Tennis Canada is delighted to announce the inaugural recipients of the newly-established Game. Set. Equity. Community Tennis Grant presented by National Bank. Spanning six provinces, the eight initiatives selected will each receive up to $10,000 in funding from the commitment.

During October 2022, Tennis Canada received 24 grant applications from programs across the country. To be considered for the grant, applicants had to demonstrate their initiative focused on increasing coaching, officiating, participation, training or competition opportunities for women and girls in tennis. Following an extensive review and selection process, the successful applicants were informed in December.

“There are so many individuals and organizations across the tennis industry in Canada that are doing great work to elevate women and girls in tennis,” said Terri Temelini, Director of Women & Girls Advancement, Tennis Canada. “We know that we need to invest more in women and girls to achieve gender equity in tennis in Canada. The Game. Set. Equity. Community Tennis Grant presented by National Bank will provide resources for programs to provide even more women and girls with the opportunity to experience everything tennis has to offer. It is our hope that this investment will also strengthen and showcase community programs and entice more women and girls to stay involved in tennis long-term as athletes, coaches, officials, and leaders. We thank National Bank for their continued support and congratulate the eight recipients on their selection.”

In partnership with National Bank, Tennis Canada is committed to promoting equitable, inclusive and safe experiences in all areas of the sport, from increased participation to representation in leadership positions, commercial advancement and providing an equal voice for women and girls. The Game. Set. Equity. Community Tennis Grant aims to empower the tennis community in Canada to enhance tennis programming for women and girls.

The application process for the next round of grants will open in the coming months. For more information, visit the Game. Set. Equity. section of the Tennis Canada website, where – in the coming months – you will also be able to read the stories behind each of the 2022 grant recipients as part of a new content series.

INAUGURAL GAME. SET. EQUITY. COMMUNITY TENNIS GRANT PRESENTED BY NATIONAL BANK RECIPIENTS

Tennis Grassroots Programming | Edmonton Junior Tennis Society | Meadowlark, AB | January – March, 2023

Tennis Grassroots Programming aims to encourage, develop and support more women coaches and attract a higher proportion of girls to participate in EJTS competitive programs (tournaments, leagues). The grant will help them organize the TENNISfest 2023, in which they expect over 500 children and adults to participate.

“Edmonton Junior Tennis Society (EJTS) is pleased to have been selected as the recipient for the Gender Equity Grant. The grant will allow EJTS to offer TENNISfest 2023 and raise the profile of the sport of tennis and our active Edmonton area tennis community. Our Mission is to inspire kids to fall in love with tennis, while advancing the participation of girls and women.”

-Karina Trkulja, Executive Director, Edmonton Junior Tennis Society

Girls Set Match  | Tennis British Columbia | British Columbia | March – December, 2023

Girls Set Match will run British Columbia-wide with four distinct tournaments in four provincial zones. This tour will target girls ages U10, U12 and U14 – excluding top ranked players – to provide opportunities for girls to participate in events so they can gain experience and to encourage them to stay in the game. These tournaments will be run by women teachers and mentors.

“Receiving a gender equity grant from Tennis Canada provides Tennis BC the resources it needs to provide equitable and inclusive play opportunities for girls and women. The investment in girls’ initiatives has a direct impact on building stronger foundations to open doors for girls and women to see a future for themselves in the sport, as an athlete, coach, mentor and leader.”

-Jeannie Rohr, Director of Community Development & Coaching Certification, Tennis British Columbia

Mother-Daughter Tennis | Tennis Manitoba | Manitoba | February – August, 2023

The Mother-Daughter Tennis program will see participants sign up alongside their parent or guardian for sessions whereby they will spend one hour on court followed by one-hour coaching sessions. Coaches will identify up to four U12 girls to continue onto either the competitive stream or recreational stream pathways. The four girls selected will receive up to $500 to put towards an outdoor club membership and registrations fees for tournaments.

“This initiative really excites me as there are several layers to it. Once the program has been completed, it allows for participants to continue on a desired tennis pathway where further funding will be provided. The program itself has on-court and off-court elements to it. On court, level based skills will be taught. Off court, coaches will interact with participants in a casual setting over food and beverages to discuss the previous session.”

