2021-22 Louisiana Tennis Slate Announced!
Pursuant to the USTA LTA Bylaws, below is the Nominating Committee’s proposed Slate of Board of Directors and Nominating Committee for the 2021-2022 term.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President Jay Boyd Bossier City
Executive Vice President Emily Becker Covington
Vice President Grady Wilson Shreveport
Vice President Jennifer Edmonson Baton Rouge
Secretary Kathy Ruckstuhl Lafayette
Treasurer Ed Gaskell New Orleans
Region 1 Southeast Lana Whitlow Metairie
Region 2 Eastern Josh Dubois Baton Rouge
Region 3 Southwest Courtney Dugas Lafayette
Region 4 Northern Bob Patterson Shreveport
Region 5 Northshore Barbara Fisher Mandeville
USPTA Representative Janusz Conradi Lafayette
Tennis Professional Rep Chris Dazet New Orleans
Immediate Past President Bruce Kingsdorf Mandeville
Director at Large Rusty Jabour Baton Rouge
Director at Large Jim Ewers New Orleans
NOMINATING COMMITTEE
Bruce Kingsdorf Chairman Mandeville
Rusty Jabour Member Baton Rouge
Chris Dazet Member New Orleans
Jason Hazley Member Mandeville
Jim Ewers Member New Orleans
Robert Daigle
USTA LTA Nominating Chairman
Southern Cares Initiative
Funds Tennis Industry with $803,800
ATLANTA – Sept. 14, 2020 – USTA Southern was concerned about the financial instability brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and decided to provide extra support to tennis industry professionals and volunteers who work in many occupations and live in nine Southern states.
Last April, the USTA Southern Board of Directors voted to fund a new initiative, named Southern Cares. After extensive outreach to the tennis industry in the Southern Section, USTA Southern awarded $803,800 to 917 recipients for an average of $876.55. It is expected the number of approvals and grant funds will increase slightly. Applications were received from 1,103 individuals and organizations.
Southern Cares offered needed aid to those who provide tennis to communities within the Southern tennis family and were impacted by COVID-19. The purpose of this initiative was to provide financial support for teaching pros, tennis facilities, tournament directors, league coordinators, officials, community tennis associations, NJTLs, adaptive programs, wheelchair programs and media who have lost income or revenue due to the cancellation of events and to help defray costs of restarting tennis programs.
The demanding challenge of reviewing and selecting applications fell mostly on the 11-member volunteer board. Additionally, six USTA Southern staffers with specific expertise in the program areas were also assigned to the task of reviewing applications. Staff members from the nine state tennis associations within USTA Southern were also consulted on the applications.
USTA Southern President & CEO Bonnie Vandegriftsaid, “COVID-19 has negatively impacted so many in our tennis family and USTA Southern is very fortunate to be in a strong financial position to help. As facilities are reopening, and tennis has been identified as a safe sport, we are seeing resurgence in play and an opportunity for our community partners to introduce the sport to both juniors and adults alike.” She also added other comments during an interview on the section’s podcast, Talking Tennis Southern Style.
“USTA Southern is pleased we have been able to assist so many in the tennis industry in the nine Southeastern states with this Southern Cares project,” USTA Southern Executive Director & COO John Callen added. “Tennis is rapidly picking up new players to our ‘COVID-19 safe’ sport and one that adds years to our lifespans. By helping our industry stay as strong as possible, tennis should be poised to grow and expand in South in the months and years to come.”
The Southern Cares program was divided into three categories:
Teaching professionals (often called tennis pros):
· 723 applicants
· 641 awarded support
· $320,500.00 total support
· Average: $500.00
Tennis facilities: approximately 70% are public, 30% are private
· 167 applicants
· 139 awarded support
· $278,700.00 total support
· Average: $2,577.88
“Others” in the tennis industry: tournament directors; Junior Team Tennis and Local League coordinators (tennis organizers); officials; media; tennis nonprofits affiliated with the USTA including community tennis associations, National Junior Tennis and Learning, wheelchair tennis and adaptive/special populations organizations:
· 213 applicants
· 107 individuals, 56 organizations awarded support
· $151,000 total support
· Average: $926.38
Here is a sample of the more than 70 recipients who responded to a survey about their reaction to the support:
Neil Witherow; Jackson, Miss.; teaching pro
This is a great example of how the USTA Southern continues to show its support for those in the industry. They could have easily just left this work to the government, or even saved its resources in this time of uncertainty. However, it chose to pay forward for the care that many in the industry will, in turn, show to their customers and tennis students.
Mike Hurley; Old Hickory, Tenn.; teaching pro
It provided a needed positive "spark" to stay engaged and that we were not alone in our concerns. As well, it acknowledged the importance of tennis professionals.
Geoff Waring; tennis manager for Montgomery, Ala. Parks and Recreation; facility
It has provided a buffer for my family’s income while my facility was closed. It was so helpful. The facility grant helped at a time when we know we will be having a tough budget crunch at our municipal facilities and will help us to maintain our facility and serve the public.
JoAnn Lee; Creekside Tennis & Swim; Charleston, S.C.; facility
It was very helpful during this time when COVID-19 shut down our facility. We are now running at full capacity and all our tennis programs are up at least 15 to 20 percent.
