TENNIS SENIORS AUSTRALIA INC. - ANNUAL REPORT 2013

Transcription

1 TENNIS SENIORS AUSTRALIA INC. - ANNUAL REPORT 2013 Introduction The Executive of Tennis Seniors Australia Inc. (TSA) present their report on the activities of TSA for 2013, and the financial results for the year ended 30 September For the past year, the members of the Executive have been Reg Trevaskis (President) Enid Besant- Stanton Ryan (Vice President) Pat Moloney (Secretary) Peter Froelich (Treasurer) and Yvonne (Committee, and Competition and Events Manager). We have been very ably assisted by Ian Somers as Webmaster, and Gail Bates as Ranking Co-ordinator. Gail also maintains our statistical records. Robyn Castle resigned during the year as Publicity Officer - a position we are stilll looking to fill. The Executive met four times during the year - in Perth (January) Canberra (April) Brisbane (June) and Sydney (October). Four formal meetings a year seems to serve our purposes, although obviously we confer on many issues continuously by phone, or Skype. We coincide our meetings with major events in the tennis calendar, which gives us the opportunity to be present at these events, to meet with the State Senior Divisions Committees and State Member Associations (MA's) about plans and progresss and how we can work together more effectively. In addition of course, we are able to meet informally with many of the players present. This process has worked well for us this year, and it is proposed to continue it in the future. Overview Everything we do continues to be focussed on increasing membership and more importantly, participation in all State Divisions. To quote from our Business Plan - our view is that if we provide the correct tennis products or offerings across competitive and social play and market and promote these correctly participation numbers should increase. Increased participation can lead to increased membership, provided the membership package is priced correctly by the State Divisions, and is seen to provide value for money" We believe that we are having some success in this regard and that membership numbers, having been in decline for the previous 10 years, have turned the corner. Our Business Plan for is still current and we believe, relevant. This can be accessed at - go to "About us" and "TSA Executive news". One of our objectives is to increase our membership number to 4500 by Whilst an increase of over 1000 may seem ambitious, it should be viewed in this context. There are approximately 180,0000 names on the databases of the MA's around the country. If 50% of those or 90,000, are players aged over 35, that means we need only convert say 1.5% to seniors membership and we will have reached our target. With the co-operation of the State Divisions and the MA's, we continue to hold the view that this is achievable. Whilst all of our proposed strategies have received attention during the past year, perhaps the one that has been given the most focus has been that of lowering membership fees - working with State

2 Divisions to convince them that higher membership fees represent a "barrier to entry". Our aim was to reduce them to a more or less consistent level in all States, and to a level which we believe provides the basis for a sound value proposition for existing members, and which is attractive enough to entice new members. We are pleased to report that we have made good progress in this area. All State Divisions with the exception of WA now have a membership for Seniors only (not a club membership) of $20. I would have to say that at times this process has not been easy - our governance structure does not enable us to dictate to the State Divisions, so there has been much communication, discussion and persuasion - but we finally got there! We take this opportunity to congratulate and commend TSNSW who went further and have offered a nil fee for a first year of membership to new members. To date they have signed up over 400 new players with this campaign - what a wonderful result! Obviously their challenge now is to engage those new people and then convince them at renewal time, that a $20 fee represents value for money. As part of this program they have put on extra social days and events to introduce them to seniors tennis, and they will be on the mailing list for all tournament and social calendar activity. Well done TSNSW! We have tried to convince TSV to run a similar campaign, and received the promise of promotional support from Tennis Victoria to do so, but they have declined to follow suit. Our view is that Victoria has abundant tennis facilities, Tennis Victoria has the largest database of all MA's in the country, and TSV offers a good range of social and tournament events, so we believe that the potential to increase membership and participation in that State is enormous. We know there is a view in Tennis Australia, which is in line with their overall philosophy, that membership fees should be nil. However, anecdotal evidence suggests to us that Seniors have a "desire to belong" and indeed would prefer to pay a small fee rather than no fee at all. So at this stage that remains our position, although we may perhaps be encouraging the State Divisions to lower fees further in the years ahead as their financial circumstances allow. The PFP (pay for play) philosophy and the TSA participation levy Another strategy that has continued to absorb our efforts has been the continuation of the PFP trial in NSW and the ACT. At the outset let me thank TSNSW, and particularly President Mick Bruton and also Ian King, for their ongoing hard work on this program. Although we might not have agreed on every aspect of the trial, they always gave the process their full support irrespective of any of their personal views on the matter, and by doing so we have always been confident that the philosophy and the process could be robustly tested. On a smaller scale, Pat Moloney and his team in the ACT were also most supportive. In April 2013 we wrote a detailed "Terms of Reference" document to guide the completion of a comprehensive report on the trial, and in June, Graeme Sticka from TSNSW produced his independent report on the outcomes. We sincerely thank Graeme for his efforts in doing so - he interviewed or spoke to many interested stakeholders including State Presidents, Tournament Directors and players, and came up with some very informative conclusions. Perhaps one of the major problems identified was one of implementation and the expectation for the tournaments to collect and remit the levy to TSA, particularly the smaller events. As a result of that report, the levy has now been implemented in NSW, ACT, SA and Victoria. It has been termed the "TSA participation levy" and will apply at the rate of $2 per participation in all ITF and National Ranking Tournaments only i.e. if a player enters a tournament and plays in 3 events, then that represents one entry but 3 participations. The State Divisions rather than TSA will have

