Meeting with LTA Chief Exec

Topemp · Strong Club Player

Meeting with LTA Chief Exec

indiana · Tennis legend

Thanks Toby.

Yes certainly raise the number of particularly futures level home tournaments.

There probably were too many a few years ago but why so very few now. It clearly isn't just because of clubs being unwilling to put them on ( I have heard that given as a reason ). The LTA must have given much more help, financial or otherwise before. Why not now?

It must make things so difficult for players trying to get a step on the ladder of ambition. At the recent Glasgow women's 25K it was impossible for a non ranked player without any sort of WC even to get a place in qualifying. With the women a few home 25Ks is the lowest rung on offer. There are no home women's 15Ks this year.

So much more nowadays for aspiring but not already recognised as absolutely top prospect men or women ( often referred to as "in" ) you must travel abroad to get in any sort of reasonable amount of ranking points opportunities. That would clearly always be necessary to some extent but is now essentially mandatory to get anywhere.

Is this all an unavoidable situation ( due to such as a necessary major change in priorities ) or is there some sort of "tough love" being deliberately employed? Supposedly to help separate the wheat from the chaff? - but maybe also separating those with reasonable outside means from those without.

You don't have to put all that

Thanks again and I'll maybe have a think re another topic.

Born2WinTennis · Club Coach

I would love to ask a few things:

1) Why did the Aegon Team Tennis prize money drop from 100k to 25k while the entrance fee for 6000 teams raised from £15 to £18, what do they do with the £120k revenue this national club competition generates?
2) Why don't they support my corporate tennis competition, proven to increase participation in a demographic desperately in need of help ages 25-35.
3) Why have they still not got a sponsor for queens and the grass court season tournaments
4) Why is support for professional tennis players still not transparent and seemingly all cloak and dagger
5) What does your old company (as effectively the largest tennis club in the uk) do to support grass roots tennis?...and do you feel they should do more?

I'm sure I could think of some more if I didn't have a work meeting in 5mins!

Oakland2002 · All-time great

It sounds like there are many worse meetings you could be attending it is absolutely fabulous to have a genuine British tennis enthusiast in the room!! Good luck I would ask the following

Plans for strategically targeting potential outstanding young athletes at elementary school and attracting them to tennis? My feeling is many of our successful juniors are well coached but not good enough athletes to progress into the top 200 and beyond.

As the chief executive of the Lawn Tennis association How do you make the greatest lawn tennis event in the world relvent to athletically gift kids and open its potential to inspire them to play tennis?

Prior to the French Open they have a family fun day. There are about 290,000 kids of either sex in year 5 of either sex with classes sizes of about 27 and 2 classes per school that makes roughly 20,000 classes of boys and girls. You could offer free tickets to the winner of every primary school sports day boy and girl for years 4,5 and 6 nationally to a similar event and make it relevant to young athletes. A bit of innovation around Tennis clubs their coaches and volunteers co-ordinating transport where there is a will there is a way.

Born2WinTennis · Club Coach

That's a great idea, a pair of Wimbledon tickets to each primary school in the country on the proviso that they hold a sports day involving a tennis competition.

Born2WinTennis · Club Coach

Or perhaps two pairs, one pair to the winner and guardian and one pair to the teacher that organises the competition. I actually did suggest this to the LTA as part of my organisation of the Hertfordshire Y7&8 and Y9&10 competition. One teacher (non-PE teacher) was retiring and had organised their high schools tennis teams for around 30 years and I thought it would be a nice gesture to offer him a pair of Wimbledon tickets. What struck me, is these are volunteer roles in the schools, they don't get paid any extra and for a school to have a tennis team it requires an interested member of staff, to perform extra duties, arranging fixtures, driving mini-buses etc. It's a very very important role in this country and currently they are not rewarded in any way.

Oakland2002 · All-time great

It wouldn't have to be a tennis competition you want to expose the best runners and jumpers to tennis in the hope they will like it and want to be the next Evo!

Priesty · Challenger level

Oakland2002 wrote:
It wouldn't have to be a tennis competition you want to expose the best runners and jumpers to tennis in the hope they will like it and want to be the next Evo!

Hopefully emulating his better qualities wink

EddietheEagle · County player

No earth-shattering developments or interesting insight to report then, it would seem.

skibbarriz · Strong Club Player

So, how did the meeting go? Your impressions of the new guy?

