windscreens, backboards, fencing, lighting systems.

Category II: (Resurfacing): Grants up to $35,000 or 20% of the total project budget (whichver is less) for resurfacing existing tennis courts at public tennis facilities.

Category III: (New Construction): Any new construction of existing facility reconstruction: Grants up to $50,000 or 20% of the total budget project (whichever is less) for construction of new public tennis facilities, or reconstruction or expansion of existing public tennis facilities. .

GRANT GUIDELINES:
* The grant program is for public facilities or facilities that allow public to play regularly.
* The application must be submited with supporting documentation by the respective deadline date.
* As a requirement of acceptance, the facility agrees to develop new tennis players by providing clinics, beginner and retention programs
* Awarded facilities must complete an annual assessment for up to five (5) years.
* incomplete applications could result in the application being returned
* Al courts must be regulation size to receive funding
* Matching grant program

Click here to subscribe to the Tennis in the Parks E-newsletter

For more information regarding facility funding in the USTA Northern, please contact Nancy Lundberg at (952) 358-3282 or via e-mail at lundberg@northern .usta.com . You may also visit the NRPA site at www.nrpa.org/usta for more details. To learn more about tennis in the public parks, click here.