–Mark Arndt, Executive Director, Tennis Manitoba

GLG Tennis | Girls Leading Girls | Halifax, NS | January – May, 2023

GLG Tennis aims to provide an environment for girls to play and stay in tennis. The program supports diverse players and players who normally may not otherwise have the opportunity to play tennis. The program also helps support teenage players to continue to compete and mentor new players. Several of their programs dedicated to girls resumed in January and these serve a diverse group aged 8-14 years old. In March, they will host an event to showcase GLG Tennis, inviting tennis players from all four Atlantic provinces.

“We began this program with the idea of introducing more girls to a sport we all love. It has grown to be something a lot more special. We have significantly more players than ever before and we have a solid base of supportive competitive players. We are proud of the diverse group of players that GLG tennis serves. This grant gives us the opportunity to share our success with all of our sister provinces. We have a great group of competitive players in the Atlantic provinces. Currently we have few high performance female coaches and this grant affords us the ability to bring Laura Pola to the Atlantic provinces where all players can benefit and grow together.”

-Lillian Pappas, Co-founder, Girls Leading Girls

Girls on the Courts | A Love of Tennis | Ottawa, ON | January – December, 2023

Girls on the Courts aims to empower and inspire young girls and women to envision a future for themselves in tennis, whether playing, coaching or in leadership roles that make a positive impact in their lives and communities. Each of their initiatives divides time evenly between tennis lessons and team tennis.

“Thank you to Tennis Canada and National Bank for generously donating $10,000 to support increased opportunities for women and girls to participate in programming and creating next generation leadership opportunities for women. We at A Love of Tennis appreciate their contributions to our program, helping to create a healthier lifestyle for women and girls through tennis.”

–Danielle Smith, Founder, A Love of Tennis

Coaching Certification Stream | Jane Finch Community Tennis | Toronto, ON | January – June, 2023

The Coaching Certification Stream will expand its capacity in training and subsidizing women participants in obtaining their Instructor Certification and Community Tennis Facilitator status.  By leveraging professional development as the centerpiece, the program will support parents and guardians, especially from lower-income households, in seeing the value of women and girls’ participation in sports. For the women participants who are unable to obtain the playing and coaching competencies required to pass the Instructor Certification, they will be given the opportunity to participate in the Community Tennis Facilitator Training.

“The funding will provide an incredible opportunity to support the development of our female members as coaches and tennis facilitators. It is our belief that their successful certification will inspire and motivate other female participants to play and one day follow in their footsteps.”

-Alan Ma, Manager of Special Projects & Initiatives, Jane Finch Community Tennis Association

Recruitment Program | Philpott Children’s Tennis | Toronto, ON | March – September, 2023

Philpott Children’s Tennis’ Recruitment Program support young women from underserved and diverse communities to become certified instructors. Once certified, participants are offered paid employment as Philpott tennis instructors where they teach tennis in the neighborhoods where they grew up and act as role models and mentors to over 4,000 children currently enrolled in the Philpott summer programs. In 2022, more than 80% of their instructors were from underserved communities.

“Being a great coach is not about hitting tennis balls, it’s about inspiring the future of our sport. We are confident that the young women that we are training to become certified coaches will do just that. Our goal at Philpott Children’s Tennis is to ensure that every young girl that picks up a racquet in our program will have a strong female coach who inspires them to keep coming back for more! Coaching is just the beginning for these young women, by going through our coach development program, they are preparing themselves to be leaders in any industry or career they choose and along the way they will inspire future generation of young girls that they can do the same.”

-Richard Crowell, Executive Director, Philpott Children’s Tennis

EB Tennis Academy | EB Tennis and Modwellness | Dorval, QC | January – December, 2023

The mission of the EB Tennis Academy program is to create quality opportunities in tennis for women of all ages and abilities. Through initiation, inspiration and participation, they seek to help and support their women and girl coaches, athletes and students towards their own personal development. The funding from this grant will help them expand and diversify their programming for women and girls, support and encourage their women wheelchair tennis athletes, and assist with the certification of three female coaches.

“With three out of four of our senior coaches being women, we already embrace the value that women bring to our sport. This grant will help us create even more opportunities to bring positive tennis experiences to female coaches and players of all ages.”

-Etienne Bergeron, Co-Owner, EB Tennis and Modwellness

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