Australian tennis legend John Fitzgerald was among the guest speakers when approximately 50 club representatives and coaches attended Tennis Victoria’s annual Country Conference at Royal South Yarra Lawn Tennis Club last Friday.
The day gave Tennis Victoria, club representatives and coaches the opportunity to gather with other members of the country community, and was considered a great success by all involved.
Craig Morris, Tennis Australia’s MLC Tennis Hot Shots leader, interviewed Australian tennis legend John ‘Fitzy’ Fitzgerald on the day.
“Apart from gathering information and meeting some great contacts, a highlight was definitely listening to John Fitzgerald speak as he has been a favourite Aussie player of mine for many years,” said Vicki Forde, President of the Pyalong Tennis Club.
The topics on the day focused around five issues:
1. Developing quality facilities and how to fund them
2. Declining participation rates and how to turn them around
3. Developing and promoting a clear player pathway for players to progress from MLC Tennis Hot Shots through to competitions, tournaments and through to elite.
4. Developing a win-win partnership between clubs and coaches that helps grow the sport.
5. Improving communication and promotion to better engage members and the community in the sport.
The day provided an opportunity for clubs and coaches to discuss amongst each other the challenges they face and how they are developing tennis at their clubs.
“One of the outcomes is that Tennis Victoria can use discussions from the conference to guide our regional servicing model for 2012/13 and help to address and solve the issues and challenges facing the sport in country Victoria,” said Adam Feiner, Tennis Victoria’s Community Tennis Officer for Regional Victoria East.
“Another outcome of the day was that clubs and coaches walked away with new ideas and an enthusiastic approach on how to grow their sport at the local level with our support.”
By: Edwin Smith
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