Successful Meetings - January 2008 - (Page 44)

Resort Meetings > Tennis, Anyone? Saddlebrook’s grass courts offer an unexpected and unique experience, even for seasoned players. participation in golf, the sport stalwart for meeting groups, grew only 2.4 percent over the same period. Fortunately for planners, you don’t have to know anything about the game to coordinate a successful, memorable event—although you should consider hitting the court, too. tennis at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, CO. Tennis pros are adept at working with planners who are unfamiliar with the sport, so they know what questions to ask to determine the skill level of attendees and the setup that will suit the group best. TENNIS 101 “It’s very simple [to organize]. It’s no more complicated than one or two phone calls to a pro to give him a list of the players,” says Veronica Scrimshaw, who plans meetings for NPA, The Worldwide Recruiting Network, in Grand Rapids, MI. Scrimshaw’s attendees include a small but devoted group of tennis players who like to play in a round-robin or mixed-doubles tournament at NPA’s annual meeting. Tennis professionals agree that for the planner, a tennis activity can be a hassle-free addition to the meeting agenda. For a basic event, a planner need only call the tennis director with “a ballpark idea of how many people will play,” says Karen Brandner, director of Pointers From The Pros Know where your group is going before purchasing extras or risk wasting money. For example, don’t invest in logoed balls that are designed for low-altitude play if you are going to a high-altitude resort. —Karen Brandner, The Broadmoor Most pros opt for a round-robin tournament, which allows all players to compete against one another. “It’s a great equalizer and you have a chance to mix with a lot of people,” Brandner explains. It’s also easy to add or remove players from the activity; “groups must be divisible by four, so if you have, say, 18 people, we’ll throw two of our pros into the mix as well,” says Tim DiDonato, director of tennis at the Hilton Waikoloa Village on the Big Island of Hawaii. DiDonato runs Kohala Tennis, which is based at Waikoloa Village, but he also partners with the Fairmont Orchid Hawaii, Mauna Lani Resort, Kukio Resort, Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort and Spa, and Hilton Grand Vacations Club. It’s important to know the personality of players before setting up a tennis event. For particularly competitive groups, Brandner says, “We keep things moving and keep everything very structured and fair. Other groups are more laid-back and want more of a fun experience,” she says. If planners have avid players among their attendees, JANUARY 2008 SUCCESSFUL MEETINGS 44 mimegasite.com http://mimegasite.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Successful Meetings - January 2008

Successful Meetings - January 2008 Contents Editor's Note Associations Research Events Suppliers Associations On the Record Associations Suppliers Planner Spotlight Websites of the Month Management Matters Meeting the Law Personal Success Mouth for Sale Food & Beverage Professional Development On Site Pre-Event Tools of the Trade Veggie Power Tennis, Anyone? Seeing is Believing The Wild Green Yonder Game On Places & Spaces Galveston & Texas Beaches Greater Seattle Singapore Gurus

Successful Meetings - January 2008

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