January 2008

Volume 36 Number 1 $5.00

QuickStart Tennis:
A New Format
for Kids
 Contents R S I J A N U A R Y

INDUSTRY NEWS
2 0 0 8

7 Prince launches new Recoil string

7 Las Vegas to host February’s
Community Tennis workshop
Outdoor Tennis Facility-of-the-Year Award
Cloister Tennis Center at Sea Island 7 Lee Tennis promotes
St. Simons Island, Ga. Futty, Hanssen

FEATURES 8 PBI presents awards at

annual meeting
30 Tennis Goes Green 8 Head adds three Prestige frames
Industry manufacturers and organiza-
tions join in the fight to improve the to the MicroGel family
environment.
8 James Blake to endorse
33 USRSA Members’ Choice Tourna Grip
Awards
Our exclusive rankings, based on 8 PTR Symposium set for
responses by USRSA members, wil February in S.C.
help you pick the right strings for
your shop. 10 DecoTurf chosen for 2008
34 Displays of Fashion Olympics in China.
These four retailers know how to
assemble clothing to appeal to their
10 Prince adds new frames
customers. to its O3 line

38 Top of the List 14 Dunlop named title sponsor of

RSI and the ASBA bring you the best Orange Bowl
in tennis court construction.
14 ITF launches new Beach
40 Child’s Play Tennis Tour
Tennis pros and facilities—and the QuickStart Tennis
sport itself—stand to gain with the
upcoming launch of the QuickStart
pg. 40
14 USTA/ITA award winners named
Tennis format. 14 ASBA picks new chairman
14 Machine manuals now available
online through USRSA

DEPARTMENTS 26 Grassroots Promotions

4 Our Serve 28 Racquet Customization
7 Industry News 42 String Playtest: Unique Big Hitter Blue 17
15 TIA News & Updates 44 Ask the Experts
19 Facility Manager’s Manual 46 Tips and Techniques
22 Industry People 48 Your Serve, by Tiffany Grayson

2 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY January 2008 2

Our Serve
(Incorporating Racquet Tech and Tennis Industry)

VIPs of the Tennis Industry Publishers

David Bone Jeff Williams

I just spent a very enjoyable and informative weekend

with a group that may well be one of the most impor-
tant in this industry. No, I wasn’t with any of the pro
Editorial Director
Peter Francesconi

Associate Editor
Greg Raven
players at season-ending tournaments, nor was I with Design/Art Director
Kristine Thom
all the organizational bigwigs attending the successful
Contributing Editors
Davis Cup final in Oregon. Robin Bateman
I was in Austin, Texas, with the American Sports Builders Associa- Cynthia Cantrell
tion. These are the people who build, surface and maintain the courts Rod Cross
Kristen Daley
that we all need to sustain our livelihoods. If it weren’t for the court Joe Dinoffer
builders, it’s fair to say there would be little to no tennis in the U.S. Liza Horan
Every year, ASBA members get together in early December for their James Martin
Greg Moran
Technical Meeting and Trade Show—a time for presentations and sem- Chris Nicholson
inars on everything from asphalt mix and vapor emissions to negotiat- Bob Patterson
Cynthia Sherman
ing contracts and writing proposals. It’s also a time to network with
Mary Helen Sprecher
manufacturers and peers, to share ideas and experiences. Some of the
most informative sessions are the “problem-solving roundtables,” in RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY
Corporate Offices
which a room full of court contractors and manufacturers share con-
330 Main St., Vista, CA 92084
struction problems and solutions in a relaxed, unstructured manner. Phone: 760-536-1177 Fax: 760-536-1171
This meeting was bittersweet in at least one respect. Longtime ASBA Email: RSI@racquetTECH.com
Website: www.racquetTECH.com
executive Carol Hogan is retiring in 2008, after 20 years at the admin- Office Hours: Mon.-Fri.,8 a.m.-5 p.m. Pacific Time
istrative helm of the organization (see page 22). Under Carol’s guidance
and organizational expertise, the ASBA has more than doubled its size. Advertising Director
John Hanna
But even more important, under her tenure the group has become a 770-650-1102, x.125
much more influential voice within the industry itself, creating partner- hanna@knowatlanta.com
ships with key organizations such as the USTA and TIA. RSI, too, is a
Apparel Advertising
partner with the ASBA in the Facility Awards program, which honors the Cynthia Sherman
best in court construction (see page 38). 203-263-5243
cstennisindustry@earthlink.net
As always, though, there still is more work that needs to be done, and
Racquet Sports Industry (USPS 347-8300. ISSN 0191-
the association management company that will take over for Carol will 5851) is published 10 times per year: monthly Janu-
have some very big shoes to fill. ary through August and combined issues in
September/October and November/December by
The bottom line, though, is that the ASBA and its members are a valu- Tennis Industry and USRSA, 330 Main St., Vista, CA
able group in this industry. If you’re a court builder and are not a part 92084. Periodicals postage paid at Hurley, NY 12443
and additional mailing offices. January 2008, Vol-
of the ASBA (www.sportsbuilders.org), you should be. ume 36, Number 1 © 2008 by USRSA and Tennis
These are, indeed, very important people. Industry. All rights reserved. Racquet Sports Indus-
try, RSI and logo are trademarks of USRSA. Printed
in the U.S.A. Phone advertising: 770-650-1102 x 125.
Phone circulation and editorial: 760-536-1177. Year-
ly subscriptions $25 in the U.S., $40 elsewhere. POST-
MASTER: Send address changes to Racquet Sports
Industry, 330 Main St., Vista, CA 92084.

Peter Francesconi
Editorial Director

RSI is the official magazine of the USRSA, TIA,and ASBA

4 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY January 2008


INDUSTRY NEWS
INFORMATION TO HELP YOU
Vegas to Host
CTDW in February
The USTA’s popular Commu-
nity Tennis Development
Workshop will be Feb. 22-24
in Las Vegas. The educational
weekend workshop, held at
the Flamingo Las Vegas, will
feature leading speakers and
opportunities to network
with peers from across the
country.
Programming topics include
board and volunteer develop-
ment, advocacy marketing
and communication,
fundraising best practices,
event management, personal
development, and more,
including on-court demon-
strations and tennis pro-
gramming. The CTDW
annually attracts more than
500 community tennis
providers, from teaching pros
to CTAs, to park and rec
personnel.
Two full-day “Pre-Workshop
Sessions” will be presented
on Friday, Feb. 22, offering an
intensive learning opportuni-
ty for a limited number of
attendees. The two sessions
(for an additional $60 per
session) are Fundamentals of
Organizational Management
and Tennis Court Construc-
tion/Facility Operations.
Full conference registration is
$330. The hotel rate for regis-
tered attendees is $155 per
night. For more information,
visit www.usta.com, email
CTDW@usta.com, or call
914-696-7205.
R S I J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 8
RUN YOUR BUSINESS
Prince Launches New Recoil String
rince will soon start shipping its new Recoil string, which the
P company says will deliver precise string realignment after
every shot, along with top control, playability and durability.
“It’s a breakthrough in string technology,” says Tyler Herring,
Prince’s product manager for strings, grips and machines. Prince
will start shipping the string to stores Jan. 18 and says the Recoil
launch will be the largest string launch in the company’s history.
Key to the development of the string is Prince’s partnership
with W.L. Gore & Associates, the creators of Gore-Tex. The Recoil
string uses a new coating called Gore MicroWeb Technology,
which is a proprietary formulation of expanded polyTe-
traflourothylene (ePTFE). Essentially, says Herring, it is a “mesh-
like web that allows for an ultra-low-friction surface.”
According to Prince, the ePTFE coating creates “a combination of
benefits never before achieved in string playability and design.” Those benefits, says the com-
pany, include precise string realignment after each shot and drastically reduced string notching for
increased durability. In addition, says Prince, Recoil’s advanced thermoplastic core and multi-lay-
ered construction with new “high-tenacity filaments” provide extra comfort and better feel.
Prince says Recoil was playtested by both ATP and WTA players, along with top juniors. The com-
pany recommends that, due to the low friction design of Recoil, it be strung with about 10 percent
less tension than with other strings. For Recoil, Prince is targeting tournament-level players with
longer, faster strokes, who use “player” frames.
“The launch of Recoil is a testament to a dedicated team focused on creating, refining, and per-
fecting products that will take players to the next level,” says Doug Fonte, president of Prince
Americas.
Herring says Recoil has been in development for about three years. “The material and process
had to be designed from scratch,” he says. “Every step had to be tweaked. We went through three
or four dozen initial prototypes, and then another couple dozen after that. It really was a labor of
love for us.”
Videos and other information regarding Recoil will be on www.princetennis.com beginning Jan. 2.
Futty, Hanssen Promoted at Lee Tennis
ee Tennis has named Randy Futty as its new general manager and Pat Hanssen as
L director of sales. Both Futty and Hanssen have been active in the tennis industry
for many years.
Futty (top) joined Lee Tennis, the maker of the Har-Tru surface, in 1992 and has
been instrumental in leading various initiatives for Lee in the areas of engineering,
sales and marketing. In his new role, he will oversee sales, marketing and opera-
tions. Futty has served in leadership positions for various industry associations
including the American Sports Builders Association and currently is the president of
the associate affiliate division of ASBA.
Hanssen, who joined Lee seven years ago, will manage the company’s sales team
while being integral to the marketing and communications efforts. He currently
serves as president of the USTA Virginia district and vice president of the USPTA Mid-
Atlantic section.
January 2008 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY 7
 J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 8
INDUSTRYNEWS

PBI Holds Head Prestige Joins MicroGel Family

Annual Meeting,
H
ead’s popular Prestige racquet, first introduced in 1987, is
now available with MicroGel technology. Three new MicroGel
Presents Awards Prestige frames will be available in January: the Prestige MP,
Prestige Mid and Prestige Pro.

P
eter Burwash International
recently held its annual
meeting at the Naples
Grande Resort & Club in
Naples, Fla. The meeting
brought together 90 PBI pros
from around the world for con-
tinuing education.
Topics focused on both per-
sonal and professional develop-
ment, ranging from coaching
tour players and innovative
teaching techniques to commu-
nication and program market-
ing. Tennis industry icon Alan
Schwartz highlighted the meet-
ing with both a presentation
and as the keynote speaker at
the concluding banquet.
“In today’s fast-paced, aggressive game, competitive players need
a racquet that provides ultimate feel,” says Kevin Kempin, vice presi-
dent of sales and marketing for Head/Penn. “MicroGel technology cre-
ates amazing response qualities and is wrapped up in cool-looking
high-tech racquets.”
When combined with carbon composite fibers in the racquet head, Micro-
Gel deforms and compresses upon ball impact, says Head, uniformly absorbing
and distributing the impact load around the frame. This creates a solid feel while
offering extra stability, says the company.
The MicroGel Prestige MP is a mid-plus tour racquet that provides touch and
control, says Head. The Prestige Mid is for serious heavy-hitters, and the Pres-
tige Pro is for the faster playing style of aggressive players. For more informa-
tion, visit www.head.com.
PTR Symposium Blake to Endorse Tourna Grip
Set for February Unique Sports announces a multi-year agreement
with World Top 10 player James Blake to endorse

In addition to this week of
intensive educational activities
both on and off the tennis
court, the following awards
were presented during the ban-
quet:
Q Professional of the Year:
Rene Zondag, tennis director
at the Madinat Jumeirah in
Dubai, United Arab Emi-
rates.
Q Most Improved Professional:
Victor Motta, tennis pro at
the InterContinental Muscat
in Muscat, Oman.
Q Rookie of the Year: Scott
T
he PTR will hold its Inter-
national Tennis Sympo- the Tourna Grip overgrip. Blake has been using
sium & $25,000 Champ- Tourna Grip
ionships Feb. 16-22 at PTR throughout his
Headquarters on Hilton Head career and joins
Island, S.C. The Symposium Pete Sampras
and Bob and
attracts nearly 1,000 tennis
teachers and coaches from Mike Bryan as
more than 50 countries. an official
Speakers this year include spokesman of
Pat Etcheberry, Chuck Kriese, Tourna Grip. He
Dr. Jim Loehr, Dave Miley and will be featured
Anne Smith, conducting class- on Tourna Grip packaging starting in 2008. Visit
room and on-court presenta-
www.uniquesports.us.
tions. Subjects range from
tennis business to tactics to

Anders, tennis director at

The Lodge at Ventana
Canyon in Tucson, Ariz.
Q Site of the Year: The Lake
George Club in Diamond
Point, N.Y.
Q Friend of the Year: Peter
Loewy from Carmel, Calif.
Peter Burwash International
directs tennis programs at
resorts, hotels and clubs in
North America, Asia, Middle
East, Europe, Caribbean, Mexi-
co, Indian Ocean and the Pacif-
ic. For more information, visit
www.pbitennis.com.
injury prevention and treat-
ments. There is also a special
high school coaches’ program
held over President’s Week-
end.
Companies including Deco-
Turf, Gamma, Head/Penn and
Playmate are among the 45
tennis organizations and man-
ufacturers that will exhibit at
the Tennis Trade Show. Prod-
uct demonstrations will be
conducted on an adjacent
demo court.
For information and regis-
tration, visit www.ptrtennis.org
and click Upcoming Events.
Lejay
Fitness Skorts
Lejay has come out with a
variety of “fitness” skorts
suitable for tennis and other
outdoor and indoor activi-
ties, from cycling and spin-
ning to dancing and
aerobics. Lejay says the fit-
ness skort adds a more femi-
nine touch to the traditional
shorts. For more information
or to request a catalog, call
800-932-7535 or log onto
www.lejay.com.

