Sportsmen's Receives USTA Grant
January 14, 2011 12:29 PM
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.– The USTA announced that the Sportsmen’s Tennis Club has been awarded a Community Partnership Investment Grant in the amount of $65,000 over three years. Sportsmen’s is one of seven organizations receiving Community Partnership Investment grants totaling $370,000.
An additional 15 organizations received one-time 2010 USTA Year End Program/Project Support grants ranging from $2,500 to $10,000 which total an additional $83,000. Combined with $315,000 in grant funding that was awarded in May, the USTA will award more than $765,000 in Recreational Tennis Grants to qualified applicants in 2010.
The grants are designed to support community-based organizations that are seeking funding to support their general tennis programming, project and equipment needs. The organizations that were selected met the following criteria: increasing tennis participation, supporting tennis programming, and fostering diversity in both participation and programming.
"The USTA is extremely pleased to have invested more than $765,000 in 2010 to those organizations that believe tennis can be the vehicle to improve the quality of life for both children and adults," said Kurt Kamperman, Chief Executive, Community Tennis, USTA. "By adopting the USTA’s mission to grow the game of tennis, Sportsmen’s Tennis Club is not only helping to grow the game using pathways such as 10 and Under Tennis and Jr. Team Tennis, it is ensuring the growth of the Greater-Boston tennis community. We are proud to have organizations that show such spirit and passion for tennis receive this honor, and the USTA is proud to be able to assist them in their efforts.
The grant will support our Sportsmen’s Tennis Club’s Match Point Initiative, which brings tennis into the lives of youth who otherwise might not ever experience the game, because many schools do not have physical education at school and youth are often not able to access organized sports during out-of-school time.
By bringing tennis to schools and community centers or using donated vans to bring youth into Sportsmen’s, Match Point allows youth to participate in regular physical activity, develop relationships with positive adult role models, learn a life-long sport and develop other skills critical to succeeding in life – including perseverance, teamwork and problem solving skills.
Said Sportsmen's Executive Director Toni Wiley, "There are opportunities for anyone - ages 4 to 90 – to enjoy tennis at Sportsmen’s Tennis Club. Thanks to this grant, we can increase the scope, frequency and reach of recreational tennis opportunities for Boston youth. "
The New Haven (CT) Youth Tennis Foundation was one of 15 organizations awarded a Year End/Program Support grant.