(Assuming this meeting was real)

Topemp · Strong Club Player

Sorry for not coming back on after the event.

The meeting (dinner) was very good. Scott comes across very professionally, as you would expect, and listened well, as well as spoke succinctly and impressively.

On the subject of number of tournaments he was of the view (which I am sceptical about) that tournaments are not as good a way of getting value for our pros as funding their trips abroad. Although my argument was somewhat undermined by recent GB Futures events that we didn't do great in.

He felt that the balance of the number of events we had had shrunk too much, though didn't seem to suggest that it should be back into the 20's.

We didn't discuss Team Tennis in detail, but he doesn't see the clubs as the right route for elite player development wants to see clubs building the base of the pyramid (particiption) and then regional hubs where players who have been identified as having ability will be directed to.

We discussed many of the issues that Tennis faces in comparison to Rugby, Football and Cricket in competing for best young talent.

I raised the issue of bonus payments for pros and this is all a part of a new review that will be announced soon. He said the report was done before he started but he asked for it to be held back until he was properly in post because he needed to be happy with the content, but he is basically in agreement with the findings, and this will form the basis of the future plans.

Whilst Andy is still very much focused on returning to the court, the LTA and his team are also turning their minds towards his legacy, and in that light I am pushing (at a relatively open door) in pushing for their to be an ATP: Main tour event in Scotland (probably Glasgow) which I raised in parliament a couple of weeks ago. I see the announcement of 2 challengers as a very positive development.

We spoke about the NTC, though can't honestly recall what came of that. Tennis is doing well in participation figures compared to most sports (numbers fairly static) but most major sports are falling.
I'm sure there was other stuff but can't recall it off the top of the head, but I had positive impression of Scott overall.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Great to get the feedback, Topemp.

Tx

paulisi · Tennis legend

Thanks Toby - just need to behave in PMQs now smile smile

JonH · All-time great

Topemp wrote:
Sorry for not coming back on after the event.

The meeting (dinner) was very good. Scott comes across very professionally, as you would expect, and listened well, as well as spoke succinctly and impressively.

On the subject of number of tournaments he was of the view (which I am sceptical about) that tournaments are not as good a way of getting value for our pros as funding their trips abroad. Although my argument was somewhat undermined by recent GB Futures events that we didn't do great in.

He felt that the balance of the number of events we had had shrunk too much, though didn't seem to suggest that it should be back into the 20's.

We didn't discuss Team Tennis in detail, but he doesn't see the clubs as the right route for elite player development wants to see clubs building the base of the pyramid (particiption) and then regional hubs where players who have been identified as having ability will be directed to.

We discussed many of the issues that Tennis faces in comparison to Rugby, Football and Cricket in competing for best young talent.

I raised the issue of bonus payments for pros and this is all a part of a new review that will be announced soon. He said the report was done before he started but he asked for it to be held back until he was properly in post because he needed to be happy with the content, but he is basically in agreement with the findings, and this will form the basis of the future plans.

Whilst Andy is still very much focused on returning to the court, the LTA and his team are also turning their minds towards his legacy, and in that light I am pushing (at a relatively open door) in pushing for their to be an ATP: Main tour event in Scotland (probably Glasgow) which I raised in parliament a couple of weeks ago. I see the announcement of 2 challengers as a very positive development.

We spoke about the NTC, though can't honestly recall what came of that. Tennis is doing well in participation figures compared to most sports (numbers fairly static) but most major sports are falling.
I'm sure there was other stuff but can't recall it off the top of the head, but I had positive impression of Scott overall.

Thanks for the feedback Toby. As an aside, I see from wiki (can we ever believe wiki!?) that you are friends with Jonny Marray? I often wondered, the story of Jonny winning Wimbledon in 2012 is one of those remarkable stories that has never really been told or properly exploited - what am amazing story when you think about it and, in effect , from nowhere to the biggest win they could imagine and back to relative obscurity. Do you know if Jonny has ever thought of writing the story of it in a book or has anyone ever thought of making a film of it?

I have a friend who is a football journo for the Guardian who has written several great books on Man city and FIFA, I bet he would be possibly interested or , if not, know of someone who could collaborate with Jonny on such a book. Just a thought.

Mark1968 · Intermediate Club Player

I'll second that JonH, that is a book I would want to read, a full autobiography from Jonny would be perfect. His win in 2012 is one of the greatest achievements in modern tennis.