8 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY January 2008

INDUSTRYNEWS J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 8

Trion:Z Introduces Deco Chosen for Beijing Olympics

Upscale Bracelets
T
he DecoTurf II cushioned tennis surface has been chosen for the 2008

T
rion:Z, maker of ionic/magnetic health
gear for sports, has launched its Palette
line of titanium bracelets, an upscale ver-
sion of its popular dual-banded sports
bracelets and necklaces. The Palette Mag-Titan
is a more dressy version of the Trion:Z tech-
nology that is designed to deliver therapeutic
benefits for wearers.
The Palette bands are made with pure Ti-22
titanium. The company says titanium in its
pure form has therapeutic power, due to its
negative electrical potential, to draw out posi-
Footwear Veteran Joins Prince
Olympic Games to be held in Beijing, China. Tennis practice sessions and
match play will take place on the 17 courts at the Beijing Olympic Tennis
Centre from Aug. 10 through 17. A total of 172 men and women will compete
for medals in men’s and women’s singles and doubles.
The choice of DecoTurf was ratified by the Beijing Organizing Committee
for the Games and the International Tennis Federation. “DecoTurf is honored
and gratified to be selected as the tennis surface for the Beijing Olympics,”
says John Graham, managing director for DecoTurf. For more information,
visit www.decoturf.com or call 800-225-1141.

P
tive ions from the body. The bands won’t rust rince Sports has hired former Nike and Adidas executive
or stain. Trion:Z technology combines the ther- George Poulos as the company’s new Global Category
apeutic properties of medical-grade magnets Director in charge of footwear. Poulos will be responsible
and minus ions. for refining and managing Prince’s plan for the category,
For more information, visit www.trionz.com. which encompasses a range of consumer targets from fre-
quent players to leisure usage, as well as varied channels of
distribution and price points.
“Prince is an industry leader, a forward-thinking company
that has, in the last few years, brought some of the most innovative products to
market,” says Poulos. “The company is poised for growth in the coming years
and I am excited to help them achieve that. More importantly, I am completely
focused on delivering players the best tennis footwear available.”

Prince Adds Frames to O3 Line USRSA

MEMBER CLASSIFIEDS

P
rince has expanded its O3 line with the Speedport White and
Ozone Tour frames for serious players and the Speedport Plat- FOR SALE: Prince P-200
inum and Speedport Gold for those looking for a game- Stringing machine. Runs per-
improvement stick. The four new frames will debut in January. fectly, inc. all tools. $300.
The O3 Speedport White and Ozone Tour are for players look- Will throw in $300 worth of
string. Must be picked up.
ing for feel, control and racquet speed in a traditional weight
Lecanto, FL email
frame, says the company. Prince says the racquets are a result of bf@tampabay.rr.com Phone:
continuing conversations with top touring pros and juniors and 352-746-4063.
incorporate features they desire. Both racquets also will be available
in a Pro version offering a slightly heavier frame and a denser string pat- FOR SALE: Tennis Shop
located in central New Jer-
tern. For those who purchase the Pro versions (O3 Speedport Pro White and
sey. Excellent opportunity,
Ozone Pro Tour), the frame will be pre-strung with the new Prince Recoil string (see please call for more informa-
page 7). tion @ 908-230-0050.
“O3 continues to become a must-have technology among top-level players
and we continue to develop and deliver frames that meet the needs of this FOR SALE: Silent Partner Aria
Electric Stringer. Base
group,” says Dave Holland, global category director for performance
clamps upgraded. Also
racquets at Prince. included: String clamps, man-
The new O3 Speedport Platinum and O3 Speedport Gold are the ual and tools. Working in
first frames to feature Prince’s “Strung-Thru-Stringing System,” excellent condition. $675.00
which extends the main strings through the yoke of the racquet. plus shipping. Please call Ron
Prince says this easy to string design will create the largest Condio at 716-763-0106 or
sweetspot available. (For players who would prefer to string the ronnet@madbbs.com
new frames like any current O3 Speedport racquets, Prince offers FOR SALE: Tennis /Swim
an easy to insert throat piece for the Platinum and Gold.) Club for Sale in North Caroli-
“The Strung-Thru-Stringing System is, quite literally, a breakthrough na. Profitable, excellent
design feature that will not only surprise players in look but in overall feel and com- location, established mem-
fort as well,” says Holland. For more information, visit www.princetennis.com. bership – set-

10 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY January 2008

 J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 8

SHORT SETS
INDUSTRYNEWS

>SeniorBabolat will sponsor the USTA National

Tennis Championships, now known as
the Babolat World Tennis Classic, Jan. 20-27
at Rancho Mirage, Calif.
> The 2008 editions of Friend at Court and
Rules of Tennis will be available for purchase
in mid-January at the USTA Shop at
USTA.com or by calling the USTA Shop at
800-677-0275.
tennis pros at a three-day training at the
company’s flagship Midtown Tennis Club
in Chicago. For more information, visit
www.midtown.com.
> The USPTA presented a $2,000 grant to
the first collegiate wheelchair tennis team
at Grand Valley State University in Allen-
dale, Mich. USPTA First Vice President Tom
Daglis was on hand to present the check.
were George Todd, president of Welch Tennis
Courts; Sheldon Westervelt of Global Sports
and Design Group; and Chris Forrest, the
project manager at Welch. Former pro tour
stars Tom Gullikson, Brian Gottfried, Mal
Washington and Scott Melville played a pro
exhibition. The Palm Coast Tennis Center
superintendent is Ken Obermeier, and the
courts were built with the support of the
Palm Coast Friends of Tennis.

> In a whimsical press release at the end of

October, Tennis Channel announced that it
officially retired the word “The” from its
name.
> Tennis Corporation of America (TCA)/ Mid-
town Clubs has announced a partnership
with Wayne Elderton, course facilitator for
Tennis Canada, to develop exclusive adult and
performance junior curriculum for Midtown
clubs. Elderton recently introduced his “situa-
tion” Game Based Approach training pro-
gram to more than 50 TCA/Midtown Club
cially opened Nov. 10. More than 500 peo-
ple attended the grand opening of the 10
new Har-Tru HydroGrid courts. On hand
>has Play Tennis Florida, a new magazine, > Deuce magazine, the ATP’s official publi-
been named the official USTA Florida cation, has unveiled its first online issue, fea-
magazine for 2008. Richard Vach, the for- turing exclusive stories with US Open
mer publications editor for the ATP, is the champion Roger Federer and finalist Novak
editor and publisher of the magazine, Djokovic. Launched as an annual magazine
which will be published 11 times in 2008.
Also, Janice Gendreau is the magazine’s
in 2002, Deuce will now appear as an all-dig-
ital publication on a quarterly basis, showcas-
new director of ad sales. ing the lifestyles and personalities of ATP
players and promoting ATP tournaments.
>month
Tennis Life Magazine has signed a 30-
agreement to be the official maga-
You can find a link to the publication at
www.atptennis.com.
zine of the Intercollegiate Tennis
Association. Starting with the January
issue, the magazine will run editorial in
> The Tennis Server website has named Jus-
tine Henin its 2007 Player of the year, and
each issue on college tennis. has named the U.S. the 2007 Tennis Nation
of the Year. The annual awards, now in their
>inarsThepresented
next Clay Court Maintenance Sem-
by Welch Tennis will be in
10th year, recognize exceptional achieve-
ment in professional tennis.
May, at locations to be announced. Welch
presented three well-attended one-day
seminars in October at different sites in
>SportsBeach Tennis USA has hired MJ Global
& Media Inc., the consulting company
Florida. For more information, contact Deb founded by former NBA Senior Vice President
Carlson at deb@welchtennis.com or 800- Scott Levy, to further develop its media and
282-4415. sponsorship programs for the 2008 Beach
Tennis National Tour.
> The new Palm Coast Tennis Center offi-
>USPTATheSouthern
“Standard,” the newsletter of the
Division, has been named
the 2007 USPTA Newsletter of the Year.

New Drymax Tennis Socks

N
ew from Drymax Sports are tennis socks with the company’s
Drymax Fiber technology. Drymax says that its socks stay up
to 25 times drier than socks made with wicking fibers like poly-
ester, acrylic, nylon, wool or cotton.
Drymax Tennis Socks are designed with two different fiber tech-
nologies interwoven to form a dual-layer sock. “You can’t stop a
tennis match to allow your socks to dry out,” says Gus Blythe,
developer of the Drymax Tennis Socks. “Drymax socks
need no drying time; they dry at the speed of sweat.”
Suggested retail prices range from $9 to $15. For
more information, visit www.drymaxsports.com.

12 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY January 2008


PL
E O
P • Tina Tharp is the
new executive director of
Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis &
Education in Philadelphia, one of
America’s premier public youth ten-
nis programs, and winner of RSI’s 2007
Municipal Facility of the Year Award.
Tharp formerly served as operations man-
ager for the AAYTE.
• Communications Manager Megan Burch
has left Head/Penn to become the director
of marketing for Blizzard Ski Company in
New Hampshire. Allison Starr, who has
been with Head/Penn for a year and half,
will become the company’s new communi-
cations manager.
• RSI Contributing Editor Bob Patterson has
sold Professional Racquet Service Inc. and
Player’s Choice retail store in Birmingham,
Ala., to concentrate on his RacquetMaxx
business, which provides racquet cus-
tomization and stringing services via the
website at www.racquetmaxx.com (or toll-
free at 877-663-0757). Patterson, a Master
Racquet Technician and RSI’s 2005 Stringer
of the Year, also is consulting with compa-
nies looking to open new tennis retail
stores. He will join the Top Serve stringing
team for the 2008 Australian Open.
• Danish badminton star Michael Chris-
tensen has signed a multi-year sponsorship
agreement with Ashaway Racket Strings.
• Gary Herman is the new senior v.p. of
advertising sales for Tennis Channel.
• The International Tennis Hall of Fame
honored Hall-of-Famer Bud Collins on Oct.
4 at the Marriott Boston Copley Place. The
evening was emceed by Emily Rooney, a
Boston TV personality, and included honors
by Tony Trabert, Donald Dell and others.
Proceeds from the event will benefit the
International Tennis Hall of Fame’s Annu-
al Fund and a donation will be made to
Collins efforts in helping to build ten-
nis courts at a school in Chiang
Mai, Thailand, that was started
by his grandparents in the
late 1800s.
INDUSTRY NEWS
E W AT
CH
• Babolat has hired
Mickey Maul as the sales
manager in the Northern
Region and Michael Lata as the
sales manager in the Western region
of the U.S. Maule most recently was a
territory manager with Prince and Lata
was responsible for regional sales at
Adidas.
• Former U.S. Davis Cup standout Stan
Smith is this year's recipient of the Davis
Cup Award of Excellence, presented by the
International Tennis Hall of Fame and the
International Tennis Federation. The presen-
tation was made during the Davis Cup by
BNP Paribas World Group Final between
Russia and the U.S. in Portland, Ore.
• Fernando Velasco, the USTA Texas Section
manger and director of tennis, received the
section’s Senior Spirit Award recently from
USTA Texas Excecutive Director Ken McAllis-
ter.
• Jaime Kaplan of Macon, Ga., was hon-
ored as a “Champion Beyond the Game”
recently by Florida State University. Kaplan,
who graduated from FSU in 1983, became
the first FSU tennis player to qualify for the
NCAA championships. After college, Kaplan
played in 14 Grand Slam tournaments and
won five doubles titles. She also held a
world singles ranking of No. 252 and dou-
bles ranking of 91. She was inducted in the
Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 2005 and
the Georgia Tennis Hall of Fame in 2006.
• The last weekend in October proved to
be an extremely successful one for Prince
players, as they captured three tour titles in
less than twenty-four hours. The world’s
top men’s doubles team of Mike and Bob
Bryan captured their 10th title of the sea-
son, No. 9-ranked Daniela Hantuchova
took home her second WTA Tour title and
Liezel Huber, one half of the world’s top
women’s doubles team, captured her
eighth title of the year. The Bryans
play with the O3 Speedport Black,
Hantuchova plays with the
Ozone Seven, and Huber
plays with the O3 Tour.
January 2008 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY 13
INDUSTRYNEWS J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 8

Machine Manuals Available Online ITF launches USTA/ITA Award

Beach Tennis Tour
T Winners Named
he USRSA has recently added a new page to its
members-only website, www.racquettech.com,

T
he International Tennis Feder-

that features user manuals for stringing
machines and diagnostic machines. The online
manuals will come in handy for anyone who has
lost the user manual for their machine or who buys
a used machine that doesn't come with a manual.
“The website page currently has manuals for
more than 50 machines,” says USRSA Executive
Director David Bone. “But we intend to continue
adding to the page so that we can eventually offer
a manual for every machine being used today.” To
find the new page on www.racquettech.com, click
on “Reference,” then click on “Machine Manuals.”
“If you have a user manual for a discontinued
machine, we encourage you to share it online
through the USRSA,” adds Bone. If you are unable
to digitally scan the manual and email it to
jonathan@racquettech.com, you can send it to the
USRSA at 330 Main St., Vista, Calif. 92084. The
USRSA will scan the manual then post it on the site.
Your manual will be returned the next business day.
For more information, email
jonathan@racquettech.com or call 760-536-1177.
USPTA Honors Heckler, Gilbert
ation recently announced the
launch of the “ITF Beach Ten-
nis Tour” in 2008. Beach tennis
merges tennis and beach volley-
ball.
Predominantly played as dou-
bles on a court similar to beach
volleyball, players use paddle bats
and a slightly depressurized ten-
nis ball. Regular tennis scoring is
used, with no-advantage at deuce,
no second serve and no let. And
of course the ball does not
bounce.
The ITF spent a year research-
ing the activity and interest level
in beach tennis. While a relatively
small number of nations are cur-
rently active in beach tennis, the
federation concluded that the
potential for growth around the
world is significant.
The 2008 calendar will consist
of National Association sanc-
tioned and/or organized tourna-
O
uachita Baptist University
Director of Tennis Craig Ward
is the national winner of the
USTA/ITA Community Service
Award and Gustavus Adolphus'
men's tennis coach Steve Wilkin-
son is the national winner of the
USTA/ITA Campus Recreation
Award. Both coaches were hon-
ored Dec. 15 at the ITA Coaches
Convention at the Naples Grande
Resort and Spa in Naples, Fla.
The USTA/ITA Community Serv-
ice Award honors an ITA coach for
significant contributions in devel-
oping community-based tennis
programs through community
centers, schools, parks, communi-
ty tennis associations, inner city,
suburban or rural programs. The
USTA/ITA Campus Recreation
Award honors an ITA coach who
has done an outstanding job
implementing the USTA's Tennis
on Campus program or similar
recreational tennis programs in an

T
he USPTA recently recognized
its CEO, Tim Heckler, and long-
time member Townsend
Gilbert at its World Conference on
Tennis. Heckler (left) was honored
for his 25 years of service and
Gilbert received the President’s
Award.
Heckler has been instrumental
in increasing membership and income for the USPTA
and leading the organization since 1982. Gilbert, a
USPTA member for 21 years, was honored by outgo-
ing President Ron Woods for his service to the USPTA,
especially his dedication to Little Tennis, the associa-
tion’s program for children ages 3 to 10.
ments worldwide, which will offer
international ranking points to
participants. Players will be
ranked individually based on their
results in doubles events only.
The official rules of beach ten-
nis and of the Beach Tennis Tour,
along with application forms to
stage ITF-approved Beach Tennis
tournaments, are at
www.itftennis.com/beachtennis.
ASBA Picks New Chairman
effort to grow tennis participation
within the campus community.
"Craig and Steve are great
examples of coaches who give
back to their communities and
campuses and our hope is that
their efforts continue to inspire
other varsity coaches to emulate
the great work they are doing,"
says ITA Executive Director David
A. Benjamin.