3 the responsibility of collection and they will on-remit to TSA. Queensland and WA have at this stage chosen not to participate and will instead continue to pay TSA $12 per registered member. We acknowledge that the levy system may well result in a lower revenue base for TSA in subsequent years, and the challenge for us is therefore to work with the State Divisions to lift participation numbers, manage our costs effectively, and seek other revenue sources such as sponsorship. Annual General Meeting 2013 The AGM was held mid-week during the 2013 Teams Carnival in Perth as per usual, and 36 attendees were present. Business proceeded smoothly, and one Constitutional change allowing electronic payments, was approved. The Executive were elected unopposed. During general discussion, some of the matters raised included the wisdom of holding the Teams Carnival and Individual Championships in January (a frequently discussed topic!) our relationship with the ITF, Tasmania's readiness to hold the 2014 event, and working relationships with the MA's. Selectors and selection criteria At the 2013 AGM the following selector appointments were announced: Senior Ladies Wendy Harrison (Vic) Narelle Follington (NSW) Kym Ireland (Qld) Brenda Foster (NSW) Senior Men Paul Kleverlaan (Vic) Martin Richards (SA) Mike Ford (Qld) Colin Holgate (ACT) Super Senior Ladies Carol Campling (NSW) Bobbie Edwards (WA) Judy Hancy (Vic) Joy Rigter (Qld) Super Senior Men Bob Howes (Vic) Dennis Haupt (SA) Alan Gooch (WA) Neville Langford (Qld) Being a selector is a demanding and responsible undertaking and we thank them for serving this year. Because it is an onerous office, the Executive has produced a "Roles and Responsibilities of Selectors" document so that existing and potential nominees have a full understanding of the role and our expectations of them. We have also done a lot of work these past months on revising the selection criteria for Australian teams to represent us at the ITF World Team Championships, and we take this opportunity to thank Jacquie Mangan from the legal team at Tennis Australia for her assistance in this regard. In addition, Alan Walsh from TSNSW and Alan Hocking from TSQ provided some ideas, and we say thank you to them also. As with virtually all documents or information, it can be sourced on our website. It continues to include an appeals process. As many would know, from 2015 the ITF World Team Championships event is being restructured into 3 groups rather than 2 - Young Seniors (35-49) Seniors (50-64) and Super Seniors (65 and above) Accordingly, we have decided to align our selection panels with these groupings from 2014, as they will be selecting teams for the 2015 competition. We will therefore have a panel for each of the above 3 groupings, both men and women - thus a total of 6 panels with 3 appointees on each panel. We have also taken the opportunity to introduce a 5 year limit on being a selector, to be fully introduced by Full details of the new process are contained in the revised By-Law to the Constitution, which again is available on our website, and which was approved by the Executive on the 3rd October. The revised By-Law will be tabled at the AGM to be held next January in Hobart.

