Boyer, Aikawa to compete in ITF Oceania Junior Championships

Gerald Boyer and Kana Aikawa have been included in the North Pacific Junior Team that will compete in the 10th ITF Oceania Junior Circuit/ Championships to be held in Samoa, American Samoa and Fiji in August/September 1999.

The team, which will be coached by Irving Harris of Nauru, will see action in the Pacific Oceania Junior Team tournament against other Pacific nations.

The International Tennis Federation was able to increase substantially the number of nations whose players are competing in the mainstream international tennis through the Grand Slam Development Fund, which was established to assist the development of competitive opportunities for younger players worldwide.

Aside from travel grants, the Grand Slam Development Funds also supports the formation of entry level professional events for women and men to help players progress from the junior game, achieve international ranking and gain valuable match experience that will lead to higher professional game.

The Grand Slam Development Fund was first established in 1985 by donation of $100,00.00 received from the championships at Wimbledon. Further contributions from the French Open, US Open and Australian championships, together with the continued support from Wimbledon, created the reality of the Grand Slam Development Fund administered by the ITF that awards grants to help member nations with the final phase of tennis development, which is the participation of talented athletes in international competition.

The inaugural Compaq Grand Slam Cup, which was held in Munich, Germany at the end of 1990, has provided the Development Fund with $2,000,000 per year over the ensuing years. This tournament has already had a significant impact on the development of international competitive tennis.

Brian Robin, president of ITF, commented “we are delighted to be able to direct this funds specifically toward the development of competitive tennis and deeply appreciate that the Grand Slam events are in a position to support this important project. It is fitting that this four major tournaments, which are the showcase of our sport and provide the stability in the professional game, are so committed to help by some tangible means to extend the competitive frontiers of tennis.”