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We just came across this article today and thought it would be worth posting.
Saudi Olympic Committee president Prince Nawaf bin Faisal says he will not support sending female athletes to compete at the London Games and claims the ultraconservative government has no plans to back their participation."I do not approve of Saudi female participation in the Olympics at the moment," Nawaf was quoted by Saudi Arabian newspaper Al-Watan.
Bin Faisal said Saudi women may be able to compete on their own at the Olympics, adding that the country's NOC would "only help in ensuring that their participation does not violate the Islamic sharia law".
"We are not endorsing any Saudi female participation at the moment in the Olympics or other international championships," he told a press conference Wednesday, restating the NOC's stance of late last year that Saudi Arabia will only be sending male athletes to London. That plan is unlikely to meet demands made by the IOC, which has been applying pressure on the Saudi government to send women to the Olympics for the first time. "We are still in discussion and working to ensure the participation of Saudi women at the Games in London," the IOC told The Associated Press on Thursday.
Saudi reports suggest that 18-year-old equestrian show jumper Dalma Malhas may be the kingdom's only female athlete at London 2012. She also participated at the 2010 Singapore Youth Olympics without receiving the NOC's blessing following an IOC invite, and went on to win a bronze medal. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Brunei are the three countries who have never included women in their athlete delegations for an Olympics. Bowing to IOC pressure, Qatar has agreed to send female athletes to London 2012. The IOC Executive Board meeting in Quebec next month is expected to discuss plans to allow Saudi women to compete at this summer's Games.
Although gender equality has progressed over the past 50 years substantially, more work is still needed - apparently. Tennis and the world governing bodies have led the sports world in the gender equity debate and has truly pushed for equality. A major reason for this is due to Billie Jean King. The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) is the most powerful, wealthiest and successful female professional sports league in the world. With this status also brings great responsibility. The WTA does a great job in pushing gender equality and has been very successful in improving the opportunities for female players throughout the world. These opportunities also extend to coaches and trainers who are interested in working with female tennis athletes. The opportunities to train female junior, collegiate, professional and senior players continues to increase and the ITPA is here to serve its membership to help with education and resources to help train tennis athletes (male and female) to the highest possible level.
*parts of article content from The Associated Press
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Have you heard of caffeine gum? Could it be beneficial for tennis performance?
Many of us have a love and love relationship with caffeine. The important question for tennis is does it improve our athletic performance? This post is not intended to describe whether caffeine is a beneficial performance enhancer. Hundreds of studies have shown the multitude of benefits and the International Society of Sports Nutrition has produced a very in-depth review and position stand on caffeine and athletic performance http://www.jissn.com/content/7/1/5 . However, a study was just published this month in Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research which could have direct implications for tennis. The study was looking at caffeine chewing gum and was interested in two questions:
1) Whether caffeinated gum provides benefits to athletes – specifically cyclists
2) What time points are most beneficial before exercise
The results of the study have some direct impact on the tennis athletes at any level. Firstly, it was shown that 300mg of caffeine in chewing gum taken within 5 minutes of exercise showed performance improvements in this cycling example. However, when the same caffeinated chewing gum was taken one hour and two hours before exercise no difference was seen compared to a placebo gum. This could be important for individuals looking to get the extra edge before the next big match. However, it is always important to understand the type of substance, supplement or other external agent that may be consumed. Many pills, supplements or gums/chews have multiple ingredients and it is important to understand how all these may interact. Remember that before taking any new substance, have someone with a medical or nutrition background provide guidance on the safety of the product.
Below is the abstract to the original study. Will you be trying caffeine gum?
http://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Abstract/publishahead/Caffeine_Gum_and_Cycling_Performance__A_Timing.98245.aspx
Many of us have a love and love relationship with caffeine. The important question for tennis is does it improve our athletic performance? This post is not intended to describe whether caffeine is a beneficial performance enhancer. Hundreds of studies have shown the multitude of benefits and the International Society of Sports Nutrition has produced a very in-depth review and position stand on caffeine and athletic performance http://www.jissn.com/content/7/1/5 . However, a study was just published this month in Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research which could have direct implications for tennis. The study was looking at caffeine chewing gum and was interested in two questions:
1) Whether caffeinated gum provides benefits to athletes – specifically cyclists
2) What time points are most beneficial before exercise
The results of the study have some direct impact on the tennis athletes at any level. Firstly, it was shown that 300mg of caffeine in chewing gum taken within 5 minutes of exercise showed performance improvements in this cycling example. However, when the same caffeinated chewing gum was taken one hour and two hours before exercise no difference was seen compared to a placebo gum. This could be important for individuals looking to get the extra edge before the next big match. However, it is always important to understand the type of substance, supplement or other external agent that may be consumed. Many pills, supplements or gums/chews have multiple ingredients and it is important to understand how all these may interact. Remember that before taking any new substance, have someone with a medical or nutrition background provide guidance on the safety of the product.
