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At A Love of Tennis, we believe tennis creates more than players. It builds confidence, creates connections, and develops leaders. Since 2003, A Love of Tennis has worked to create welcoming community spaces where children, youth, and adults can learn, grow, and belong through sport. While tennis skills are an important part of our programs, some of the most meaningful outcomes happen beyond the baseline. Every year, we see participants, volunteers, instructors, and community members build confidence, develop leadership skills, and discover new ways to give back. One of the best examples of this journey is Matti. From Summer Student to Certified Tennis Instructor. Matti first joined A Love of Tennis as a summer student through the Summer Student Grant Program. With previous tennis experience from playing in high school, she helped support our programs, worked with participants of all ages, and quickly became a valued member of the team. After returning for a second summer, Matti discovered that what she enjoyed most wasn't simply being on the tennis court. It was teaching, mentoring, and helping young players develop their skills and confidence. A major part of the summer student experience is providing students with opportunities to gain practical experience in their field of study. As a marketing student, Matti was also able to apply her skills through projects that supported the organization, including creating graphics using Canva and helping develop content for our Instagram account. These opportunities allowed her to build professional experience while contributing to our efforts to connect with the community. Reflecting on her experience, Matti shared: "My experience working at A Love Of Tennis has been a significant part of my life. It provided me with an amazing job, helped develop my passion for teaching and allowed me to gain experience in the field I am in. Ultimately, this job helped me secure my first full-time job because it not only gave me teaching experience that led to other teaching jobs, but also experience in marketing, which is what I do today. I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for working here." After two summers of working with participants, developing her coaching skills, and discovering a passion for teaching, Matti expressed an interest in pursuing her Tennis Canada Instructor Certification. Recognizing her commitment to the program and her potential as a leader, A Love of Tennis encouraged and supported her as she took that next step in her tennis journey. The certification process required dedication, preparation, and a renewed focus on developing her technical skills. For Matti, it was an opportunity not only to deepen her knowledge of the sport, but also to continue growing as a coach, mentor, and leader within the community. "Earning my instructor certification was very meaningful to me, considering it meant all my hard work studying and teaching for two years paid off. Before working here, I had a big break from playing tennis since competing on my high school tennis team, so it felt like I had to relearn techniques and skills. Not only did earning my certification mean my hard work paid off, but most importantly, it meant I could continue to support such an amazing organization that employed me for two years, but this time as a volunteer." Matti's journey reflects something we see time and time again at A Love of Tennis: When people are given opportunities to learn, contribute, and lead, they often discover strengths they didn't know they had. What began as a summer job evolved into a leadership journey, one that has allowed Matti to continue giving back to the organization and community that became such an important part of her life. Leadership Can Start at Any Age While Matti's story is unique, the path she followed is one many of our volunteers begin to explore. Each year, participants return as teen volunteers, often completing their high school community service hours while helping younger players learn the game. This year, several participants from our older Slice (age 12+) groups stepped into volunteer roles with younger children, gaining valuable experience in communication, patience, teamwork, and leadership. For many young people, volunteering becomes their first opportunity to mentor others, lead activities, and build confidence in themselves. Whether they realize it or not, they are developing skills that will serve them well in school, future careers, and their communities. The Power of Giving Back One of Matti's favourite parts of working with A Love of Tennis was seeing participants grow over time. "I have so many special moments from working at A Love Of Tennis, such as hearing the kids call me 'Miss Matti' to having a camper make me a card saying she wants me to come back next year." "I really enjoy seeing kids progress week after week and year after year. It is my favourite thing when a kid comes to show me the skills they have worked on and how much passion they have developed for the sport through the program. Without A Love Of Tennis, these kids might not have been able to try the sport, which makes it so impactful to see kids become passionate about tennis." Her experience speaks to something that lies at