G
eorge Todd (left) of Welch Tennis
Dunlop Named Title Courts in Sun City, Fla., is the new
chairman of the American Sports
Sponsor of Orange Bowl Builders Association, taking over from Gerry

I
n a multi-year deal with the USTA, Dunlop has been
named title sponsor of the Orange Bowl Interna-
tional Tennis Championships, one of the premier
junior tournaments in the world.
The 2007 event, the first under Dunlop’s sponsor-
ship, was held Dec. 3 to 9 at The Tennis Center at
Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, Fla. Dunlop was the
official tennis racquet, racquet bag, ball and string
provider for the tournament.
Wright (right) of Court One in Youngsville,
N.C., for a two-year term. The new Tennis Division chairman is Mark
Brogan of Pro-Sport Construction of Devon, Pa., who replaced Gordy
Pierce of Cape & Island Tennis and Track of Pocasset, Mass. The ASBA
held its annual Technical Meeting and Trade Show Dec. 1 to 4 in Austin,
Texas, with a full slate of seminars and presentations on construction-
related topics. Also, the organization presented its annual awards. For
more information about the ASBA, visit www.sportsbuilders.org.

14 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY January 2008

 T I A N E W S J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 8

NEWS & UPDATES

News You Can Use! Ball & Racquet Shipments Forecast To Reach 15-Year High
Tennis is the

fastest growing
sport in Ameri-
ca, and now
the stage is set
Jolyn de Boer to roll out a
new initiative to get kids 10 &
under into the game. Quick-
Start Tennis, formerly Project
36-60, is a play format much
like soccer, baseball and other
team sports that takes into
consideration age-appropriate
equipment and abilities. The
S
hipments of tennis balls and racquets, leading
indicators of play, continue to show significant
growth. In fact, using the first three quarters to
forecast final 2007 shipments produces volumes not
seen since the early 1990s. Much of this growth has
taken place in the last 4 years with shipments of rac-
quets increasing 37% since 2003 and shipments of
balls increasing 14% over the same period. Much of
this growth is in youth racquets, which showed a
48.9% increase in units from 2003 to 2006 and a
further 15% increase year to date in 2007.
Latest Research Reports Available from the TIA

T
USTA together with great sup-
port from all areas of the
industry—manufacturers to
teaching groups—realize the
potential of QuickStart Tennis
to grow not only participation,
but also lessons, court time,
equipment sales and eventually
a larger player talent pool. Get
involved with this major indus-
try initiative. To find out more,
go to part-
ners.QuickStartTennis.com or
visit growingtennis.com to reg-
ister your facility and programs.
wo recent reports from the Tennis Industry Association continue to show positive trends and
steady participation gains in the tennis industry. The Tennis Marketplace 2007 and the Cost
of Doing Business–Facilities reports are both available from the TIA, and both contain key
The 16-page Tennis
data to help you run your business more efficient-
Marketplace is pub- ly and more profitably. (See “Fast Facts from the
lished bi-annually Latest Research Reports” on page 16.) And the
and is an executive
summary of all TIA
TIA continues to expand and enhance the data
research and market that makes it the research source for this business.
intelligence reports. The current Tennis Marketplace also includes
Each report includes
an overview from
data from TENNIS Magazine’s study of sub-
our tennis participa- scribers, who account for 1.1 million frequent ten-
tion studies, con- nis players. For more information, visit
sumer report,
specialty retail
www.tennisindustry.org, email info@tennisindus-
audit, dealer trends try.org, or call the TIA toll-free at 866-686-3036.
and census reports.

Tennis Racquet Top-Selling Racquets Top-Selling Top-Selling

Performance at Specialty Stores Tennis Shoes at Tennis Strings
Specialty Stores, By year-to-date dollars, January-September 2007
(average selling price)
Specialty Stores at Specialty
January-September, 2007 vs. 2006 By year-to-date dollars,
Best-Sellers January-September 2007
Stores
1. Babolat Pure Drive Cortex (MP) $172 (average selling price) By year-to-date dollars,
Units 2007 634,317
2. Prince O3 White (MP) $185 1. Adidas January-September 2007
2006 613,684
3. Wilson K Six One 95 (16 x 18) (MS) $175 Barricade IV $100 1. Prince
% Change vs. ’06 3%
4. Wilson K Six One Tour 90 (MS) $184 2. Nike Synthetic Gut Duraflex
5. Wilson K Six One Team 95 (MS) $176 Air Breathe Free 2 $95 2. Wilson
Dollars 2007 $87,842,000
“Hot New Racquets” 3. Adidas NXT
2006 $80,948,000
(Introduced in the past 12 months) Barricade II $83 3. Wilson
% Change vs. ’06 9%
1. Wilson K Six One 95 (16 x 18) (MS) $175 4. Prince Sensation
2. Wilson K Six One Tour 90 (MS) $184 MV4 $94 4. Prince
Price 2007 $138
3. Wilson K Six One Team 95 (MS) $176 5. Prince Lightning XX
2006 $132
4. Prince O3 Speedport Red (OS) $227 T10 $77 5. Luxilon
% Change vs. ’06 5%
5. Prince O3 Speedport Blue (OS) $244 Alu Power

(Source: TIA/Sports Marketing Surveys)

Join the TIA . . . Increase Your Profits . . . Grow the Game . . . www.TennisIndustry.org January 2008 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY 15
TIA NEWS J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 8

Fast Facts From The Latest Research Reports

The TIA has a wealth of data available to help you with your business. (For more information, visit
www.tennisindustry.org, email info@tennisindustry.org, or call 866-686-3036.) Here is a sampling of some of the
lastest data from The Tennis Marketplace 2007 report and the Cost of Doing Business–Facilities report.

Participation & Player Profiles

Q Tennis is the only traditional sport to have a pos-
itive participation change since 2000, according
to the SGMA. Tennis has had a 12.2 percent
increase, while other sports, including Baseball,
Basketball, Swimming, and Soccer, are showing
declines.
Q Total players numbered 24.2 million in 2006,
while figures remained steady, frequent players
(5.2 million) saw a 10 percent increase since
2003.
Q 6.1 million new players began playing tennis in
2006.
Q Just over 65 percent of all tennis players are aged
13 to 44, and there are as many players aged 13
to 24 as there are players aged 25 to 44.
Q Tennis participation and increased household
income go hand in hand, as does the sunshine
factor—participation is greater in the South Atlantic and Pacific regions.
Q Education is key—nearly 60 percent of tennis players have attended college.

Court Activity Cost of Doing Business– Welcome, New Members!

Monitor
One of the seven compo-
nents of the Tennis Health
Index is the Court Activity
Monitor, which is designed
to develop a national facility
audit to supplement partici-
pation data by monitoring
key operational data. Early
Season results of the Court
Activity Monitor include:
Q 67.8 percent of facilities
have seen increases in
new players, while 4.2
percent have seen a
decrease.
Q 61.1 percent of facilities
report an increase in total
court usage, vs. 4.4 per-
cent reporting a decrease.
Q 46.9 percent of facilities
show an increase in
league play, while 7.8
percent show a decrease.
Q 27.1 percent show an
increase in tournament
play, vs. 8.9 percent
showing a decline.
Facility Survey The following have joined the TIA in October and November.
Here are some of the fast facts from the (For more on TIA membership, visit www.tennisindustry.org or
CODB–Facility Survey: call 843-686-3036.)
Q 55 percent of facilities operate a Cardio Supporting Member
Tennis or other tennis fitness program. Armor Crack Repair Tampa Palms Golf & Country
Q Average annual dues for tennis-only Farmingdale, NJ Club, Tampa, FL
memberships were $768. For all-inclusive Midcoast Maine Tennis
membership, the average was $2,509. TennisConnect Member Association, Brunswick, ME
Q Peak court fees were up from an average Palmilla Tennis Club DeRosa Tennis
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico Contractors, Inc.
of $21 in 2005 to $23 in 2007. Average
Brattleboro Racquet Club Mamaroneck, NY
off-peak hourly fees were up from $16 to
Brattleboro, VT Julian Krinsky
$20.
Q Two-thirds of outdoor courts have lights. Thorntree Country Club Camps & Programs
Q 48 percent of facilities have a tennis-spe-
Desoto, TX King of Prussia, PA
Mario's School of Tennis
cific website. Individual Member–Lifetime
Q 47 percent of facilities offer match-mak-
Portsmouth, RI
Racquet Koop
ing activities. TennisConnect Lite Member New Haven, CT
Q Adult league programming time Westside Athletic Club
Associate Member–Facility
increased from an average of 11.6 hours Nashville, TN
per week in 2005 to 13.3 hours in 2007. Brenda Athletic Clubs
GZ Tennis
Q Three-quarters of all facilities rate the
Turlock, CA
Lititz, PA
Philip Cohen
future of the tennis industry as good or Chantilly International Tennis
Pittsfield, MA
very good. Fairfax, VA
An email survey using a representative sam- Eastside Racquet Club, Associate Member–Retail
ple of the TIA National Database brought a total of Manlius, NY Racquets, Etc.
713 responses. The results were weighted by Westfield, NJ
Individual Member
number of courts to be representative of the
Village Glen Tennis Club
national breakdown of facilities.
Williamsville, NY

16 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY January 2008 Join the TIA . . . Increase Your Profits . . . Grow the Game . . . www.TennisIndustry.org
 TIA NEWS

Growing Tennis Updates

Register Your Programs, Using Quick Start Tennis New Tennis Welcome
Centers and Cardio
T
he QuickStart Tennis format is America’s plan for 10-and-under tennis. To inte-
grate the QST format into your programming, go to
www.partners.quickstarttennis.com. You’ll find information about the QuickStart Tennis Sites
Tennis format specifications, training opportunities, equipment, and other resources.
When you start offering programs in the QST format, be sure to register them for free
at growingtennis.com. Registering will ensure that when parents or kids search for ten-
nis programs in your area, your programs will appear on consumer websites such as
C urrently, there are 2,058
Tennis Welcome Centers
and 1,600 Cardio Tennis
sites in the U.S. For more on these
programs, and on how your facili-
USTA.com, Tennis.com, TennisChannel.com, TennisWelcomeCenter.com and more.
ty can become a Tennis Welcome
Center or Cardio Tennis site, visit
James Blake www.growingtennis.com or con-
Joins TWC Campaign tact the TIA toll-free at 866-686-
3036.

