By Craig Gabriel
There are two groups of people that are unsung heroes at the BNP Paribas Open, and I’m not talking about the men’s and women’s players... they are the volunteers and ballkids.
The BNP Paribas Open engages the dedicated serves of more than 900 volunteers who make up the Champions Volunteer Foundation and in addition to these ladies and gentlemen are the more than 250 ballkids that work at the two-week event.
A week before the tournament begins volunteers attend a required orientation seminar and are then divided into a variety of committees. Leading these committees are 37 chairpersons who coordinate and execute an intensive training program to make sure the volunteers are ready to go from the time the first ball is hit to when the trophies are handed out on stadium court.
The volunteers work in many different capacities at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. The ushers form the largest committee, which utilizes more than 300 volunteers and five chair people. On the other side of the spectrum, two volunteers staff the private housing committee.
Sue Hanaman, the BNP Paribas Open Volunteer Coordinator says many of the volunteers have been committed to the tournament for 20 years or more and they have followed the event around the Coachella Valley from Mission Hills and La Quinta to its present location at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
It’s not all work and no play for the volunteers as they do get to enjoy a bit of free time while they are on site. After the last point has been won and the magnificent trophies are handed out to the new champions, the Volunteer Services Committee throws a big thank-you party for the volunteers in appreciation for another successful year at the BNP Paribas Open.
And, each year the Champions Volunteer Foundation donates the money they would have earned working at the tournament and other events at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden to charitable purposes including youth recreational, educational and well-care programs. This past year, that amount totaled more than $175,000, and to date the organization has given away more than $500,000 to charities in the Coachella Valley!
In addition to the volunteers, the ballkids play a vital role in the success of this event. They have to perform flawlessly as they interact with the players and carry out their duties on the court. In their world they don’t say much but often are at the beck and call of a tennis player and could almost have degrees in sign language.
At the BNP Paribas Open there are more than 400 applications from youngsters wanting to be ball kinds. All of them go through a rigorous tryout where the numbers are reduced to about 300 and from that group probably more than half are veterans with about a dozen holding experience from other professional tennis tournaments.
While kids between the ages of 12 to 18 are accepted, the average age is about 13. All applicants must undergo seven training sessions held from January through the end of February.
During the sessions, they are rated on a system which uses a 5-step evaluation process. The first two steps are agility while the third is based on proper court position. The fourth step is based on the ability to hold any position, and the fifth is based on the ability to perform on stadium court.
It is so popular to be a ball kid at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden that kids come from far and wide to provide their services. One ballkid, Dominik Schurg, has come all the way from Germany. He is a foreign-exchange student at Palm Desert High School. He will make an appearance in the finals, and has proven to be one of the most talented ballkids on the team this year.
“We have had the best team ever this year,” said Monica Abel, Ballkid Coordinator. “They have stepped up and given more than a 100%. We are so proud of them and how they have represented the BNP Paribas Open.”
In addition, once kids graduate from being ballkids, their time at the tournament is not finished. Britten Gerrard, who has been a ballkid for the past years, has now become an intern for the media relations and marketing department. He has moved upstairs from the court, and into the offices where he is now writing press releases, working with the media, and helping to facilitate special events and autograph signings around the tournament.
So the next time you walk past a volunteer, or see a group of ballkids, say thanks. This event would certainly not happen without them!
(From Website : http://www.bnpparibasopen.org/1/news/newsarticle_2674.asp)
