WHAT A Racket.

Tennis, the sport for a lifetime, is enjoying a new life of it's own.

Entries for the City of Asheville (N.C.) Open Tennis Championships were up this year-- about 40 percent for the junior event alone. "We had a lot of kids who participate in our USA Tennis programs," said tournament director Jeff Joyce, who is also athletic director for the Asheville Parks and Recreation Department.

Tennis at both Brian Piccolo Park and C.B. Smith Park in western Broward County, Fla., is "moving in the right direction," according to Dave Brown, who manages the two facilities. "My USA Team Tennis program is a hit? Brown boasts. "Now all I hear is, 'When are we going to start again in the fall?'"

Donna Gaukler, recreation manager for the Missoula (Mont.) Parks and Recreation Department, said tennis participation is on the rise in Big Sky country as well. "We aren't going to the courts every day," she said, "but we do have the sense that more people are out on the courts."

Fact is, there are more people on the courts -- in Montana, Florida, North Carolina ... all across the country! Tennis, the sport for a lifetime, is enjoying a new life of its own.

These days, 20.8 million Americans -- approximately one in 13 people -- have played tennis at least once. That's about as many people as there are watching the hit television show Friends in a given week, and roughly four times as many people as there are reading USA Today, "the nation's newspaper."

From 1996 to 1999, the number of frequent tennis players (people who play 21 times or more in a year) grew by 10.2 percent. The number of people who play tennis four times or more in a year jumped 14.6 percent. The number of people who might have just picked up a racquet and played one time increased 6.7 percent.

"The entire U.S. tennis industry has joined forces to make growth in the sport possible," said United States Tennis Association President Judy Levering. "In particular, the industry-wide USA Tennis Plan for Growth has been a tremendous catalyst for increased participation."

The USA Tennis Plan for Growth is a $50 million initiative to promote and develop the growth of tennis in the United States. 1998 was the first year of operation for the plan, which was launched two years ago (September 1997) by the USTA, in partnership with the entire tennis industry, the National Recreation and Park Association, and the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association. The plan provides a simple pathway for people interested in tennis to "try, learn, play, compete."

While the USA Tennis Plan for Growth has been the catalyst for getting more people in the game, the nation's public courts have been the primary destination for those people. Seventy percent of Americans go to public courts to play tennis. Thus, public courts and the parks and recreation departments that manage most of them are at the core of this tennis success story.

But why shouldn't that be the case? The two largest professional tennis tournaments in North America are held at public parks. The U.S. Open, the world's largest tennis tournament, is held at the USTA National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in New York. The Ericsson Open, generally considered the fifth most important tennis tournament, is held at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, Fla.

With the USA Tennis Plan for Growth, park and recreation departments aren't just opening their gates for people with a curiosity about the sport of tennis; they're developing tennis players.

"They're the ones who are bringing in the numbers," said Debbie Fettig, executive director of the Pikes Peak Community Tennis Association in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Using the 70 percent theory, public courts single-handedly achieved the USA Tennis Plan for Growth goal of getting 120,000 new tennis players in 1998. A total of 202,883 people participated last year in USA Tennis 1-2-3, the introductory instructional program that targets new and returning adult and junior players. Assuming 70 percent of last year's USA Tennis 1-2-3 participants went to public courts, that's 142,018 people who represent the fruits of the NRPA partnership with the tennis industry.

The target number of USA Tennis 1-2-3 participants for 1999 is 140,000. By mid-July, nearly 33,000 people had enrolled, well ahead of the 1998 pace.

Clearly, the USTA's presentation on the USA Tennis Plan for Growth and the value of tennis to any park and recreation program found plenty of believers when it was unveiled at the 1997 NRPA Congress & Exposition in Salt Lake City.

Even more park and recreation departments are subscribing to the USA Tennis Plan for Growth as USA Tennis national administrators continue to present the plan at regional and local conferences throughout the year.

"The presentation is all about taking tennis to the masses," said Missoula recreation manager Gaukler. 'What's what parks and recreation is. That's the way we feel about it in Missoula."

The Missoula Parks and Recreation Department staff practices taking tennis to the masses quite literally. As part of its blitz campaign -- the "try" portion of the USA Tennis Program Pathway-- Missoula staff visits park playground programs with racquets and balls in tow. "It's one of the things kids look forward to," Gaukler said.

Asheville Parks and Recreation also uses a "take the game to the masses" approach. However, Asheville focuses on taking the game to minority communities as part of a goal to attract more minorities to tennis. At mid-summer, Asheville athletic director Joyce said his staff was reaching about 200 kids.