4 Australian Teams Carnival and Championships Perth 2013 We all knew that returning to Perth for a second consecutive year would result in reduced numbers, both for the Teams Carnival and the Individual Championships. All things considered, 74 teams (455 players) and 222 in the Individuals could have been worse, although these were the lowest numbers recorded for many years. Nevertheless, we had no option and we thank TSWA and the Organising Committee under the chairmanship of Mac McDonald, for taking on this event for another year - once is a lot of work, twice is really pushing it! Happily they made a tidy profit mainly due to catering and the well-attended bar. There was considerable feedback that the Presentation Dinner did not represent value for money and we will bear this in mind as we finalise arrangements for this function in Hobart. Australian Teams Carnival and Championships Hobart 2014 It is an opportune moment to make mention of the upcoming event in Hobart, Tasmania, which is now less than 3 months away. This is interesting for us as it is the first time that it will be delivered by an MA (Tennis Tasmania) rather than one of our own State Divisions. It is understandable therefore that this has given us less control over progress and development but the staff at Tennis Tasmania under the leadership of Executive Director Mark Handley, have been most co-operative and are intent of delivering the "best yet" event. The Organising Committee is chaired by Peter Armstrong, who is also President of Tennis Tasmania. As I write this, it seems that we will have just over 100 teams competing in the Carnival. After discussion with the Presidents, we have decided to retain the 10 year age brackets up to the age of 70, but this is subject to review on an annual basis. We are confident that players will enjoy the facilities to be used - at this stage 10 different venues will be utilised. An appealing range of social functions have been or are being planned, and we ask participants to please support these and make bookings as early as possible once they are advertised. Vice President Enid Besant-Ryan and myself will visit Tasmania in November for 2 days to meet with the Organising Committee and staff from Tennis Tasmania in order to get a first hand update on all of the arrangements. Our intention is also to take advantage of this opportunity to finalise the future structure of the seniors body in Tasmania, which has been pending now for too long. We and they should know if and how they might be affiliated to TSA in the future, whether they will have a vote at our AGM's and on what basis etc. Divisional Office Bearers There have been a few changes in divisional office bearers this year, and all State Divisions have now held their AGM's. After 5 years at the helm, John Butterworth has (as per the Constitution) retired as President of TSSA and his role has been filled by John Haren, who is welcomed to the Presidential team. I met with him and indeed the TSSA committee a few weeks ago, and we also had a productive meeting with the CEO and staff at Tennis South Australia. We thank John Butterworth for all his hard work during his term of office - running a tennis centre can be more challenging than a seniors group only, and I know that he has had some difficulties at times negotiating with the other two members of the tripartite arrangement that is responsible for the management of the facilities at South Parklands. TSSA have also done a great job formalising their association with their regional divisions.

