Dianne Weatherby is Chair of the Board for the Ontario Tennis Affiliation. Lately, she took the time to talk to Tennis Canada about how she acquired concerned in tennis and the place her journey within the sport has taken her, in addition to the gamers which have impressed her, together with a few Canadian superstars…
Rising up watching tennis on TV, Dianne Weatherby was very a lot a fan and never but a participant. In reality, it wasn’t till her late 30s that she picked up a racquet and commenced usually hitting on the neighborhood tennis courts that backed onto her yard.
As soon as she caught the ‘tennis bug’, she couldn’t get sufficient and shortly turned a member at her native membership earlier than becoming a member of its govt group as Social Director and taking on as President only a 12 months later. “I’m captivated with giving again to the neighborhood, so it was a straightforward determination to grow to be a tennis volunteer,” Dianne stated.
Tasked with managing large-scale company occasions and member training providers at a securities regulatory group throughout her day job, Dianne describes herself as a “busy individual”. That’s as a result of she can be on the Board of Administrators of YouthLink – a multi-service company providing youth and household counselling, help, lodging, training and community-based applications – all whereas performing her duties as Ontario Tennis Affiliation (OTA) Chair of the Board.
Within the 20 years since her involvement in tennis started, Dianne says she has seen growing variety on the golf equipment and occasions she attends. “By way of the years I’ve observed increasingly individuals of color at neighborhood golf equipment, together with my very own membership, plus extra have been attending the Nationwide Financial institution Open,” she commented. “Folks have found out that tennis is just not the elitest sport that it was, no less than not in Canada. I’m proof that tennis is an inclusive sport and irrespective of the color of your pores and skin you’ll be able to study, develop, and lead within the tennis neighborhood.”
From Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe within the Nineteen Fifties, 60s and 70s, Venus and Serena Williams’ rise within the Nineties and 2000s to Canada’s very personal Leylah Annie Fernandez and Félix Auger-Aliassime, who’re making their mark right here and now, these are examples all through tennis historical past of minority athletes having fun with ground-breaking success. And it’s been a pleasure to behold for Dianne.
“When Venus, after which Serena, got here on the scene it was magical as a result of I noticed not one, however two younger girls with my pores and skin color taking part in on the world stage and it was inspiring,” she stated. “It made me want I had discovered to play tennis as a toddler, and never in my late 30s. It’s a transparent indication that tennis is turning into extra various and inclusive, which is a testomony to the nice work being carried out on the provincial and nationwide stage to supply alternatives for everybody and anybody to take part, compete and enhance at each stage, no matter their gender id, race, or ethnicity. Leylah and Félix have vibrant futures forward, as do our different superb Canadian tennis stars and the juniors which might be coming down the pipe.”
With 260 golf equipment and academies, representing over 85,000 grownup and junior members, the OTA is the most important Provincial Tennis Affiliation in Canada. Its three-year strategic plan contains a number of vital applications that Dianne says “intention to encourage participation and improve entry to tennis”. Their many initiatives embody delivering and rising youngsters’ progressive tennis, making their dream of an OTA Tennis Centre a actuality, in addition to Membership Robust, a program which offers golf equipment with the required instruments to reinforce their operations and run efficiently.
One other key focus space is various and under-represented teams, together with girls and ladies. In 2022, the OTA launched a girls’s mentorship program, Passages, in partnership with Encourage By way of Sport. Dianne defined: “This system introduced 30 younger girls collectively in a collaborative atmosphere to study, develop, and lead, they usually efficiently accomplished both the Tennis Instructors Course or the Officiating Course. Our aim is to increase this program and discover different methods to draw extra individuals from various and under-represented communities to play and help tennis on a sustained foundation.”
A member of the BIPOC neighborhood, Dianne can be the second lady within the OTA’s 103-year historical past to function Chair of the Board. Simply as she and lots of others have been impressed by the unbelievable success of ladies athletes on the courtroom, she hopes to supply encouragement to others by succeeding in her function.
“All through my life I’ve had the nice fortune of assembly some distinctive function fashions and mentors,” she stated. “They’ve helped form me into the lady I’m as we speak, and I hope younger girls will see me as a task mannequin and supply of inspiration.”
