U S TA E A S T E R N L O N G I S L A N D R E G I O N
Indoor Tennis is Back: A Message from the USTA Long Island Regional Council
These past few months have been extremely trying times for everyone. The members of the USTA Long Island Regional Council have missed all of our friends and colleagues in the local tennis community and our time together on the courts, and we hope you and your families are healthy and doing well. While we were thrilled to get back to outdoor tennis during Phase 2 of New York’s phased reopening plan, we were even more excited to return to indoor tennis in Phase 3 in early July. We know our Long Island clubs have been working hard these past few months to meet the many new health and safety guidelines they will adhere to as they welcome customers back into their facilities. The USTA Long Island Region has also been working hard, along with USTA Eastern, to ease the path by communicating with the general public and tennis facility owners and providing the necessary information to bring tennis back safely. The USTA has actively provided information to stakeholders and players in the industry about returning to safe play with COVID-19 in mind. The USTA National Medical Advisory Group has provided player tips and recommendations as both 26
competitive and recreational players ease their way back into competition. USTA Eastern has held conference calls and provided much needed educational material to clubs on applying for a USTA grants and assistance, as well as creating a USTA Support Hotline and Cleaning and Disinfecting Guidelines. They have also provided Participant and General Facility Release Waiver templates to be used in consultation with counsel and local laws. I have no doubt these efforts by all of us in the tennis community were tantamount in getting tennis reopened on Long Island and across the Eastern Section. I know I join with all of you in being thankful for the return to indoor tennis play and getting our juniors, adults, league players, Net Generation kids and everyone else back out on the courts and enjoying the sport we all love. If you have any questions or need information about reopening guidelines, available grants and funding or anything else, please don’t hesitate to email us at ustaonlongisland@gmail.com. —On behalf of your Long Island Council, Jonathan Klee, USTA Long Island Regional Director
Long Island Tennis Magazine • July/August 2020 • LITennisMag.com
