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How Many People Does It Take to Put on a
USTA Georgia State League Championship?

  
     
 
 
 

The USTA Georgia Adult League Tennis State Championships are the largest USTA league championship in the nation. “We’ll have 238 teams and approximately 2,600 players,” Dave Bain, USTA Georgia Director of Leagues, says, “And it takes a lot of volunteers and staff to run the adult league state championships in three different cities over three weekends.”

Macon 3.5 and 4.0 Low championship are the first, followed by 4.0, 4.5 and 5.0 in Rome, and then Augusta 2.5 and 3.0. Macon’s championships are the largest with 102 teams and 1,200 players.

So who’s behind the scenes making sure your tennis experiences and side events run smoothly? According to Donna Bailey, tournament director, there are about 100 volunteers as well as paid staff doing everything from pre-tournament preparation, on-site supervision, score entry, and miscellaneous whatever is needed. “We have one volunteer from our MTA on-site at each venue,” Donna says, “in three different shifts.” Doing the math, that six sites times three for 18 volunteers each day, and quite often a different set of 18 each of the three days.

“It takes an established Community Tennis Association (CTA) who has access to almost unlimited volunteers,” Dave Bain says. “An event this size requires 60 to 70 courts. We have 68 courts in six different facilities for our Macon championship.”   

  Donna Bailey, Macon Tennis Association (MTA) and tournament director of the 3.5 and 4.0 Low USTA Georgia Adult State League Championships, is a woman of 100 hats who "wears many hats". The hats have been collected during her nearly 23 years as a tennis volunteer, running tournaments and officiating tournaments. She has served on the boards of the MTA and as past president of the USTA Georgia Board of Directors, and currently is serving on the Southern Board of Directors as a delegate-at-large.  
       
   
Mary Hatfield, Donna Bailey and Susan Cooper are the tournament’s “brain trust,” entering scores and resolving technical issues.   Nita Perry, Brenda Smith and Linda Cannon are John Drew Smith site coordinators.  
       

MTA Staff

Donna Bailey is tournament director extraordinaire, with nearly 23 years experience as a tennis volunteer and is past president of both USTA Georgia’s Executive Board and the MTA’s Board.

In the tournament “brain trust” room, you’ll find Donna hanging out with Mary Hatfield (USTA Southern’s Managing Director of TennisLink and all things ranking-related), Susan Cooper and Edith Smith  (MTA staffers).

Mary, who is renown as “the fount of all tennis knowledge” by all who know her in the Georgia tennis community, is a former Macon resident moved to the “big city” of Atlanta to work full-time for the USTA Southern Section.

Susan Cooper is event planner who organized all meals and hotel accommodations for staff, door prizes for players, and considers herself #1 go-fer for the tournament. Fellow MTA staffer, Edith Smith, is responsible for score entry.

Linda Cannon, MTA member and past president and Georgia board volunteer, is a volunteer site director at the championships.

Bonnie Smith is the tournament’s #2 go-fer, is currently a member of the MTA Board of Directors and a key volunteer, a junior team tennis coordinator, head of the Georgia Grievance Committee, and Southern’s Junior Team Tennis Committee. She also

Ann Kearbey, tournament referee, brings five years experience as an official to the tournament. She’s also well-known for her 20-some years work with wheelchair tennis and Special Pops, the tennis special Olympics program. 

Other Volunteers

Brenda Smith, Georgia Adult League Committee and past president USTA Georgia and current board member, is volunteering at the Macon championships. Nita Perry, Georgia Officials Committee and Board, has been an official for more than 35 years. Both Brenda and Nita are site coordinators and general “as-needed” back-up at the championships.  

USTA Georgia Staff

USTA Georgia has five staff members working the championship in Macon.

Dave Bain, Director of Leagues, oversees all efforts, works hand-in-hand with volunteers, officials and administrators to prepare and ensure a smoothly running tournament. This is his seventh league championship season. A new father, he’s missing his daughter Payton’s first birthday this May and, of course, his wife Renee’s first Mother’s Day this year. Dave is an up-state New York native who played football at Ithaca College. He plays 3.5 tennis in the USTA Atlanta league.

Dan Even, Adult Recreation Coordinator, is Dave’s “right-hand man,” assisting Dave and volunteering as a site coordinator. Dan, a Washington-state native (and Canadian citizen) coordinates combo, flex and collegiate leagues for USTA Georgia. He played collegiately at New Mexico State Univ., and is tearing up the USTA Atlanta 5.0 league this season. He also coaches some at the Midtown Athletic Club.

Paige Miller, Director of Marketing, is facilitating the event’s sponsors, T-Mobile and Dr Pepper Snapple Group, interaction with players. Paige has been with USTA Georgia seven years, and played and coached tennis at Georgia State University. She spent five years officiating on the ATP and WTA professional tours, including the US Open and Davis Cup.

Nate Monie, IT Director, has been with USTA Georgia six years. He’ll be at all three adult championships and spends long days posting photos and stories, and troubleshooting any technical issues. Nate is a 22-year USAF Special Ops Veteran, and brings a few of his “Special” skills to USTA Georgia.

Kathleen Johnson, Adult Tournament and League Rating coordinator, is the newest staff member at two-plus years at USTA Georgia. You’ll find her wandering the various tennis sites this weekend, and player get-togethers, seeking out human interest stories and fun photos to post on the ustageorgia.com league championship page. She plays USTA Atlanta 4.0 tennis.