South African junior tennis stars Lloyd Harris (Western Province) and Theresa van Zyl (Northern Cape) have been named for an ITF/GSDF Touring team which will compete in a series of junior tournaments during 25 April – 25 May 2014. The team is part of the ITF Development Programme, which is financed by the ITF and the Grand Slam® Development Fund (GSDF). The Team will be coached by South African Riaan Kruger, and the tournaments will include. The tournament schedule that Harris and Van Zyl will be participating in is as follows: DATE TOURNAMENT 28 April – 4 May Torneo Int’l Under 18 Salsomaggiore, Italy (G2) 6 – 11 May Int’l Juniors Tournament Citta Di Prato, Italy (G2) 12 – 17 May Torneo Int’l Citta Di Santa Croce, Italy (G1) 19 – 25 May Trofeo Bonfiglio, Milan, Italy (GA) During the period 1986 – 2013 over US$ 87 million has been invested by the ITF and the Grand Slam® nations in tennis development activities in 150 countries worldwide. In 2013, US$ 4.10 million was spent on the Development Programme with US$ 2.47 million being invested by the ITF and the balance of US$ 1.63 million contributed by the Grand Slam nations to the Grand Slam Development Fund. With the aim of raising the level of tennis worldwide and increasing the number of countries competing in mainstream international tennis, the Development Programme includes a broad range of initiatives in less developed countries ranging from the grass roots to Grand Slams. Activities include ITF/GSDF touring teams, funding for junior and professional tournaments, training centres, coaches education, the supply of tennis equipment and the ITF Junior Tennis Initiative – a 14 & under player development programme, which encompasses Tennis10s (School Tennis Initiative) and Performance Tennis Initiative programmes. Special emphasis has been placed on junior tennis where regional tournament circuits have been developed and teams of young players compete outside their own region. In 2013, 26 regional circuits were supported by the Development Programme providing much needed competition for the best players at 18, 16, 14, 13 and 12 & under age groups across the globe (Central America & Caribbean, South America, Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia and Pacific Oceania). Players who perform well at these regional circuits are invited to join an international touring team. The ITF/GSDF touring team programme aims to facilitate the transition of talented players through regional and international competitions and onto the professional ranks. In 2013, there were 23 ITF/GSDF Touring Teams involving 155 players from 63 different countries. Former ITF/GSDF Touring Team members include: Gustavo Kuerten (Brazil), Nicolas Massu (Chile), Nicolas Lapentti (Ecuador), Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi (India), Angelique Widjaja (Indonesia), Eleni Daniilidou (Greece), Younes El Aynaoui (Morocco), Paradorn Srichaphan (Thailand), Cara Black (Zimbabwe), Jarkko Nieminen (Finland), Florin Mergea (Romania), Marcos Baghdatis (Cyprus), Kateryna Bondarenko (Ukraine), Viktoria Azarenka (Belarus), Uladzimir Ignatik (Belarus), Ricardas Berankis (Lithuania) and Li Na (China). GSDF Travel grants are also awarded to talented players from developing nations for a specific programme of tournaments. In 2013, 32 players from 16 countries benefited from grants to play in events outside their country. In addition prize-money grants are awarded to assist developing nations with the hosting of entry-level professional events for men and women, to help provide competitive opportunities throughout the world. In 2013, the GSDF provided grants for eight weeks of Men’s professional events and nine weeks of ITF Women’s Circuit Events. Coaches education continues to be a priority for the Development Programme and with more and more ITF member nations keen to put in place their own coaches certification programme, the ITFs role is to help them become self-sufficient by helping to run courses, assessing coaches, selecting future course tutors and making sure the latest coaching information is easily accessible to them. To-date more than 80 countries worldwide are using the ITFs recommended Level 1 and Level 2 syllabi as part of their own programme. In 2013, 48 coaches courses were held (national and regional). The ITF’s coach education flagship event, the 18th ITF Worldwide Coaches Conference by BNP Paribas, was held in Cancun, Mexico November 2013. The biennial event attracted more than 800 coaches from 85 countries. All of the keynote presentations from the Worldwide Coaches Conference will be available on the iCoach website in order to allow coaches who were unable to attend the Conference to benefit from the expertise and knowledge of many of the world’s leading experts in high performance player development. The ITF Equipment Distribution Programme provides tennis equipment and educational materials to approved national programmes. During 2013 approximately 3,410 rackets, 1,500 mini-tennis bats, 95,880 balls as well as nets and strings were distributed to more than 80 countries worldwide. The implementation of many of the tennis development initiatives relies on the work of the 10 ITF Development Officers who are ‘out in the field’ advising and assisting National Associations on their activities. They each spend an average of 25 weeks on the road working with National Associations, players and coaches in more than 100 countries to develop the game: Amine Ben Makhlouf Development Officer, West/Central Africa Riaan Kruger Development Officer, Southern Africa Thierry Ntwali Development Officer, East Africa Cecilia Ancalmo Development Officer, Central America John Goede Development Officer, Caribbean Miguel Miranda Development Officer, South America Hrvoje Zmajic Development Officer, Europe Darran Wrighton Development Officer, Pacific Oceania Suresh Menon Development Officer, Asia Amir Borghei Development Officer, West Asia Francesco Ricci Bitti, President of the International Tennis Federation commented: We are delighted to be able to direct these funds specifically towards the development of competitive tennis and deeply appreciate that the Grand Slam nations are in a position to support our programme. It is fitting that these great tournaments, which are showcases of our sport and provide stability for the professional game, are able to help by some tangible means to extend the competitive frontiers of tennis. For further information on the ITF Development Programme and the Grand Slam Development Fund, visit itftennis Picture caption: Lloyd Harris Picture credit: EJ Langer Theresa van Zyl Picture credit: Reg Caldecott
Posted on: Fri, 18 Apr 2014 08:24:43 +0000
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