Robert Sasseville; Fairburn, Ga.; tournament director
Thank you to USTA Southern for establishing this program that acknowledges the significant sacrifice that all in the tennis industry have experienced during this once-in-a-lifetime challenge. It will be used to defray the cost of tennis balls and/or officials at the three USTA Georgia events we conducted in July and August.
Meg Farrelly; Isle of Palms, S.C.; official
Southern has helped me finance being as safe as possible during this back-to-tennis time. In February I went to a dollar store and bought every pump hand sanitizer they had. 87 in all. Smartest thing I have ever done. I now share my emergency buckets with all the tournaments in the Lowcountry.
Carla O’Connor; Charlotte, N.C.; community tennis assoc. (Talking Tennis Southern Style)
As a recipient, I think it is about much more than the money. It translates to a much-needed morale booster at this time. … It will go a long way to help solidify the partnership and the relationship tennis professionals have with the USTA.
Ron Cioffi
USTA Southern (US Tennis Association) Director, Communications
cioffi@sta.usta.com; O: 770-368-8200 x112; M: 770-378-7856
5/18/2020
Sectional Championships Cancelled
The United States Tennis Association (USTA) Southern Section Board of Directors announced the cancellation of its 2020 USTA Adult League championships due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The six events were scheduled between late July and early December in six cities.
USTA League and Combo Doubles are considered the flagship of the USTA, with 90,000 players in USTA Southern and 330,000 nationally. The leagues consist of teams of about six to 20 players in various age categories. Most teams start competing at the local level and advance to state and sectional championships. Last year, approximately 7,000 players and 600 teams participated in USTA Southern championships and contributed millions of dollars to local economies.
In many states in USTA Southern, most local league play was either halted, canceled or had not begun. Once the USTA announces when local play resumes, individual state associations will decide on the fate of their state adult league championships for 2020.
The USTA had announced in April that all 2020 USTA national adult league championships were canceled due to the COVID-19 epidemic.
Here are the six canceled events, with dates and locations:
- USTA League Adult 18 & Over Southern Sectional Championships; July 24-27; Rome, Ga.
- USTA League Adult 40 & Over Southern Sectional Championships; Aug.7-9, Aug. 14-16; Auburn, Ala.
- USTA League Adult 55 & Over Southern Sectional Championships; Sept.18-21; Asheville, N.C.
- USTA Southern Mixed Doubles Sectional Championships; Oct. 9-11; Lexington, Ky.
- USTA League Adult 65 & Over Southern Sectional Championships; Nov. 13-16; Dothan, Ala.
- Combo Doubles Southern Sectional Championships; Dec. 4-7; Mobile, Ala.
USTA Southern President & CEO Bonnie Vandegrift said, “It is with a heavy heart that we have had to cancel these important championships. USTA League and Combo Doubles are the backbone of local tennis participation in USTA Southern and throughout the country. The safety of our players is our priority. We are truly disappointed that we cannot stage these tournaments, which allows our players to be physically active and gives our cities significant travel revenue.”
USTA Southern Adult League Committee Chair Helen Martin added, “Our USTA League and other adult players are so passionate about playing. That makes is especially disappointing that we won’t be able to give them the opportunity to compete with other players from our nine states. The good news is that we will be able to focus on supporting local tennis programs.”
USTA Southern Director of Adult Tennis & Human Resources Chris Walling added, “This was not an easy decision and one that was ultimately decided on by what is best for our players. The health and safety of our players was the number one priority. Additionally, one of the many items we looked at was what our players told us. In a recent USTA Southern League survey with over 13,000 responses, an overwhelming majority of our players made it clear that they wanted to focus on local league options and were not comfortable with team events with more than 300 players in attendance.”
4/23/2020
Blue Chip Boys
Congratulations boys on this very high achievement! Welsh Hotard and Benjamin Koch have been doubles partners for around 8 years. They won their first Southern closed in 12s and have continued to win many Southern and National titles together. They won the prestigious Easter Bowl in 2018 and won the bronze ball at national clays and Winter Nationals.
Ben will be attending LSU on an athletic scholarship and Welsh will be attending University of Oklahoma on an athletic scholarship.
Presently Welsh is according to tennis recruiting.com the number 3 recruit in the Senior Class and Ben is the number 17 recruit in the Senior Class.
4/17/2020
SEC Men's Service Team 2019/20, Daniel Moreno
LSU Men's Tennis player, Daniel Moreno was recognized on the men's tennis SEC Community Service 2019-2020 team for his accomplishments beyond the field of competition.
Daniel is a sophomore from Guadalajara, Mexico. He has spent multiple hours volunteering and giving back to the Baton Rouge community. For the second year in a row, Daniel volunteered at the Knock Knock Museum, a local children's museum intended to provide high-quality learning experiences for children. The museum is also geared to expand knowledge in the STEM subjects while increasing early literacy skills through their specialized interactive exhibits. Daniel was coordinating a demonstration for World Water Day, prior to campus closing for the semester. The Sophomore tennis player also participated in the Halloween Boozar. Congrats Daniel!