the heart of our mission. While introducing children to tennis is important, creating opportunities for personal growth, connection, and belonging is equally meaningful. The impact of A Love of Tennis extends far beyond the court because of the people who choose to invest their time, talents, and energy into helping others succeed. A Community Built by Volunteers As a charitable organization, A Love of Tennis depends on volunteers in many different capacities. Some help maintain our courts. Others assist during programs. Parents support events and activities behind the scenes. Teenagers gain experience while completing volunteer hours. Certified instructors volunteer their time to help participants develop both tennis and life skills. We've also seen adults discover tennis later in life and pursue instructor certification so they can support the next generation of players. Whether someone is a teenager gaining experience, a parent looking to get involved, or an experienced player wanting to share their knowledge, there are many ways to contribute. The common thread is simple: a willingness to give back. Looking Ahead As A Love of Tennis continues to grow, we are excited to create even more opportunities for participants, volunteers, and community members to develop leadership skills both on and off the court. Matti's story reminds us that every leader starts somewhere. Sometimes it begins with a first tennis lesson. Sometimes it begins with volunteering. Sometimes it begins by simply saying "yes" to an opportunity. As we plan for next season, we would love to hear from anyone interested in getting involved. Whether you're a student looking to gain experience, a parent wanting to help out, a tennis player interested in coaching, or someone who believes in making sport accessible to all, there is a place for you in our community. Because at A Love of Tennis, we're doing more than teaching tennis. We're building leaders, one court at a time. 
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"I like how not only do we get to actually do some of the training, but we also at the end of the day get to play games and have more of that competitive side," says 15 year-old Andres, a player who came to the camp on more than one occasion.
Throughout June and July's scattered storms, heat and air quality warnings, the majority of kids like Andres in the Slice category, still choose to show up to tennis camp. Many bring their own racquets as they excitedly step onto court to rally with friends or the instructors before 9 AM, when the warm up is scheduled. They come prepared. Many are decked out in hats or visors, big jugs of water are carried by some and quite a few bring gadgets like spray bottles or hand held electric fans. The kids are ready to start the day, despite the scorching sun. From 9:00-9:30, the kids do warm up games and activities. Once it hits 10:00, the drills begin, with lessons ranging from groundstroke basics to serves or volleys, with games aiming to strengthen skills also scattered in. At 11:00, the teens are grouped into teams and play team tennis until noon. Team tennis is an activity where the children play doubles against one another and accumulate points, the number of points being based on match wins and losses. By the end of the week, the team with the most points wins the first place prize, a decorated ball trophy with gold accents. Teams who won 2nd, 3rd and 4th place also receive them, but in different colours. This award ceremony also includes ball trophies for Most Valuable Player, Most Improved Player and the Sportsmanship award. Some prefer the games while others like to compete. Andres says he likes both. "I'm really competitive in a lot of things, so I really like the games, not only team tennis; I like to play with the coaches." In terms of games, the one most of the teenagers ask to play every time is 'jailbreak,' a game that exercises both groundstroke technique and aiming but also keeps them entertained. The objective is to hit the ball over the net and inside the court, otherwise they must catch balls coming from their friends on the coach's side of the net, with the coach being free to change the rules or make variations to the game at any time. James, a frequent camp participant and often a fierce competitor, says he prefers team tennis over the games and drills. "Because I get to play against my friends, with my friends and get used to game experiences in tennis," he says. Chloe, 12, who enjoys playing tennis alongside her passion for crocheting, says her preference goes towards the drills and games. "It helps you learn and it's also fun," Chloe says as she recounts the team tennis experience being a little stressful in comparison. When it's time for team tennis however, most of the kids are elated, with it being hands on deck by the time the instructors start building teams; all of them huddle close around the picnic table, barely touching shoulders with the coaches, as they lean over to peek at the paper listing their names. Some jubilate when they realize their friend is on the same team, while others sigh in frustration when that isn't the case. Clearly this activity is a big deal. The kids call out to their favourite coach to act as umpire for their match, while others choose to count the score using