But the No. 1 key to the success of Asheville's tennis programs, Joyce said, is Asheville Parks and Recreation's collaboration with the Western North Carolina Tennis Association, the local community tennis association (CTA). They share funding for an employee who devotes at least 50 percent of his time to tennis, organizing volunteers and sites and whatever else is needed for the successful implementation of tennis programs.

"The buzzwords in parks and recreation now are community and collaboration," Joyce said. "The only way to increase services is to work with local groups. This is not just with tennis. We do this with other sports, too."

Said Gaukler, "Collaboration always wins. People like to see government working with private entities."

The USA Tennis Plan for Growth strongly recommends cooperation between park and recreation departments and CTAs as an essential ingredient in building successful community tennis programs. The CTAs are "the experts," says USA Tennis national administrator Karen Ford, but the parks are where people are playing tennis. Slightly more than 42 percent of last year's USA Tennis 1-2-3 participants said they would probably play in public parks more than anywhere else during the next year.

One of the better examples of a local tennis association working with a community to build a tennis program is in Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, where residents restored hurricane-ravaged courts that had become trash-infested haunts. Their work earned the admiration of local senators, who pledged $25,000 to the recreation department. Meanwhile, all of the tennis matters -- equipment, instructors, lessons -- were left to the USTA/Caribbean Section.

"The [USTA/Caribbean Section] has been our guide, providing assistance and recommending what we should do," said Felix Cotto, president of the Fairview Tennis Club, a two-court municipal facility. "They were the ones who oriented us with USA Tennis 1-2-3."

(Hurricane Georges; which forced the cancellation of the 1998 NRPA Congress & Exposition in Miami Beach, Fla., destroyed a lot of the work Trujillo Alto residents had done. They are rebuilding again, with hopes of reopening this fall.)

Weaknesses in building strong community tennis programs have usually grown out of a lack of communication between a local park and recreation department and local CTA.

"Education and communication are the key," said the USTA's Ford. "A lot of the CTAs think parks are supposed to want to be involved in the USA Tennis Plan for Growth because it's tennis. That's not how it works. Parks and recreation are interested in promoting active and healthy lifestyles. Tennis is just one way they can do that."

Fettig, a member of the Pikes Peak Community Tennis Association, is well aware of the parks and recreation-CTA dynamic. That's why she directs everything she does toward the Colorado Springs Parks and Recreation Department. The Pikes Peak CTA holds an annual wooden-racquet tennis tournament, from which 25 percent of the revenue goes to Colorado Springs Parks and Recreation.

"That's something they can submit for national awards," Fettig said. "With all parks and recreation departments, tennis always trails behind. They need something to show they're different. If you have a parks and recreation department that can do more diverse things, that brings more people out."

The USA Tennis Plan for Growth even offers incentives to get more people out playing tennis. There are incentives given for each person who signs up for USA Tennis 1-2-3, and for each team that plays USA Team Tennis.

Getting people enrolled in USA Team Tennis has been the tennis industry's top priority in 1999. This is consistent with the USA Tennis Plan for Growth goal of increasing the number of frequent tennis players by 1 million by the end of 2002. People learn the game in USA Tennis 1-2-3, but they become regular players in USA Team Tennis. The goal for 1999 is to have 100,000 people playing USA Team Tennis.

Dave Brown has enjoyed great success with USA Team Tennis, particularly the rallyball format, in western Broward County. In rallyball, kids score points merely by hitting the ball over the net. They do not have to get bogged down by learning how to serve or how to keep proper score. Rallyball provides excellent transition from USA Tennis 1-2-3 to more advanced levels of play.

"It has created an atmosphere unlike anything I've ever seen," said Brown, who is also the USA Tennis community development coordinator for Broward and Dade counties. "In my view, this is the program that will do everything the USTA wants to do with the USA Tennis Plan for Growth."

Brown said he is considering implementing a rallyball program for adults, although it is not part of the usual USA Team Tennis format.

Interestingly, stronger penetration into the adult market is one of the current aims of USA Tennis administrators. Sixty-five percent of the participants in USA Tennis 1-2-3 in its first year of nationwide rollout were under the age of 18. The percentages should be closer to 50-50, Ford said.

However, attracting more adults will not change the role park and recreation departments play in the ongoing success of the USA Tennis Plan for Growth. In fact, developing more adult tennis players might help those communities in need of enhanced tennis facilities. After all, adult tennis enthusiasts can be great advocates for park and recreation departments when lobbying municipalities for new or improved courts.

