Welcome to the National Bank Play Your Court Program
Thanks to the generosity and support of National Bank, local communities across the country can apply to receive funding to revitalize their outdoor community tennis courts. In August 2022, National Bank and Tennis Canada joined forces to launch the program, aiming to make tennis more accessible for all Canadians.
There is a growing demand for tennis and a need to update many outdoor community courts. The program’s focus is to work with municipalities to give new life to community courts that already exist.
“We’re excited about this new initiative with our long-time partner Tennis Canada. The revitalization of public courts will have a significant positive impact in many communities across the country and will allow thousands of tennis enthusiasts to benefit from quality facilities in their neighbourhoods. We’re convinced that providing an inviting environment will also encourage many new players to take up the sport and enjoy its benefits,” said Jean-François Hanczakowski, Senior Vice-President, Client Experience and Digital at National Bank.
This much-needed initiative, a first of its kind in Canada, will provide $3 million in funding for municipalities to revitalize outdoor tennis courts across the country – with a goal of over 100 revitalized courts by 2030.
Stanley Park’s revitalizeD Courts (2023)
Application process
We invite municipalities to apply for funding. The selection process is managed by Tennis Canada who will review the applicants using criteria and tools that are objective, diverse and inclusive.
If you are interested in receiving more information please email playyourcourt@tenniscanada.com and a member of our Tennis Canada team will be happy to assist.
About our Program sponsor: National Bank
The program is part of a 10-year partnership between Tennis Canada and National Bank that was announced in February 2021. Elements of this corporate partnership, considered the largest in the history of the sport in Canada, include multifaceted sponsorships of the National Bank Open tournaments in Toronto and Montreal, National Bank Challenger Tour and regional events.
It also features support of provincial tennis associations and the Tennis Professionals Association (TPA), a long-term gender equity strategy, and the popular National Bank Little Aces talent recruitment and development program.
National Bank Play your court program is a cornerstone program for National Bank based on the value of tennis as a sport, accessible and inclusive for all Canadians – one that brings people together, and creates strong, healthy, unified communities.
To learn more about National Bank’s commitment to tennis, click here.
FAQ
We aim to revitalize more than 100 courts by 2030.
The City of Brampton along with National Bank and Tennis Canada revealed the City’s new National Bank Tennis Courts on September 23, 2022 – the first court revitalization project of the National Bank Play Your Court program. The courts are located at Morris Kerbel Park, in Brampton, Ontario.
The application must provide information on the tennis participation that exists in that community. We’ll be considering both the need and the drive for new courts.
View the program guidelines for more details on the process.
Funding will support capital costs of revitalizing existing outdoor community courts in need of repair. The applicant must demonstrate a level of investment as well as the impact that this project will have on the community. View the program guidelines for more information on eligibility and project requirements.
Funding for this program is established at $3 million (2022-2030).
From development programs to coach support to tournament sponsorships, National Bank believes in the value of tennis to the physical, mental and social well-being of our communities.
Partners since 2005, National Bank and Tennis Canada began a new era in their partnership last February (2021), with a new 10-year agreement. Elements of this new partnership, considered the largest in the history of the sport in Canada, includes:
- multifaceted sponsorships of the National Bank Open in Toronto and Montreal
- National Bank Challenger Tour and regional events
- support of provincial tennis associations
- support of the Tennis Professionals Association (TPA)
- a long-term gender equity strategy (incl. Girls. Set. Match)
Municipalities own the largest inventory of outdoor court infrastructure across the country. They have indicated they do their best to maintain their existing court infrastructure, but budget pressures may impact their ability to keep all their outdoor courts at the quality they would like. This is why we would like to partner with municipalities. If there are third-party operators leasing publicly accessible outdoor courts, we would also look at partnering with those operators (such as local community tennis clubs) as long as the municipality provides approval to do so.
