Nations reap benefits of ITF facilities grants
The ITF Facilities Grant Programme has contributed to the construction, maintenance and upgrading of national tennis facilities in 35 countries worldwide, distributing $1.4 million of funding over the past three years.
Since its introduction in 2017, the programme has provided funding for 42 projects, including 14 in 2019, with over half of the projects now either completed or currently in progress – from newly established National Tennis Centres to upgraded floodlights, to a new viewing platform at the ITF Regional Tennis Centre in Fiji.
Funding through the programme has risen to $1.4 million in its first three years, with $400,000 allocated to development projects since October 2018.
ITF member nations may apply for grants to establish a national training centre, to upgrade an existing training centre, or maintain current facilities, with a maximum grant allocation of $50,000 available. The committee then assesses the request against its guidelines, paying attention to the role of the proposed facilities in developing players in both the nation and the wider region.
The scheme forms part of the 2017-2020 ITF Development strategy, which encompasses a range of opportunities to achieve two core goals: increasing participation in tennis worldwide for all ages, genders, playing standard and physical abilities; and developing talented players, particularly those from nations that are both under-resourced and under-represented.
Of the completed projects funded since 2017, ITF Facilities Grants have been used to help establish a new National Tennis Centre in Portugal; to repair and resurface courts in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Myanmar and Tanzania; to upgrade floodlights in Colombia, Ecuador and Thailand; to convert court surfaces in Pakistan; and to build new courts in Bhutan and Eswatini.
Work is under way to establish a new NTC in Suriname; to build courts in Cambodia, Guam and Malta; to convert, resurface and/or carry out maintenance on courts in Bulgaria, Greece and Zimbabwe; and to replace lighting on courts in the Norfolk Islands and Peru.
Facilities are fundamentally important in providing more people with the opportunity to play tennis, and so adequate supply of tennis facilities in the right locations is essential.
ITF Facilities Grant applications must demonstrate how the proposed investment will contribute to the growth in tennis participation, provide training opportunities for talented players, and be used to host national, regional and international tournaments, while showing the need and demand for the project to ensure the ITF Development Department’s objectives are achieved and the facility is maintained to a high standard.
Upcoming projects which have received ITF Facilities Grant funding include the construction of 10 courts at Kenya’s new NTC, the addition of four courts to the upcoming NTC in Mozambique, as well as two courts at the NTC in Pakistan and six indoor courts in Ukraine.
Paraguay have received funding to help build a show court at their NTC, while Ireland will install three real clay courts with an irrigation system, and Thailand’s funding will go towards repairing and resurfacing the Centre Court at their NTC.