USTA Tennis Comes to Martha’s Vineyard
March 15, 2010
Tennis is booming on the Vineyard! While it has always been a popular summer activity, tennis has taken off in the past decade as a year round sport. Since then, courts are always in use and tournaments are held year round. Women’s and men’s leagues of all abilities bring out hundreds of players each spring and fall, and children’s tennis programs have doubled in size, assuring a growing tennis population for years to come.
To keep this enthusiasm alive and assist players of all abilities in enjoying tennis, a new association has been formed. Last month a group of island tennis players and professionals established Martha’s Vineyard Community Tennis, or MVCT. Approved by the United States Tennis Association (USTA), MVCT is an officially sponsored Community Tennis Association.
The goal of MVCT is to promote and develop tennis on Martha’s Vineyard through a variety of programs and services. MVCT will provide information to the public regarding tennis leagues, tournaments, clinics, court locations, tennis pros and their club affiliations, and exhibition matches. While only in existence for a month, MVCT has already received a grant from the USTA. Part of this money will be used to publish a directory of tennis players, making it easier for players to find tennis partners for matches and to broaden the scope of players island-wide.
One of the first events MVCT will sponsor is a tennis tournament, hosted at the Vineyard Youth Tennis Center, to raise money to help purchase uniforms for the high school girls and boys tennis teams. The event will be held March 27 and 28. The entry fee is $50 per adult. The founding members of MVCT are: Nina Bramhall, Adam Bresnick, John Cahill, Dick Dubin, Kelly Hess, Mas Kimball, Lorne Lewis, Sarah Moore, Doreen Rezendes, and Scott Smith.
For anyone interested in learning more about Martha’s Vineyard Community Tennis, volunteering, making a donation, or being listed in the tennis directory, please email the group at: [email protected] or visit our website at vineyardtennis.com