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Davis
Cup Trivia - Did They Come?
By: William J. Kellogg
President, La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club
Column #5, January 18th, 2006
Did
They Come? You bet they did! We published an opening
date for ticket sales to the 1st Round Davis Cup Tie between the
USA and Romania of December 6th but we had arranged for advance
ticket sales to members of the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club
and USTA members a week in advance of the sale to the general
public. When the time arrived for the advance sales opportunity,
all 52 phone lines immediately lit up in the office of the USTA.
They had arranged for 16 phone operators and 36 extra rotary lines
to handle the callers. But for half a day, one person after another
kept calling me to report that the phone line was broken. All
they could get was a busy signal.
As
it turns out, the phone lines were not broken, the demand
for tickets was much larger than expected. By the time
the office closed for the day, they had sold over 2,000 tickets
- 50% of the available pool. One enterprising club member that
managed to get through early on a cell phone reported that once
she had ordered her tickets, she simply began handing her phone
to her friends to book their tickets too - I wonder if she collected
a commission from them. The demand was so strong that we had to
hold out some tickets so that we would actually have some to sell
on December 6th, the opening day of sales to the general public.
You
have no idea how many "best friends" I have suddenly
acquired. Some of them I'm not sure I have even met,
but they are certainly convinced that the friendship is tight.
Luckily, I do not control the ticket sales, so I could pass them
off to the USTA but I can't help wondering if they will recognize
me when they get to the matches. And just in case, you were thinking
of calling me too, we are all sold out! Truly great news, considering
the risks we took to prepare a bid and build the stadium.
Another
aspect of the Davis Cup matches that I have not talked about is
the tie-in to the community. There will be some terrific clinics
conducted at the George E. Barnes Family Junior Tennis Center
in Point Loma, the official charity of this Davis Cup Tie. The
Barnes Center operates "After School Tennis Programs"
on 86 school campuses around San Diego County. Tennis
is brought to over 7,500 kids by this program and about 90% of
the kids are "on scholarship" - i.e. they can't afford
the modest fee to participate in the program. The Barnes Center
provides rackets, shoes, balls and nets for this program and focuses
on teaching gym teachers how to provide a tennis program to kids
during recess or after school. There are over 45 campuses on the
waiting list for these programs but each one costs about $1,000
to operate. The USTA has arranged for $20,000 to be channeled
into this great program as a result of holding the Tie in La Jolla.
During
the week of the Tie, over 500 kids will be bussed to the Barnes
Center to participate in a clinic for kids of all ages
and ability levels. They will hit for prizes, have their ability
evaluated, have lots of fun and will even have a chance to meet
the Bryan twins - the #1 doubles team in the world who
are members of the US Davis Cup squad.
If
you have some free time on Wednesday, February 8 at 3:30PM, you
might want to visit the Barnes Center and find
out what it is all about. It is a great resource for our community
and our Davis Cup Matches will give it a great boost.
Tune
in next column to learn about the finances for this sporting event.
*
William J. ("Bill") Kellogg
is President of the La Jolla
Beach & Tennis Club, Inc. He also
chairs the United States Tennis Association's Davis Cup Committee
and in this capacity fosters
community involvement when Ties are held in the United States.
Kellogg currently serves on the
International
Tennis Federation's Seniors Committee, serves as a Vice-President
and Delegate
of the Southern California Tennis Association and is a past President
of the San Diego District
Tennis Association and Youth Tennis San Diego.
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