the mounted scoreboards on their own. In almost all occasions, surprisingly, the teenagers don't cheat so often and they do not mind playing with and against those they've never socialized with before. Their eyes are focused and their serves well calculated; the kids truly enjoy the sport, especially when it comes to match play, with most of the kids quickly rotating on and off the court for a sip of water, many having just finished their matches wishing to play again. Besides team tennis, Andres reflects on what he likes about the camp in particular. "I really like how there's a variety of kids from different ages and how the coaches are really welcoming," he says. Their love for the sport and for the camp itself is evident by the way they behaved. Danielle, who organized the camp and created the 12+ age category believed this was an excellent way to get kids active again and to get them off their phones. Most intriguingly, this worked. Very rarely did any of the kids pull their phones out of their bags during water or lunch breaks, as most of them chose to socialize or wait patiently instead. Even in the sweltering heat, the teens ran to every ball, followed coaches back on court after breaks and participated in picking up the balls with only few showing reluctance. Most importantly, despite a good portion of kids being experienced in tennis, having been coming every summer, a sizeable amount did not. After having access to the sport by participating in the morning camp, those without such experience proved to be decent players themselves, as a lot of them showed great improvement in a matter of days. This is what such a program can do. All in all, even with only a few more weeks remaining, the teenagers continue to come to the Hillcrest courts, whether from a long walk, a bike ride or from a parent's car. Virtually all of them want to come to play, so the camp ensures they get that opportunity. After leaving nursing at CHEO's neo-natal ICU, Danielle knew she wanted to continue serving the community, but by "creating something great," she said.
Driving past Hillcrest High's abandoned tennis courts every day, courts once loved back in the 1960's, Danielle had an idea: why not serve the community through sport? Whereas most people would choose to make a tennis club out of available courts, she knew through experience how clubs often have an air to them, restricting their facilities to people who can pay for lessons and courtside fees. Thus creating a financial barrier to the sport and not being open to the community at large. Instead of making a profit from developing the courts into a club, Danielle decided to do the opposite: to create Ottawa's first and only grassroots tennis charity, giving anyone and everyone the chance to play tennis. Speaking with the principal of the high school, both settled on a lease agreement, where Danielle and the team would use and maintain the courts and the school would own the site and let its kids use it during school hours. In 2003, she secured the Ontario Trillium Foundation grant and received $33,000 to resurface the decades-old courts. This spoke to her resilience in achieving her long-term goal of giving everyone from all walks of life the opportunity to play tennis, even if it meant putting in the work to revitalize long neglected courts. Shortly after Hillcrest, she expanded her charity, as Ridgemont Highschool also opened their two courts to Danielle and was resurfaced as well. Nearly a decade later, Danielle tried to figure out how to operate her ambitious plan: to give women and children the ability to play the sport for free through charitable donations, enabling them to build their confidence through learning tennis skills and match play, as well as promoting tennis as a sport. To do this, she hired high school students and scoured the city to find people with tennis experience to coach lessons, invited volunteers, high school volunteers included, to lend a helping hand, applied for more grants to upkeep the space and paid insurance to maintain its operations among many more initiatives to kickstart it. To truly achieve her goal, her charity needed to reach charitable status. After three years of waiting, in 2012, A Love of Tennis finally received such a status. However, not everything came easy, but Danielle never gave up, keeping her charity operational through it all. This was evident from frequent program schedule changes, as some years were more chaotic than others. Even worse, when COVID-19 raged on through multiple summers, programs were halted altogether, losing precious time to give people the chance to play. After COVID restrictions lifted, the charity had to be promoted all over again and it was a challenge to get it going. Now, A Love of Tennis proudly provides a variety of programs and events all spring and summer. With a donation based model, free tennis lessons are given to children aged 5 through 17, all with particular names categorized by age, women's beginner and intermediate lessons are provided to women of all ages, school programs on and off site are organized, tennis camps and tournaments are hosted, adult leagues are scheduled and team tennis leagues are created for kids. Although busy, the charity continues to have a myriad of opportunities open to all, with