P
opular pro James Blake has
joined Maria Sharapova in help- New Cardio Tennis Facilities
ing the effort to get more peo- (as of Nov. 14)
ple playing tennis. Blake will appear Boca Raton Resort & Club
on 2008 marketing materials that are Boca Raton, FL
available free to all Tennis Welcome Clay Time Indoor Tennis
Centers to help promote the game, Island Park, NY
your facility and your programs. Cranmore Family Fitness Cente
North Conway, NH
To become an Official Tennis Wel-
Crete Reformed Church, Crete, IL
come Center and to receive free
Highland Park Tennis Center
national, regional and local marketing Birmingham, AL
support to attract new players, visit www.Partners.TennisWelcomeCenter.com. You’ll then Peninsula Covenant Community
join a network of TWCs across the country that players can search for when looking for Center, Redwood City, CA
introductory and instructional programming. Pirozzol Park–Elmira Town Hall
Tennis Courts, Elmira, NY

Cardio Tennis: Growing Globally Schamburg Tennis Plus

Schaumburg, IL

C
ardio Tennis continues to grow, The Oaks Club, Osprey, FL
and over the last few months, Twin Tier Racquet Club
there have been many exciting Big Flats, NY
developments around the world:
Q Cardio Tennis was recently launched New Tennis Welcome Centers
(as of Nov. 14)
to consumers by Tennis Japan at
Edgewood Avenue Park
events in Tokyo and Osaka (right).
Q During September’s Davis Cup tie in
New Haven, CT
Evergreen Valley College Tennis Center
Great Britain, a Cardio Tennis event The 2008 Cardio Tennis San Jose, CA
was held before the men’s doubles workshops and schedule is Hardscrabble Club, Brewster, NY
match (vs. Croatia) in front of thou- coming soon. Visit Highland Park Tennis Center
sands of fans at the All-England Club www.growingtennis.com. Birmingham, AL
in Wimbledon. North Carolina Wesleyan
Q The Tracy Austin Cardio Tennis Tour spent two days on Oahu recently promoting Cardio Tennis Complex
Tennis at a USTA block party. Austin also made a guest appearance in front of nearly 500 Rocky Mount, NC
Schaumburg Tennis Plus
consumers at the grand opening of a new tennis facility in Surprise, Ariz., which was
Schaumburg, IL
opened by her brother, John.
Q Ricardo Mendivil from Boynton Beach, Fla., is the 2007 USPTA National Feeding
Spring Grove Community Center
Spring Grove, PA
Shootout Champion, setting a new world record of 66 balls in one minute. Mendivil set St. Peter's Grand Slam Tennis Camp
the record in the semifinals, when he beat out Samantha Ardenfriend of Sarasota, who Portland, ME
had 61 balls. In the final, Mendivil shot 63 to beat out Al Pico of Dayton, Ohio. The Oaks Club
Q Sections of the Partners.CardioTennis.com site featuring new drills and promotional Osprey, FL
materials are now pass-code protected with a special log-in for official Cardio Tennis Wilbur Cross Tennis Courts
sites. Official sites should call the TIA toll-free at 866-686-3036 for the password. New Haven, CT

Join the TIA . . . Increase Your Profits . . . Grow the Game . . . www.TennisIndustry.org January 2008 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY 17
 Spreading the Word
Communication to both employees and mem-
bers is the key to a successful business.
ommunication is the glue that holds
C your facility together. The larger the
facility, the more important and
potentially complicated the lines of communi-
cation. There is nothing more frustrating to a
member than to have one of your front-desk
staff say, “I don’t know anything about that,”
when asked about a program or clinic.
When someone calls the club and has a
question about an event or class, can your
staff answer every question? Is it possible for
them to answer every question?
Realistically, there are limitations on the
information a front-desk person can obtain
and retain, but that does not mean they can-
not answer every question. What’s wrong
with, “Let me look into that to make sure I
have the right information, and I’ll get back to
you within a few minutes.” With this reply,
the member feels that they received the prop-
er service and know they will have the
answers they need quickly.
HAVE THE RIGHT
INFORMATION
How can you make sure this employee will be
able to retrieve that information? Let’s start by
reviewing how you disperse the bulk of your
information.
Newsletters: With most facilities, this
begins with a monthly newsletter. The infor-
mation for the newsletter is put together a
few weeks ahead of time and is usually pro-
duced from what you have gathered from your
staff.
Establish a monthly timeline to make sure
this information gets to you on time so that
you’re able to send it back to the source and
confirm the data. Make sure you have a sec-
ond, maybe even a third, person proof your
work, to protect yourself from errors or misin-
formation.
In-House Staff Letters: After the
newsletter, the next form of communication
should be an in-house staff letter. This is pro-
duced to help create more insight to the club
newsletter.
BY ROD HECKELMAN
Since you want the members to read the
newsletter, you have to make sure that the
information is clear and simplified. They are
not likely to read drawn-out stories or
reports that are general and wordy. The staff
newsletter can be used to fill in the blanks.
Besides adding more details about club
events, the staff newsletter can provide a
bridge for your departments to exchange
information.
Fliers: The last form of publication
would be fliers. Fliers are not just for inform-
ing your membership, they are also great for
announcing special events and situations
that are occurring at the club. Just remem-
ber, too many fliers and they become a blur.
Post them in a common location that will
become habit for your employees or your
members to review. Disperse the fliers and
posters in special areas only for special
events.
ELECTRONIC
COMMUNICATIONS
Email and voice mail are effective, but do
have their limits. For instance, you shouldn’t
depend on them being received or sent with
complete reliability. Both systems are subject KEEP A DAILY LOG
to failure or down time for various reasons. For many facilities, there is still a need for writ-
Make a point when using email or voice ten memos. Having a daily log at the front desk
mail to ask for verification that the message is a necessity. Any and all information gets
has been received. If you use email as a recorded in that log. This allows every employ-
means of announcing a special event or ee starting their shift to catch up on what’s
notifying either your staff or membership been happening.
about an event, don’t overdo it. Too much It also helps to have every new shift start a
and it can end up becoming too common- few minutes earlier so that they will have time
place and eventually ineffective. Email is a to talk directly to the person who is leaving. As
great way to establish weekly or monthly much as many employees want to clock out
updates to your departments or to any spe- and get out of there, they need to realize the
cial group. importance of person-to-person communication.
If you have the ability to send voice The daily log helps and the personal contact
mail to a group, this is also a good method closes the deal.
of announcing a special event or information You will find that you may need several
you would like to get out quickly. Once daily logs, one for each department. This is
again, email and voice mail are most especially true with the maintenance depart-
effective if they are used regularly by the ment and the cleaning people. How often have
employees. you seen something that needs to be addressed
January 2008 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY 19
 and were unable to take care of? That’s
when you need a maintenance log so that
every task can be addressed as quickly as
possible.
Depending on the size of your facility,
your ability to immediately reach your main-
tenance crew will also be enhanced with
the addition of a good radio or phone sys-
tem. Too many emergencies come up in
facilities that need attention right away, and
with many large facilities, the people you
need can be hard to find.
UNDERSTAND
THE MESSAGE
Good communication is an art form. It starts
with the message, but is only complete if
the recipient understands the message. Too
often, your complete understanding of a
topic may have you abbreviating the infor-
mation. It may be clear as a bell to you, but
it can be confusing to others who do not
have the experience.
The reason this is such a concern is that
many employees may say they understand a
message when they really don’t, but they’re
afraid to have you think they don’t under-
stand. Good managers needs to stay on top
20 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY January 2008
of this issue. Without being too inquisitive,
try to get into the habit of verifying informa-
tion with your employees to make sure you
are on the same wavelength.
To help make sure your message is under-
stood and eventually executed, avoid cluster-
ing a bunch of information on top of an
initial request. For instance, one of your
employees wants to point out a particular
problem, and while he is going over this you
begin to point out several more issues you
would like to have addressed. Stick to the
topic; don’t cloud up the issues. Not only will
you likely confuse the employee, but he may
be reluctant to bring anything to your atten-
tion again.
Instead, note to yourself what other
things you want done, then tell the employee
that when he’s done with his project, you
want to review other issues with him. Then
schedule that in a more organized and pre-
pared manner.
Another important aspect of good com-
munication is making sure you have the facts.
In a club, members and employees interact
constantly. Facts can often be lost as infor-
mation meanders through the club. Although
you may want to keep any rumors from being
part of your operation, in a club atmosphere
it is unavoidable.
For that reason, research every piece of
information you receive. Live by this rule: If
you didn’t hear it from the source, then it’s
not fact.
The reverse will also be true. As a man-
ager, you will be quoted frequently. Many
people will quote people in authority so that
their statements have more weight. For this
reason, when it comes to important subjects,
keep a record of what you said.
Learn to listen first, then respond second,
when anyone comes to you with a problem
or a request. Get all of the facts. Q
Rod Heckelman is the general
manager and tennis pro at the
Mount Tam Racquet Club in
Marin County, Calif., where he
has been for the last 31 years.
His career in the industry start-
ed in 1967 at the famed John
Gardiner’s Tennis Ranch. In 1970, when Gar-
diner opened his resort on Camelback Mountain
in Scottsdale, Ariz., Heckelman, at age 20,
became one of the youngest head pros in the
country. He created the “Facility Manager’s
Manual” based on his years of experience in
the tennis business.

INDUSTRY
people
Organizational Movement
For the last 20 years, Carol Hogan has guided the ASBA to new levels of
professionalism and influence.
T
here’s the traditional retire-
ment celebration that comes
with a gold watch and good
wishes from co-workers. Carol
Hogan’s came with an ovation
from the sports facility construc-
tion industry.
In December, Hogan formally
stepped down as executive vice
president of the American Sports
Builders Association, a position
she had held for 20 years. It has
been, by any account, an eventful
two decades, with changes that Carol Hogan (at left, with ASBA staff Cynthia Jordan and Judi Mellendick) has kept
encompassed not only the associ- the ASBA moving forward for the last 20 years.
ation, but also the industry as a
whole.
“I can’t believe it’s all coming to an
end,” Hogan said before December’s
Technical Meeting in Austin. “We’ve seen
so many changes.”
In 1988, Hogan took over as executive
director of what was then known as the
U.S. Tennis Court and Track Builders Asso-
ciation—a group that had potential but
lacked poise and positioning. Hogan, a
Certified Association Executive (CAE) with
14 years of experience managing trade
and professional non-profit associations,
saw a group that was ready to move to
the next level. She began marking off the
steps to take it there: New policies, sys-
tems, budgets. Sometimes, members
cheered. Sometimes, they chafed. But
undeniably, the association was providing
better service to its members.
“Carol had the drive to make this a
professional trade association in every
sense of the word,” says David Marsden,
CTCB, who served as chairman of the
ASBA, as well as Tennis Division president
and as chairman on a number of commit-
tees during Hogan’s tenure.
Under Hogan, the association’s publi-
cations flourished. Specifications were
rewritten and became the industry stan-
dards. Hogan herself wrote “Tennis
Courts: A Construction and Maintenance
22 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY January 2008
BY MARY HELEN SPRECHER
Manual” (a book that had been previous-
ly published by the USTA under the title
“Tennis Courts” was discontinued, with
the USTA endorsing the new book). A
later publication written by Hogan, “Run-
ning Tracks: A Construction and Mainte-
nance Manual,” replaced the old
USTC&TBA “Track Construction Manual.”
Not bad for someone with no con-
struction experience.
“Her writing is absolutely phenome-
nal,” says Gordy Pierce, a past chairman
and longtime volunteer. “The fact that
she was able to take the information and
make sense out of it was incredible. And
she’s never been out there with a shovel
in her hand—it’s amazing.”
“Carol came to us with experience
and training in how to run an associa-
tion,” says Donna Sierks, CTB, CTCB,
who served as Track Division president
and as chairman of the USTC&TBA.
“What she developed was an outstanding
knowledge of our industry.”
Under Hogan’s guidance, the associa-
tion made contacts with other industry
associations and with trade magazines
and publications, as well. “Nobody is
going to take this organization seriously if
we don’t take it seriously,” Hogan was
fond of telling her staff.
As the athletic facility industry diversi-
fied, the association took a new
name: the American Sports
Builders Association. New mem-
bership divisions were added, as
were more publications. The
association’s awards program
(now recognizing excellence in a
wide range of facilities) is
extremely competitive.
ASBA is now under new
management, with Hogan pro-
viding a smooth transition. Her
contract officially ends in Sep-
tember 2008—20 years after she
first took on the association. On
that first day, she stood in her
office and watched as box after box was
brought in. There were hundreds of files,
thousands of books and an endless
mountain of paper.
“I remember looking at all those boxes
and thinking, ‘What have I gotten myself
into?’” she says. “But we just started
unpacking and we went to work.”
The willingness to tackle any project,
and ultimately to do it well, despite the
odds, says David Pettit, ASBA’s longtime
legal counsel, is one of Hogan’s hallmarks.
“She is a ‘can-do’ person who is not
afraid to take on virtually any challenge,
even if there is a significant risk of fail-
ure,” says Pettit. “The association has
changed dramatically over the years, and
Carol's presence has been instrumental in
those changes. The growth in member-
ship is, in my opinion, the result of her
achievements.”
“Carol always had the best interests of
the association at heart,” says Marsden.
“Her knowledge of association manage-
ment, her level-headed thinking and her
thorough preparation always gave us
comfort that we were in good hands.”Q
The author is a reporter for The Baltimore Guide
newspaper. She previously held the position of Asso-
ciation Coordinator with the ASBA and continues to
write technical articles for the association.

