Cherry Hill Health and Racquet Club, Cherry Hill, New Jersey, will be honored by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) this fall as one of 12 winners in the 35th annual USTA Facility Awards Program.
The award recognizes excellence in construction and/or renovation of tennis facilities throughout the country. Cherry Hill Health and Racquet Club (CHHRC) is the only facility among the winners that includes a full health club. The full list of winners appears at the bottom of this page.
"It's something that's huge for the club to get recognition all around not just New Jersey, but around the nation," Todd Doran, tennis director, CHHRC, told Club Industry. "But it's well deserved from our owner all the way down to maintenance. Everyone puts in so much time and effort to keep up a high standard and the customers happy. Everyone is doing the little things, and overall it adds up and makes us an outstanding facility."
CHHRC opened in 1971 and is the largest tennis and multi-sport facility in the Delaware Valley at more than 160,000 square feet. The USTA described CHHRC's facility as state-of-the-art and a family-friendly health, fitness and sports club. Children have access to tennis, karate, gymnastics, basketball, skills training, off-site swimming and summer sports camps, the USTA noted in its announcement. CHHRC also hosts numerous tennis events throughout the year, including the Father Son National Tennis Indoor Championships.
“Great tennis facilities like the Cherry Hill Health and Racquet Club help us to grow the game at the grass-roots level, and we are proud to recognize them for their ongoing impact on the sport of tennis,” Kurt Kamperman, chief executive, community tennis, USTA, said in a statement. “Cherry Hill Health and Racquet Club has embraced many of our tennis initiatives and kept the sport at the forefront of its community each year.”
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.
"Tennis is a huge part of fitness," Doran said. "For us being the only health club [awarded], I hope it would spark some interest for other clubs. Tennis is something every club should have."
The USTA Facility Awards recognition is not the first USTA honor for CHHRC. It was named a USTA Middle States Premier Facility in 2014 and was named one of 29 Premier Providers by USTA Middle States in 2015 for providing a variety of programs to children of all ages.
Tennis is successful at CHHRC because of its offerings to members of all ages, customer service and a willingness to experiment, Doran said.
"We're willing to fail and learn from that," Doran said. "I'm open to anything, I listen to all of the customers and we'll give things a shot. I've run programs straight off feedback from some of the kids and parents – some have been awesome and some have failed. The key is to try things and be open minded. You never know what's going to click, what's not going to click. Not everything is easy. But if you have everybody on board, put the children first – that's in our best interest to develop them – anything you do from then on will make sense and pan out."
The awards will be presented to the 12 facilities at the Grand Hyatt New York in New York City on September 1.
2016 USTA Facility Awards Program Winners
Public Courts: Small Tennis Centers (Two to 10 courts)
San Sebastian Tennis Courts – San Sebastian, Puerto Rico
Public Courts: Large Tennis Centers (11 or more courts)
Cherry Hill Health & Racquet Club – Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Cooper Tennis Complex – Springfield, Missouri
Henry L. McMullen Tennis Complex – Clearwater, Florida
Oak Brook Tennis Center – Oak Brook, Illinois
Oklahoma City Tennis Center – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Sound Shore Indoor Tennis LLC – Port Chester, New York
Owensboro Tennis Facility – Owensboro, Kentucky
The Candy Erickson Tennis Center – Park City, Utah
Educational Institution
McCallie School Strang-Voges Tennis Center – Chattanooga, Tennessee
Michael & Anne Greenwood Tennis Center – Stillwater, Oklahoma
Private Facilities
Sea Colony Tennis – Bethany Beach, Delaware