Net more adults: using tennis trimatches to build recreation programs.

A major challenge facing many recreation programs face is increasing adult participation. Unfortunately, the adult programs run by many recreation departments not only don't attract a large number of participants, but also have difficulty finding funding and often lack structure. As a certified United States Professional Tennis Association tennis teaching professional for more than 17 years, I've found that innovative tennis programming can give a shot in the arm to recreation departments.

Tennis is one of the three most popular recreational sports in the world. It lends itself to recreational participation because it's easy to learn, fun to play and provides good exercise while being mentally and physically challenging. In the U.S., however, tennis has lost popularity in the last two decades because the current formats of tennis play don't support the busy lives of today's average adult. A new concept, called tennis trimatch, can help recreation programs increase revenue, adult participation and positive press. That's because it has the appeal of the golf foursome, can inspire more women to play tennis and encourages athletic competition between men and women.

Try the Trimatch

How does a tennis trimatch work? It's a competition in which two singles matches and one doubles match are played. Typically, the best players from each team play each other in singles at the same time that the second-best players from each team play each other in singles. The teams receive one point for each match victory. After the singles matches, a doubles match is played. (If there are four players on each team, the doubles can be played at the same time as the singles.) The team that earns two points wins the match. The trimatch can be an informal pickup competition or, if there are multiple teams competing, a competition with rounds in which the winning team plays the next team on the ladder or in the tournament.

Many municipal recreation programs have trouble attracting adults because of the increased demands of work and home life. People are working longer hours than ever before, and don't have enough control of their schedule to commit to participating in a sport at a set time every week. Interestingly, in spite of the amount of time required to play 18 holes of golf, the golf foursome has become extremely popular. One of the main reasons is that it provides adults with a chance to compete in a small group without the weekly time commitment required by a league.

The tennis trimatch has many of the benefits of a golf foursome without the space and maintenance requirements of a golf course. Many recreation programs around the country have numerous unused tennis courts because recreational tennis participation of adults has reached a plateau. Although the United States Tennis Association's USA League Tennis has done an outstanding job of promoting recreational and competitive team play among adults, many people don't participate because it requires a commitment to both a team and a time schedule. These days, people spend so much time balancing work and family that they can't commit to joining a league. In contrast, people are attracted to the golf foursome because, at the last minute, they can call three of their friends and have a great time.

For a long time tennis pros thought that doubles would become as popular as the golf foursome. It hasn't, however, because most tennis players prefer to play singles. The nice thing about golf is that you get the advantages of both singles (individual play) and doubles (dual play); even though you're focused on your individual score, you can play as a team by combining your score with that of a teammate's. The tennis trimatch brings those features to the court.

Like a golf foursome, the tennis trimatch can be organized quickly, requires only four players, and incorporates singles and doubles, but it takes less time to play and provides more exercise than golf. In fact, a trimatch can be organized even more quickly than a golf foursome, because there are many more tennis courts than golf courses. A golf foursome usually takes three to four hours to complete 18 holes, or longer if the players aren't good. In contrast, a trimatch typically takes only two hours for a two-person team and one hour for a four-person team to play.

More Women on the Court

The world of women's sports is changing rapidly--there are more women athletes than ever. Because tennis has traditionally been the most popular recreational sport among women, recreation departments can position themselves to take advantage of this growing market of recreational female athletes by offering new and innovative tennis programs.

Professional mixed doubles tennis doesn't receive a lot of press. However, it has the potential to play an important role in growing recreational tennis. No other major sport encourages men and women to face each other in a professional athletic competition. The popularity of the Billie Jean King vs. Bobbie Riggs match and the strong interest in one of the Williams sisters playing John McEnroe in a match proves that fans love to see how female athletes will do against their male counterparts. This interest in the battle of the sexes, combined with the fact that spectators love to imitate their favorite athletes, indicate that recreational mixed doubles or mixed singles has the potential to be quite popular. Tennis trimatches let municipalities take advantage of the increasing number of women interested in recreational sports and the growing interest in athletic competition between men and women.

A co-ed trimatch is one of the only recreational sports that can provide a fun, structured and balanced athletic competition between men and women. Although trimatches have no gender requirements, it's especially interesting when each team consists of one man and one woman (and a mixed doubles team if the two singles players aren't playing doubles). The ease of arranging a trimatch makes pick-up competition more feasible. This easy scheduling will enable busy women and men to participate in a trimatch whenever they have the time. In addition, the appeal of women and men testing their skills against one another will make the mixed trimatch more attractive than most other recreational sports.

Love, Trimatch

Currently, recreational tennis players have three basic competitive options-they can play singles, doubles or join a league. While these choices are great, none enable players to participate in a "recognized" team competition where two teams of two to four people can play singles and doubles. Tennis trimatch ladders can fill this void.

A recreation program doesn't have to invest a lot of money or time to run a tennis trimatch ladder. Once the program is set up and the rules are established, it nearly operates itself. Each team is responsible for scheduling their own matches and reporting the score to the trimatch coordinator (who could be an employee or a volunteer). The coordinator then adjusts the ladder accordingly. At the end of the season, a trimatch playoff can be organized, with the winning team getting an award or trophy.

Unfortunately, in today's economy, recreation departments are always in need of more funds. Tennis trimatches can be an excellent way to generate additional revenue. In some communities, tennis leagues have attracted thousands of participants; Atlanta is reported to have more than 10,00o participants in its tennis league. This popularity has helped to generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional revenue. Most recreation programs, of course, don't want that many people participating in their tennis programs, but trimatches can help to attract enough players to make full use of available tennis courts and generate additional revenue by charging each team a participation fee. The fees should more than offset the cost of the minimal staff time required to manage the trimatch ladder.

With the support of recreation departments, the tennis trimatch has the potential to take tennis and recreational participation to a level that has never been seen before. Even though the program is new, the trimatch name is easy for recreation departments to market because it adequately describes the three-match team competition, is easy to pronounce, isn't in widespread use for another sport and can be promoted easily. The trimatch is flexible enough to be played by both beginners and experienced players. However, the most exciting aspect of tennis trimatches is that they're a great public relations vehicle for recreation programs. In addition to the enhanced revenue, recreation departments can generate more community support and positive press for all of their programs because of the increased adult participation generated by trimatches.

Dale Caldwell is deputy commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. He is also a United States Professional Tennis Association-certified tennis teaching professional who has worked closely with recreation departments to maximize the effectiveness and community impact of their tennis programming. For further information about tennis trimatches, contact Caldwell at dcaldwell@dca. state.nj.us.