News

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — The USTA announced today eight winners of its annual Community Tennis Development Awards. The honorees will be recognized at an awards banquet before more than 600 community tennis leaders during the annual USTA Community Tennis Development Workshop held January 22-24, 2010 at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina in San Diego, Calif. It is the largest annual gathering of CTA/NJTL leaders in the country.

Here are the honorees:

2010 USTA Eve F. Kraft Community Service Award Winners:

The USTA bestows the Eve F. Kraft Community Service Award upon individuals who perpetuate Kraft’s selfless mission to bring the game of tennis to everyone who wants to play. Eve F. Kraft was a tennis pioneer whose ability to touch people’s lives exceeded the boundaries of the tennis court. As a teacher, coach, author, USTA staff member and volunteer, Kraft was a lifelong champion of recreational tennis in the United States until her death in 1999. She introduced thousands of young people to the game of tennis, particularly in disadvantaged communities.

2009 USTA/National Junior Tennis League (NJTL) Chapters of the Year Winners:

Arthur Ashe, along with Charlie Pasarell, and Sheridan Snyder, founded the NJTL network in 1969. Ashe envisioned NJTL “as a way to gain and hold the attention of young people in the inner cities and their poor environments so that we can teach them about matters more important than tennis.” Since then, NJTL has grown to over 550 chapters serving over 225,000 youth each year, making it one of the USTA’s largest community-based offerings. The USTA recognizes chapters and programs at three different budget levels to reward those organizations that are able to do more with less.

2009 Janet Louer USTA Jr. Team Tennis National Organizer of the Year Winner:

Lisa Bowen, Watkinsville, Ga.

The USTA bestows the Janet Louer USTA Jr. Team Tennis National Organizer of the Year Award upon an individual who positively influences children’s lives and substantially impacts their community. The award is named after Janet Louer, an individual who was instrumental in the development of junior tennis during her lifetime. As the administrator for USTA Jr. Team Tennis in Georgia, she built the state championships into the largest youth team tennis state championships in the nation. Her expertise also was utilized in the development of the section and National Championships for the program.

2009 USTA Adaptive Tennis National Community Service Award Winner:

Special Populations Tennis Program, Atlanta, Ga.

The USTA Adaptive Tennis National Community Service Award was established in 2003. To qualify for a program award, the program must have been in existence for a minimum of three consecutive years and be either a registered USTA Adaptive Tennis program or have a USTA Adaptive Tennis affiliation. To qualify for an individual award, the recipient must have worked with an Adaptive Tennis program for a minimum of three consecutive years.

2009 USTA National Community Tennis Association (CTA) of the Year Winner:

Lee County Community Tennis Association (Fla.)