Recreation
USTA clinics make tennis free for all
| • | Free for All sites |
By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer
Tennis has invested $50 million so new, and slightly used, players can take a free lesson the next couple weekends.
Free for All is the initial step in the U.S. Tennis Association's Plan for Growth. The five-year, $50 million initiative is the largest ever launched to develop the game in the United States.
Its goal when it was initiated in 1998 was to hook 800,000 new players. With 1 1/2 years remaining, it is "virtually" there, according to the USTA. The next two freebie weekends in Hawai'i will be icing on a promotional cake other sports have quickly baked.
The local Free for Alls, organized by the USTA's Hawai'i Section, spill over to the Neighbor Islands for the first time this year. The one-hour user-friendly lesson is devoted to beginners, and those returning to the game, between the ages of "6 and 106."
Rackets and balls are provided, kids and adults are usually divided and any hint of intimidation is purely unintentional.
"We don't want anyone to be intimidated," says Christi Robell, Hawai'i's Director of Recreational Tennis. "It's very player-friendly. We're welcoming everyone."
The goal is to have everyone learn a little about the game, and enjoy it a lot. Enough to move through the USTA's precisely drawn "pathway." The fluorescent yellow-tennis ball road makes its next stop at a low-cost series of lessons (1-2-3), then bounces on to low-key competition (Team Tennis).
More than half who jumped into previous Free for Alls stayed with the game. Hawai'i has surpassed its goals by so much there is cause to question its projections.
Last year, the local section hoped to get 1,800 out for the Free for Alls, and more than 2,000 showed. It was looking for 2,185 at the $18, six-lesson 1-2-3 series (cost is higher at private sites) and more than 3,000 registered. Its Team Tennis goal was 1,117; more than three times that many (3,762) participated.
As the Plan for Growth has plowed through expectations, the USTA has modified its goals. It plans to target families this year, and specific age groups (18-24, 30-50 and older). It is looking into workplace strategies and put a College Campus Program in place last year.
Manufacturers, pros and a vast array of the game's other elements also supported the Plan for Growth. Their investment is being rewarded.
Racquet sales are up by double-digit percentages the past two years and ball sales — the sport's most accurate barometer — grew by 6.7 percent. The latest Sports Marketing Survey found the number of U.S. players 12-and-older rose from 19.5 million in 1996 to 20.8 million last year and the number of frequent players (at least 21 times a year) from 4.9 million to 5.4 million.
An ESPN/Chilton Sports Poll said tennis was one of only two sports that boasted TV viewership in 1999. The other was soccer, which featured the U.S. team winning the Women's World Cup that year.
Plan for Growth sponsors figure none of this is a coincidence. They are not alone.
A National Golf Foundation survey discovered its sport was gaining three million new players every year, but losing just as many. Golf course owners have since implemented a grow-the-game campaign — City Golf Blitz — that is so similar to tennis' push it could be called Plan for Growth with Dimples.
It has not hit Hawai'i yet. For this weekend and next, at least, tennis is the only free lesson in town.
Free for All sites
Sunday, April 29 and Saturday, May 5
Oahu Sites
Ala Moana Park
Hale Koa
Hawai'i Prince Tennis Resort
Hickam Tennis Center
Ihilani Resort & Spa
Iolani School
Kamehameha Schools
Kailua District Park
Kailua Racquet Club
Kalakaua District Park
Kalani High School
Kane'ohe District Park
Kilauea District Park
Koko Head District Park
Manoa District Park
Makakilo Community Park
Mililani Neighborhood Park
Moanalua Community Park
Pearl City High School
Turtle Bay Hilton
Waipahu District Park
Wai'anae District Park
To register: Call 955-6696
Neighbor Island Sites
Kapa'a High School
Kapalua
Keauhou Beach Hotel
Kiahuna Tennis Club
Lahaina — Front Street
University of Hawai'i-Hilo
Wailea Tennis Club
Wailuku — Wells Park
To register: Call 888-848-2744