registrations filling up early and waitlists existing every year. In addition to A Love of Tennis, Danielle created Tennis on the Streets, a local initiative to provide tennis lessons to children of low-income families who do not often have the means or transportation to participate in sports or commute to sports facilities. Furthermore, through her collaboration with Tennis Canada's Girls. Set. Match. program, she has provided all-girls league programs and encouraged multiple women into becoming female tennis coaches and receive coaching certification. As a result of her passion for tennis and her perseverance lasting over two decades, opportunities have finally come along. Just this spring, she was invited to participate in the inaugural Women Who Rally leadership cohort, a 10-month learning program for women tennis coaches with Danielle being one of only 20 women chosen worldwide. What's more, in August, the courts at Hillcrest will be resurfaced to improve play as a result of successful grant applications. In addition, after years of not having lighting on court, Danielle finally received an Ontario Trillium grant of nearly $70,000 to update the lights in the fall to extend programming into evenings. After 23 years since A Love of Tennis' founding, creating tennis opportunities for all through thick and thin, a lot has been achieved thanks to Danielle and her family pushing for the charity's continued existence. Six hard courts have been refurbished, 10,000 volunteer hours were put forth by the community, a total of 12,000 children participated in programming, six coaches were certified as instructors by Tennis Canada, 10 schools were given tennis equipment and training as well as incorporating the sport into their physical education, 100% of participants improved their physical literacy scores and 85% retained participation. Most importantly, besides the charity's milestones and personal achievements, it has touched the lives of so many people, something Danielle herself has made sure to promote. From giving children of all backgrounds and incomes the chance to play the sport and gain the confidence to play sports in general, providing mothers time for themselves, making youth players and coaches feel like they can achieve something, to even just giving people of all ages the ability to lead a healthier lifestyle, A Love of Tennis has done more for the community than Danielle has ever hoped for. "Where one door closes, another opens," Danielle said, referring to how post-retirement she was able to create a lasting impact on the community long after her nursing career. From saving lives, to changing them, she believes it's important to put the community first. That comes from giving people a taste of tennis, the world's healthiest sport, for free. friday's girls. set. match. tournament pushed on despite the rain: how girls still came to play6/21/2026 It's 4:00 P.M. and all four Hillcrest courts are shiny because of the storm that happened minutes ago. Leaf blowers are used to dry out puddles. Rags and tennis court squeegees try their very best to dry out the surface. Parents with their children start putting down their things under the roof and just when the courts look dry enough, it rains again, and hard. But no one gives up. The rain is seen as only a minor setback, so the tournament is pushed to 5:00 P.M. instead. Although the rain continued throughout the rest of the evening, it got light enough for the team to start drying the courts again and for some matches to be played. Despite the rain coming down in waves, parents with their kids still made sure to make their way to the courts, with smiles on their faces. While the courts were being dried, girls in categories ranging from U12 to U18 got a hold of gift bags, a starter kit for making new friends. Some came all the way from Montreal with hopes of participating in the OTA tournament, while some, if not most, were A Love of Tennis' very own program participants. Even with the variety of ages and differing background, the girls still mingled under the dry roof. In the gift bag, among other items like t-shirts, markers and stickers, was a little information booklet with many useful pages inside. On most of the pages were questions with dedicated writing space. Questions like 'if you were to change one rule in tennis, what would it be?' or 'what other sports do you play? Rate them out of five stars.' But what really got the girls moving from one picnic table to another, was the booklet's bingo page. Featured on the bingo page was a plethora of qualities and traits girls must find in other players to check off on their bingo squares. Traits like 'someone with long hair' or 'someone who isn't afraid of spiders,' as examples. Although the booklet was a fun socializing exercise, the tournament still had to go on and even with the constant drizzle, the players were determined to win. All four courts were used and to make it so that all girls could participate, the original match schedules were abandoned and score objectives shortened, with it being best to 10 points for younger players and best to four tennis games total for older or more advanced girls. For safety reasons, girls were allowed to let the ball bounce twice (or more for younger girls) before hitting. In addition, pylons