Summing It Up
|
Beach tennis, a new sport combining volleyball, badminton and tennis, has helped to boost lessons for traditional tennis by 15 percent at Wild Dunes Resort. |
Recreational twists such as beach tennis, golf croquet, and country club triathlons share a common theme: They’re all innovative approaches that clubs and resorts are using to keep their fitness activities interesting for members and guests of all ages and skill levels.
In turn, these beginner- and familyfriendly activities help boost revenue streams for some facilities. But, more importantly, they keep people interested in coming back—whether to be part of a one-time event, or an ongoing fitness program.
When Wild Dunes Resort in Isle of Palms, S.C. (about 20 minutes east of Charleston) introduced new recreationalevents to its guests this summer, the revenue generated by tennis lessons increased nearly 15 percent over last year’s figures.
The numbers surprised Director of Tennis Charly Rasheed. After all, Wild Dunes is rated “one of the top five or 10 places for tennis revenue in South Carolina” by Tennis magazine.
“[We’re] already known for tennis,”he says. “To be up that significantly is a testament to these new programs.”
He attributes the increase to beach tennis, the latest craze in Wild Dunes’ high-profile tennis programming. Rasheed introduces the game—a hybrid of beach volleyball, badminton and tennis—to a crowd of 200 to 500 new guests every Sunday with the help of Phil Whitesell, a beach tennis World Champion.
“We have a big welcome event in the grand pavilion,” Rasheed says. “We talk about beach tennis and the tennis program, and let the guests see it. It has added another flavor to recreation.”
Offering group events can help generate interest in an activity. The United States Professional Tennis Association is pumping Cardio Tennis—court workouts set to heart-thumping music—to do just that. |
And by having the event on the night that new guests arrive at the resort, Rasheed says he can generate more interest in the tennis program, which is “hard to promote,” especially to novices who might not otherwise give it a chance.
“People feel like they already have to know how to play tennis,” he explains. “I bring one of my pro shop staff to mingle with guests, and we pass out tennis guides. If guests are interested in lessons, they can sign up on the spot. While some may still end up coming over to us later, if we can capture them at the beginning, we feel confident we can keep them throughout the week.”
Once people are hooked (the staff of 11 tennis professionals give lessons to approximately 50 to 75 people per day), they have a wide variety of clinics from which to choose, from beginner to advanced and junior to adult. The Tennis Center has 17 Har-Tru courts, including a stadium court and five lit for nighttime play.
“A Completely Different Animal”
Having recently come to Wild Dunes from a private club environment, Rasheed is distinctly aware of the difference between a resort and a member-only facility when it comes to planning events and programs.
“There’s nothing that can prepare a pro for this kind of resort,” he says. “It’s a completely different animal. We have a lot of new energy every week, versus keeping existing members happy every day for 365. Here we can do the same thing week after week and it’s new to people. But we have to remarket ourselves every week to capture the new audience. At a member club, it’s more about keeping everything fresh.”
Carl Clark, Head Tennis Professional at the Country Club of Virginia, a private club in Richmond, is all too familiar with that challenge.
“You can be the best teacher in the world, but you're repeating things so many times that it can get old,” Clark says. “Eventually, programs are going to get stale, so we want to be ready with what’s going to be fun next.”
To help keep things exciting for the club’s more-experienced, tennis-playing members who felt they had nothing left to learn in a clinic, Clark developed Rock ‘n’ Roll tennis—aerobic and tennis drills set to hard rock music.
“We did have a lot of good players, but they weren’t doing anything to improve their game, except coming out and hitting with each other,” he explains. “Rock ‘n’ Roll tennis adds a little pizzazz to practice that can get repetitious and boring. The music makes it more fun.”
Similar to Cardio Tennis, which the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) recently began promoting to fuel interest in the game, Rock ‘n’ Roll Tennis has been part of the repertoire at the Country Club of Virginia for more than ten years, and has expanded into some of the other clinics at the club. It not only “makes you a better player,” Clark says, “but you get to listen to AC/DC and Led Zeppelin and have a beer at the end. That’s kind of cool.”
The Country Club of Virginia also serves up more “refined” theme events throughout the year.
“One of our best socials is during Wimbledon,” Clark says. “We serve strawberries and cream and mixed drinks. And everyone has to use wooden rackets.”
A big event “sells a little better for everyone when it has charity attached to it,” says Mitchell Platt, General Manager of Woodholme Country Club |
Sweet Charity
Events that appeal to the entire family have the greatest appeal, says Mitchell Platt, General Manager of Woodholme Country Club in Baltimore, Md. And it’s even better when it’s for a good cause.
“We wanted to do a club event that was fun for the whole family, while at the same time raise money for a foundation that supports inner-city kids looking for college scholarships,” he says. “It was a worthy endeavor on both ends.”
He and his staff planned a triathlon to honor Hy Zolet, who served as the club’s Pool Manager for 30 years before his death last year.
Instead of the traditional bike, swim and run, Woodholme’s version featured a four-hole golf tournament, tennis round robin, and swimming relay race, and concluded with a trivia contest.
“Hy was born in the same year [1927] as the club was founded, so we did Woodholme trivia, Hy Zolet trivia and a local sports trivia section,” Platt says. “We tallied up all the points and had an awards ceremony at the end of the day.We got some local businesses to don
ate gift certificates and prizes, and gave out free golf lessons. It was a really fun event for everyone.”
In the end, members contributed $3,665 to the Hy Zolet Foundation, which counted toward their yearly quota for club-required charitable contributions.
“We require our members to match their dues every year in charitable giving,” Platt explains. “A lot of clubs may say they do it, but we really do. The club founders thought that if you had the disposable income to belong to a club, then giving back to the community was just as important.”
Woodholme, in turn, gives back to its members.
Gary Wun (right), the Croquet Professional and Club Maintenance Supervisor for the CC of Virginia, has doubled the croquet program at the club this year. He credits Wednesday night croquet socials for the increase. “To try to create more interest, we have theme outings on the grand lawn in front of the clubhouse,” says Wun. “We’ve had pretty good success.” |
“We look at club functions as a give-back to the membership for the dues they pay,” Platt says. “We try to give them some value. It’s not always a profit mindset.”
Clearly, themed recreational activities like these go well beyond keeping people from being bored. Events built around traditional games, or their modern hybrids, not only build skill through play and practice, they create a direct connection between games and real life. And they can help build camaraderie among friends and bring families together—all hugely valuable in strengthening and solidifying the appeal of club membership or resort visits.
“The snacks and drinks help, too,” adds Gary Wun, the Country Club of Virginia’s Croquet Professional (see photo). “Food is always a great draw.” C&RB
Additional Resources: Golf Croquet: www.croquetamerica.com Beach Tennis: www.beachtennisusa.net Cardio Tennis: www.cardiotennis.com
To comment about this story, suggest topics you’d like to see covered in future issues of C&RB, or just ask a question, contact [email protected]
IDEAS FOR RECREATION & FITNESS EVENTS
IDEAS FOR RECREATION & FITNESS EVENTS: Host A National Women’s Health & Fitness Day Event Women’s Health & Fitness Day is the nation’s largest annual health promotion event for women of all ages. This year’s event is set for September 27, 2006, and in future years it will always be held on the last Wednesday in September. Groups interested in hosting a Women’s Health & Fitness Day event must register to be an official host site. To register, call 800-828-8225 or visit www.fitnessday.com for more information. |
Tell Us What You Think!
You must be logged in to post a comment.