IiP Investing in Professionals

Investing in Professionals

Jack Josephs has joined MURTC as the first IiP Professional apprentice The T&RA are the major stakeholders, supported by the International Real Tennis Professionals Association. There has been a remarkable fundraising effort by the Funding Panel (led by Carl Snitcher), establishing the Real Champions Club, persuading other stakeholders (the Dedanists' Foundation, the Dedanists' Society and the LTRA) to contribute, as well as many clubs via a court levy contribution. A remarkable effort to focus so many parties on a common cause.

The T&RA has recognised that over the next ten years a number of our sport’s professionals will be retiring, and overseas courts will continue to recruit professionals from the UK. The IiP programme intends to replace these by recruiting up to four trainee professionals into the game each year by offering access to court-related skills combined with education in business skills. The programme offers new trainees and existing young professionals a highly professional educational environment to develop a meaningful career in Real Tennis.

In tandem with court training and court-related skills, the programme offers learning and training in the business skills relevant to becoming an accredited Real Tennis professional and to manage a sports facility. To attract young people into our sport as a career it is vital that they also acquire skills which are portable into other disciplines if they decide at some future point they do not wish to continue as a Real Tennis professional. Some participants, like Jack, will also be on the government apprentice scheme.

Over 40 volunteers, facilitated by John Whiting, have been involved in developing the programme, which is now run by the Operational Continuous Improvement Panel (OCIP). Sport Structures have provided a vital partnership throughout the process and continue to work closely on a day-to-day basis. Operation of the programme is being delivered through the partnership of Sports Structures and the T&RA, supervised by a panel selected from the Tennis community, which will be coordinated by the T&RA Chairman.

Programme Objectives - Attract, Recruit, Train, & Retain new, young and talented Professionals to Tennis to sustain the

Professional population during the current and any future decline - Upgrade the playing, marking, coaching & equipment skills of all Professionals in Tennis to improve Pro quality and marketability - Improve the business & commercial skills of All

Professionals in Tennis for future career security - Target the business & commercial skills to increase the revenue and prosperity of Tennis clubs - Improve financial reward for Professionals who increase the revenue & profitability of their

Clubs - Work with the Clubs towards improved

Professionals’ pay for improved qualifications and budgetary performance.

Programme Methodology - Attract Tennis Apprentices into the game by focused, targeted and appealing recruitment - Provide Salary Support for new, young, talented Apprentices accepted on Government

Apprenticeships based on Business &

Commercial skills - Encourage and assist the training of all

Professionals to progress from Level 1 to Level 3 - Provide information and links to “Self Help” and distance learning for Business & Commercial courses - Provide Work Shops for training

Alex Machin will start his apprenticeship at Wellington in August 2021

- Playing, Marking, Coaching & Equipment skills - Business & Commercial skills - Provide limited grants, when available, to assist existing Professionals attend Business & .

Commercial courses relevant to improving the revenue & profitability of Tennis Clubs - Provide the infrastructure for formal

Assessment & Recognised IIP Accreditation - Provide mentoring for all Apprentices and

Professionals engaged in IIP.

Current progress Jack Josephs has joined Middlesex University Real Tennis Club (MURTC) as the first Investing in Professionals (IiP) apprentice on a 15-month programme as a trainee assistant Real Tennis professional. evidence that they meet the criteria for all areas.

IiP assessment is completed by the assessment panel. This assessment panel consists of an external Level 3 qualified assessor as well as Professionals who have all achieved at least the same level to that which they are assessing. A minimum of two professionals must be involved in each assessment along with the external assessor. An assessment decision is made and feedback is given to professionals which may include any support they can receive from the mentoring or training programmes embedded into IIP.

IiP Accredited Professionals (Level 2) Nick Wood, Ben Ronaldson, Chris Bray, Jon Dawes, Danny Jones, Josh Smith and Kees Ludekens.

The programme commenced by selecting four candidates from a number of applicants aspiring to be Real Tennis Professionals. Jack successfully navigated his way through a series of interviews by the T&RA selection panel, including court time, and has now started at MURTC as trainee assistant to Chris Bray and Will Burns. The trainee position is on a full-time basis, which will enable Jack to quickly get to know all the members and students at MURTC over the next few months. Participants acquire accredited status by assessment, leading to remuneration that is linked to achievement. The purpose of the IiP is to enhance professionalism in the game. All participants in the IiP scheme will be employed directly by the T&RA, not by a club. MURTC will make a small contribution, together with its professionals, towards the employment cost of the trainee, but will in turn be paid by the T&RA for some of the court and lesson time used. Alex Machin will start at Wellington and Germain Ludekens at Cambridge for the start of the season.

Accreditation IiP also includes an accreditation process whereby professionals are assessed against eight areas of competence at each of the three levels. These areas are; Equipment, Coaching, Marking, Professional/Player Development, Business Skills, Court and Club Maintenance, Presentation and Events, Health and Safety. For each level, a professional must

John Whiting, Facilitator Extraordinairey, with Maltby Salver. The T&RA Chairman’s Award for Volunteer of the Year