JMU's poor courts cost tennis tournament

House Editorial

A professional women's tennis tournament will not be returning to Harrisonburg in August. The Rockingham Heritage Bank/United States Tennis Association Women's $10,000 Pro Circuit Tennis Tournament has been played at JMU for the last five years, but this year the condition of the Hillside tennis courts was judged unplayable by USTA standards.

By allowing the courts to deteriorate as much as they have, the JMU athletic department has lost a major opportunity to bring revenue and publicity to the university and community.

Until the USTA's announcement, JMU was one of only five colleges in the nation to host major pro tennis tour events, and at least one player from the Rockingham Heritage Bank tournament has played in the U.S. Open each year. This tournament is one of 12 on the $10,000 level, and helps to increase public awareness of JMU and Harrisonburg.

When the tournament abandons JMU as its venue it will takes an estimated $165,000 of revenue from the city of Harrisonburg, according to the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Convention & Visitor's Bureau. While this loss does not directly affect JMU, it still is a heavy blow monetarily to the community.

Shelia Moorman, JMU's assistant athletic director, said in Saturday's edition of The Daily News-Record that the tournament is "not a priority for JMU," — an irresponsible attitude for a university attempting to raise its national status and support the local community. JMU cannot continue to allow opportunities to bring itself into the national sports spotlight to slip away and expect to gain respect for its struggling athletic programs.

The USTA consistently has rated the Hillside tennis courts as being in poor condition after every tournament it has held here, yet no steps were taken to make substantial repairs to them. The athletic department's negligence not only lost the school the opportunity to host a major tennis tournament, but it also shows a lack of concern for the men's and women's varsity and club tennis teams. The women's team plays on the much-maligned Hillside tennis courts, while the men's team plays on the incorrectly sloped courts near the Convocation Center.

The athletic department should take steps to ensure that the tennis courts on campus, especially the severely dilapidated Hillside tennis courts, are in a playable condition for next year and do what it can to get the tournament to return to JMU. The department plans to have the courts renovated by next September, a month after the tournament event will be held.

The tournament may return, though there is no guarantee it will, even if the courts are brought up to USTA standards.

JMU may have let the most important professional sporting event it hosts walk away, disgusted with its experience due to the lack of concern for the status of its facilities. The athletic department needs to review its priorities to make sure that JMU's status in the athletic world doesn't slip any further away than it already has.