Tennis Canada host first wheelchair tennis athlete development summit

By David Gold

March 8 - The Kingbridge Conference Centre near Toronto has held the first Tennis Canada Wheelchair Tennis Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) Summit.

The event brought together 55 stakeholders from across the country, representing a range of organisations such as Provincial Tennis and Provincial Wheelchair Sport, as well as athletes and coaches.

Partnerships between the tennis and wheelchair sport communities were the focus of the discussions at the conference.

"To develop a broad base of participants all provincial partners must work together to ensure a seamless pathway of programmes and activities," said Janet Petras, the director for Wheelchair Tennis at Tennis Canada.

Funding and recruitment strategies were discussed at the conference, and an on-court first contact progressive tennis session from national development coach Kai Schrameyer also took place.

"You only have one chance at making a good first impression," said Schrameyer.

"Therefore the focus of every first contact session is to make the activity fun for the participants by allowing for easy success and making them want to come back for more."

A final report following the event will be produced as well as follow up meetings with provinces to help carry forward the momentum of the conference.

Contact the writer of this story at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.