What is Advocacy?

Anyone can be an advocate for tennis.  All you need is a desire to serve the sport, some good information and the ability to share it publicly with those who can influence decisions in your community. 

The time commitment varies and is up to you.  You can advocate for tennis simply by sharing positive news and information locally on your own time.  If you are able to make a larger commitment and serve on an advocacy project, you might attend meeting every week or month and communicate with others more frequently.  Check out our current projects for a better idea of what is involved.

USTA Florida offers information and resources to help you spread information in your community.  Additionally, we offer project templates and staff support for projects that our local advocacy leads are working on in their areas.  Our volunteer Advocacy Advisors can help you better define your project, and our staff lead can help you manage the process and provide administrative support while your project is happening.

Becoming an advocate for tennis can help you in many ways.  First, it can help you become more connected with the local tennis community and be more engaged in key issues and opportunities early on.  It also is an excellent way to start – or continue – your leadership journey with USTA Florida.  As a local advocacy lead, you’ll have a direct connection to our organization and access to resources, like mentors and other support tools, that can help you grow and learn.

As we launch our new advocacy program, we will be hosting webinars in the fall for our new advocacy leads.  As we head into 2025, USTA Florida will be hosting both in-person and virtual webinars to help all local advocates identify issues and develop/deliver on advocacy projects.  These opportunities will be posted on our advocacy web site and be served up in our weekly eNews.

Connecting with other advocates in your community can happen in many ways.  Visiting local tennis courts and talking to others who support tennis is a great way to start.  If your area has a local Community Tennis Association, that is another great way to connect with like-minded advocates.  Signing up for our advocacy program will also help us connect you with others in your area who want to help lead important projects in the future.

Yes – many local tennis organizations, such as community tennis associations, local leagues and national junior tennis and learning chapters, already advocate for tennis in many of our communities.  Connecting with them can help amplify your advocacy work and ensure our messages and information are being heard by decision makers. 

ABSOLUTELY.  We need everyone who cares about tennis to get involved.  Bringing a friend in is a great way to expand your influence and reach.  Share USTA Florida information and resources with your network and invite others to be part of your advocacy team.

Key issues are common issues that we are hearing about from many communities across the state.  Things such as courts needing repair, not having enough courts, needing more coaches or better programs, all fall under this umbrella and we are actively working with local teams to address.  But these are not the only issues.  Every community in the state is different.  Our Advocacy program is designed to enable local advocates to share any/all issues with us.  We are here to serve you.

We are excited to have you as an advocacy lead.  After you sign up, a member of our staff team will reach out to learn more about your interests and potential advocacy projects in your area.  A good next step is to check out the advocacy handbook, project examples and other resources that can help as you begin planning your project.  Think about other team members and stakeholders you may want to include in your work.  Our staff and advisory team will set up calls to guide you along the way.