“The USTA doesn`t just tolerate differences, they embrace them

NOTHING
but
Gay & Lesbian Tennis
Association Continues to Grow;
Gets a Boost From USTA
by Buddy Early
T
HE PROFESSIONAL TENNIS CIRCUIT HAS SEEN A NUMBER OF LGBT
athletes grace its courts over the last century. From Bill Tilden to Billie Jean
King, Martina Navratilova and Amelie Mauresmo—all grand slam champions—to Renee Richards—the first and only MTF transsexual to play at the US
Open—tennis has broken down more walls than any other sport, individual or team.
The United States Tennis Association, in fact, has been a longtime supporter of local
gay leagues, and has recently decided to step up its involvement by creating programs
specifically aimed at LGBT tennis players. For Dan Merrithew, the commissioner of the
Gay & Lesbian Tennis Association, this is no surprise.
“For a long time the USTA recognized us as not a fly-by-night
organization; we have never gone
down in participation and we grow
in number of tournaments each
year, said Merrithew. The USTA,
he adds, sees the value in working
with the men and women of GLTA
to increase its overall goal of putting rackets in the hands of more
Americans.
In 2011 GLTA celebrates its 20th
year, having been formed on July 4,
1991 with just a handful of tournaments on its schedule. In the last
two decades the worldwide association has grown to boast an annual
calendar of 70 tournaments on
five continents. There hasn’t been
a single year in that span that the
group hasn’t grown by at least one
tournament.
While that growth has been gradual, Merrithew said it has been the
last five years that has seen GLTA
truly go global. The explosion of
gay tennis in Europe is traced to the
sport’s inclusion at a few recent Gay
Games, as well as a small number of
dedicated players who crossed the
pond to play in gay tournaments in
the U.S.
Said Merrithew: “When there is
a group that wants to start a tournament … we help them, sanction
them, get them going,”—whether
it’s a group in this country or anywhere in the world. The 58 member
cities are self-sufficient, but owe
their existence to the efforts and
vision of GLTA, and to the thousands of tennis players, both serious and casual, who sacrifice to
attend as many tournaments as
possible each year.
As a somewhat serious player,
Steve Sax of Los Angeles plays in
five GLTA tournaments per year.
He started playing the game at age
10 and was competitive through
school, even playing for one year in
college. After a decade away from
the game, he hooked up with the
Los Angeles Tennis Association
and says it has been one of the best
decisions of his life. The 39-yearold, who counts his forehand as his
major strength, plays in the “Open”
division, and says he is usually
“happy to win a couple of rounds”
before elimination.
“I look forward to getting out
there and playing; I want to be
ready, I don’t just want to fall on my
ass.”
While not nearly as competitive
as he was during his days playing
on the junior circuit, a highly skilled
player like Sax never loses the competitive edge completely.
And for every Sax there is a Merrithew. The man who has served
www.CompeteNetwork.com |
COMPETE | 25
on the GLTA Board for six years
and commissioner for the last two
admits that he had never played
tennis in his life before joining his
local Orlando league 10 years ago.
“A friend invited me to come out
and play with them, and I went to
a tournament in Atlanta. I played in
the lowest division. I won a trophy
and I have been hooked ever since.”
In addition to his duties as GLTA
Commissioner, Merrithew plays
in approximately 10 tournaments
per year. His skills have improved
in the last decade, but not to the
point where he would call himself
an advanced player. Which
is, he says, precisely what
GLTA is all about: welcoming players from all skill
levels and backgrounds
and providing them with a
place for competition and
camaraderie.
“Our tournaments are
not just tournaments,” he
said. “They are probably
more social than anything;
by the first day half the people are out of the tournament.” For the people who
are only there to have fun,
there is what Merrithew refers to
as the “Boyfriend Division.” It’s the
division he got started in, and often
features boyfriends of the more
advanced players who’ve tagged
along on the trip.
But this is in no way just a fun
league. The “Open” and “A” divisions typically cater to players
who’ve been swinging a racket
since they were able to pick it up,
and the competition can even be
cutthroat. Most played the game
in high school, and some in college. Adds Merrithew: “We have
advanced players who can give the
pros a good run for their money.”
Sax likes to win, no doubt, but it’s
the social aspect of GLTA that satisfies him most.
“When you’re knocked out of the
tournament you can hang with all
your friends that you’ve met from
all across the country.” He says that
the majority of his friends these
days are from the world of GLTA
tennis, and calls his participation in
the league as “the greatest impact
on my life, for sure!”
