Junior Tennis Champions Center Honored By The United States Tennis Association

Honored for Excellence as Outstanding Member Organization

COLLEGE PARK, Md., Oct. 31, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Junior Tennis Champions Center (JTCC), the world-class tennis training center in College Park, Md., today announced that it has been recognized by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) as the 2013 Outstanding Mid-Atlantic Member Organization of the year award.

The award is given to organizations that best exemplify service to the community, service to its members through junior and adult programs, and service to the game of tennis. As a sectional winner of the Outstanding Organization Award, JTCC will be eligible for the national USTA Member Organization of the Year Awards.

"We are proud to recognize the Junior Tennis Champions Center and their dedication to their members and the community," says USTA/Mid-Atlantic Executive Director, Rod Dulany. "JTCC and their staff are leaders in the tennis industry and we are grateful for their advocacy of USTA programs."

JTCC has developed a unique community outreach program based on a mentoring model. High performing student athletes in their early teens become role models for pre-teen youth in the underserved communities of Washington, D.C. and Prince George's County. In 2009, through a partnership with the D.C. government and GEICO, JTCC introduced Game On!, an out-of-school program offering tennis and academic enrichment to underserved children ages 6-13.  In 2011, JTCC partnered with the Prince George's County Department of Parks and Recreation and Maryland National-Capital Park and Planning Commission to bring its grassroots tennis program, Advantage Prince George's, to children in Prince George's County. Since its inception, Community Outreach has introduced tennis and life-skills lessons to more than 1,000 children in the District of Columbia and in Prince George's County, Md.

"Giving back is a top priority for JTCC," said Ray Benton, chief executive officer of the Tennis Center at College Park Home of the Junior Tennis Champions Center. "We are honored to be recognized for our work in the community which is a critical component of our program. We appreciate USTA's continued support of JTCC."

JTCC will be honored for the award on Nov. 23 at the 2013 USTA/Mid-Atlantic annual meeting and awards luncheon.

About Junior Tennis Champions Center
Junior Tennis Champions Center (JTCC), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is a world-class junior developmental training program operating at the Tennis Center at College Park, MD. Selected as the first United States Tennis Association Regional Training Center, JTCC provides a pathway for players from their introduction to the game to top-tier collegiate and professional competition. The Tennis Center at College Park, which was named the 2013 USTA Facility of the Year, is a 32-court full service club located conveniently to serve the Washington, DC metropolitan area. JTCC is committed to community outreach through its after-school and summer youth programs. The most talented and motivated youth identified from JTCC's grassroots programs are offered scholarships to attend JTCC's training programs.

About United States Tennis Association
The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the United States and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level, from local communities to the highest level of the professional game.  A not-for-profit organization with more than 770,000 members, it invests 100 percent of its proceeds in growing the game. It owns and operates the US Open, the highest-attended annual sporting event in the world, and launched the Emirates Airline US Open Series, linking nine summer tournaments to the US Open. In addition, it owns approximately 90 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S. and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. The USTA's national charitable foundation, USTA Serves, provides grants and scholarships and helps underserved youth and people with disabilities. For more information on the USTA, log on to usta.com, "like" the official Facebook page, facebook.com/usta, or follow @usta on Twitter.

SOURCE Junior Tennis Champions Center