Below is the abstract to the original study. Will you be trying caffeine gum?
http://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Abstract/publishahead/Caffeine_Gum_and_Cycling_Performance__A_Timing.98245.aspx
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While the ITPA was reviewing some in-depth research that has been posted on the ITPA Inner Circle looking at the biological limits to running speed, we thought that it would be important to provide some highlights to help every tennis player from recreational to professional move faster on court.
The research on how individuals move fast is limited by two major areas:
1) how much force can be applied to the ground
2) how quickly that force can be applied (i.e. how short a time period the athlete spends on the ground)
A new study by Dr. Weyand (Weyand et al. J Appl Physiol 2010) and his research group has found that the time on the ground is truly the limiting factor in an athlete’s speed potential.
This simple statement is very important to understand when developing movement for tennis. The training needs to involve generating high forces into the ground while trying to limit the amount of time spent on the ground. Therefore, it is important to develop enough strength in the lower body and core muscles to generate forces into the ground. This should be accomplished through appropriate strength training and supervised by a competent professional. These high forces also need to be moved with high velocity which amounts to an athlete’s ability to generate power: strength X speed or [(force X distance)/time]. When training for tennis-specific movement make sure the speed of movement is emphasized and keep working on developing strength levels so that optimum power can be achieve.
Weyand P G et al. J Appl Physiol 2010;108:950-961
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Why You Should Work With an ITPA Certified Professional
The International Tennis Performance Association (ITPA) launched yesterday and has received a tremendous amount of interest; many individuals have already signed up to become certified. Thank you to all the individuals who have shared the ITPA information with their contacts to help increase tennis-specific education throughout the world.
Finding certified, competent, qualified fitness trainers to work with you as a tennis player, or a member of your family who is a tennis player, is a very important decision. Whether at the junior, collegiate, adult, senior or even the professional level, finding the right fitness trainer (also called a tennis performance specialist) could be the most important decision you make.
Work Experience and Area Of Specialization
Working with a traditional personal trainer, strength and conditioning coach, athletic trainer or physical therapist is a good starting point. However, the organizations that provide the education (whether university degrees or certification) for these professions do a very good job of general education, but do not cover tennis-specific information. Fortunately, the International Tennis Performance Association (ITPA - leader in tennis-specific performance education and certification) has the only
internationally-recognized tennis specific performance enhancement and injury prevention certifications. Individuals that become certified successfully complete the rigorous education program and pass an in-depth examination, demonstrating important knowledge, skills and abilities to work with tennis athletes on aspects of physical training and rehabilitation. The educational program involves a tennis-focused curriculum which assesses an individual’s knowledge in tennis-specific competencies framed in three broad areas:
1) Tennis-specific performance enhancement
2) Tennis-specific injury prevention
3) Tennis-specific leadership/communication
Talk To The Tennis Performance Specialist
Developing a personal, yet professional relationship with your tennis performance specialist is very important. Trust your instincts. Ask yourself if you think you could get along well with the trainer personality wise, but also from a philosophy and training standpoint. It is important that the communication between the tennis performance specialist and the tennis coach is outstanding. The physical training of a tennis player is not an isolated occurrence. The work that occurs during training sessions carries over onto the court and seamless integration between the coach and the tennis performance specialist is paramount to success.
Keep checking back to this blog for regular updates on different areas of tennis-specific performance and injury prevention
information. Please send us emails at contact@itpa-tennis.org with your physical training questions and our team of ITPA Advisors and experts will look to help answer these in future posts.
The International Tennis Performance Association (ITPA) launched yesterday and has received a tremendous amount of interest; many individuals have already signed up to become certified. Thank you to all the individuals who have shared the ITPA information with their contacts to help increase tennis-specific education throughout the world.
Finding certified, competent, qualified fitness trainers to work with you as a tennis player, or a member of your family who is a tennis player, is a very important decision. Whether at the junior, collegiate, adult, senior or even the professional level, finding the right fitness trainer (also called a tennis performance specialist) could be the most important decision you make.