5 I also take this opportunity of welcoming Max Purdy "back to office" as Vice President of TSWA, and Gary Booth as Secretary there. David Evans has joined the TSQ committee as Vice President - welcome David. There have obviously been some changes on the committees in each of the State Divisions and we thank those retiring for their efforts and support during their terms of office. We welcome the newcomers to the sometimes challenging world of volunteering! Seniors of the Year The Senior of the Year Awards for 2012 were announced at the Australian Teams Carnival dinner in Perth in January. Congratulations to Ros Balodis from ACT who was named Player of the Year. Ros has played in 9 World singles titles, has won 5 and been runner-up 3 times. Coral Vickers was named Administrator of the Year. Everybody knows Coral! She has worked tirelessly as Secretary of TSQ for 12 years and has been involved with the administration of tennis in the State for many years beyond that. Another deserving winner! The most prestigious tennis event of the year is undoubtedly the Tennis Australia Newcombe Awards which culminate in a glittering presentation night in Melbourne each year in December. In 2012 Andrew Rae was named Outstanding Senior of the Year. To date, Andrew has represented Australia at World Cups on 22 occasions and has been in 8 winning cup teams. He has also won 28 Australian, and 16 World singles and doubles titles - a wonderful record! ITF World Team and Individual Championships The Seniors World Titles were held in Turkey in March 2013, and Australia was represented in 9 of the 10 Cups being contested. No team was selected for the Young Cup Women's 40+. Although we were not triumphant in any event, nevertheless our teams did exceptionally well, with our best placings being the Women's Connolly Cup 55+ team finishing 3rd, and the Men's Perry Cup 50+ and Austria Cup 55+ also in 3rd position. In Individual competition, Ros Balodis and Leanne Swaysland were victorious in the WD50+ beating compatriots Brenda Foster and Helen Webb in the final. Ros also featured in the singles final where she lost to the US number 1 seed. Brenda also won the XD50+ in partnership with a British player. Other Aussies in finals action were Simon Arms (MD50+) and Karen Kleverlaan and Chris O'Mara in the XD35+. The Super Seniors event was played in Austria with some Cups contested in the Czech Republic, and took place in September. Again we did so well with 5 teams winning their group playoffs, but not quite managing to secure the Cup. The Women's 80+ team under the captaincy of Margaret Robinson battled valiantly but lost the final to the Canadians, and the Men's 75+ and 80+ teams finished 3rd. The powerful Americans won 6 cups - something to aspire to! In the Individual Championships, the names of the Australians appeared late in almost every draw. Our proud winners were: Carol Campling (who has represented Australia in Seniors Cups more than any other player) WD65+ Peter Froelich MD75+ Max Byrne and Margaret Robinson XD80+ Doug Corbett MS85+ and MD85+

6 Dennis Bindon and Alan Walsh (MD70+) Ian King and Kevin Crump (MD75+) Nola Collins and Joy Rigter (WD75+) Margaret Robinson (WS80+ and WD80+) Peg Hoysted (WD80+) and Bert Barwick (XD80+) all flew the Australian flag in finals play. Congratulations to all our representative players for you have done us proud! It is also worthy of mention that all Captains Reports (in a new and revised format) are now sent to all relevant selectors. All issues raised by Captains in their reports are placed on our agenda and addressed at our Executive meetings. With the advent of 3 groupings for the World Titles from 2015, the Executive has been keen on Australia considering a bid for one of the groups in 2016 or beyond, possibly the Young Seniors in Melbourne. We have had discussions with Tennis Australia about this possibility, and some preliminary financial modelling has been done. However at this stage there have been no further developments but we will continue to pursue the matter - a full cost/benefit analysis needs to be conducted. Tournaments and events In 2013, there will be 10 ITF tournaments and 25 National Ranking Tournaments held in Australia. There are therefore many opportunities for our competition players to earn international and national ranking points. This is important in a number of respects, not only from the perspective of the players personally, but also because the higher the points of our representative players, the higher our teams might be seeded in the World Cup Titles, and a higher seeding can often mean a more favourable draw. Perhaps one of the highlights of the tournament year has been the inaugural National Closed Australian Claycourt Championships at Kooyong in March, an ITF2 event. This attracted 223 players from all States and was regarded as a great success. We congratulate TSV on securing this iconic venue for the staging thereof. Being a National Closed means that players do not have to have an IPIN to participate, and many took advantage of this, with over 20% of entrants falling in to this category. The other important target market on our radar is of course the more socially inclined player. We are delighted that teams events such as Berri continue to flourish. This year saw the introduction of a new teams event in Bunbury in WA which attracted encouraging numbers first time up. In addition, a teams event in Bathurst has been initiated to replace the tournament that was previously held there. In 2014, our plan is to have 11 ITF events which we consider to be sufficient for a country of our size, our player base, and on a comparative basis to other ITF nations. Our premier event will of course continue to be the Australian Individual Championships in January, but we are delighted that we have been granted authority via the Oceania Tennis Federation, for a B1 Regional Closed tournament. This will be held at Kooyong in Melbourne in March - because this is a B1 event players have the opportunity to earn more points than at an ITF1 tournament, so we are confident that we should have an excellent entry. In conjunction with TSV, we will promote this event throughout the Oceania region. Again working with TSV and Tennis Victoria, we are working on an application for an ITF national closed event to be held in November 2014 at Yarrawonga, to be titled the "Victorian Grasscourt Closed Championships". This is a particularly active tennis area with many clubs and participants

