Another year is coming to a close for the Richmond Tennis Association, and this one marks the end of a two-year term as president for Ginny Wortham, who turned in one of the most energetic and successful tours in quite a while.
Let’s allow Ginny to say a few words about her stint and then we’ll look at the accomplishments for 2014.
Dear Richmond Tennis Community:
As my tenure as RTA President comes to an end, I want to take the opportunity to thank you for your incredible support of tennis in Richmond. Thank you for volunteering, donating, and participating. We would not be successful without you.
It is my privilege to announce that our board has elected Tom Ager to serve as President in 2015. Tom brings passion for tennis, extensive non-profit experience, and marketing expertise to his new role, and we are lucky to have him at the helm.
Tom is joined by a very strong slate of officers:
President – Tom Ager
Vice-President – John DePew
Secretary – Travis Miller
Treasurer – Jay Nelson
Executive Committee At-Large – Fred Bruner
Executive Committee At-Large – Bill Carli
Executive Committee At-Large – Joe Grover
Past President – Ginny Wortham
We have already been planning for 2015, and it looks like it is going to be another exciting year for tennis in Richmond. In closing, I have asked our contributing writer, John Packett, to recap 2014.
Best wishes to you all throughout this holiday season.
Ginny Wortham
President
It was certainly a memorable two years in the long history of the RTA with Wortham in charge. In addition to lending her on-court talents to several tournaments, she made sure her organization ran smoothly and kept the RTA a viable part of the Richmond tennis experience.
“You won’t find a more hard-working, dedicated leader on behalf of Richmond tennis than Ginny Wortham,” said Ager, the incoming president. “She is a tough act to follow but I’ll do my best. We have a lot of exciting things to look forward to.”
As far as 2014 goes, perhaps the most significant improvement came in the Davenport & Company Richmond Tennis Championships, which increased the sizes of the men’s singles and doubles draws by an appreciable number over recent years. The Davenport is co-sponsored by the RTA.
Moving the event to mid-June probably had a lot to do with that, allowing college players to join the fray and many of the talented high school players to enter the draws. Michal Ciszek and 15-year-old Nina Sorkin emerged as champions of the singles divisions.
The other big tournament, Anthem Challenge at the Westwood Club, continues to be a huge success and the largest fund-raiser for the RTA, which kept the doubles matches and competition humming from sunup to sundown for three days in late September.
Atlantic Coast Athletic Club (ACAC) dominated the proceedings, winning its fourth straight title and 10th overall.
Meanwhile, on a lower scale, Ridgetop Recreation Association captured the Autumn Cup at Avalon in October, edging out Three Chopt Recreation Club by 21/2 points. It was Ridgetop’s third Autumn Cup championship.
The RTA held a junior banquet in February at Salisbury Country Club to celebrate and honor the 2013 achievements of Richmond’s top junior players.
It also continued to support the excellent work done by the RTA’s community partners: Lobs and Lessons (which includes the Young Aces Open in April at VCU), the Association of Richmond Tennis Professionals (which includes a summer tournament circuit) and Sportable (wheelchair tennis). The RTA continued its partnership with the Keith Mumford Memorial Tournament at the Country Club of Virginia.
The group brought back the RTA summer internship program with the City of Richmond’s Department of Parks and Recreation, as Trent Singleton worked with Victor Rizzi at different parks and recreation camps throughout the summer.
The RTA continued to build on the enhanced junior and adult travel policy that was put into effect in 2013, enabling more players to take advantage of the group’s financial support this year.
In taking over for 2015, Ager has plenty of experience in both tennis and marketing. A native of Atlanta, Ager has lived in Richmond since 1982 and is president of The Creative Director, a media and marketing firm.
Ager played high school and college (St. Andrews, N.C.) tennis and was a member of the local 4.5 men’s USTA League national championship team in 2001.
The RTA appears to be in excellent hands for the upcoming year, when the organization once more plans to spread its good tidings and financial support for the lifetime sport of tennis in Richmond.