Over 30 Attend the 2015 BTC Conference

Over 30 community and TPA members from across Canada were invited to Toronto to participate in the 2015 Building Tennis Communities (BTC) National Conference from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1. This three-day workshop focused on building up the tennis communities across the country through networking sessions, business planning workshops, and a gala dinner to celebrate the great work of these communities.  

The three days were designed to bring together communities from across the country to learn and share about tennis programs, as well as best practices. A presentation by Alan Ma, Albert Fong, and Andy Sutton began the conference with an on-court workshop focusing on the fundamentals. Friday night was completed with an address by Hatem Mcdadi, vice-president of tennis development, on the current state of Tennis Canada, which was followed by a social media seminar.

Another full day on Saturday started with a discussion on new strategies that will be implemented, led by Richard Crowell, director of community tennis. The group then heard from current Tennis Canada president and CEO Kelly Murumets. Thanking the group for their tireless work and energy, Murumets expressed her gratitude to the audience. Without these amazing people in the communities, the growth of tennis in Canada would not be possible. The day finished with guests being split into smaller groups in order to maximize the learning potential and discuss best practices.

Saturday night gave those in attendance some time to relax with a gala dinner, where two of the 2014 BTC Excellence Awards were presented to Charlotte Willis of Fernie, BC and Joseph Memet from Annapolis Valley, NS. Both recipients, along with Yvon Gosselin, QC and Jimmy Lavoie, ON, will represent Canada at the USTA Tennis Development Workshop in San Diego from November 5 to 8, 2015.