RELATED ARTICLE: USTA/NRPA Excellence in Tennis Programming Award

The United States Tennis Association will award the sixth annual USTA/ NRPA Excellence in Tennis Programming Award during the 1999 NRPA Congress & Exposition in Nashville, Tenn. This award, which honors the park and recreation department that best exemplifies excellence in tennis programming for all populations and true community collaboration strategies, includes $10,000 to be applied toward the system's continued development of outstanding tennis programs and facilities.

NRPA trustee and USTA volunteer William Clothier is credited for having planted the seed for this award. It was Clothier's longtime desire "to bring the two organizations [NRPA and USTA] closer together," which indeed has happened through this award and the USA Tennis Plan for Growth.

PAST WINNERS

1998: City of Plantation (Fla.) Parks and Recreation Department

1997: City of Piano (Texas) Parks and Recreation Department

City of Portland (Ore.) Parks and Recreation Department

1996: City of Tempe (Ariz.) Kiwanis Recreation Center

1995: City of Arlington (Texas) Parks and Recreation Department

1994: Springfield (Mo.) Park Board

RELATED ARTICLE: USA Tennis Program Pathway

Try the Game

USA Tennis Free for All -- Free tennis instruction from top teaching pros for players (and those who want to be) of all ages and abilities, where the emphasis is as much on having a ball as hitting one.

Learn the Skills

USA Tennis 1-2-3 -- A program of six lessons designed to teach the basics of the game quickly and easily in a fun, active, and encouraging group environment. You'll work on strokes, discuss strategy, and focus on mastering the basics of the game while meeting new friends and potential playing partners. After the initial six-lesson session, you may opt for a follow-up series of six sessions of supervised play.

Play with Friends

USA Team Tennis (youth) -- Offers boys and girls ages 6 to 18 the opportunity to play on teams in leagues that emphasize fun, fitness, and friends. Leagues match players of similar age and ability using the Junior National Tennis rating program. Teams play in one of three divisions (Red, White, or Blue) depending on their age and skill level, and face off against other teams in their area.

USA Team Tennis (adult) -- Stages organized team matches in a friendly, laid-back environment. Here, it's all about having a good time; the emphasis is on fun, fitness, and the social benefits of the game. It's a great way to develop your game and develop new friendships at the same time.

Compete in Match Play

Scholastic Teams-- Offer organized match play and the opportunity for young players to gain competitive experience on school teams. In the off-season, schoolteam members may continue to participate in the more advanced levels of USA Team Tennis.

USA League Tennis-- The country's largest recreational tennis league providing organized, structured team matches for more than 300,000 men and women of all ability levels. Teams consist of either all women or all men (ages 19 and older), and because all teams are set up according to NTRP rating, you're always sure that you'll be facing off against someone of comparable ability. That keeps the competition lively and the atmosphere social in a format that features two singles and three doubles matches per clash. USA League Tennis features local, area, and sectional championships and culminates in a national championship.

USA Tournament Tennis -- Offer competitive match play at local, sectional, regional, and national tournaments for all ages and skill levels.

RELATED ARTICLE: NRPA Tennis Management Institutes

If you want your tennis program to have more of an impact, be sure to attend an NRPA Tennis Management Institute. The United States Tennis Association teams with NRPA to conduct these institutes throughout the year, including one at the 1999 NRPA Congress & Exposition. Through the first seven months of 1999, a total of 250 park and recreation professionals had attended one of 17 institutes, learning the latest about how to run tennis programs, how to staff them, and facility maintenance. The NRPA Tennis Management Institute held in conjunction with the 1999 NRPA Congress & Exposition is scheduled for Oct. 19, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the Opryland Hotel Convention Center.

As a lifelong tennis fan and player, Andre Christopher, a senior writer for the United States Tennis Association's communications department, considers his current position a "dream" job. And why not? He's in the enviable slot of promoting a lifetime sport that continues to grow by leaps and bounds. Today, 20.8 million people -- that's approximately one in 13 -- have played tennis at least once. That means more people on public courts, particularly those managed by park and recreation agencies.

Much of this growth has been inspired by the USTA's USA Tennis Plan for Growth, a 850 million initiative designed to promote and develop the game. Launched two years ago in conjunction with NRPA, the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association, and industry representatives, the plan encourages people interested in tennis to "try, learn, play, compete." Christopher's story, "What a Racket!" begins on page 54.