grassroots PROMOTIONS
Bringing In the Dough
For one club in Canada, a simple promotion with a local pizza franchise
is putting more kids, and adults, on court.
G
ood ideas are like power tools. It's
great when you own them, but bor-
rowing them gets the job done,
too. In Calgary, Canada, for example,
our community tennis club borrowed a
promotional idea from a bowling alley
and ended up hosting our most success-
ful promotional event yet.
The idea? Fill a ball machine with stan-
dard yellow tennis balls. Add two cans of
pink balls and mix well. Line some kids up
to practice their ground strokes. Every
now and then, the machine will feed
them a pink ball. When they return it, give
them a prize.
In our case, the prize was a coupon for
a personal-size pizza and soda provided by
the local franchise of a national pizza
chain, Boston Pizza. Based on this, my
daughters quickly christened our promo-
tion "Pizzaball" night.
We started our Pizzaball promotion
late in the season with no advance plan-
ning. The total amount of time from inspi-
ration to implementation was less than 72
26 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY January 2008
BY BRENT JOHNER
hours. Our total advertising budget was
zero. The first week an email was sent to
a small number of people in the commu-
nity. A handful of kids and their parents
showed up. They were uncertain, cautious
and tentative.
Precisely at 7 p.m., our Prince ball can-
non started firing yellow balls along a
fixed path. The kids struggled to return
them. Some parents mumbled about the
chances of their kid ever returning one.
"Pizzaball!" shouted the organizer as
the first pink ball exploded from the muz-
zle of the ball cannon. Everybody leaned
forward in anticipation, watching as it
arced through the air. The 8-year-old girl
receiving the ball was a little too eager.
She closed her eyes, started her swing too
early and missed it entirely. Shoulders
sagged in universal disappointment and
the girl moved to the back of the line.
One by one, the kids cycled through
their rotation. Each yellow ball represent-
ed an opportunity for practice and
improvement. As each kid took their mark
and awaited the feed, a coach gave
them pointers: ready position, racquet
back, wrist firm, eye on the ball.
Within 10 minutes, yellow balls start-
ed to sail over the net and land in the
doubles court. At first it was sporadic.
Then it became consistent. Eventually,
the pink balls started to fall in too.
Before the end of the night, every pink
ball was greeted with joyous shouts of
"Pizzaball!" from kids and parents alike.
The effects of this little promotion
were instant and electric. Each week,
the number of kids lined up to play Pizz-
aball was larger than the week before.
Each week brought old faces and new
faces. By the end of the season, even
our 6-year-olds were returning Pizzaballs
and winning prizes.
In just six weeks, more than 40 new
kids came to the courts to try a sport
they had never tried before. Other kids,
who were previously part of our tennis
community, suddenly had a reason to
practice. Our tennis courts, typically
vacant during the workday, were consis-
tently busy with 6- to 12-year-olds for
the rest of the season.
More importantly for the future of
our tennis club, though, the Pizzaball
promotion sparked an interest in adult
tennis. This was unexpected bonus.
Our program did not include babysit-
ting. We made it clear from the start
that this was not a drop-them-off-now
and pick-them-up-later kind of event.
We expected parents to stick around and
add to the excitement by shouting
"Pizzaball!" and cheering their kids on.
The excitement of the moment, the
fresh air, the sound of the ball on the
racquet and the simple act of being at
the tennis courts rekindled an old flame
in some parents. They dusted off their
old racquets and started bringing them
to Pizzaball night. Open courts were
soon filled with parents hitting balls to
each other.
Through Pizzaball, parents with old
racquets and rusty games found other
parents with old racquets and rusty
games. Together, they learned that our
club hosts two practice nights weekly
where adults can practice with the ball
machine, practice serving with a basket
of balls or practice hitting on two courts
set aside for rallying.
Thanks to Pizzaball, our pros sold
some late season lessons, the racquet
store sold some new racquets and our
community association sold some brand
new memberships. And, of course, every
kid who won a pizza in our little promo-
tion showed up at Boston Pizza—parents
and siblings in tow—to claim their tasty
prize.
The only negative in all this is the fact
that we didn't get started until the sea-
son was nearly over. Next season will be
different. We already have a plan in
place. Boston Pizza Ball Night now has a
permanent—and prominent—spot on our
club's weekly calendar.Q
Brent Johner is a founding
member of the Oakridge Ten-
nis and Squash Association in
Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He
is currently executive director
for Challenge Network Calgary
(www.challengenetwork.com),
a social network for racquet sports players.

January 2008 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY 27

RACQUET customization
Inaugural Stringers
Symposium Draws
Beginners and Veterans
L
ast April, I participated in one of the
best things the stringing business
has ever seen—the first Grand Slam
Stringers Symposium, which was held at
the T-Bar-M Resort in Texas.
This event was the brainchild of
2007 RSI Stringer of the Year Tim
Strawn, the founder and operator of
GrandSlamStringers.com. Tim’s website
sells quality tools and related products
for stringers, but the real draw is a very
educational message board that draws
postings from new stringers to seasoned
technicians traveling on the professional
tour.
GSS hosted the symposium to bring
stringers together in what was a great
learning environment. Seminars
covering a wide range of topics,
and scheduled so that atten-
dees could participate in
every session if they wanted,
were often “hands on,” with
plenty of individual atten-
tion. The symposium
offered a huge amount of
information, for beginners
and veterans alike.
But learning was not limited to the
seminars, as both attendees and semi-
nar leaders had plenty of chances to
interact. “It was a fantastic opportunity
to participate in hands-on seminars con-
ducted by some of the world’s most
knowledgeable people associated with
the manufacturing, customizing and
stringing of tennis racquets,” says Ed
Matheson of Atlanta.
“I was very pleased with the success
of the first symposium and believe it
gave us enough momentum to take it
to the next level in 2008,” says Strawn.
“The chemistry between the seminar
leaders was second to none. Many of
the seminars will be expanded and new
ones added for 2008. We’ll have plenty
28 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY January 2008
BY BOB PATTERSON
of vital topics to interest technicians of
all experience levels.”
Both leaders and attendees came
from around the globe. “I thoroughly
enjoyed the whole experience,” says
Simon Jordan of the United Kingdom.
“Everything was presented in a friendly,
open manner.”
During the seminar, Jordan took and
passed the test for Master Racquet
Technician certification. “When I
returned to the UK, I placed a small
report in the local press on the sympo-
sium and passing the MRT,” he says.
“This has increased my stringing busi-
ness enormously. I feel the symposium
was well worth it—I learned a huge
amount, and gained invaluable experi-
ence. I will definitely be looking at
attending future symposiums.”
Seminar topics included “Basic String
Stuff” led by MRT John Gugel of Winter
Park, Fla. Tim Strawn teamed with MRT
Richard Parnell from Spain and Roger
Dalton from England to lead “The Art
of Working with Natural Gut.” Dalton
of Bow Brand Strings provided a
behind-the-scenes look at the labor-
intensive manufacturing process of nat-
ural gut. I led the “Advanced Stringing
and Service Review,” which helped
experienced stringers fine-tune their
skills and prepare for the MRT exam.
Grant Morgan provided an inside
look at life on the Pro Tour with
“ATP/WTA Tour Stringing—Wimbledon
to Davis Cup.” Morgan was the RSI
Stringer of the Year in 2006 and
worked as Andy Roddick’s stringer for
several years. For 2008, Morgan will
lead a seminar on “Beginning Stringing
and Racquet Service.”
Mark Gonzales of Alpha Sports led
two classes, “Equipment Selection—
Know Before You Buy” and “Machine
Repair and Maintenance.” For those
starting a new business or growing an
existing one, I led the “From Garage to
Storefront” session, which covered
everything from developing a business
plan to marketing your business.
Wilson’s Principal Designer and Glob-
al Tour Services Director, Ron Rocchi, led
a captivating session called “From the
Manufacturer’s Perspective,” which
included video of the racquet manufac-
turing process, from developing the
blueprints to
the final cos- For more information about
metics. For the this event in 2008, watch
2008 sympo- upcoming issues of RSI or visit
sium, Rocchi www.grandslamstringers.com.
will be joined by
Joel Disbro, Wilson’s Tour Stringing
Manager. They’ll not only show the rac-
quet manufacturing process, but they’ll
add a hands-on opportunity to experi-
ence the process, along with a unique
look at tour stringing.
John Gugel also led an in-depth semi-
nar on “Racquet Customization,” a topic
that will also be expanded for 2008.
Other new seminars planned for 2008
include “Stringing and Service for
Squash and Badminton” led by Roger
Dalton. Gugel will also lead a seminar on
“RacquetTracker,” a software program
he developed to keep track of clients
and work orders.
More seminars are slated for the
2008 Symposium, which is scheduled for
October in Orlando. The USRSA will join
this year as the title sponsor. If you are
serious about your business, you can’t
afford to miss this event.Q
Master Racquet Technician
Bob Patterson has more than
20 years of experience and is
the founder of the Racquet-
MAXX customization service.
He was RSI’s Stringer of the
Year in 2005.
 ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
Industry manufacturers and organizations join in the
fight to improve the environment.
omewhere, Al Gore is smiling. Or at least he would be if he
S checked out what the tennis industry has been doing of late
to reduce its carbon footprint on the environment.
In the last couple of years, tennis manufacturers, tournament
directors, and power brokers have joined the fight to improve the
environment. Efforts have ranged from the symbolic to the sub-
stantial, and in typical tennis-industry fashion, plans have been a
bit fragmented as everyone, it seems, pursues their own green pol-
icy. But the good news is that the ultimate goal is the same—to
reduce tennis’ negative impact on the environment.
That’s particularly been the case for racquet manufacturers.
“The industry is becoming more green overall,” says Linda Glassel,
30 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY January 2008
BY JAMES MARTIN
vice president of marketing for Prince Sports. “Every brand has
been trying to be more eco-friendly.”
Head, for example, announced in September a partnership
with the global environmental charity Cool Earth, which fights cli-
mate change by protecting endangered rainforests. Under this
agreement, Head will purchase credits that will go to helping pre-
serve rainforests, which lock up atmospheric carbon in their vege-
tation to the tune of 150 tons of carbon per half-acre. Many believe
that reducing rain-forest destruction is the first step in tackling cli-
mate change.
“Educating sports enthusiasts about the affects of carbon emis-
sions is an important part of why we’re doing this,” says Head CEO
Johan Eliasch. “We all depend on a stable climate to ski, play ten-
nis, or dive [which are the three main sports that Head services]. If
we don’t wake up and make a difference now, we won’t be doing
these things in their natural environments much longer.”
With its efforts, Head hopes to preserve 7,000 acres of rainfor-
est, or the equivalent of 100,000 tennis courts. It also will soon start
including information on its products about the Cool Earth initiative
to encourage sports enthusiasts to become more environmentally
responsible.
Manufacturing Changes
Another major company, Wilson, has been tackling the green issue
by changing their manufacturing and pro-
duction processes. Since last March, at
least 25 percent of each Wilson tennis ball “It’s simple,” says
can has been made of recyclable materials
in an effort to reduce the amount of plas- Billie Jean King. “If
tic that ends up in landfills. Wilson says
that for 2007, this program will result in the billions of people
landfill waste being reduced by 330,000
pounds. who live and love
Wilson’s ultimate goal is to use 100
percent recyclable materials for its ball sports take just one
cans, though certain challenges persist,
like finding recyclable material strong single step, we can
enough to keep the can’s structural
integrity and maintain the appropriate help win back our
amount of pressure. But Wilson’s string
and grip packaging is already made of 100 planet.”
percent recyclable materials.
The company’s [K] Factor racquets are also environmentally
friendly. That’s because the process to build them requires less
chemicals and resins than the company’s other racquet models.
Jon Muir, general manager of Wilson Racquet Sports, estimates
that there’s 15 to 20 percent fewer chemicals used in [K] Factor
frames.
“We decided we needed to do something tangible, not just say
we support the environment,” Muir says. “It’s one thing to say you
support the environment, but I challenge the industry and ask
them what are you actually doing to help. We’ve shown real num-
bers and real costs. I’d like to see our competitors show that, too.”
That’s one philosophy and approach. Another is first gathering
more information on the sporting industry’s impact on the envi-
ronment and developing a consensus on what to do. This is the
game plan for Prince, which has joined forces with Billie Jean
King’s GreenSlam Initiative.
Environmental “Clearinghouse”
The goal of GreenSlam is to raise awareness for everyone in
sports—pro and recreational players, spectators, and companies—
and, ultimately, establish a Green Dream Team of global compa-
nies and launch an eco-friendly line of sporting goods
equipment, apparel, shoes, and accessories.
“I’m challenging myself—the industry
of sports, professional athletes and fans,
to take positive action to help
counter the negative effects of cli-
mate change,” King said during the
US Open, where she announced
the initiative. “It’s simple—if the
billions of people who live and
love sports take just one single
step, we can help win back our
planet.”
One aspect of GreenSlam will
be a program to help consumers take
their old sporting equipment to drop-off centers, such as tennis
clubs and stadiums, where it can be
reused instead of being thrown away. As
Prince’s Glassel puts it, “Rethink, recycle,
and reuse….What can we do with the
resources we have so we’re not putting all
of our old equipment in landfills.”
Other items on the GreenSlam agenda
include raising funds for ecologically sup-
portive sporting events, as well as forming
an independent council of “greening
experts” to help set the agenda and share
information with venues, companies and
promoters.
Basically, GreenSlam would become a
clearinghouse for all environmentally
related issues as they relate to sports, and
a place where everyone, from promoters
to players to manufacturers, can go to get
up-to-date information and analysis.
Event “Emissions”
One of King’s other passion projects, World TeamTennis, is also
leading the green charge. No surprise there, since WTT has long
been the sport’s laboratory for change.
In 2007, WTT signed FirmGreen, a company that develops
alternative energies from local renewable sources, to a multi-year
sponsorship. Under the deal, FirmGreen planned to donate renew-
able energy credits and greenhouse gas emission offsets to help
WTT reduce its carbon footprint for two California teams, the New-
port Beach Breakers and Sacramento Capitals. To calculate emis-
sions associated with league play, FirmGreen was set to review all
event-related activities, from travel to venue lighting. And in 2008,
it will expand its efforts to all of World TeamTennis.
Last year, WTT even rolled out a recyclable green carpet,
instead of the customary red one, during player introductions in
Newport and Sacramento.
“You have to start somewhere,” says WTT CEO Ilana Kloss. “We’re
proud to be the leaders in innovation, whether it’s colored courts or
environmental efforts. In a way, World TeamTennis is a think tank.
And we’re happy to share what we learn with the industry.
“This is Billie Jean King’s philosophy,”
Kloss adds. “Set an example and teach
people how to do the right thing.” Q
January 2008 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY 31
2008 STRING SURVEY

hat string is best for your customer? It’s a tricky question to are included in the total sum and average for that string. We

