A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at the University of Alberta’s Savile Tennis Center and the Francois Godbout Tennis Club
Tennis Canada today unveiled the two most recently completed projects as part of Rogers’ year-round community tennis courts program. A community of 1.63 million community members in Edmonton, Alberta and Waterloo will now have access to tennis for 12 months a year thanks to the construction of air-supported domes over their existing courts.
Jointly funded by the Canadian Tennis Association and Rogers, the $5.6 million year-round community tennis courts program will make year-round tennis a reality for Canadians and help foster increased participation among youth. The program aims to build 160 indoor courts in up to 30 facilities by 2029. With the addition of Waterloo and Edmonton, in just the second year of the program, 26 tennis courts have been covered at five facilities in five municipalities spanning three provinces, with Another completed project will be unveiled in Stratford, Ontario later this month.
Home of the 2023 Canadian women’s university tennis champion Alberta Bandas, Saville Tennis Centre At the University of Alberta The new year-round facility consists of six courts and will serve Edmonton’s 1.54 million residents. Its model ensures the facility will make tennis accessible to a variety of players, from adults to juniors and students, while providing an additional 595 court hours per week during the winter months. This unique partnership between Tennis Canada, Rogers and a university on a major facility project demonstrates the viability of the Canadian university system for aspiring tennis players. Additional funding for this project was provided by long-time donor Bruce Saville and the Canadian Community Revitalization Fund.
“This new facility, which provides increased access to tennis for the community, students and athletes year-round, will help ensure tennis continues to thrive in Edmonton and at the University of Alberta,” said Andrew Sharman, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Alberta. Facilities and operations. “Of course, this is made possible by the continued commitment to excellence of the Canadian Tennis Association, Rogers and Edmonton philanthropist and long-time University of Alberta supporter, Bruce Saville.”
Waterloo, the first project to be completed in Quebec, has been confirmed as one of four municipalities to receive $200,000 in funding from Tennis Canada and Rogers in 2022. The new François Godbout Tennis Club Dome presented by Rogers is a product of the club’s strong partnerships. , Tennis Quebec, Tennis ENRJ and Tennis Canada, with major support from long-time donor François Godbout and the City of Waterloo as well as the participation of multiple schools across the region. Four courts in François Godbout Tennis Club It is covered by an air-supported dome and will serve 90,000 Canadians. As a result of this project, an additional 420 hours of winter playgrounds per week will be provided to the community with the goal of creating a high-performance program at the facility.
“We are pleased to be the first indoor court project in Quebec to be launched as part of Rogers’ year-round community tennis courts program,” said Norman Roching, President of the François Godbout Tennis Club. “Offering year-round tennis in Waterloo has been a project that has interested us for a very long time, and thanks to the support of many partners, this dream has become a reality. We are already looking forward to launching our first winter program and offering over 420 additional hours each week of tennis to the citizens of Waterloo.”
“I would first like to congratulate the club operators at the Saville Tennis Centre, the University of Alberta and the François Godbout Tennis Club,” said Michael Downey, CEO of Tennis Canada. “In only the second year of this program, we are seeing great results and the number of interested municipalities and clubs continues to grow. We would also like to thank Rogers for the seed capital funds they have provided. With more projects to be announced throughout the year next spring, this program is well on its way.” “To achieve its goal of providing more opportunities for Canadians to play 12 months a year. We encourage other communities and facility operators to explore potential projects in their municipalities.”
“Rogers is deeply committed to helping Canadians thrive through access to sport, including improving the facilities and communities in which current and future athletes can play,” said Tanya Whitty, senior director of sports partnerships at Rogers Communications. “It is an honor to work with the Canadian Tennis Association to grow participation through new indoor courts and connect youth to the sport they love year-round.”
Tennis Canada and Rogers’ investment in a year-round community tennis courts program addresses the fact that Canada currently lags behind other leading tennis nations in providing access to the sport 12 months per year. At the start of the program there were only 750 covered courts available to the public across the country, representing just one court for every 50,000 people. Collectively, the three facilities to be unveiled in Edmonton, Waterloo and Stratford will increase court time opportunities for their constituents by more than 1,500 hours per week. Previously, these outdoor courts were only unusable for 50-75% of the year.
As momentum for Rogers’ year-round community tennis courts program continues to grow, with 90% of Canadians agreeing that municipalities should work with Tennis Canada on this initiative, you can learn more about the program and email [email protected] Find out how You can help start a project in your area.
