Tennis News You Can Use
The USTA blasted out a message to its membership Friday advertising a new league player referral program. Since I have been harping on the data management of the USTA all weekend, I will observe that there are USTA members in my orbit who miss this notice because the organization does not have their current email address. The message announcing the new referral program carried a link where a person may update their email address. It is a mystery to me how a person who did not receive the email can make use of that opportunity, but at least the USTA is trying.
The new league player program offers a $25 gift card to people that refer first time or lapsed league players. Reading the fine print reveals that a lapsed player is someone who hasn’t participated in USTA League since 2017. Further reading the fine print… the USTA fails to disclose what the gift card is actually for. The Fiend at Court Spousal Unit is hoping for Starbucks.
In all seriousness, I applaud the USTA for trying something to get new players into the organized USTA ecosystem. I would also like to see the USTA roll out a similar initiative for tournaments. An alternative to funding the gift cards might have been to waive the entry fee for these players, though that incentivizes a population that is outside of USTA communications which may have been a factor driving that decision.
I also had a less than charitable initial gut reaction to the initiative. It irks me that those captains that always seem to unearth former junior players, arm them with questionable self-ratings, and add them to their rosters might be further rewarded with a gift card. It’s going to happen.
The member of the Fiend at Court household that relishes captaining has had great success trolling drop in drills for prospective new players and converting them over to league play. Similarly, unsanctioned progressive local leagues are a good place to engage prospective players. Perhaps this initiative will inspire some facilities to start offering entry level league play to give players graduating from introductory tennis lessons a place to compete.
I am looking forward to seeing how this new initiative works out. And, of course, finding out exactly what that gift card is for.
- USTA League: Refer a Friend Special Offer, USTA Website, last viewed 4 June 2021.
