BRIDGEPORT, CT - When more than 250 children hit the tennis courts at Sacred Heart University on an unseasonably warm April afternoon, it might have garnered some second looks from passers-by.
But soon, the site of children learning the game in Bridgeport will become common.
Bridgeport has been chosen by the United States Tennis Association and the USTA New England section to receive funding and resources to grow youth tennis participation and programs.
Centered around the USTA's new 10 and Under Tennis initiative, the USTA national office and USTA New England are granting a total of more than $68,000 to the city over the course of three years. For its part, Bridgeport will invest $7,500 per year from 2011-2013.
The resources will be leveraged to provide enhancements to existing tennis programs and to implement new programming by working closely with partner organizations, including the Bridgeport Public Schools, Bridgeport's Lighthouse After-School Program,
In addition, portions of the city's funding will be allocated to the upkeep of local public tennis courts and to reconfigure available blacktop space at city elementary schools with tennis court boundary lines to allow for on-site outdoor play.
In sort of an "informal kickoff" to the partnership between the city and the USTA organizations, Sacred Heart hosted the annual Bridgeport Lighthouse After-School Tennis Tournament, which was attended by fifth through eighth-graders from 18 city schools and Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch.
Finch, whose son attends Read School, thanked the childen for atteneding and urged them to make the most out of their opportunities both in eduaction and in tennis. (See video from the Mayor's visit here.)
"There is a fantastic opportunity to introduce the sport of tennis to the young people in Bridgeport, and giving children the opportunity to participate in the sport will have a tremendous impact on the community," said Trumbull resident Marcy Rubinstein, a longtime tennis instructor and organizer who has been contracted to coordinate the project on the local level.
Each participant in the Lighthouse tournament received a medal, a healthy snack and a souvenir, while the winning schools in each division took away trophies.
"The Lighthouse Program has been partnering with USTA New England over the past several years to bring the QuickStart Tennis play format to children attending our after school program," said Tammy Papa, Director of the City’s Lighthouse After-School Program. "We are pleased to move youth tennis in Bridgeport to the next level by increasing partnerships, offering additional opportunities for play, and building an association of committed tennis enthusiasts that will undoubtedly assist us with our sustainability efforts."
The Bridgeport-USTA New England partnership will also lead to the formation of Bridgeport Youth Tennis, a not-for-profit community tennis association that will exist to raise funds for and run a segment of the area's youth tennis programming, including clinics, USTA "play days," USTA tournaments and a USTA Jr. Team Tennis league.
"Leveraging these relationships in Bridgeport - existing and those we will forge in the future - has created a great deal of excitement, and USTA New England is thrilled to be working with organizations who share our passion for bettering the lives of children through tennis," said Deirdre McCormack, USTA New England's Director of Community Tennis. "Bridgeport has in place the leadership and drive to make tennis programming a long-lasting part of the community, and USTA New England is honored to partner with what we are confident will be a successful endeavor."