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GACTA 10 Year Timeline

Since being founded in 2004, GACTA has been advocating for the Gainesville tennis community.  Contact us with any questions or for more information about getting involved.

2004

  • The Gainesville Area Community Tennis Association was formed on 8/16/2004, and the first Board of Directors meeting was held in December 2004.

2005

  • GACTA website was created by Martie Healy
  • Organized a 25 Year Anniversary Celebration of USTA League Tennis
  • Monthly tennis mixers for GACTA members (mostly hosted by Ben and Libby Smith)
  • Corporate Tennis League (overseen by Martie Healy)
  • Rally Ball Program at Buchholz (Ed Schmidt).
  • Organized 24 volunteers for USTA Bobby Curtis Tennis on the Move Kids’ Carnival at UF Varsity courts.
  • Worked with the 300 Club to sponsor a charity tournament to raise money for Hurricane Katrina relief
  • Supported development of Jonesville Tennis Center

2006

  • Sponsored recreational coaches’ workshop in August 2006
  • Donated $5,000 to NW Boys’ and Girls’ Club to refurbish tennis courts.
  • Purchased racquets, foam balls, mini-nets for Boys and Girls Club.
  • Developed a GACTA Tennis Ladder program
  • Implemented a USTA Junior Team Tennis program
  • Continued support of development of Jonesville Tennis Center

2007

  • Continued maintenance of website
  • Continued support of USTA League Tennis program
  • Junior Team Tennis League continues
  • Continued support of development of Jonesville Tennis Center

2008

  • Southeast Boys & Girls Club tennis program at T.B. McPherson courts– Christine Shurtleff
  • Created tennis program at Woodlawn Boys and Girls Club (Christine Shurtleff).
  • GACTA board approved a $15,000 donation to Alachua County for Jonesville Tennis Center construction.
  • Continued support of USTA League programs (another record year with 865 unique players and 2500 registrations)
  • Continued support of the growing Junior Team Tennis program
  • USTA League fees donated by Lee Johnson and Christine Shurtleff make possible GACTA program support
  • Exploration of introducing tennis to local Special Olympics group
  • Held a “Doubles for Dummies” seminar in March at DB, organized by Becky Bates.
  • Christine Shurtleff wins Female Merit Award at the USTA Florida Annual Meeting

2009

  • Quick Start Tennis coaching workshop held at Westside Park March 2009
  • Spring 2009: Extended Day Tennis Pilot Program in three Alachua County elementary schools (Anne Koterba)
  • Pilot Junior Competitive mentoring program (Anne Koterba)
  • Jonesville Tennis Center opened May 9th, 2009, after years of advocacy by GACTA members.
  • Obtained 501c3 status, effective July 2009, thanks to Lee Johnson
  • JTC Community Tennis Fundraiser “Jamboree” in August, 2009. Dave Porter donated $2,000 to GACTA for junior programs
  • Summer 2009: USTA Recreational Tennis Grant awarded ($6250) for expansion of after-school tennis program from three schools to ten schools for the 2009-2010 school year. First Play Day held
  • Continued support of Junior Team Tennis, One JTT team travels to Nationals
  • Anne Koterba received the CTA Volunteer of the Year Award at the USTA Florida Annual Meeting

2010

  • September 2010: Received USTA Florida Share the Love grant ($5750) for continuation of the EDEP tennis program and adaptive tennis programming.
  • Negotiated with Alachua County Choices program to assist in offering tennis as an after-school activity in all county elementary schools for the 2010-2011 school year
  • Sponsored well-attended Quick Start Tennis workshop at JTC
  • Supported Adaptive Tennis open houses at JTC
  • JTC wins Member Organization of the Year Award at the USTA Florida Annual Meeting
  • Linda Green wins Jr. Team Tennis Local League Coordinator of the Year Award at the USTA Florida Annual Meeting

2011

  • April 2011: Second Annual EDEP/GACTA Tennis Fun Day held at JTC. Alachua County Choices program partially funds this program. This program served over 300 children.
  • GACTA sponsors first season of Middle School Tennis, with four public schools and approximately 90 kids participating (Anne Koterba, Coordinator)
  • October, 2011: GACTA awarded USTA Florida Section Foundation grant ($3900) to establish tennis programming in east Gainesville (T.B. McPherson and EHS)
  • JTC awarded the 2011 USTA National Outstanding Facility Award (Featured Facility)

2012

  • GACTA sponsors second season of middle school tennis, with eight schools and approximately 150 students participating
  • GACTA donates $1,000 to develop a middle school tennis program at Howard Bishop
  • Tennis programming begins at HBMS in partnership with 21stCCLC program in summer, 2012 continuing through the fall
  • JTC hosts its first USTA Pro Circuit event held in Gainesville, a $10,000 Women’s Future event in October 2012. A Community Play Day is held in conjunction with the tournament.