That social aspect is the thing
that binds together all GLTA members, whether they are advanced or
beginners.
American man hasn’t won a grand
slam title since Andy Roddick in
2003. And despite the dominance
of Venus and Serena Williams over
the last decade, they are in their twilight years (as far as tennis is concerned) and there appears to be no
young female superstars ready to
take their spots. The USTA believes
that by getting to more people at a
young age, American tennis will
never again be faced with a dry
spell.
That agenda goes beyond trying
to find the next world number one,
however. Buchholz says it is equally
important to simply promote
the game and turn it into one
of the more popular sports in
this country. To achieve that
the USTA has created a number of programs “from the cradle to the grave,” she says.
“When it comes right down
to it,” says Buchholz, “we are
really trying to address barriers of entry into the sport … so
people are not limited.”
Many Americans may still
hold on to the notion that tenSteve Sax nis is more like golf—a country club sport—than like track
Whether someone is a seasoned
& field or swimming. Buchholz and
player or still learning to serve and
the USTA are out to prove them
volley doesn’t concern Karin Buchwrong.
holz, director of community out“We’re trying to get the word out
reach and education for the USTA;
that tennis is a sport of opportunity.”
she simply wants people to play
the game. Buchholz is charged
From children’s to adult prowith carrying out the association’s
grams, Buchholz says tennis is an
agenda when it comes to diverse
inexpensive sport. In fact, the USTA
and underserved communities.
has made great strides in providing
With the reputation of American
tennis on the world stage faltering, the USTA has, in recent years,
turned its attention to inner cities,
trying to find and develop young
players who may not have been
exposed to the game of tennis. An
26 | COMPETE | November/December 2011
the sport at low cost or even free in
many communities. As part of their
“10 & Under” campaign, the USTA
has provided a number of grants to
local communities, assisting with
the renovations of courts to distributing rackets. Says Buchholz:
“
The USTA doesn’t just
tolerate differences, they
embrace them. The USTA is
really leading the way in the
sports community.
”
“We’ve invested over $1.3 million in
over 20 communities.”
In this area of inclusion and diversity, LGBT people of all ages are not
left out. In July the USTA invited
several entities—including GLTA
and Compete—to a one-day summit in Chicago. As a result of that
meeting a “toolkit” was created.
Buchholz defined that five areas of
concentration as: education, communication, strategy, messaging
and marketing, and best practices.
As part of the USTA’s National Committee of Diversity and Inclusion, a
subcommittee targeting LGBT people has been formed.
Buchholz, who has worked as an
openly gay woman for other sports
organizations and teams, says this
is the most comfortable and welcomed she has felt at any of her
jobs. The commitment to diversity at USTA goes beyond the tennis court to the organization itself,
she insists. As proof she points to
the recent U.S. Open Championships, which honored NBA executive Rick Welts—the first openly
gay man in an executive role for a
Karin Buchholz
major sports team—with its Icon
Award. The National Tennis Center,
she points out, is named after LGBT
and women’s rights hero Billie Jean
King. The USTA Board of Directors,
in fact, has several LGBT members.
“The USTA doesn’t just tolerate differences, they embrace
them,” said Bucholz. “The USTA is
really leading the way in the sports
community.”
Only time will tell whether or not
this outreach will lead to an openly
gay Wimbledon champion from
America in the next decade. But
that’s not really the point. Encouraging more people to fall in love
with the game of tennis is the real
goal. And for Merrithew and GLTA,
that can only mean positive things
for their tournaments and for their
still-growing worldwide league.
“They have fantastic leadership there,” Merrithew says of the
USTA, which has supported GLTA’s
local leagues with grant money
in the past without fanfare. “They
really are accepting of the gay
community.”
28 | COMPETE | November/December 2011
And GLTA is accepting of the
non-gay community. At many tournaments straight fathers and gay
sons can be found playing doubles
together. Merrithew calls GLTA a
straight-friendly organization. It’s
also charity-friendly. Every GLTA
event is not-for-profit; all tournament proceeds go to a charitable
cause in the community in which
the tournament is played. In the last
five years, GLTA clubs have donated
between $75,000 and $100,000 to
worthy causes.
”We really are partners in our local
communities,” said Merrithew.
Learn more about
the GLTA at
www.glta.net or
about the USTA at
www.usta.com.