Participation conversation continues at ITF conference
Retention in sport and physical activity participation assumed centre stage as the ITF hosted the second Worldwide Participation Conference at Chelsea Football Club’s Stamford Bridge in London.
More than 200 delegates from the sporting world were in attendance as the ITF built on the global conversation which began at the inaugural event 12 months ago. In total, there were 63 ITF member National Associations, including 20 Presidents, five ITF Regional Associations, including two Presidents, and seven international sport federations present.
Tennis legend Billie Jean King, recently announced as the first Fed Cup global ambassador, was among the keynote speakers and provided a rousing conclusion to the opening day and offered her observations on boosting participation rates.
“Growing participation in every country across the world is so important,” said King, a 39-time Grand Slam winner during a highly successful playing career which also saw her play 36 Fed Cup ties for USA.
“Tennis is a fantastic sport and it is one of the few sports worldwide that can be played individually or as part of a team. It has also been found to be one of the best sports for health benefits and any time you get someone to love tennis it means that individual has been given the gift of a lifetime.
“The ITF Worldwide Participation Conference is a fantastic event. There is so much diversity as different cultures come together and exchange information. Having that exchange of ideas and having different organisations involved in the discussions is vital.”
The ITF used the conference as a platform to launch the World Tennis Number – a strategic project which offers an international rating system designed to enable more matches to be played between players of similar levels, from beginners to professionals.
There were other key takeaways from an event which had tennis at its heart, but one that also engaged stakeholders from outside of the sport, allowing key discussions and the sharing of best practice to take place.
World governing bodies from the wider sporting community engaged with international tennis delegates with responsibility for delivering national development programmes and the growing of tennis for all ages, genders, playing standards and physical abilities.
“One of the most important objectives in the development arena is to grow participation; our reason for being as a governing body is to develop, grow and promote tennis around the world," said ITF President David Haggerty.
“Growing participation is vitally important but so is retention. Retaining players is such a key element of any conversation about participation and that is why it has formed such a large part of this year’s conference.
“We are currently at 87 million people playing tennis worldwide. While 120 million players by 2030 is an ambitious goal, with lots to do in the intervening period, it’s realistic, especially considering the amazing growth potential in certain regions in the world.
“There is no easy solution, however. There needs to be continuous improvement and we need to work to build participation and ensure those people stay in the game.”
The importance of retention – a consistent theme of the conference – was stressed by Luca Santilli, ITF Executive Director, Tennis Development.
“You can be extremely good at attracting new players to a sport, but if you do not have the strategy or tools to retain those people then you are going to find yourself at the starting point again,” he said.
“Retention is so important and that is why we wanted to engage and challenge every delegate to engage in the conversation about how we retain and how we we keep our consumers happy.”
The sense of sport pooling its knowledge base was particularly prevalent on day one as FIFA, World Sailing, UNICEF, PGAs of Europe, Badminton World Federation, Special Olympics, World Rowing and Right to Play all presented.
There was also representation from the esports and gaming world in the form of the British Esports Association and Virtual Sports Association, while Leeds Beckett University, Kosmos and Sportlabs also made valuable and expert contributions.
The topics were broad and wide-ranging: how data and measuring insight can be utilised, key drivers for growing participation, strategies for improving retention rates, how technology and eSports can be harnessed in the quest to boost physical activity and how more women can be attracted to sport.
If day one was a sporting collaboration, Monday’s closing section of the conference was very much tennis-specific, with a range of case studies from national associations heard following the ITF’s World Tennis Number announcement.
Member National Associations from China, Costa Rica, Belgium, Kenya, New Zealand and Paraguay segued between discussions on national tennis ratings and their aims, ambitions and goals for the future with respect to participation and retention.
Miguel Crespo, ITF Head of Participation and Coaching, said: “By hosting a second Worldwide Participation Conference, the ITF is continuing the conversation about participation, which is where the numbers are, and is ensuring that best practice is shared throughout tennis and the sporting community.
“The principle of working together is so important, as is the ability to be flexible. By doing this, I am confident we will see an increase in the number of tennis players worldwide, and indeed an increase in the percentage of women playing tennis.”
Billie Jean King's session can be viewed on the ITF Academy here.