were placed carefully around deep puddles to ensure no one was stepping in them. The energy was competitive, to say the least. Girls of all ages happily announced their scores after winning a match and many screamed in happiness or disbelief upon winning or losing pivotal points. Even though wet balls had to be replaced often with dry ones, and the court, being increasingly slippery, got some close calls, not one girl wanted to call it a day, speaking to their will to win matches. Eventually, the tournament had to be called in early because the rain's intensity started up again. So, instead of ending at 8:30 as planned, it ended at 7:00 P.M., with a few younger players finishing up their jungle tennis-style matches past that time. And the young players really enjoyed it, just like the rest that day. Sprinting towards the baseline, a player's eyes were focused intensely on the falling ball, their teammate cheering them on, calling out their name with conviction. On another court, racquets clashed together as girls yelled at each other, saying "got it" or "you got this!" They didn't notice that the balls got muddier or that the court got more slick. Whatever the score, the age or the skill level, what all the girls had in common was their striving for success and the enjoyment they had for playing the sport. That was why they came out on Friday, even with the rain pouring. Fortunately, A Love of Tennis didn't end up cancelling or postponing the tournament, like what most places would have done. Instead, Danielle, Ashley and the team thought, they must give these girls a chance to play, even if the chance only lasts a short while. After all, there is always time for tennis.  A group photo with all the participants of the Girls. Set. Match. tournament. At the end of the day, all the girls came together under the light drizzle to capture the moment.  Participants from the tournament, A Love of Tennis' very own, gather under the roof to play some bingo. In the meantime, the team tries to dry the courts a second time in preparation for match play.  Participants of the U12 category play a jungle tennis-style match just before the tournament gets called off.  Danielle (left) and Ashley (right) determine which team will play against whom.  Girls in the U16 category play a match on court 4 during a period when the rain ceased momentarily.  Danielle gives an introductory speech to the girls right before the tournament starts.  Participants from the U16 category shake racquets after an intense match.  U12 teammates congratulate each other by touching racquets after a hard fought point.  Danielle awards a participant with a medal after two hours of non-stop competition.  A competitor of the U18 category serves in during a period of heavy rainfall. After over an hour of competition, playing doubles and kings of the court, the teenagers gather under the shade of the roof, huddled around the picnic tables. Today is the final day of the Slice program and the kids, previously leaving on their own at different times, are now together, listening to Danielle announce the winners from the past few weeks of match play. Little white boxes are handed out to a few and claps can be heard from fellow participants. Winners smile shyly while their friends jokingly encourage them. On the boxes are inspirational messages and the logo featured at the top. When the box is opened, a newly decorated, bedazzled tennis ball can be seen. Rhinestones of gold, silver, bronze or other colours line the seams and words like "grace," "play," or "believe in yourself," are written all over, the words aligning with ever-changing themes. Danielle believes a tennis ball's journey doesn't end after it's been used. Instead of flooding garbage cans and landfills, the used balls become cheaper alternatives to trophies and medals. This is the ball program. Compared to a plastic trophy, these balls are more impactful. When a kid receives a ball, not only do they read the motivational messaging featured on it, they also feel a sense of achievement in the sport, by being given the very thing that defines it. "Jack carried his around forever-even had it in his bed with him," Danielle recounts as balls were handed out to the winners of younger child and adult programs, as the spring schedule came to a close. Each ball is carefully decorated by hand, using hot glue guns, pens and sparkly ink. Every ball has a unique design, with some having drawn-on smiley faces and other distinct characteristics. At the end of the congregation, the winners are photographed with their new, white boxes with smiles on their faces, indicating a sense of achievement. Children and adults will keep these as mementoes of their hard work, even as the years go by. Pictures below: Top left shows four boys of the Love program happily unboxing their ball trophies. Beside (top right) is a photo capturing the moment when Danielle hands over a box to a Slice program winner with the rest of the teens watching. Bottom left photo shows Danielle handing out boxes to participants of the adult program. The bottom middle photo captures Danielle announcing the winners in the Slice program with the kids listening intently. The bottom right picture shows the winners from the Slice program proudly showcasing their ball trophies on court.