W answer, since there are so many different strings out there added the scores from each respondent to obtain a sum for
that all have unique combinations of benefits. But once again, that string, then divided the sum by the number of respon-
we’ve gone right to the experts, the thousands of U.S. Racquet Stringers dents who rated it.
Association members, and asked them to rate strings in three categories: To ensure that strings with a reasonable breadth of distrib-
playability, durability, and comfort. ution are included, each string must be rated on at least 12
Our 31st annual string questionnaires. We feel
survey, which is on the Most Responses by Gauge that having at least 12
poster inserted into this (percent) respondents allows us
issue of RSI, is a compila- to include enough
tion of survey question- Gauge 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2002/3 2001 2000 strings by enough man-
naires sent in September 16 56.7 58.4 64.6 62.0 62.4 61.9 58.9 54.8 ufacturers, including
to 2,000 randomly select- 17 26.1 25.5 24.5 28.2 23.1 26.2 27.0 31.8 smaller market share
ed U.S. members of the 16L 6.2 6.0 4.6 3.8 4.3 2.8 1.5 - companies. Too high a
USRSA (no chain stores). number will mean the
Recipients were given a list 15L 5.3 5.5 3.8 4.3 5.7 5.9 7.8 11.1 survey results will only
18 3.4 3.7 1.9 1.3 1.4 1.8 2.9 0.9 include the top two or
of every string on the mar-
ket and asked to rate the three manufacturers.
17/16 0.7 - - - - - - -
ones they are familiar with Remember, the cat-
15 0.4 0.5 0.6 - 0.5 - 0.8 0.8
from 1 to 10 in each of the egory scores for each
three categories. Then an 16L/16 0.4 - - - - - - - string are averages of
average score was calcu- 16/17 0.3 - - - - - - - all the respondents’
lated for each string in 19 0.2 0.3 - - 1.7 0.4 0.4 - rankings for a given
each category. string. Often, these
averages are very
For a string to qualify Most Responses by Brand close; the differences
for a rating, the respon-
(percent)
dent must have strung at between rankings can
least 20 sets of that string be mere hundredths of
Brand 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2002/3 2001 2000
in the past year. This 20- a point. Though only
Wilson 22.0 21.6 23.2 22.0 21.9 23.8 21.6 30.5
set minimum ensures that Gamma 20.0 21.3 20.4 22.9 24.7 25.6 25.9 27.2 one string can claim the
respondents are rating a Prince 17.3 16.4 19.8 19.6 19.8 19.2 20.7 23.7 top spot in a category,
string they know some- Babolat 12.3 11.9 9.3 7.2 7.1 6.1 6.9 6.3 many of the strings
thing about and that has Head 7.5 8.6 9.4 7.7 7.4 7.3 4.0 7.0 close to each other in
some vitality in the mar- Luxilon 6.1 5.7 3.6 3.4 3.0 - - - ranking are of equal
ketplace. For some busi- Tecnifibre 4.7 4.8 4.5 4.8 4.1 4.1 4.7 3.4 stature. In practice,
Ashaway 1.5 1.4 2.0 1.6 1.8 1.7 2.2 <1.0 each of these strings is
nesses, 20 sets may
Gosen 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 1.9 1.9 3.2 1.4 one of the best of its
represent 20 percent of
Forten 1.2 1.1 1.2 2.3 2.6 2.6 3.5 0.5
their total business, and niche.
Pacific 0.9 - - - - - - -
for others, 1 percent. TOA 0.7 0.6 0.8 0.4 - - - - Hang our String Sur-
Some businesses may only Dunlop 0.7 0.5 0.6 1.2 1.1 - - - vey poster in your shop
sell 20 sets of the string; Klip 0.7 0.5 0.6 0.9 - - - - and let your customers
others may sell 500. Each Kirschbaum 0.5 0.7 0.8 0.8 - - - - determine which
ranking, however, carries Alpha 0.4 0.8 0.9 1.0 - - - - strings may best help
the same weight, and all Others 1.5 2.7 2.3 2.3 4.6 5.2 4.4 - their games.Q

January 2008 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY 33

 APPAREL

Port Royal Racquet Club

Hilton Head, S.C.

etailers who sell lots of apparel know the best way to stoke cialty retailers have to think like designers and assemble outfits and

R sales is to make their inventory not only easily accessible

to the customer, but also to lay it out in an appealing way.
With clothing crossing over into the active-wear mainstream, spe-
go-with accessories to complete the sale. Here are four retailers
who know how to keeps things interesting for their customers to
help boost their sales. —Cynthia Sherman

34 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY January 2008

Tanda Bianco
Club Manager, Port Royal Racquet Club
Hilton Head, S.C.
Having a standing or hanging display every few feet in the shop, displaying
complete outfits, will help to maximize sales, says Bianco. Mannequins on coun-
tertop displays additionally feature a whole themed look, and the well-spaced
four-arm racks on the floor allow customers to shop with ease.

Color coordinating with accessories like flip-flops, wrist bands and visors offer
the customer options to stay within a color theme if they wish. “Most people in
our shop look with an eye toward fashion rather than the athleticism of a of
piece clothing, though male customers often look at the technical fitness aspect
of clothing,” Bianco says.

She rotates displays every week or so and the four-arm racks in the middle of
the floor showcase the newest items. The shop is set up so that the main
counter is in the center, so the first thing the customer sees is the helpful sales
staff.

Bianco’s Tips for Success

Q Keep rotating displays.
Q Have nice accessories (key chains,
watches, small purses, sandals, etc.) to
go with outfits.
Q Carry a variety of brands, things cus-
tomers might not see in big-box stores.

Kelly Kulp
Merchandising Manager
Fromuth Retail Store
West Lawn, Pa.
Keeping things looking fresh is the key, says Kulp. “You want to keep the
flow of merchandise moving, displaying new things in the front of the
store, maintaining a separate clearance section.”

Fromuth has a large section devoted to Nike, and that company provides
its own installations and brand fixtures, but Kulp steers toward a “bou-
tiquey” look for other brands that are merchandised separately by color
theme and have their own displays. Mannequins matching the fixtures are
featured in current outfits, and Kulp uses shelf space for folded tops, hats
and other accessories. Components of lines are displayed and merchan-
dised to the optimal end of creating pieces to be worn together.

In the front of the store, there is a seasonal display to give the sense of
current themes. And for the holidays, there is a variety of cold-weather
gear and gift items attractively displayed.

Kulp’s Tips for Success

Q Display merchandise by color story.
Q Merchandise outfits together so cus-
tomer can see the finished look.
Q Keep things fresh!

January 2008 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY 35

 Anita Dorsett
Buyer, The Woodlands Country
Club Pro Shop
The Woodlands, Texas
When women shop, says Dorsett, they like to see a whole outfit dis-
played. “I like to cross-merchandise whole outfits from head to toe to
gain customer appeal—perhaps featuring a Tail shirt flecked with gold
and Wilson shoes which may also feature gold trim.”

A hanging mannequin is featured in her window donning the latest

looks in tennis. By carrying at least half a dozen brands, Dorsett makes
use of four-way displays, grid walls and spiral racks to showcase color
schemes in clothes and shoes for a complete look.

Dorsett’s Tips for Successs

Q Displays need to be eye-catching.
Q Know your customer and what
they like.
Q Good price points and displays
should create “a package deal.”

Alison Bygrave
Co-owner, Tennis Ace
Woodland Hills, Calif.
Bygrave uses built-in alcoves and sections in her shop to create sepa-
rate themed areas, which lend a warm and cozy feeling to the space.
“Changing displays on a weekly basis, and using different yet com-
plementary color combinations across brand lines, make things aes-
thetically pleasing,” she says.

“I like having open space. People don’t like clutter and everything
becomes accessible,” she adds. Bygrave also employs wall racks and
custom-made fixtures to create interest and diversity.

Bygrave’s Tips for Success

Q Display variety (skirts, tanks,
shorts, dresses) within each brand
group and color set.
Q Use attractive color schemes in
blocks, which are aesthetically
pleasing.
Q Change outfits weekly, and keep
the shop clean!

36 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY January 2008

 RSI/ASBA DISTINGUISHED FACILITY-OF-THE-YEAR AWARDS

Distinguishing Honors
RSI and the ASBA bring you the In addition to The Cloister Tennis Center
at Sea Island, the indoor tennis facility at

best in tennis court construction.

Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis & Education
Center, the private residence in Parkland,
Fla., and the University of North Dakota
hen it comes to excellence in court construction, it’s hard to find better examples

W
Wellness Center, these 14 locations were
than those entered in the RSI/American Sports Builders Association Facility-of-the- chosen by the 2007 panel of judges for
Year Awards contest. the ASBA as excellent examples of court
Each year, based on entries submitted by an ASBA member—whether a contractor, construction, receiving Distinguished
designer or supplier—the association selects outstanding tennis facilities that meet the Tennis Facility-of-the-Year
standard of excellence determined by the judging committee. For 2007, the panel of Awards. You’ll read more about them
judges deemed 18 courts or tennis facilities as outstanding, or “distinguished,” as the in upcoming issues of Racquet Sports
award reads. Industry. (The nominating company is in
Four of those entries, however, were chosen for special “Facility-of-the-Year” honors: parentheses.)
the Cloister Tennis Center at Sea Island in St. Simons Island, Ga., received the Outdoor Q Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis & Education, Out-
Tennis Facility-of-the-Year Award; Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis & Education in Philadel- door Facility, Philadelphia (Sportsline Inc.)
phia received the Indoor Tennis Facility-of-the-Year Award; the court at a private resi- Q Balin Residence, Thorton, Pa. (Sportsline
dence in Parkland, Fla., received the Residential Tennis Facility-of-the-Year Award; and Inc.)
the University of North Dakota Wellness Center (above) in Grand Forks, N.D., received Q Finley Residence, Paradise Valley, Ariz.
(General Acrylics Inc.)
Q Goddard Eisenhower Tennis Complex, God-
the Indoor Multi-Purpose Facility-of-the-Year Award.
The eight-court Cloister Tennis Center consists of all new hydrocourts and includes
dard, Kan. (Mid-American Courtworks)
Q L’Hermitage Tennis Facility, Fort Laud-
an exhibition/stadium court. Seven courts were build atop a parking deck, 15 feet above
ground level, which required ramps and cranes to bring materials and equipment to the
erdale, Fla. (Fast-Dry Courts)
jobsite. The stadium court, built below grade, has terraced areas for spectators. The cus- Q Maize Middle School Tennis Complex,
tom fencing was designed for player safety and long-term use in the harsh coastal Maize, Kan. (Mid-American Courtworks)
climate. Q Mesa Community College, Mesa, Ariz.
The Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis & Education facility not only won RSI’s 2007 Munici- (General Acrylics Inc.)
pal Facility of the Year Award, but the specialty contractor, Sportsline of Exton, Pa., also Q Oconomowoc High School, Oconomowoc,
Wis. (Munson Inc.)
Q Ponte Vedra Inn and Club, Ponte Vedra
won RSI’s 2007 Builder of the Year Award. The new facility’s eight indoor cushioned
courts have won the ASBA’s Indoor Facility-of-the-Year Award, but the eight outdoor
Beach, Fla. (Fast-Dry Courts)
Q Private Residence, Boca Raton, Fla. (Fast-
courts also are being honored this year with a Distinguished Facility-of-the-Year Award.
AAYTE itself has been widely acclaimed by the PTR, ITF and USTA for its blend of ten-
Dry Courts)
nis, education, mentoring and more. Q Rockefeller University Outdoor Tennis Facili-
The private court at Parkland, Fla., is a new asphalt court with lighting for night play. ty, New York, N.Y. (Classic Turf Co. LLC)
The customer wanted a surface to accommodate other sports their kids are involved in Q Trump Palace Tennis Facility, Sunny Isles,
besides tennis, including hockey and basketball. Amenities include player seating, a Fla. (Fast-Dry Courts)
shaded area near the courts, and windscreens. Q Virante Tennis Facility, Punta Gorda, Fla.
(Ritzman Tennis Courts LLC)
Q Windstar on Naples Bay, Naples, Fla. (Fast-
The University of North Dakota Wellness Center also is new construction. The multi-
activity court that was installed of prefabricated rubber can be used for tennis and many
Dry Courts)
other sports. —Peter Francesconi

38 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY January 2008

Outdoor Tennis
Facility-of-the-Year Award
Cloister Tennis Center at Sea Island
St. Simons Island, Ga.
Architect/Engineer: Peter Capone and Associates
General Contractor: TDX Construction Inc.
Specialty Contractor: McLean Tennis Inc.
Surface: Lee Tennis (Har-Tru)
Lighting: LSI Courtsider
Trench Drain: Zurn Industries
Nets, Straps: Edwards/Collegiate Pacific

Residential Tennis
Facility-of-the-Year Award
Private Residence
Parkland, Fla.
General Contractor: Fast-Dry Courts
Surface: Nova Sports
Lights: RLS
Windscreens: M. Putterman
Net Posts: J.A. Cissel

Indoor Multi-Purpose
Facility-of-the-Year Award
University of North Dakota Wellness Center
Grand Forks, N.D.
General Contractor: Gaukol Builders/Paul Jensen
Specialty Contractor: Kiefer Specialty Flooring Inc.
Surface: Mondo USA

Indoor Tennis
Facility-of-the-Year Award
Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis & Education
Philadelphia
Specialty Contractor: Sportsline Inc./Rob Werner
Surface: California Products (DecoTurf)
Lighting: LSI
Curtains: M. Putterman
Nets, Straps: J.A. Cissel
Net Posts: Collegiate Pacific For details on the 2008 Distin-
Rubber Flooring: Dodge-Regupol guished Facility-of-the-Year
Awards, contact the ASBA at
866-501-ASBA or
info@sportsbuilders.org.

