To coincide with World Tennis Day, Tennis Europe is unveiling plans for a wide-ranging new programme of solidarity initiatives aimed at building cooperation within the sport and raising the profile of tennis in Europe.
The principal action will focus on Tennis Europe’s Solidarity Scheme, which promotes bilateral co-operation between member nations of the ITF’s largest regional association and encourages the most prosperous federations to support less-developed tennis nations. The Scheme will be upgraded to feature a new online platform to facilitate communication as well as extra funds for specific projects.
The Solidarity Scheme will also include a special knowledge sharing Management Workshop, organised by Tennis Europe to promote effective administration at small federations. Representatives from 14 member nations that currently benefit from the ITF/Tennis Europe Development Fund will be invited to the all-inclusive seminar, to be chaired by Tennis Europe CEO Olli Mäenpää and ITF/Tennis Europe Development Officer Hrvoje Zmajic. They will assist the representatives in preparing national 5-Year development plans for their federations.
Also under the umbrella of the Solidarity Scheme, Tennis Europe is seeking to extend its pioneering ‘Youth in Action’ program, which aims to assist in the professional development of the next generation of executive staff at club level and at national associations. Following a successful pilot in Bulgaria last November, other nations will now be invited to apply to experience the program.
Subject to the approval of the Annual General Meeting later this month, the Tennis Europe Board of Management has pledged a total of CHF 250,000 for various European ventures, and hopes that the most prosperous tennis nations will follow in committing resources to pan-European solidarity projects.
Tennis Europe President Jacques Dupré said: “It is our pleasure, on World Tennis Day, to be able to announce these initiatives which we hope will serve to boost the sport in the areas of Europe that still need assistance while providing more prosperous nations with an opportunity to demonstrate unity and corporate social responsibility. Our commitment to the development and promotion of tennis is unwavering and I am confident that this scheme will reap long-term rewards for the sport.”