Below is a photo of Danielle Smith (left), Founder and Director of A Love of Tennis, picking up balls with Oksana (right), participant in the women's intermediate program. The women of the program mention the sense of community they feel once they step foot on the court, thanks to Danielle, Ashley and the all-female space which brings them together.  "There's a tendency to believe that keeping active later in life, especially through sports, is more like a male thing, and women are kind of regulated to maybe stretching or yoga," says Darlene, a participant of A Love of Tennis' women's intermediate program.
She was introduced to tennis in childhood, but as she explains, it was her father that was playing more often. Now, she plays both tennis and volleyball and finds there are distinct differences between the two sports. "With my schedule, I can't always commit to a team," she says. "It's nice to be able to have the option of having an individual sport where I really just have to manage mine or a partner's schedule, as opposed to being committed to a fixed day a week and if I'm not available, I'd be letting a team down." Another difference between a team sport like volleyball and a single sport like tennis, is the different kind of health benefits tennis offers. "It moves different parts of your body around, tennis is more sprinting, fast takes, sudden moves, kind of side to side (...) so it's a lot of power that's needed, but also a lot of control," Darlene explains. "Definitely a great cardiovascular workout and to compare to something like volleyball, where you're spending quite a bit of time waiting for the ball (...) it's not as consistent running around after the ball." With the women's intermediate program in particular, participants themselves describe the enjoyment they get out of playing the sport after working hours in a virtually all-women's setting. Once a week, women of every level get onto the courts and play for an hour and a half, teaming up with and playing against other women before the sun sets. Cheers and laughs are often heard as some apologize for producing a drop shot "on purpose," while others make jokes from across the net, saying "I think she's done this before." The joyful atmosphere is palpable. During every water break, groups come together, introducing themselves, talking about their families or work. Oksana, another participant of the intermediate program, explains how participating has given her something to look forward to. "Just to have like on Tuesday at six o'clock to go somewhere. I organize my day, I look forward to it (...) the ladies are amazing." "I love it because I get to meet amazing people from all walks of life," she says. Rena, another intermediate participant from Oksana's group, explains how the program makes her feel more welcomed compared to a traditional tennis club. "It's less intimidating perhaps, and you still get the same value and benefits out of the coaching without the kind of prestige; it's more relaxed," she says. Darlene in particular appreciates how the all-women's program makes her feel more comfortable. "There are some women who prefer to be in a women's only section, either because they might feel intimidated by males being around or you might be more aware of your body," she explains. "It's just one less thing that we have to think about. We can just think about ourselves as women, taking care of ourselves." Darlene mentions how public gyms feel like places where women frequently worry about being looked at and feel, especially with sports like powerlifting for example, as though men might compare themselves to women in terms of strength or fitness. Out here on the Hillcrest courts, women can hit the ball as hard as they want and celebrate points won. With a lot of the women being in their 30's and 40's, schedules get complicated and those who are mothers find they look out for others before taking care of themselves. A Love of Tennis' women's beginner and intermediate programs help them take time off during the week and just be themselves. "Even when we have free time, we kind of deal with that guilt of maybe 'oh I should be doing something else' ," Darlene says . "When you sign up for a sport like tennis in a women's league, it actually forces you to not think about anyone else. I can't be playing and running after balls when I am thinking about schedules or lunches or whatever it might be." Rena, whose daughter participates in the First Love program, says tennis is a sport that teaches life lessons and helps build character across all ages and programs. "Building that confidence, learning how to swallow your pride sometimes and come back from losses, so it's a great life sport." Rena, Oksana and Darlene all believe that tennis is a sport that can be played for life, addressing its ability to strengthen not only the body, but the mind as well. Oksana's father in particular, who was in his 70's, still played the sport with friends. "My father was like 76 years old and was still spending five hours on the tennis court," Oksana recounts, as she also wishes to continue to play far into the future. Even if the score is 0-6 by the end of the session, the women still leave the courts with big smiles and some even walk away in pairs. With the women's league, it's not about being the best player on court or being the quickest learner of tennis skills, it's about having fun, maintaining good health and making lasting connections, all while being surrounded by other women just like you. Not as many Ottawa children know much about tennis. Here's how a love of tennis changes that.6/8/2026  A group of kids from Vincent Massey Public School gather in front of the practice wall after their lesson.  Kids from Vincent Massey Public school learn to control the ball for the first time during the warm up.  Children engage in the "alley rally" activity, where each of them try to bounce the ball to their partner within the double's alley.  Coaches teach the children how to alley rally.  One group of kids line up on the double's line, awaiting instructions for the next activity. It's past noon at the Hillcrest courts and the last group of 20 to 40 middle schoolers line up at the double's line in the Monday heat. Up to half the crowd on average raise their hands when asked how many played tennis before.
