The Centenary Tennis Clubs Association held its second colloquium on Monday 27th June. The workshop for member clubs was focused on the topic of maintaining engagement with members, a universal challenge for tennis clubs.
The workshop heard from three leading specialists with a wide range of expertise and experience, including Dr. David Sanz (ESP, lecturer and researcher and specialist in methodology of tennis coaching and training), Jason Allen (USTA Manager of Research, Education, Wheelchair Tennis, Adaptive Tennis & Technical) and Matt Smith (LTA Coach Development and Learning Management and former British Coach of the Year, pictured).
Among the key advice for clubs was to remain open-minded about the products offered to the members, the needs of consumers, awareness of technological aids to retention, the need to listen to feedback from members, and opportunities to create the need for the members to return to the club.
The speakers offered three different perspectives, including a look at the way in which problems are perceived (David Sanz), the Sports Commitment model (Jason Allen) and ways in which clubs can create loyalty beyond reason (Matt Smith).
Delegates from clubs from around the world attended the online meeting, which was followed by an active question and answer session in which the speakers had the opportunity to respond directly to questions on topics including the value of offering alternatives to tennis (such as padel) in traditional clubs.
CTC President Jordi Cambra said, “I’d like to thank our guest speakers for sharing their expertise with us. Retention of members is a challenge for clubs of all sizes around the world and it was great to hear some fresh perspectives and ideas.”
If your club was not able to attend the colloquium, the meeting and presentations are available on request from info@centenarytennisclubs.com