7 along this stretch of the Murray River. It should therefore be an ideal venue for an event that will not require an IPIN to participate. We are supporting our application with relevant marketing and promotional material in the hope that it will receive a higher grading than ITF5 which is normal first time entry level. TSV have been briefed to produce a marketing plan for the event to ensure that we achieve maximum impact and hopefully, high participation numbers. We are encouraging the State Divisions to include ITF doubles as well as singles in all ITF2 events, as well as consolation singles. This may also help to maintain or increase the grading of the event - according to the ITF "if a tournament offers ITF doubles, the evaluation score takes this into account and the tournaments score may be increased slightly" We think this will become more important in the future - currently over 80% of tournaments worldwide offer doubles also. Finally on tournaments, let us reiterate that the location of Regional and National Closed events are not set in stone. The State Divisions will be given the opportunity to submit an expression of interest to host future tournaments - our aim is to locate them where we believe we have the best chance of increased participation. ITF Issues We have a very sound working relationship with the ITF and our desire is to ensure that this continues to be the case. Despite much of the negative comment about requiring an IPIN for ITF events, the registration numbers for Australia continue to increase - from 881 in January 2012 to 1123 in November of that year, and now stand at Admittedly, from 2014 there will be no further free IPIN's granted as has been the case for those players who only played one IPIN event in the previous year. However, we are pleased that the cost has been held at US$20 rather than the suggested US$30. It will be interesting to see how the numbers fare in the year ahead. David Stobart is the Australian appointee to the ITF Seniors Committee and we regularly discuss current ITF issues with him - as we do with the ITF personnel directly - and they seek our feedback on some of the matters on their agenda. They are considering the possibility of a higher grade tournament - above an ITF1 - and are also most concerned (as are all ITF nations) about the lower number of women involved in seniors tennis. This seems to be an issue across many sports, and it is interesting that the Queensland government has commissioned a study into how to reverse this trend. Finance and governance Our Treasurer Peter Froelich continues to do a wonderful job ensuring that our financial records are in fine shape. During the year, we migrated our cash book system from Reckon to Microsoft Money which produces all of the information and reports that we need. Our audited financial report is produced using the Handisoft ledger system. The accounts reflect an operating deficit of $1,483 for the year ended 30 September This compares with a surplus of $7,766 in the previous year. The major items contributing to this change were: Net tournament income was $7,589 down on the previous year. This reflected the necessity of returning to Perth in January Total expenses were $1,098 up on the previous year. Increases in honoraria of $1,000 and ITF team costs of $1,287 were partly offset by savings in meeting and travel costs of $1,036.

8 Whilst reporting an operating deficit of $1,483 for the 2013 year, it compares favourably with the budgeted deficit of $6,000. At 30 September 2013, TSA had an accumulated surplus of $112,803. A summary of the financial results is included at the end of this report. TSA is anticipating a small operating surplus for the 2014 financial year. The major changes expected, as compared with the 2013 actual results, are approximately: Net tournament income $4,500 up. Receipts from divisions $500 down. Interest income $1,500 down. Meeting and travel costs $1,000 down. ITF team costs $1,000 up. The TSA audited financial report for the year to 30 September 2013, together with a more detailed financial operating statement analysis and a 2014 budget, will be provided to all State Divisions. During the year, Tennis Australia introduced a revised Privacy Policy which all affiliated organisations are required to adhere to. This has been distributed to the State Divisions for implementation. The Year Ahead Whilst this report is a review of the previous year, nevertheless it is an opportunity to document what the priorities of the Executive will be in the year ahead. If I am re-elected as President, the major (not exclusive) areas of focus for our team will be: Continue to implement the strategies contained in our Business Plan, and update that plan as needs be. Strive to increase membership numbers and participation and work with each of the State Divisions to do this. In particular, we are of the view that there are opportunities for advancement in Victoria, WA and Queensland (the latter State admittedly hampered by limited facilities in some areas). Continue to build on our sound relationship with the ITF, and ensure that ITF events are well organised with increasing numbers. In particular, effectively promote the new Regional Closed event, as well as the proposed Victoria Grasscourt Closed Championships. Do all we can to ensure that there are sufficient playing/participation opportunities for competitive and social players alike. Select the best teams possible to represent Australia. Ensure that we maintain and build on our association with Tennis Australia, and jointly with the State Divisions, further strengthen our partnerships with Member Associations. Continued prudent financial management. Continue to seek the views of our players and participants, as we strive to do things better. Acknowledgements and thanks The Executive wishes to acknowledge and thank all Divisional Presidents, Secretaries and Committee personnel for their hard work throughout the year. As we said last year in our report, we know that we will not always agree but we trust that our debates are constructive and promote a healthy respect for each other s views.