January 2008 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY 39

 10-&-UNDER TENNIS
n March, QuickStart Tennis, a new play format designed to
I help get more children ages 10 and under into the game, will
officially launch.
The key with QuickStart Tennis (referred to as Project 36-60
during development) is that it uses equipment, court dimensions
and scoring all tailored to the age and size of the kids. QuickStart
Tennis will be broken out into two age groups, 10-and-under and
8-and-under.
RSI spoke recently with Scott Schultz, the USTA’s managing
director of Recreational Tennis, about QuickStart Tennis, and how
tennis teaching pros and facilities can get involved in and benefit
from this initiative.
What is QuickStart Tennis?
Schultz: It’s simply a format for 10-and-under tennis based on
scaling down the equipment, size of the court, and length of
matches. (See chart at right.) Right now, most kids in this age
group try to play tennis on the same size court, using the same
ball, oftentimes using the same size racquet, as is used in profes-
sional tennis. And most tournaments for kids this age use the
same scoring as the pros but have the kids play twice as many
matches.
Can you imagine kids at this age trying to play baseball with
40 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY January 2008
the same-size bats and field dimensions as is used in the Major
Leagues? Or playing golf from the back tees? We’ve turned off mil-
lions of kids to tennis by forcing them to play the same game with
the same equipment and same court dimensions as the pros. The
QuickStart Tennis format will give us the opportunity to make that
first experience for kids a great one and keep them in the game.
Is QuickStart Tennis a USTA program?
Schultz: No. Think of it as real tennis for 10-and-under players. We
want the format to be used in team competition, individual compe-
tition, lessons, team practices and even casual play. The USTA will
use the QuickStartTennis format in USTA Jr. Team Tennis and
many sanctioned tournaments in 2008.
And importantly, millions of kids will be exposed to QuickStart
Tennis through USTA Schools Tennis. PE teachers love it because
courts can be set up in the gym, cafeteria or playground.
What other organizations are behind this?
Schultz: The TIA, USPTA, PTR, NRPA, tennis manufacturers—all
have contributed to the development of QuickStart Tennis and are
committed to making it successful. In fact, both teaching pro orga-
nizations are incorporating the format into their tennis program-
ming for children: USPTA Little Tennis and PTR Kids Tennis.
What can teaching pros and
facilities gain by using Quick-
Start Tennis?
Schultz: The response from professionals, club
owners, parents and kids has been overwhelm-
ingly positive. As we’ve already found out, you
can get more kids on court at the same time
and make more money per hour.
Professionals really love this format
because kids start having fun right away and
want to stay with the game. But also, Quick-
Start Tennis allows young players to better
develop proper tactics, footwork and technique
at a much younger age, because the ball is
landing in the kids’ strike zones, rather than
going over their heads.
Does it make sense for people
older than 10, even adults, to
start this way?
Schultz: Sure, many tennis teachers are using
this as a progression for getting people of all
ages to have success right away. Having begin-
ners and advanced beginners play on smaller
courts with slower moving balls makes a lot of
sense. They have better first experiences and
will pick up the game faster. However, we will
focus our efforts initially on 10-and-under
youth as this presents our greatest opportunity
for impact on the growth and development of
tennis.
How is QuickStart Tennis
different from what people
have been doing for years—
using foam balls and smaller
racquets?
Schultz: There are two key differences. Like a
lot of professionals, I used foam balls and
smaller racquets when I was teaching. But
there were never standardized specifications
for the ball, the racquet, the court, the net and
QuickStart Tennis Specifications
Age Court Size Racquet
• 5 to 6 • 36’ x 18’ • Up to 23”
• 7 to 8
• 9 to 10 • 60’ x 21’ singles • Up to 25”
• 60’ x 27’
doubles
scoring based on age. The
QuickStart Tennis format
uses all of these elements
together, the same way, and
that makes a huge difference.
The other key is that there
were very few competitions
using scaled-down equip-
ment and courts. Therefore,
it was used primarily as a
teaching aid and was not
considered “real tennis.”
Since the QuickStart Tennis
format will be used in com- How to Get Started
petition, kids and parents Using QuickStart Tennis
both will consider it “real.” To integrate the QuickStart Tennis format into your 10-and-
Getting kids at this age to under programming, go to www.partners.quickstart-ten-
play on teams is critical to nis.com. You’ll find information about the QuickStart Tennis
retention. In addition to format specifications, training opportunities, equipment,
USTA Jr. Team Tennis and and other resources.
many sanctioned tourna-
When you start offering programs featuring the QuickStart
ments using the format in Tennis format, be sure to register them for free at grow-
2008, we know that many ingtennis.com/QuickStart. Registering will ensure that when
professionals and clubs will parents or kids search on the web for tennis programs in
be using the QuickStart Ten- your area, your programs will appear on consumer websites
nis format for their local such as USTA.com, Tennis.com, TennisChannel.com, Ten-
team events and competi- nisWelcomeCenter.com and more.
tions as well.
How is QuickStart Tennis being promoted?
Schultz: Right now, we are working with our partners to promote this to tennis
providers and help them with integrating the QuickStart Tennis format into their
programming. When we launch a consumer campaign in March, we want there to
be plenty of providers offering QuickStart Tennis for people to sign up for.
How will you measure success of QuickStart Tennis?
Schultz: We want a lot more kids that are under 10 to start playing tennis, we want
them to stay in the game, we want them to develop as players, and ultimately have
more American Grand Slam champions. The most important thing we can do for
the health of our sport is to get hundreds of thousands of kids in this age group
playing on teams. If we do, every entity in tennis wins big—clubs, pros, parks,
manufacturers, tennis associations, even TV ratings for the US Open. Q
Ball Net Height Scoring
• Foam or very low • 2’9” • Best of 3 games
compression ball
• 1st to 7-point games
• Low • 3’ • Best of 3 sets
compression
• Same height as regu- • 1st to 4 games wins set
lar-sized court
• Third set-1st to 7 points
January 2008 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY 41
 string PLAYTEST
Unique
Big Hitter Blue 17
Unique Big Hitter Blue is a monofila-
ment string made with polyether.
According to Unique, the use of poly-
ether in this advanced German string
formulation allows for a much softer
string that absorbs shock and increases
comfort, while retaining the incredible
durability, power and resistance to
movement of the best new generation,
co-polymer polyester strings.
Unique tells us that Big Hitter Blue
offers control and comfort at normal
swing speeds, but when power is wanted,
long, fast swings with Big Hitter Blue cre-
ate an ultra powerful pop. The extra dura-
bility allows players to use a thinner
gauge for more bite and accuracy, while
expecting the same or better string life.
Unique also recommends its use in hybrid
combinations with Unique Tourna-Gut
Natural Gut for a great combination of
durability, touch, and power.
Unique Big Hitter Blue is available in
40-foot sets in blue only. It is priced from
$6.75 for sets of 40 feet, $59 for reels of
660 feet (200 meters). For more informa-
tion or to order, contact Unique at 800-
554-3707, or visit www.uniquesports.us.
IN THE LAB
We tested the 17-gauge Unique Big Hitter
Blue. The coil measured 40’ 3”. The diam-
eter measured 1.23-1.26 mm prior to
stringing, and 1.20-1.23 mm after string-
ing. We recorded a stringbed stiffness of
74 RDC units immediately after stringing
at 60 pounds in a Wilson Pro Staff 6.1 95
(16 x 18 pattern) on a constant-pull
machine.
After 24 hours (no playing), stringbed
stiffness measured 64 RDC units, repre-
senting a 14 percent tension loss. Our
control string, Prince Synthetic Gut Origi-
nal Gold 16, measured 78 RDC units
immediately after stringing and 71 RDC
units after 24 hours, representing a 9 per-
42 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY January 2008
cent tension loss. Unique Big Hitter
Blue 17 added 18 grams to the
weight of our unstrung frame.
The string was tested for five
weeks by 39 USRSA playtesters, with
NTRP ratings from 3.5 to 6.0. These are
blind tests, with playtesters receiving
unmarked strings in unmarked packages. same as other poly strings, despite its
Average number of hours playtested was slightly different formulation. One end
32.1. was pre-cut at an angle, which was nice.
Big Hitter Blue strings up about the We noticed some burning on the mains
toward the end of stringing the crosses
on a tight stringbed pattern, similar to
EASE OF STRINGING what we’ve seen with other poly strings
(compared to other strings)
containing ether.
Number of testers who said it was:
The blue color is a nice change from
much easier 0
somewhat easier 1
other strings, especially considering that
about as easy 22 it doesn’t come off during play: The color
not quite as easy 15 is part of the string.
not nearly as easy 1 No playtester broke his sample during
stringing, 14 reported problems with coil
OVERALL PLAYABILITY memory, three reported problems tying
(compared to string played most often)
knots, and one reported friction burn.
Number of testers who said it was:
much better 0
somewhat better 6 ON THE COURT
about as playable 15 Our playtest team gave Unique Big Hitter
not quite as playable 15 Blue 17 fantastic scores in three cate-
not nearly as playable 2 gories important to power players. Big
Hitter Blue 17’s scores for Spin Potential
OVERALL DURABILITY
put it in third place of the 116 strings
(compared to other strings
of similar gauge) we’ve playtested for publication. Its
Number of testers who said it was: scores were also good enough for
much better 10 fourth-place finishes in both Durability
somewhat better 17 and Resistance to Movement. It’s inter-
about as durable 10 esting to note that another Unique
not quite as durable 1 string, Tourna Poly Big Hitter, is still in
not nearly as durable 0
first place in Resistance to Movement,
RATING AVERAGES and is in second place in Durability. (See
From 1 to 5 (best) the May 2004 issue of RSI for the full
Playability 3.5 playtest report on Tourna Poly Big Hitter.)
Durability (4th overall) 4.4 Unique Big Hitter Blue 17’s high
Power 3.5 scores in these three categories helped it
Control 3.6 earn an average score of 10th overall.
Comfort 3.2
Our playtest team also awarded Big
Touch/Feel 3.0
Hitter Blue 17 scores well above average
Spin Potential (3rd overall) 3.7
for Playability, Power, Control, and Ten-
Holding Tension 3.6
Resistance to Movement (4th overall) 4.1 sion Retention.
Two playtesters broke the sample
TESTERS TALK

“ This string has the perfect combination of recommended for those looking for a soft the serve. This could be the perfect choice for
power, control, and spin. My kick serves and
topspin forehands seem to explode off the
response, but it would be a great choice for

court. The natural gut definitely adds comfort
and power. This set-up is perfect for heavy
ball hitters. I found myself playing very confi-
”
baseliners who take big swings. 4.0 male all-
court player using Fischer Pro No. One strung at
63 pounds LO (Natural Gut 16)
”
over hitters. 4.5 male all-court player using
Head i.Prestige Mid strung at 53 pounds CP
(Gosen Polylon 16)

”
dent tennis. 5.0 male serve-and-volleyer
using Wilson nPro strung at 57 pounds LO
(Wilson Reaction 18)
“ Though this string starts fairly stiff, it settles
quickly and becomes quite playable. This is the
perfect string for those who are searching for
“ Durability, control, and resistance to
movement are the top attributes. While
power, playability, spin potential, and tension
maintenance are good, touch and feel are

”
durability, power, and spin. 4.5 male all-court lacking. This is a good overall string, but it is

“ It’s about time somebody made a truly
comfortable polyester. While I do tend to
favor polyester strings, this one really stands
out. It requires no adjustment period. It’s one
of those strings that you know you’re going
player using Head FXP Radical Team strung at 53
pounds LO (Klip Legend 16)
“ This string has decent spin potential and sur-
prisingly high power. The most surprising ele-
most likely designed for hard hitters with
”
durability concerns. 5.0 male all-court
player using Wilson Hyper Pro Staff 6.1 strung
at 55 pounds LO (Wilson Sensation 16)

”
to like right after you hit the first ball. 3.5
male serve-and-volleyer using Head i.Radical
MP strung at 63 pounds LO (Polyester 16)
”
ment, however, is the touch. 4.0 male
baseliner with heavy spin using Prince Triple
“ While I did not anticipate a responsive,
comfortable ride, I am disappointed with the
Threat Hornet strung at 53 pounds CP (Wilson
NXT OS 16L) ”
utter lack of spin potential. 4.5 male all-
court player using Wilson nTour strung at 54

“ This polyester is as good as any I’ve tried. pounds LO (Wilson NXT 16)
What make it special are the high power level

”
and exceptional comfort. 5.0 female all-
court player using Head Liquidmetal 4 strung
at 57 pounds LO (Head RIP Control 17)
“ The power level is uniquely low, so it is rec-
ommended to people looking for more control. For the rest of the tester comments, visit
After several hours of play, my arm felt a little www.racquetsportsindustry.com.
tired. I had to work overtime to get any pace on

“ As a multifilament user, I tend not to like

the stiffness of polyester. This string, howev-
er, is extremely playable. The combination of
power, spin, control, and comfort is truly
impressive. Perhaps it’s time to make a

”
switch. 5.0 male all-court player using
Babolat Pure Control Zylon 360 strung at 50
pounds LO (Babolat Xcel Premium 17)

“ This string has good power and plays as

well as the top polys on the market. It is not

during play, one at three hours and one at

five hours.

