LTA funding

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

RE: LTA funding

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Don't know if this is mentioned elsewhere but, seemingly, for funding, there is a £1000 coaching bonus paid to all the winners of the junior national championships

....as per the coach of Paul Jubb, www.facebook.com/BBCLookNorth/videos/899104776843801/

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

DavidC has just put up the Junior Orange Bowl draws.

We have a decent few youngsters playing there, it's a top prestigious tournament (with full consolation draw)

But I note from Tiana's pledgesport website :

"This is not a trip organised by the LTA, so all the funds have to be raised individually."

Yet again........

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Some actual numbers from Tennis Scotland:

www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/tennis/article-3341978/Tennis-Scotland-chief-executive-David-Marshall-opens-tight-funding-building-Davis-Cup-success-setting-Andy-Murray.html

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

As a partial copy from the other thread, if people are interested in the new LTA funding packages, now extended to over 16s, and direct cash, go to the website and there is a PdF file, under Professional Player Development, and then Funding and Selection.

These ruls run from 1st Feb to 31st Dec 2016

It says, inter alia, that there are 4 sorts of support:

'4. Direct financial support to help players reach a standard of performance likely to provide stable and complete financial independence from the LTA in the future. For players in the Top 200S/50D this will take the form of an annual underwrite of at least 50% of the costs associated with hiring personal coaching and support services, linked to an end of year Tour prize money payback. For players outside of the Top 200S/50D financial support will be in the form of a Career Development Grant.'

Re individual grants, it goes on to say that:

'We expect the size of individual grant awards to vary reflecting the different circumstances of individual players, but the maximum grant we will consider making is £30,000. We anticipate receiving significantly more requests than we can fund from the total resource available and will therefore apply a selection process designed to award grants to the players we believe are most likely to bridge the gap to the Top200S/50. Therefore, our expectation is that between 8 and 10 players will be successful in securing a Career Development Grant, assuming a typical award will be in the region of £20,000.'

I do hope they 'continue' the transparency and list the recipients of the funding.

wimdledont · Challenger level

On first reading, I was amazed by how good this is.

If there are 8 to 10 players in each sex who would get funded as having aspirations of getting to WR200/50D, it would be tough on some, but still a pretty good policy. I strongly suspect, however, that it's 4 to 5 per sex...

So on the women's side...

Joss
Anna
Katie S
Laura

And perhaps one from Freya, Amanda C, Harriet, Katy D, Maia, Gabrielle, Mirabelle, Tara, Lisa, EWS, Katy B, and a couple of others.

I wouldn't expect all of these to make top 200/50D, but it's a lot of talent to write off, or to leave severely hampered by lack of funds.

Katy D, for example, would not be my first (only) pick, but she has a very similar WTA record/ranking to JoKo at the same age, and a higher CH Junior ranking. Career earnings over the last 3 years pretty much full time senior tour - approx £60k, with approx £120k expenses.

paulisi · Tennis legend

Freya did have funding last year.
Katie B I suspect may be on funding, just because she has been out for so long and she had funding previously.
Emily Appleton would be another option. Emily Arbuthnot would have been an option, but she has gone down the college route.

wimdledont · Challenger level

As Mark Taylor has turned up with Freya and Lisa in Australia, it looks like Mark Taylor got one of the available funding packages.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

I assume that he is only there 'with' Freya, not Lisa (he's still entitled, as such, to the same deal, of course).

But I do hope that, unlike some others, he offers to help Lisa (if she wants it) and supports her in a 'solidaire' British team way.

wimdledont · Challenger level

A thought occurs that the LTA could get a lot more bang for their buck by developing and funding a new category of player/coach, or senior player/mentor.

Several of the older players already rely on coaching to supplement their playing income, but are forced into retirement from playing due to not being able to coach when travelling. The junior players cannot afford a full-time travelling coach.

So why can't Freya, say, use her (presumed) LTA funding of £10,000, say, to hire LisaW to coach/mentor her when she is travelling? They form a doubles team; they can save costs by sharing a room; the youngster gets lots of valuable insight into planning a schedule, and generally learns the ropes, and gets a social introduction to all of the elder woman's friends or old acquaintances, familiar faces. As no extra flights or accomodation is needed, it might come to 25% of the cost of sending out a middle-aged ex-player on a full salary.

It could give players such as Lisa, Naomi Cavaday, Nik Slater, EWS the wherewithal to extend their playing careers by the best part of a decade; while providing great value-for-money support and guidance for transitioning Juniors such as the various Katies (3), Freya, Maia, Gabi, etc.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

I'm sorry, W, but I don't reckon that's a good idea.

Why should Lisa suddenly be a good coach?

I find it strange that people reckon that, if you play well-ish, you'll automatically make a good-ish coach.

There's obviously a little bit of overlap but it's a very different skill set.

Lisa (just to take as an example, not personally directed at her) has no experience coaching at a high level, maybe no natural interest, no knowledge or connection to Freya, may well be completely unsuited to coaching, would find it very difficult to coach while also concentrating on her own matches to the best of her ability.....

I realise that this doesn't give an alternative solution but I don't think that players automatically make good coaches and the chances of it working would be very slim.

Hoppy · Junior player

So who will be in the mix on the men's side for the aspiring pro status funding? Are doubles players as likely to get it as singles players?

wolf · Tennis legend

They stopped funding doubles players a couple of years ago.

Hoppy · Junior player

But new funding suggests they can apply if they are on target for top 50. Unless I have read it wrongly

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Yes.

The new 2016 LTA funding page says:

"....we know that we need to offer support to two categories of professional player who are above the age and performance level of the PSP pilot. These are:

Aspirant Pro: Players over 16 who are aspiring to break into the top 200 singles or top 50 doubles (Top 200S/50D)

Senior Pro: Players with an end of year ranking in the Top 200S/50D seeking to significantly improve their performance and ranking."

It then lists three different ways it intends to help (coaching, facilities etc) and also:

4. Direct financial support to help players reach a standard of performance likely to provide stable and complete financial independence from the LTA in the future. For players in the Top 200S/50D this will take the form of an annual underwrite of at least 50% of the costs associated with hiring personal coaching and support services, linked to an end of year Tour prize money payback. For players outside of the Top 200S/50D financial support will be in the form of a Career Development Grant.

Of course, a little transparency as to who has been selected etc. would be welcomed...

-- Edited by Coup Droit on Sunday 21st of February 2016 01:27:39 PM