Work Experience and Area Of Specialization
Working with a traditional personal trainer, strength and conditioning coach, athletic trainer or physical therapist is a good starting point. However, the organizations that provide the education (whether university degrees or certification) for these professions do a very good job of general education, but do not cover tennis-specific information. Fortunately, the International Tennis Performance Association (ITPA - leader in tennis-specific performance education and certification) has the only
internationally-recognized tennis specific performance enhancement and injury prevention certifications. Individuals that become certified successfully complete the rigorous education program and pass an in-depth examination, demonstrating important knowledge, skills and abilities to work with tennis athletes on aspects of physical training and rehabilitation. The educational program involves a tennis-focused curriculum which assesses an individual’s knowledge in tennis-specific competencies framed in three broad areas:
1) Tennis-specific performance enhancement
2) Tennis-specific injury prevention
3) Tennis-specific leadership/communication
Talk To The Tennis Performance Specialist
Developing a personal, yet professional relationship with your tennis performance specialist is very important. Trust your instincts. Ask yourself if you think you could get along well with the trainer personality wise, but also from a philosophy and training standpoint. It is important that the communication between the tennis performance specialist and the tennis coach is outstanding. The physical training of a tennis player is not an isolated occurrence. The work that occurs during training sessions carries over onto the court and seamless integration between the coach and the tennis performance specialist is paramount to success.
Keep checking back to this blog for regular updates on different areas of tennis-specific performance and injury prevention
information. Please send us emails at contact@itpa-tennis.org with your physical training questions and our team of ITPA Advisors and experts will look to help answer these in future posts.
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Check out this new video on why to obtain ITPA certification.
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April 2nd, 2012
International Tennis Performance Association (ITPA), a New Tennis and Fitness Organization, Launched To Improve Performance and Reduce Injuries in Tennis Players
ITPA is a Tennis-Specific Education & Certification Company
Atlanta, Ga (USA)--The International Tennis Performance Association (ITPA) today announced the launch of the company and website (www.itpa-tennis.org). The ITPA is the worldwide education and certification organization for trainers, coaches and specialists who are passionate about ennis-specific performance enhancement and injury prevention. The ITPA is the
first of its kind in the tennis industry, and is aimed at strength and conditioning professionals, athletic trainers, personal trainers, physical therapists, nutritionists, medical personnel, tennis coaches and other specialists working with tennis players of all
ages.
Through quality, evidence-based education combined withaccurate, professional credentialing overseen by a Certification Commission comprised of world leading experts, the ITPA offers three levels oftennis-specific certification: Tennis Performance Trainer (TPT), CertifiedTennis Performance Specialist (CTPS) and Master Tennis Performance Specialist(MTPS). The educational curriculum is competency based that ensures individualswho become certified have the knowledge, skills and abilities to effectively train tennis athletes at all levels of the game. “Over 100 million people play tennis worldwide and the ITPA was established to ensure that these players receive the best training from ITPA certified individuals using the latest evidence-based practical information to improve on-court tennis performance while limiting the likelihood of injuries,” said Dr. Mark Kovacs, Ph.D., FACSM, FITPA, CTPS, CSCS*D, the ITPA Executive Director.
“The game of tennis is based on physicality — getting faster, stronger, quicker, and preventing injuries is why I spend so much time training,” said John Isner (world top 10 and Davis Cup hero, who is also a founding member of the ITPA Certification Commission). “The International Tennis Performance Association has the most research based information, and its leadership includes renowned experts which makes it the leading provider of tennis-specific training information anywhere in the world.”
As the physical aspects of tennis become more important, greater tennis-specific training and education is needed. “An organization like the ITPA has been needed for many years in the tennis industry,” said Todd Ellenbecker, DPT, FITPA, CTPS, founding chair of the ITPA Certification Commission. “Training tennis players requires specific knowledge about the unique movements and demands of tennis which is different to most other sports, and the ITPA has the role of bringing the most credible information, backed by science, to educate and certify individuals who work on improving physical performance and/or preventing injuries.”
The ITPA website (www.itpa-tennis.org) offers company information, educational offerings, certification materials, Certification Commission and Advisory Board members, ITPA partners and much more information on all aspects related to tennis-specific health and fitness. The ITPA Inner Circle Member-Only Website (www.itpamembers.org) offers members exclusive tennis-specific articles, information, webinars, videos and more. For more information or to schedule an interview, call (770) 828-5779 or email contact@itpa-tennis.org. Online at www.facebook.com/itpatennis and www.twitter.com/itpatennis.
About International Tennis Performance Association (ITPA):
The ITPA is the worldwide education and certification organization for trainers, coaches and specialists who are passionate about tennis-specific performance enhancement and injury prevention. The education company offers a professional training and education process that establishes recognition through 3 certifications: Tennis Performance Trainer (TPT), Certified Tennis Performance Specialist (CTPS) and Master Tennis Performance Specialist (MTPS). The certification materials are overseen by the ITPA Certification Commission consisting of world experts in improving tennis performance and reducing injuries; visit the ITPA website at www.itpa-tennis.org.