CONCLUSION
Big Hitter Blue’s playing characteristics
won’t be for everyone, but if you’ve tried
other poly strings containing ether and
found you like the way they play better
than you like the price, Big Hitter Blue
may be just the ticket, costing about half
that of its most direct competitor on the
market.
If you think that Unique Big Hitter Blue
17 might be for you, Unique has a special
offer: Buy one set of Big Hitter Blue and
get one set free.
. —Greg Raven Q

January 2008 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY 43

 ask the EXPERTS
Your Equipment Hotline
MISSING STRING
SELECTOR LISTING?
I WAS TRYING TO USE THE STRING
Q Selector to find strings comparable
to a string that was discontinued a
couple of years ago. However, when I
select the manufacturer of the discontin-
ued string, the String Selector shows only
current strings. Can I use the String Selec-
tor to compare older, discontinued strings
against current strings?
A IT DEPENDS TO SOME DEGREE ON
when the string was discontinued.
While we have been lab-testing string for
several years now, we switched to a new
testing protocol in 2004. After switching
to the new protocol, however, we did
attempt to retest every available string
that we had tested using the previous
protocol.
Therefore, if you can’t find the lab test
results for a string that was discontinued
44 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY January 2008
since 2004, it’s likely that we never
obtained a sample of that string for testing.
If the string you’re trying to match was dis-
continued before 2004, there is an outside
chance that—despite our best efforts—it
was not retested using the new protocol.
Your best bet will be to check back
issues of RSI and RacquetTECH magazine to
see if it appears in our published lab test
results. If so, compare it to other strings in
that year’s results. You want to find a com-
parable string that is still available today.
Then, look up that other comparable string
in the most recently published lab test
results. This will allow you to find other cur-
rent strings that have similar characteristics.
HYBRID THEORY
I WAS JUST WONDERING, WHAT
Q are the benefits of putting natural
gut in the main strings and Luxilon
in the cross strings, as Roger Federer does?
I would think there is more durability need-
ed in the main strings, thus it would be bet-
ter to put Luxilon in the mains and get bet-
ter feel in the crosses from the natural gut.
Does this sound logical?
A IT DOES SOUND LOGICAL, AND IT’S
why most people who use a hybrid
string job (that is, a string job that incorpo-
rates two different types of string), put the
more durable string in the mains. However,
doing things the other way seems to be
working for Federer.
Even though recreational players don’t
restring as often as the pros do, they may
still benefit from experimenting by stringing
hybrids “both ways.” In our playtests of
three different hybrid strings from Klip, we
had one playtest team use the more durable
string in the mains, and the other team use
the more durable string in the crosses. In
the gut/poly X-Plosive and gut/nylon
Screamer, playtesters preferred having the
gut in the mains. With the gut/nylon Light-
ning, playtesters preferred nylon in the
mains. However, with both X-Plosive and
Lightning, the difference between gut
mains and gut crosses was much smaller
than it was for Screamer.
The bottom line, then, is that you can’t
be afraid to experiment, and you never
know what combination is going to work
for you until you’ve tried it.
RESTRINGING FREQUENCY
WHAT IS THE RECOMMENDED
Q stringing frequency for club play-
ers?
A THE USRSA SUPPORTS THE INDUS-
try-standard recommendation of
restringing as many times per year as you
play in a week. However, this advice is
typically given to those who don’t play
much, and seem to be looking for any
excuse not to restring. Club players —
who are by definition more active and
serious about the game than recreational
players — should restring more often.
Whether in play or not, nylon strings
have lost significant tension after about
two months. “Poly” strings typically have
lost significant tension after about one
month. Natural gut loses tension, too, but
seems to retain its playability until about
30 minutes before it breaks. These would
be better guidelines for club players.
It’s true that it all comes down to what
feels right to the player, so you could
make the argument that if the player is
most comfortable using two-year-old
strings, then that’s what he should use.
The problem arises when those strings
break. It would be next to impossible to
match the tension and elasticity of two-
year-old strings with new strings of the
same make, model, and gauge. Even so,
that’s the best case scenario, where you
can actually still buy the string the player
is used to using. Sometimes, those old
strings may no longer be on the market,
so you’d be trying to match the old dead
strings with a new string that may not be
comparable in every category.
By changing strings regularly, there is
more consistency in the ball’s response
off of the strings. This allows the player
to develop a better expectation of how
the racquet and strings will perform at all
times, which means he will have fewer
adjustments to make when going from
old strings to new. This consistency can
only be achieved through frequent
restringing.
FRAME STRESS AND
TIE-OFF POINTS
IS THERE A WAY THAT THE
Q amount of pressure or stress on
the frame can be measured? It
seems that the stress must increase at
the tie-off points. I am curious how
much additional load this places on the
racquet.
A THE EASIEST WAY TO CHECK the
stress on the frame is to measure
its dimensions before, during, and after
stringing. A tape measure will get you
pretty good information, although the
USRSA uses a set of special oversized
micrometers supplied by Dr. Carl Love,
which are accurate to one-thousandth of
an inch. This won’t tell you how much
stress there is per se, but it will tell you if
the stress is unbalanced enough to
deform the hoop.
As for stress at the tie-off point, given
the huge amount of overall stress to
which the hoop is subjected, measuring
frame deformation at one point would
be difficult. If you think about it, though,
you’ll see why the tie-off isn’t a problem.
Consider the case in which the string
does not tie off, but continues to the
other side of the racquet. In this case,
that string will receive full tension, which
will impart corresponding stress to the
frame. The frame is designed to with-
stand this stress, of course, so there is no
problem.
In the case where the string ties off,
on the other hand, the only pull on the
string before releasing the clamp is that
applied manually during the knotting
process, and that is (or should be) a tiny
fraction of the reference tension. After
the knot is tied and the clamp released,
the added stress from the tied-off string
is along the side of the hoop, not across
the racquet face.
To look at it another way, before you
could apply enough tension on the tie-
off knot to deform the hoop, the anchor
string would fail.
—Greg Raven Q
We welcome your questions. Please send them to
Racquet Sports Industry, 330 Main St., Vista, CA,
92084; fax: 760-536-1171; email:
greg@racquettech.com.
January 2008 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY 45
 tips and TECHNIQUES
Readers’ Know-How in Action
AVOIDING COIL MEMORY
I’m sure that all stringers become frus-
trated from time to time with coil
memory when measuring out a length
of string. I’ve found that by using a
simple countertop paper towel holder,
you can eliminate that problem. Simply
place the towel holder on the floor,
drop your coil of string over the towel
holder, and began pulling off and
measuring your length of string.
5 sets of Gamma Syn Gut
w/WearGuard 16 & Hat & T-Shirt to:
Carl M. Thompson
Temple Hills, MD
46 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY January 2008
TYING OFF NATURAL GUT
I use a dead man’s knot whenever the
anchor string is natural gut. The version
I use is a double half hitch tied around a
separate string and the anchor string.
I’ve taken a page from the racquet
manufacturers, which strive to make
technologies “visible,” by using a col-
ored string (such as orange) to make it
more visible. So far, each of my natural
gut customers has noticed and has
been appreciative of my attention to
detail. Make your “extras” visible
enough for your customers to notice,
and you’ll be surprised at how much it
adds to your credibility and prestige.
5 sets of Head FXP Power 16 to:
Steve Huff, Mechanicsville, VA
INVESTING IN
PRE-STRETCHING
Investing one minute in pre-stretching
could be one of the most profitable and
enjoyable investments a stringer can
make. Our shop realizes big gains with
pre-stretching:
1) It saves us at least 10 percent of the
time it takes to string each frame;
2) It makes stringing more enjoyable; and
3) It slows tension loss by more than 10
times. This increases playability for our
customers, which reflects well on us.
This is how we pre-stretch in our shop:
1) Mount the string on our Pre-Stretch
Rack for a minimum of 10 minutes.
Usually, we let the string pre-stretch
while stringing another racquet. (See
the photo of our Pre-Stretch Rack.)
 start with a lower reference tension than
normal. Over time, our string jobs are
tighter than those done traditionally
because our tension loss is reduced (see
2) Set the machine pre-stretch to pull
the chart).
20% over reference tension. For exam-
Another result of our pre-stretch
ple, if machine tension is adjusted to
regime is that during the first couple of
50 lbs., the pre-stretch setting will be
hours after stringing, the stringbed ten-
60 lbs.
sion actually increases.
3) While stringing on our constant-pull
5 sets of Wilson NXT 16 to:
machines, we allow the tension head
Dr. Carl Love, Albany, OR
to continue to pull tension while
threading the next string through the
racquet.
WRAP IT BACKWARDS
It seems that I often get caught on court
Because of this pre-stretching, our
with a student who needs my help replac-
string jobs are unusually stiff compared to
ing her overgrip, but neither the grip tape
racquets strung with a more traditional
nor the grip band are anywhere to be
method at the same reference tension
found. Rather than go back out to the car
without pre-stretching. Thus, we usually
to get my scissors and tape, I wrap the
new overgrip from the “wrong” end.
That way, I can use the end that has the
sticky part on it to attach the loose end to
the racquet. I’ve never had one come
loose, and at the end of the lesson I usu-
ally have time to go get the tape and fin-
ish the job properly.
5 sets of Dunlop M-Fil Tour 16 to:
Mark Goodman, Victorville, CA
STRONGER CLAMP CLEANER
Cleaning clamps and other stringing
machine parts with isopropyl (rubbing)
alcohol may promote rusting because it
contains a percentage of water to begin
with, and it’s hygroscopic so it absorbs
moisture from the air. When the alcohol
evaporates, the water remains and rust-
ing may occur. I prefer to use acetone or
acetone-based nail enamel remover. It is a
much stronger solvent, and really does
the job. Just make certain not to get it on
any painted or plastic surfaces.
5 sets of Gamma Asterisk 16 &
Hat & T-Shirt to:
Luis De Santis, Venezuela
Editor’s note: Acetone fumes should not
be inhaled, as they can cause liver dam-
age. Never consume acetone nor get it
in your eyes. It’s also a good idea to
keep it from your skin. —Greg Raven Q
Tips and Techniques submitted since 2000 by
USRSA members, and appearing in this column,
have all been gathered into a single volume of
the Stringer’s Digest—Racquet Service Tech-
niques which is a benefit of USRSA membership.
Submit tips to: Greg Raven, USRSA, 330 Main St.,
Vista, CA 92804; or email greg@racquettech.com.
January 2008 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY 47
 Your Serve
A New Way to
Love Tennis
An Atlanta retailer says her love
of the game is complete after
establishing a tournament to
benefit charity.
BY TIFFANY GRAYSON
I
love tennis. I guess you could also say that ten-
nis is a way of life for me. Not just because I
play, but also because of my overall lifestyle.
I did not grow up playing tennis; I
caught the “tennis bug” in my adult years,
when my (now) husband taught me to play.
Now, I love playing tennis for fun with
friends, playing for a charitable cause, and
of course playing in leagues.
I love tennis so much that I chose to
work in the industry, too. Four years ago I
started my own business—a tennis specialty
store in the suburbs of Atlanta. Our store,
Coach Matt’s Tennis & More, has provided
full-service tennis resources for the area,
where we’ve been fortunate to make new
tennis friends. Working with customers and
vendors alike has been an enlightening
experience that has furthered my adoration
for the sport.
Once our business was established, I
decided that it was also important to “give
back” to the sport. We decided that one
way we could accomplish our goal was to
hold an annual charity event that would
offer a fun experience to the participants
while raising money for local grassroots pro-
grams. And so, in 2004, the Annual Coach
Matt's Charity Invitational was born.
The event itself is an amateur doubles
tournament in which you compete against
players of your same caliber. We also offer
a “celebration of tennis” at the end of the
tournament with exhibition matches,
games, music, raffles, and more. We have
been honored to have world-class tennis
pros Ellis Ferreira, Mark Knowles, Tom Gor-
man, Tom Gullikson, Amer Delic, Justin
Gimelstob, and Bobby Reynolds join us in
the past. It’s an exciting weekend of tennis
and we’ve been able to raise thousands of
48 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY January 2008
Kelly, with the author, thanks the crowd at the
Annual Coach Matt’s Charity Invitational.
dollars for local programs.
It was during the first year of our tour-
nament that I first met Kelly. I was
researching local options for charities in
need of sponsorship dollars when I heard
about local tennis training academies for
disabled athletes. Special Populations Ten-
nis Program Inc. (www.specialpops-
tennis.com) is a volunteer-run program
that provides meaningful, year-round ten-
nis training for mentally disabled athletes
so they can compete in tournaments in
Georgia, the U.S., and abroad. Many of
these athletes would never have the
opportunity to play tennis if it weren’t for
this program.
We offered them sponsorship from our
charity event and I invited them to our
“celebration of tennis” at the end of the
tournament. Kelly, who has Downs syn-
drome, speaks on behalf of the group and
shared with the 250-plus spectators why
she loves tennis. She brought everyone to
tears with her sweet words and emotional
delivery. I knew from that moment that
we would continue to support the training
academies whenever possible.
It has been three years since we started
our charity event and the 2007 event, held
Nov. 10-11, was our most successful yet.
We had more support from our communi-
ty and vendors than ever before and we
had a record-breaking 150 amateur dou-
bles players in our weekend tournament.
We ended our event with a doubles exhi-
bition between collegiate players from
UGA and Georgia Tech. Special guests
Justin Gimelstob and Tom Gorman were
also on hand to play tennis with our spe-
cial athletes and raise money for our
cause. This year we raised more money
and recruited more volunteers for our
program than we have in the past.
I cry each year when Kelly gets on the
microphone and explains to everyone
why she loves tennis and why each dollar
raised helps more athletes like her play
tennis. I thought I learned to love the
game when my husband taught me to
play. Then I thought I really loved tennis
when I started my retail company. Then I
thought that when I went to the US
Open and met some of the amazing play-
ers you see on TV, I finally couldn’t love
the game any more. I was so wrong….
Hearing Kelly talk about why she loves
the people who make her tennis dreams
come true… Watching the special athlete
you just sponsored win a medal in com-
petition… Giving a high five to an athlete
after he or she hits a winning shot…
Knowing that every dollar we raise goes
to helping one more special athlete play
tennis… That’s what taught me to really
love the game.
Tennis isn’t just about one game or
match—it’s about a lifetime of experi-
ences. So thank you to the volunteers,
fundraisers, friends, and tennis family
that have taught me how to love ten-
nis—the new way! Q
Nonprofit charitable groups like Special Pops
Tennis are always in search of volunteers and
fundraising efforts. If you would like to get
involved or find out more information, visit
www.specialpopstennis.com. For additional
information on the Annual Coach Matt’s Charity
Invitational visit www.coachmattstennis.com.
We welcome your opinions. Please email
comments to rsi@racquetTECH.com or fax
them to 760-536-1171.