Oceania Tennis Federation announces results of board elections

The Oceania Tennis Federation (OTF) has announced the results of its board elections following the organisation’s AGM, which was held virtually on Sunday 14 March.

With five of the eight positions on the board filled by women, the OTF have been praised for embracing the goals of the ITF’s Gender Equality in Tennis strategy, which aims to support women in leadership roles throughout the game. 

Vanuatu’s Cyrille Mainguy returns to the board as president, with Bruce Osborne, of Australia, appointed vice-president. Vicki Reid, also of Australia, who serves on the ITF’s Gender Equality in Tennis Committee, was elected to the OTF Board for the first time.

Along with other regional associations, the OTF have committed to supporting the ITF’s Gender Equality in Tennis strategy by implementing gender equality taskforces, reviewing legislature and nomenclature to remove gendered language, incentivising female participation at regional events, and encouraging their member nations to use ITF resources and toolkits to develop their own gender equality strategies.

The OTF is the second regional association to have elected a board including at least four women in recent months – last October, Tennis Europe’s member nations elected a board consisting of four men and four women, meaning the organisation had achieved gender balance at board-level for the first time.

This week’s news comes days after the ITF announced the creation of the ‘Advantage All’ Leadership Development Programme, which will see more than 100 women from national tennis federations around the world provided with networking and mentoring opportunities, as well as practical support and advice to help them overcome barriers and have fulfilling careers.

Next month, the ITF will host a new global forum, ‘Level the Playing Field’, which will be presented by tennis broadcaster Catherine Whitaker and feature special guest Billie Jean King. The event will bring together influential and inspirational individuals from sport and business to discuss proactive methods of achieving gender equality.

The full OTF board is:

Cyrille Mainguy (President)
Bruce Osborne (Vice-President)
Davina Hosking-Ashford
Vicki Reid
Terri-Ann Scorer
Torgun Smith
Barbara Stubbings
Florence Wasko