WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., May 23, 2012 – The United States Tennis Association (USTA) today announced the launch of its Create Your Own Tennis Court contest, a photo contest seeking the most creative tennis court set-up. The contest encourages fan engagement by asking them to determine the winner by voting for their favorite finalist photo on the website,
www.createyourowntenniscourt.com. The entrant who submits the winning photo will win a trip for four to New York City to attend the 2013 US Open Tennis Championship.
The contest is aligned with the USTA’s youth initiative, 10 and Under Tennis, and its emphasis that tennis can be played anywhere – a driveway, a park, and even a beach. 10 and Under Tennis provides the opportunity to achieve immediate success by playing tennis using equipment sized for children.
“10 and Under Tennis with kid-sized equipment and courts takes tennis to a whole new level of fun and excitement for kids, allowing them to experience tennis on their terms,” said Kurt Kamperman, USTA Chief Executive, Community Tennis. “The Create Your Own Tennis Court contest is a fun way for young people to creatively showcase that tennis can be played almost anywhere.”
The contest, open to U.S. residents, 18 and older, consists of two phases. The first phase runs through July 8th, during which the public will be able to submit a photo through the website
www.createyourowntenniscourt.com. A panel of judges will select the top ten photos and the finalists will be placed in a photo gallery on the website for the public to vote for their favorite.
The second phase will begin on July 17th and run through September 12th to determine the grand prize winner of the contest. Once finalists are announced, consumers will be asked to vote for their favorite photo from the top 10 selection. The entrant whose photo receives the most votes will be declared the winner and will be awarded the Grand Prize. In addition, every eligible fan who votes will be included in a weekly drawing for a chance to win a 2012 US Open hat.
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The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level -- from local communities to the highest level of the professional game. A not-for-profit organization with more than 785,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds in growing the game. It owns and operates the US Open, the highest attended annual sporting event in the world, and launched the Emirates Airline US Open Series linking 10 summer tournaments to the US Open. In addition, it owns approximately 90 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S, and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. The USTA philanthropic entity, USTA Serves, provides grants and scholarships and helps underserved youth and people with disabilities. For more information on the USTA, log on to usta.com, “like” the official Facebook page facebook.com/usta or follow @usta on Twitter.
For more information, contact: Tom LaDue, Corporate Communications, USTA, (914) 697-2352, ladue@usta.com