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International Tennis Performance Association (ITPA), a New Tennis and Fitness Organization, Launched To Improve Performance and Reduce Injuries in Tennis Players
ITPA is a Tennis-Specific Education & Certification Company
Atlanta, Ga (USA)--The International Tennis Performance Association (ITPA) today announced the launch of the company and website (www.itpa-tennis.org). The ITPA is the worldwide education and certification organization for trainers, coaches and specialists who are passionate about ennis-specific performance enhancement and injury prevention. The ITPA is the
first of its kind in the tennis industry, and is aimed at strength and conditioning professionals, athletic trainers, personal trainers, physical therapists, nutritionists, medical personnel, tennis coaches and other specialists working with tennis players of all
ages.
Through quality, evidence-based education combined withaccurate, professional credentialing overseen by a Certification Commission comprised of world leading experts, the ITPA offers three levels oftennis-specific certification: Tennis Performance Trainer (TPT), CertifiedTennis Performance Specialist (CTPS) and Master Tennis Performance Specialist(MTPS). The educational curriculum is competency based that ensures individualswho become certified have the knowledge, skills and abilities to effectively train tennis athletes at all levels of the game. “Over 100 million people play tennis worldwide and the ITPA was established to ensure that these players receive the best training from ITPA certified individuals using the latest evidence-based practical information to improve on-court tennis performance while limiting the likelihood of injuries,” said Dr. Mark Kovacs, Ph.D., FACSM, FITPA, CTPS, CSCS*D, the ITPA Executive Director.
“The game of tennis is based on physicality — getting faster, stronger, quicker, and preventing injuries is why I spend so much time training,” said John Isner (world top 10 and Davis Cup hero, who is also a founding member of the ITPA Certification Commission). “The International Tennis Performance Association has the most research based information, and its leadership includes renowned experts which makes it the leading provider of tennis-specific training information anywhere in the world.”
As the physical aspects of tennis become more important, greater tennis-specific training and education is needed. “An organization like the ITPA has been needed for many years in the tennis industry,” said Todd Ellenbecker, DPT, FITPA, CTPS, founding chair of the ITPA Certification Commission. “Training tennis players requires specific knowledge about the unique movements and demands of tennis which is different to most other sports, and the ITPA has the role of bringing the most credible information, backed by science, to educate and certify individuals who work on improving physical performance and/or preventing injuries.”
The ITPA website (www.itpa-tennis.org) offers company information, educational offerings, certification materials, Certification Commission and Advisory Board members, ITPA partners and much more information on all aspects related to tennis-specific health and fitness. The ITPA Inner Circle Member-Only Website (www.itpamembers.org) offers members exclusive tennis-specific articles, information, webinars, videos and more. For more information or to schedule an interview, call (770) 828-5779 or email contact@itpa-tennis.org. Online at www.facebook.com/itpatennis and www.twitter.com/itpatennis.
About International Tennis Performance Association (ITPA):
The ITPA is the worldwide education and certification organization for trainers, coaches and specialists who are passionate about tennis-specific performance enhancement and injury prevention. The education company offers a professional training and education process that establishes recognition through 3 certifications: Tennis Performance Trainer (TPT), Certified Tennis Performance Specialist (CTPS) and Master Tennis Performance Specialist (MTPS). The certification materials are overseen by the ITPA Certification Commission consisting of world experts in improving tennis performance and reducing injuries; visit the ITPA website at www.itpa-tennis.org.
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Welcome to the ITPA Blog! This is the consumer-based blog for the ITPA and is aimed at the general tennis enthusiast. We will be providing basic ideas and discussions on physical training and rehabilitation in easy to understand language with practical take-home information. Check back daily for updates from Facebook, useful tennis-specific articles/info and much, much more. For more in-depth information aimed at the tennis performance professional, register to become ITPA-Certified either as a Tennis Performance Trainer (TPT) or a Certified Tennis Performance Specialist (CTPS) and gain access to the ITPA Inner Circle Member-Only Website. The ITPA Inner-Circle website will disect topics related to performance training and injury prevention for tennis in great depth and at a higher academic/scientific level. The 1st and 20th person to register for Tennis Performance Trainer (TPT) will win a brand new racquet, and the 1st and 20th person to register for Certified Tennis Performance Specialist (CTPS) will also win a racquet! Looking forward to having you as part of the ITPA family!