9 Additionally, appreciations are extended to Gail Bates (Qld) for her ongoing enthusiasm and diligent work as our Ranking Coordinator and for her help with numerous other tasks including the compilation of statistical and historical documents. Steve Longworth continues to give great support to the Executive - not only advice as a result of his international experience with the ITF Seniors Regulations, but also with his computer programs for our online entries for tournaments, the management of our Team Carnival and Individual Championships, and Australian team nominations, all of which is greatly appreciated. Ian Somers (Qld), our webmaster is always helpful in displaying articles and solving problems that arise periodically, and in the support he has been willing to give to some of the Divisions requiring his assistance. We thank Peter Breugelmans (ACT) who does the work of the Public Officer, a position associated with our organisation being an incorporated association. Robyn Castle resigned during the year as Publicity Officer, and we thank her for her diligent work in the past. Once again, we thank Tennis Australia for their support of our ITF World Team Championships through the provision of uniforms, travel insurance, and a subsidy for each team member towards travelling expenses. In addition, the current National Service Agreement adds a reward and incentive payment to our players who achieve international success through winning individual and team Championships. We thank Bruce Osborne particularly for his continuing help and support on numerous fronts and for his interest in assisting in developing stronger relationships between our two organisations. Increasingly, due to these stronger relationships and those being forged between our State Divisions and their Member Associations, Tennis Seniors will continue to be an important part of the wider tennis family in Australia. Our selectors do a fine job often in very difficult circumstances and are sometimes faced with tough decisions, and at times, appeals. Invariably there will be voices of dissent with some of their decisions, but we know that they diligently study the results, rankings and current performance in the process they follow. Thank you to all of them. Personally, I thank the Executive who have been untiring in their efforts to support me not only as we confront the day to day issues associated with a business of this nature, but also as we strive to make progress and drive the business forward. And finally... keep up to date with all of our views and news at and please "like" us on Facebook which also shows all of our updates. Reg Trevaskis, President On behalf of the Executive TSA 14th November 2013

10 Tennis Seniors Australia Inc. Summary of financial results for the years ended 30 September Operating statements 2013 year 2012 year 2011 year Budget Actual Actual Actual $ $ $ $ Income: Divisional fees received 22,536 22,056 35,292 35,932 Pay for play (PFP)- net levies received 8,500 8,966 (3,883) - Total received from Divisions 31,036 31,022 31,409 35,932 Tournament income (net) 7,080 8,093 15,682 7,711 Interest received 4,884 4,837 5,012 4,376 Other ,000 43,952 52,103 48,474 Expenses: Office expenses 6,100 5,059 4,651 13,876 Honoraria 10,200 10,200 9,200 8,200 Meetings and travel costs 23,000 20,527 21,563 20,209 ITF teams 8,000 8,386 7,099 9,647 Other 1,700 1,263 1,824 1,818 49,000 45,435 44,337 53,750 Surplus (deficit) for year (6,000) (1,483) 7,766 (5,276) Statement of financial position at 30/09/ /09/ /09/2011 $ $ $ Assets: Cash at bank and in term deposits 110, , ,166 Office equipment at written down value 1,727 1,427 2,282 Receivables 1,432-1, , , ,270 less: Liabilities/provisions 1,025 2, Accumulated surplus at financial year end 112, , ,520