"I play tennis with my family," some say. "I play at the public courts near where I live," another exclaims. Names like Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams are thrown around as kids nod their heads at the question: do you know of any famous players? In the Alta Vista community, quite a few children claim to have basic tennis knowledge or experience, but how many children throughout the rest of the city can say the same? The short answer: not so many. Anna, teacher at Vincent Massey Public School and a former participant in the women's intermediate category, had her class participate in A Love of Tennis' school program, a program where during times outside of their regular scheduling, the organization provides free courtside tennis lessons for children attending nearby schools, with the help of the public's donations. The program introduces kids to tennis during gym class hours. Anna explained how a number of the children she teaches were not aware of nearby public tennis courts, particularly the Hillcrest courts they were walking to, even with a portion of them claiming to have experience. "They thought we were going on a bus, for example," she said. "So now (after participating in the school program) they know the courts are right here." Their lack of knowledge of existing tennis spaces makes sense. According to the City of Ottawa's website detailing clubs and partnerships for sports and fitness, only 15 dedicated tennis clubs exist in the city, with 13 of them being seasonal outdoor facilities and merely two being indoor. The Ottawa Athletic Club, a well-known indoor tennis and athletics club for over 40 years, closed down for good after COVID. Whereas in cities like Toronto and Montreal, dedicated clubs total up to 70 and 80 respectively. Anna explained why she wanted her class to participate in A Love of Tennis' school program, one of very few grassroots initiatives for tennis in the country. "I thought it would be a nice opportunity for them to be introduced to a sport that they may not have the opportunity to play," she said, admiring how A Love of tennis enables children to get a chance at playing the sport; an excellent way to introduce more kids to tennis, a sport not known for being economical. She recounted when she went in to enroll her son into private tennis lessons and the price was exponential. "I recently brought in my son for an assessment at a different club and it's a big consideration because of the price," she said, citing how up to $2000 of annual investment can be required to pay for lessons. So, the reason as to why not as many children in Ottawa play tennis may be because of the financial barrier, but is there more to it than just monetary obstacles? Anna noticed how big tournaments like the National Bank Open are not as popular when compared to other sporting events in the city, possibly hinting to a lack of tennis promotion. "Because it's so close for people in Ottawa to go (...) but people don't think to do that," mentioning how the tournament's Montreal location is not usually frequented by Ottawans. She also cited other reasons. "I find that it's not as accessible to watch, " she said. "You have to have certain channels you need to pay for in order to be able to access those games and a lot of the local sports pubs and bars won't put on matches unless you ask them directly." Considering these reasons for a lack of youth tennis involvement in Ottawa, the question is how can these obstacles be combatted? The answer is: it starts with exposure. Without being introduced to the sport first, children wouldn't know how much they could be enjoying it. For some kids on the court, tennis was a first-time encounter. While some groups started out saying tennis was "ok" or was believed to be hard, many later went on to practice bouncing orange balls on borrowed racquets well after sessions ended. When asked after the lesson what they thought about tennis, many children said "it was more fun than I thought." According to Statistics Canada and the Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Institute, by age 17, the number of girls staying in sport is cut in half. Even worse, less than 10 per cent of girls aged 12 to 17 meet the 60 minute daily exercise requirement, whereas boys the same age are four times more likely to meet it (33 per cent).
