Racquets For All Celebrates 10 Years

The RFA @ 10

The Colorado Youth Tennis Foundation’s Racquets for All (RFA) program turned 10 years-old in 2018. For all those years, gently used and new racquets have been collected, re-conditioned and re-strung, then given to those who need equipment in order to play tennis. Nearly 700 racquets have been donated to the program so far this year and more than 7,750 in all since the program’s inception in 2008. This year alone, 723 racquets were distributed to 32 organizations across Colorado. More than 6,000 have been re-purposed in RFA’s 10-year existence.

“If you put this in terms of impact, we’re not simply talking about tennis racquets here. It’s so much bigger than that,” said Kristy Harris, Community Development Director for USTA Colorado who is staff lesion to the volunteer Racquets for All committee that oversees the program. “It’s all about access and opportunity because each racquet equates to a person gaining access to tennis in order to learn or develop their game,” Harris went on to say.

Racquets for All is always on the lookout for new community-based groups and schools in need of equipment. An equipment request form is available at COLORADOTENNIS.com.

Thank you Alden, Jaime, Adam, Billy Bob and the generous Meadow Creek Tennis & Fitness Club members who have been incredible Racquets for All collectors since we started 10 years ago! Your donations of racquets and balls have made our sport accessible to hundreds of new players who got involved once they discovered the free racquets and balls we have to offer. We couldn’t do it without our fabulous facility partners!

The Racquets for All High School Challenge is an easy way for teams to support the program via racquet drives at their schools. Many of the racquets collected this way have benefited other high school teams where students need equipment in order to compete. Approximately 125 racquets in 2018, and 568 since 2010 have been collected through the High School Challenge.

Arapahoe High School girls’ tennis team (pictured above) won the 2018 Girls’ RFA High School Challenge. Kids win when high school teams collect gently used racquets that are given to those in need.

Coach Travis Crouch from Horizon High School (Thornton) and the girls on the tennis team say thank you for the racquet donation. The support the last two years means a lot!

Update from Coach Guerrero, Pueblo Central HS Head Coach, Racquets for All recipient: “I wanted to update you on my girls’ team that I sent you a picture of last year. They all graduated and will attend college next year. I had six qualify for state under the new 3A classification. What I want the CYTF and those that donate racquets to know is that these girls might not have tried tennis or enjoyed the success they achieved without these racquets helping them get involved in the sport!”

Subaru Partnership a Big Boost for RFA

Of the racquets donated in 2018, 90 came in the form of new racquets provided by longtime USTA Colorado partner, Subaru of America who fittingly also had a big birthday this year, celebrating 50 years of existence.

“Each year, Subaru contributes dollars earmarked for the CYTF’s Racquets for All program as part of their official vehicle partnership of USTA Colorado so that new racquets can be purchased and added to the Racquets for All inventory”, said Lisa Schaefer, Associate Executive Director for USTA Colorado and the CYTF. She went on to say, “In any given year we need more youth or adult racquets than we have on-hand. Subaru’s contribution really helps us keep up with the demand in areas of need.”

A Conversation about Impact with Tony Graziano, Subaru of America’s Regional Vice President

CYTF: Subaru has been part of the success of Racquets for All for many years. Since the program’s inception, we’ve given out over 6000 racquets to those in need. What does it mean to you to be involved with getting racquets in the hands of people who need help in order to play tennis?

TG: Congratulations to Racquets for All for celebrating its 10th year! It shows there is a need and that this program is making an impact. For me personally, I know that exposing kids to this great sport can help them keep active, have fun and provide an opportunity to enjoy the outdoors all while teaching them a sport that can last a lifetime. It also provides an avenue to meet new people and expand your world — you never know who you might meet on the tennis court or the places that tennis can take you in life!

CYTF: How does the RFA program match up with Subaru’s values?

TG: The RFA program matches up well with Subaru’s values in a couple of ways — recycling is in our DNA – our automotive plant in Lafayette, Indiana was the first zero landfill factory in the U.S. And on a local basis, our Subaru Retailers have partnered with a company called TerraCycle where they collect all types of disposable cups and lids, candy and snack wrappers and any brand of single serve coffee and tea capsules -retailers collect them, send them to TerraCycle who then repurposes the waste into high quality products like park benches, picnic tables and playground material. In fact, we have a couple of their Adirondack Chairs on our patio in our Denver Regional Office! Add that Subaru strives to be more than a car company and works hard to ‘Share the Love” and we find that the RFA program fits perfectly with our brand.

CYTF: What does the support of Racquets for All mean to Subaru?

TG: We are honored and proud that Subaru is able to support the RFA program — keeping kids active, having fun and enjoying the Colorado outdoors is certainly what this state and the Subaru brand is all about!