5 Great Ideas for Running a Wimbledon Themed Event
We are competing in a brutal marketplace. Never before have kids had so many options. Team sports are proving increasingly popular. Non-traditional sports are emerging from all corners. Established boys sports like football are making a concerted push to steal our tennis girls. Not to mention the dark spectre of too much screen time.
Happily we have a great sport – Tennis is the intelligent choice for parents the world over.
And there is no better time for our sport than around Wimbledon, the most traditional of events. Leveraging off the evergreen popularity of the tournament is a key to success for our tennis businesses. Running some special events to coincide with Wimbledon can be a great boost and the more creative you can be with your planning the more successful the event will be.
Strawberries and Cream
Those lucky enough to have been to the tournament will have savoured the wonderful Strawberries and Cream. They are so good it is almost worth paying £5! You can transport the imagination of your players to Wimbledon by serving up a morning or afternoon tea of Strawberries and Cream during their tournament, at a fraction of the cost.
All White
The traditional all white uniforms worn at Wimbledon is a highlight of the event. A challenge for the fashion conscious tennis designers which has inspired some simply elegant outfits over the years. It will make for some great photos for your social media if your event demands the same dress code. You may even want to go an extra step and have fancy dress, with 1920 and 30’s inspired Wimbledon clothes, ankle length all round please.
Serve and Volley
While the balls, courts and racquets have made serve and volley more and more difficult since the days of Sampras, Becker and Edberg; the annual grass court season does see a surge in the attack on the net. Increase the impact of your Wimbledon event by rewarding players for approaching and volleying. Develop their long term game style by awarding the players who attacked the net most frequently with a special “Wimbledon Net Rusher” prize.
Pimms and Lemonade
Don’t forget the customers of your tennis program are the kids and their parents. Happy parents = happy programs, so don’t forget to involve them in the fun. A Pimms and Lemonade served ice cold with mint, cucumber, orange and lemon is almost as good as the Strawberries and Cream. Serve liberally at a parent information session while you watch the Wimbledon finals at the club.
If’
“If you can meet with triumph and disaster, and treat those two imposters just the same…”
These inspirational words from Rudyard Kipling hang over the players entrance to centre court at Wimbledon. As we teach our players life lessons through tennis I encourage you to start play with this poem. Ask your tennis kids to contemplate its meaning. Ask them to play in the spirit of the words of the poem, maintaining sportsmanship whether facing victory or defeat.
For dozens more creative ideas for running events that will engage your tennis kids with competition check out the e9 resource ‘When can I play again’>>>
