One of our favorite tennis tournaments, the New Balance High School Tennis Championships, will return to the Weil Tennis Academy in Ojai, California from July 21st - July 24th, for a weekend of competitive high school tennis. The tournament was started by New Balance not only to put a spotlight on high school athletes and give them a chance to compete in a professional setting, but also to bring players together to encourage a team atmosphere in such an individually-focused sport.
Evan Zeder, Sports Marketing Manager for Tennis at New Balance, spoke with Team UTR about the upcoming tournament and why High School tennis is so important to New Balance:
Tell us about more about the New Balance High School Tennis Championship - how was it started?
The event was founded by our GM of Tennis, Bruce Schilling, and the entire purpose of the event is to celebrate High School Tennis. Both Bruce and myself have been involved in the game for a long time in playing as well as the industry, and we both feel as though HS Tennis can be a bit of an afterthought, even though most players who continue to compete the rest of their lives play in HS. Initially we worked with Dave Fish as we wanted the event to be open to HS players however not every player has a sectional/national ranking, so we needed a system that would allow us to seed and build the acceptance list, naturally UTR was the answer.
The first 3 years were in Boston and our entire goal is to make this a special event for HS players. We made nightly events which have included in years past trips to Blue Man Group, Red Sox Games, NB Pro athlete exhibitions, and coaches forums. In making our nightly events about the players, it allows them to relax and really get to know each other as players don’t often get the chance in an individual sport to really spend time together, and our event was and is about building a team around HS tennis while creating a professional on-court experience.
What's the format of the tournament?
The format is a compass draw so every player is guaranteed 4 matches. This allows players to continue to compete across all 4 days as well as gives some geographical Wild Cards a chance to compete in a National event, as we’ve had players from Alaska take part in the event, so we wanted to always give those players opportunities.
Who can play?
Any player who competed on their HS team in the last year! We aspire to have these players who dedicate their time in school and on the court be rewarded.
What are the benefits to players?
Players will receive a “swag bag” like no other event, which will include footwear, apparel, and other accessories to go along with it. Throughout the week they’ll also get prizes and give-aways through the nightly events. This year we are going to have a game night, movie night, and possibly an exhibition by our pro, Nicole Gibbs. She did it last year with us and had such a great time she mentioned wanting to come back, between her experience on tour and as a Stanford Cardinal she’s got some great insight to the game.
In addition to this, with most players getting ready for college, we’re going to again have a college coaches forum that will allow our players and parents to not only hear what the coaches are looking for in athletes, but also answer questions from players and parents about what to do when going through the recruiting process.
Lastly, the winner of our event will have their team sponsored by NB next year!
How are you using UTR?
Before UTR, building an event would’ve been extremely difficult as a majority of HS tennis players aren’t in a ranked system. UTR has allowed us to continue to build exposure and reward the players who go to school and compete with their teammates, which is what this event is all about!
How else is New Balance supporting high school tennis?
We work with HS teams across the country in providing great apparel and footwear at a price that allows them to get our high quality product and compete in it. We’re already running a HS Champs in Japan and we want to continue to build on this platform of celebrating the HS game. These are the players who will be playing, competing, and are fans of the game their whole lives, as are we, and our goal is to showcase these great student-athletes.
Interested in playing?
Click here to register. Registration for the event closes on Thursday, June 28th. Results from the tournament will count towards player UTRs.