"Everyone feels so welcomed and safe here and it's just a good experience for everyone who comes through the door," says Danielle Smith, founder and director of A Love of Tennis. A Love of Tennis is an organization which has proudly dedicated itself to providing free tennis lessons for the community for over 20 years. Just recently, in alignment with Tennis Canada's Girls. Set. Match equity program, the charity has included initiatives to increase the number of women and girls participating in tennis and in sport at large. Among them is the "slice" program, a free, weekly tennis lesson designed for boys and girls aged 12 to 17 and is an hour and a half in duration. Smith intends to promote these lessons for more teenage girls, rather than boys in the area, as she believes adolescent girls are not walking through the doors as much. This is reflected in the high sport dropout rate, especially between the ages of 16 and 18. "There's a big gap between age 16 and 18 (...) they aren't playing; they quit," Smith says. "So that's what I'm working on changing." Emma, who plays both ringette and tennis, is a teenager who attends the lessons every week. She explains what she likes about the organization's slice program. "Anyone can just come and it's perfect for anyone learning to play tennis (...) and it's fun too," she says. Emma plays ringette, tennis and volleyball with her friends, but when comparing classmates, Emma says the boys in her class are more likely to participate in sports than the girls. "Most of them (girls) I know don't really do sports teams, they mostly do activities, but the boys do sports like soccer or running." Juliet, Emma's friend and a slice program participant who also plays ringette and tennis, explains why she likes the program. "I like it because it's not super long, it's just an hour and a half, and it's something to do on a night where I don't really have anything to do," she says. "Instead of being in bed, watching TV, I'm doing something active." According to data collected from Participaction, youth aged 12 to 17 are the most sedentary group of people, spending about 10 hours a day not doing anything active. A Love of Tennis challenges this by encouraging parents to register their kids into the program, with the lack of expenses aiding in bringing in new youth tennis players. Besides helping promote physical activity, Danielle believes there is a kind of social boost that comes from participating in free tennis lessons, something the teens tend to value. "It brings friends together, so they're social, and the girls especially like the social more than playing," she says. "We allow them just to be themselves, play with each other, you know, have fun." In addition to free weekly tennis lessons for adolescents, the organization hosts team tennis tournaments over the weekend, where children compete as a team against others, typically playing doubles. There they get a chance to make new friends, learn more about tennis rules and skills, as well as boost their self confidence. For girls who accumulated tennis experience, either from participating in A Love of Tennis' programs or from personal experience, they are given the opportunity to work or volunteer with the organization firsthand, either as instructors or helpers. Whether as a coach or a 'ball picker-upper,' girls get a chance to be directly involved in sport, even from simply giving tips on technique or helping kids find the right racquet size. Girls like Mariym and Rachel, who were both former participants turned instructors, took advantage of getting involved in tennis. Danielle spoke about how being involved can change a girl's life, highlighting Mariym's experience being around tennis and how that ultimately helped her in the long run. "She didn't know tennis at all when she came and she learnt it." "She learned to teach it and developed so much self confidence," she said. As seen with Mariym, Emma and Juliet, sport can evidently play a role in amassing social confidence and contributing to physical fitness, but what more can it do for young girls? To Emma, it can build character. "For sports, I'm more determined to do good or play my position well, so if I didn't play sports, I wouldn't be as determined," she says. "Also, it's really good for my mental state and can help for future struggles," Emma says as she explains how sport helped her learn how to accept losses and create resilience. To Juliet, sport teaches particular athletic skills she wouldn't have learned anywhere else, with emphasis on early childhood athletic development. "(Without sports) I wouldn't know how to do anything and it'd be hard," referring to how it would be challenging to participate in physical activities without sport as a precursor. Regardless of what skills or athletic abilities are learned or how many friends are made on the court, A Love of Tennis ensures all girls have a chance to continue active participation, renew it or even start it from scratch, with free weekly tennis lessons being just the beginning to combat the existing dropout rates. |
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