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TIA Forum to focus on the future

July 18, 2017

NEW YORK, N.Y. — The 10th Annual Tennis Industry Association (TIA) Tennis Forum will be held in New York City on Monday, Aug. 28, the first day of play at the US Open.

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The Forum will include industry executives who will present the latest news about the state of the tennis industry, ITF and USTA updates, business insights and a spotlight on innovation. It also will outline ways to better define and boost the economic growth and impact of the tennis industry, and effective ways to distribute clear, consistent messaging of health, fitness and the reasons to play tennis. Attendees will receive a summary report on key industry research.

This year’s Forum, which will start at 8:30 a.m., will be held at a new location: the Intercontinental New York Barclay, which is at Lexington Avenue and 49th Street and is the official hotel of the ATP Tour. While the Forum is free to attend, space is limited, so registration is required. Visit TennisIndustry.org.

Forum speakers will include U.S. Tennis Association (USTA) President and Chairman of the Board Katrina Adams; International Tennis Federation (ITF) President David Haggerty; TIA President Jeff Williams, the managing partner of the Tennis Media Co.; USTA Chief Executive of Community Tennis and USTA National Campus Kurt Kamperman; and TIA Executive Director Jolyn de Boer. In addition, top retail expert Dan O’Connor, the founder and CEO of RetailNet Group, will speak about how the industry can take control of its future through a clearer picture of the future player and consumer, restructuring demand generation techniques, and more.

This year’s Forum also will honor David Haggerty as the 2017 inductee into the Tennis Industry Hall of Fame. Haggerty, who is currently serving a four-year term as ITF president through 2019, is the immediate past president of the USTA and a former president of the TIA. His business experience includes as the former chairman and CEO of Head USA, president of Dunlop Maxfli Slazenger Sports, and general manager/owner of Prince Sports Group.

At approximately 9:45 a.m., the unique “Tennis Innovation Challenge” will take center stage, moderated by Carlos Salum, who is president of Salum International Resources and a member of the SportsCouncil Silicon Valley (SCSV), which is co-sponsoring the Challenge. The three finalists in the competition will each have five minutes to present their innovative product or service to a panel of judges and in front of an audience of tennis industry leaders.

The new products and services in the Innovation Challenge are designed to grow the sport and business of tennis with players, consumers and fans. The finalists were chosen from the many companies and individuals who completed an online application. Tennis Innovation Challenge finalists will receive media exposure through the TIA leading up to the Forum. The winner of the Challenge will receive $1,000, a national press release to thousands of news outlets with a potential reach to millions of consumers, coverage in Tennis Industry magazine, a one-year TIA membership, and additional exposure through industry marketing and social media channels.

Following the Tennis Forum and Innovation Challenge on Monday morning, SCSV will present Future of Tennis & Tech sessions on Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning, Aug. 28 and 29, at the InterContinental New York Barclay Hotel. Tech companies can display their products and services at a “Tech Fair” event held on Monday. To learn more and purchase tickets (early bird discount ends Aug. 1), visit TennisIndustry.org.

The Monday afternoon Future of Tennis & Tech session will include a panel of startup tech companies and focus on how technology can help the tennis business. As of early July, startup companies that will participate include ASAP-Sport, Bluefox, Compression Kinetics, Hexoskin, Kitman Labs, Lucid VR, Mas-Tech srl, VKTRY, VREE and Brick Simple. (Startup tech companies interested in participating should contact Julien Blin at [email protected].) The Monday afternoon session also will include small-group discussions in a “world café” format, moderated by Salum.

The Tuesday morning Future of Tennis & Tech session will include a sports & tech keynote speaker, Q&A discussions with tech and tennis celebrities, small-group meetings and networking. Topics will include wearable tech, virtual reality, data analytics, e-sports, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, drones and more.

For more information on the 10th Annual TIA Tennis Forum and to register, visit TennisIndustry.org.

About the TIA

The Tennis Industry Association, the not-for-profit trade association for tennis, is THE unifying force in the tennis industry whose mission is to promote the growth and economic vitality of the business of tennis by working closely with its industry partners and in support of the USTA in their development of initiatives to increase tennis participation. Core TIA activities include producing more than 70 U.S. and global research reports annually on participation and consumer/trade research, managing the largest relational database, along with hosting annual TIA Tennis Forum, Leadership meetings and the T.O.M. Conference at major tournaments and events. Visit TennisIndustry.org or call 866-686-3036.