Air Capital Classic Wheelchair Tennis Camp / Tournament
June 29th – July 3, 2011
When it works it works well.
Recently Wheelchair Sports, Inc., a USTA Community Tennis Association held its 12th wheelchair tennis tournament and added a two day tennis camp on the front end to make it a memorable event for both players and instructors. Planning started in the fall of 2010 with several phone calls to gauge the interest from both players and the USTA in such an event. Everyone we talked with thought it was a good idea and might be worth a try.
In December 2010, WSI wrote grants to the USTA, USTA Missouri Valley, and USTA Kansas District seeking funding for this new adventure. All three groups came through with funding for the event and were excited about the prospect of this new format. The next big project for the camp was getting the right instructors to commit to coming and teaching at the camp. In January and February we contacted Dan James, National Manager Wheelchair Tennis, Paul Walker, 2011 Women’s World Team Cup Coach, Wheelchair Tennis Paralympian Nick Taylor who’s from Wichita, and Jeff Clark who is the Director of Riverside Tennis Center in Wichita. They all agreed to be instructors with Dan James being the lead instructor. Then we took to the phone and started calling as many regional players as we could to let them know our plans and to peak their interest.
Last Updated on 07 August 2011
Location:
Join fellow WSI members for an afternoon of Wheelchair Tennis. Learn hands on by some of the area’s most experienced Wheelchair Tennis players.
Played by the same rules as able-bodied tennis, except that a wheelchair player gets two bounces to return the ball instead of one. Wheelchair tennis is one the few sports where a disabled person can effectively compete with able-bodied players.