2013

  • GACTA sponsors its third season of Middle School Tennis, with Howard Bishop Middle School having the first major program tennis team in east Gainesville.
  • November 2013: GACTA awarded Share the Love grant ($2650), to support tennis programming in east Gainesville, in partnership with 21stCCLC. 
  • December 2013: GACTA awarded a USTA Florida Section Foundation grant ($9000) to support GACTA’s Aces in Motion after-school program in east Gainesville
  • GACTA became a NJTL organization, in addition to continuing as a CTA.

2014

  • GACTA appoints its first paid staff member, Addison Staples, as part-time Executive Director, effective 1/1/2014.
  • GACTA website overhauled (Gainesvilletennis.org) and Aces in Motion website (acesinmotion.org) created
  • Gainesville Community Tennis calendar developed
  • GACTA and Aces in Motion Facebook presence established and maintained
  • GACTA sponsors its fourth season of Middle School Tennis
  • April 2014: Addison Staples attended the Change the Game conference in NYC
  • April 2014: GACTA became a member of Up2Us.
  • May 2014: GOWTL (day league) luncheon raffle raises $725 for GACTA.
  • June, 2014: GACTA awarded a USTA Serves Grant ($10,000) to expand the Aces in Motion Tennis Outreach program in east Gainesville
  • June, 2014: First Constant Contact newsletter sent out to approximately 1100 individuals
  • August, 2014: GACTA holds its first annual fundraiser, The Bryan Shelton Celebration of Gainesville Tennis, Past and Present. This event raised over $25,000 for GACTA.
  • Established the Dr. John J. Ross Pre-Collegiate Scholarship Fund and the McDonald Scholarship
  • September 2014: GACTA was accepted into the USTA Foundation NJTL Capacity Building program
  • October 2014: Addison Staples and Anne Koterba attend the Pre-TDW NJTL Capacity Building program in Atlanta
  • November 2014: USTA Florida Section Foundation grant award ($7078) for expansion of the Aces in Motion program in new 21st CCLC elementary schools and to establish a Special Olympics tennis program, based at Sidney Lanier Center.
  • December 2014: Awarded USTA Foundation grant support of $12,500 to expand AIM programming at Boulware Springs Charter, Pineridge neighborhood and at T.B. McPherson. In addition, GACTA was awarded a $25,000 USTA Foundation NJTL grant to increase the capacity of our organization (expand Executive Director position to full-time and hire a program director.

GACTA Accomplishments 2011-2013

With funding from the USTA Florida Foundation and various partnerships in the community, the following accomplishments were made:

  • The first middle school tennis club was formed in east Gainesville, in partnership with 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC), with tennis instruction and mentoring provided continuously from summer 2012 to the present at Howard Bishop Middle School. Tennis instruction has been provided both during the summer enrichment program as well as during the regular after-school program in fall and spring.
  • Abandoned tennis courts at Howard Bishop Middle School were revitalized. As a result, HBMS is the only public middle school in Gainesville with functional tennis courts on its campus.
  • The first middle school tennis team (HBMS) composed of players primarily living in east Gainesville competed in the GACTA Alachua County Middle School Tennis league in 2013.
  • The first USTA Jr. Team Tennis team, composed entirely of disadvantaged middle school players, was formed and began competition in fall 2013.
  • In 2014, the HBMS middle school tennis team was composed of 6 magnet school players and 8 main program players, which led to a greater understanding and camaraderie between the two groups
  • For three summers (2011-2013), tennis instruction was regularly provided at an east Gainesville city park (T.B. McPherson Recreation Center) in partnership with the Eastside Advocacy Group for Youth (EAGY) and Mike Oransky Tennis.