The USTA today announced that the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego is one of 25 winners in the USTA’s annual Outstanding Facility Awards program, which recognizes excellence in the construction and/or renovation of tennis facilities throughout the country.
Barnes Tennis Center continues to invest in its facility, including the addition of new LED lighting on each of the facility’s 25 courts. The facility was also able to host the Easter Bowl, IOSC, Pac-12 Championships, Girls National Championships, and ITF events, among many other tournaments during the pandemic, due to their strong COVID-19 safety protocols. In addition, Barnes Tennis Center runs a successful and popular after school program, called the Kathy Chabot Willette After School Tennis Program, that reaches thousands of kids annually. Visitors will also find a dedicated Junior and Adult Tennis Performance Center that offers services in addition to tennis, such as physical therapy, yoga, strength and conditions, and more.
“Great tennis facilities like the Barnes Tennis Center help us to grow the game at the grassroots level, and we are proud to recognize them for their ongoing impact on the sport of tennis,” said Craig Morris, Chief Executive, Community Tennis, USTA. “Barnes Tennis Center has embraced many key tennis initiatives and kept the sport at the forefront of its community each year.
To be considered for an award, facilities must be under the jurisdiction of a park and recreation department, an educational institution, a nonprofit corporation or be a private or commercially-owned-and-operated facility that offers both USTA and public programming designed to help grow tennis.
Facilities were judged on the following criteria: overall layout and adaptation to site; excellence of court surface and lights; ease of maintenance; accommodations for players, spectators and press/officials; aesthetics; graphics (including the use of signs and landscaping); amenities such as casual seating for spectators, food services and social areas; and the facilities’ participation in USTA programs.
Nominated facilities were voted on in the following categories: Public Courts that are either small tennis centers with 2-10 courts or large tennis centers with 11 or more courts; Private Facilities that support the USTA and other “growth of the game” programs open to the public; and Educational Institutions such as colleges, universities, public and private grade schools, middle schools, or high schools.
All 2021 award winners will receive a wall plaque and an all-weather sign, which can be mounted at the facility. One of the award winners will earn the prestigious “Featured Facility of the Year” designation and be honored as part of the USTA’s Semi-Annual Meeting later this year.
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