New tennis fund-raising body urged to run more local events
New tennis fund-raising body urged to run more local events
JAKARTA (JP): The newly established Indonesian Tennis
Association's fund-raising and promotion body received a
challenging response yesterday to how many international
tournaments it could hold to help national players raise their
standards.
National men's coach and former top tennis player Wailan
Walalangi urged the new body not only to think of fund-raising
efforts but also to influence the international tennis bodies to
sanction more satellite, or challenger, men's tournaments which
offer under US$100,000 in prize money, here.
The fund-raising program, officially launched Thursday by the
association's chairman Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, aims to collect at
least Rp 5 billion (more than $2 million) from the public by
1998.
Only 20 percent of the money will be used for national tennis
development, while the lion's share goes to the association's
long-term savings.
The new body will honor the first 200 donors who contribute a
minimum of Rp 1 million as charter members. In return, the
members will receive, among other things, a periodical newsletter
on tennis and tickets to watch any tournaments organized by the
association.
Sarwono named businessman Djoko Kusumowidagdo for the top job
in the new body, an extension of the old one headed by Eddy
Katimansah. Eddy, who is also the association's foreign affairs
official, is vice chairman to Djoko.
"The most important thing to do now is to provide our players
with as much exposure at home as possible before they go
international," Wailan said yesterday. "What's a big tournament
for if our talented players cannot even go beyond the qualifying
round?"
Indonesia has only a satellite tournament, which is now
underway, in addition to the star-studded $300,000 Indonesia
Open. The ATP Tour, the world men's professional tennis body,
canceled the Indonesian Challenger last year due to its poor
organization.
Indonesia also has two women's tournaments offering $100,000
in prize money, held annually here and in Surabaya, East Java.
(amd)