Two Organizations Receive Tennis Grants

The Iowa communities of Story City and Burlington will soon receive a Serving Up Tennis Grant from the USTA to introduce tennis into the communities this summer. The funds can go toward starting up a program, or expanding a current one. The community of Story City will be using their grant money to start up a youth tennis program. They’ve purchased 40 racquets in various sizes, a net, three boxes of balls and a cart to keep all the equipment together. 

“We’re excited to be able to offer something new to the community and get some additional use out of our courts that don’t get a lot of use,” said Jenny Nelson, Recreation and Aquatics Supervisor for Story City. “We are so grateful for the grant because it will allow us to get the start-up equipment so we can keep the classes affordable for all our participants.”

The program will start June 1 and go through July. The beginner lessons will be for kids aged 10 and under, and 11-18 years old. 

Over in Burlington, they will be using their grant funds to expand the existing youth and adult tennis programs and add more L7 tournaments. The city will work in collaboration with the Burlington Tennis Association and USTA Iowa. Brian Japsen, with the Burlington Tennis Association, hopes to increase awareness and make the sport as popular as it was in the 70’s and 80’s. 

“Our grant will be used to promote the great sport of tennis,” Japsen said. “We will use this to market the sport and ‘steal’ players away from golf, soccer and other sports that don’t last a lifetime.”

Burlington’s program starts in June, and ends in September. It will be held at Crapo Park and Dankwardt Park.