Racquet drive aims to draw people to tennis
Because tennis doesn’t require social contact, it’s one of the few sports that players can feel relatively safe participating in during the COVID-19 pandemic. With that in mind, Rogers Cup ATP/ WPA Toronto Tournament Director Karl Hale founded Premium Courts which specializes in tennis and pickleball court resurfacing.
Beach resident Karl Hale combines love of tennis with support of sports and school charities in Jamaica
Accomplished tennis player Karl Hale recently became the founder and president of Premium Court, and is helping to promote sports and wellness locally and in Jamaica through his charitable actions.
By AMANDA GIBB
Accomplished tennis player Karl Hale recently became the founder and president of Premium Court, and is helping to promote sports and wellness locally and in Jamaica through his charitable actions.
Hale was born in Falmouth, Jamaica, and has been a Beach resident for more than 20 years.
Hale’s tennis career has lead him to play internationally, including participating as a player in the Davis Cup for Jamaica for 10 years. Hale was also named the tournament director of the Rogers Cup in Toronto in 2006.
“When the (COVID-19) pandemic hit, I decided to start Premium Court because I thought that tennis is one of the sports that would survive throughout this,” said Hale.
He said that he thought many people would need their courts repaired or need new courts constructed.
“Premium Court is a tennis construction business that builds tennis courts, resurfaces tennis courts. We do hard courts, grass courts, and clay courts,” he said.
Hale said that one of the aims of Premium Court is to give back to the sport through charity. Premium Court has organized tennis tournaments and is donating to Tennis Canada and the Ontario Tennis Association.
Hale said that Premium Court ran a racket collection drive where more than 500 rackets were collected. These rackets will be given to junior programs in Toronto and Jamaica to help get more children into sports.
“We take social responsibility as an important part of the business, and we want to try to help out as much as we can,” said Hale.
Hale is also the founder and co-chair of the Helping Hands Jamaica Foundation, a charity he started 15 years ago to improve the lives of young Jamaicans and their communities.
Hale said that the foundation has built 22 schools in Jamaica, with the help of celebrities including Serena Williams, Sean Paul, Shaggy, and many professional athletes.
“We have a charitable build every year where we take people down primarily from Toronto to do a volunteer build. This year we couldn’t do it, but we just finished our 22nd school last week,” he said in an interview with Beach Metro News at the end of July.
Closer to home, Hale said that Premium Court primarily works with Food for the Poor Canada.
Hale said that they will also be getting involved with Doug Philpott’s foundation, Philpott Children’s Tennis.
“They help get kids in the game of tennis and do summer camps for kids that can’t afford summer camps to play, so we’re going to get involved with them too,” he said.
Premium Court also recently hosted the Premium Court Cup, a tennis tournament in Bolton held on July 25.
“This is just to start off, with COVID-19 and social distancing we’re monitoring it, and after the learning from this weekend we can figure out what else we can do,” said Hale.
To learn more about Premium Court, visit https://www.premiumcourt.ca/
To learn more about the Helping Hands Jamaica Foundation or to donate, visit https://www.helpinghandsjamaica.com/
Inaugural Premium Court Cup at Tennis Farm Grass Courts
The Inaugural Premium Court Cup was held at the Tennis Farm grass court facility in Bolton, northwest of Toronto.
Tennis Ontario - The Official Newsletter of the Ontario Tennis Association
The Inaugural Premium Court Cup was held at the Tennis Farm grass court facility in Bolton, northwest of Toronto. Situated on pristine land, Tennis Farm has 10 regulation grass courts. The invitational event included Men’s Open, 5.0 and O45 singles draws as well as pro clinics. The event also collected donated racquets for unprivileged children in Canada and Jamaica.
Results from the weekend events were as follows:
Men's Open: Nick Lagaev Defeats Ivan Mitric in 2 sets
Men's Class A: Andrew Browne Defeats Alex Lopez in 2 sets
Men's Over 45: Chris Fazekas Defeats Frank Hong in 2 sets
Pictured above: Open Champion Nick Lagaev. Photo courtesy of Peter Figura.
500 Racquets donated for unprivileged children in Canada and Jamaica
Client and Invitational Tournament a success at Inaugural Premium Court Cup
Jul 29
Client and Invitational Tournament a success at Inaugural Premium Court Cup
Rogers Cup Tournament Director and former Jamaican Davis Cup player Karl Hale recently started a new venture building the best quality tennis courts across Canada. Premium Court not only constructs top notch tennis courts but has a social program supporting the game. Recently, they hosted a grass court tournament this past weekend and the racquet drive received over 500 racquet donations for children programs in Jamaica and Canada.
Hale had this to say on the weekend's events: “We were overwhelmed by the response. We had Daniel Nestor, former world #1 and former coach of Denis Shapovalov, Rob Steckley donate (racquets). Participants from as far away as Montreal donated equipment as well. This will now give children in Canada and Jamaica the opportunity to learn this great game and the lifelong values it teaches. Thank you to everyone who donated.
As a company this is important to us to support the game that has given so much to us, said Hale."
Results from the weekend were as follows for the respective intivational events:
Men's Open: Nick Lagaev Defeats Ivan Mitric in 3 sets
Men's Class A: Andrew Browne Defeats Alex Lopez in 2 sets
Men's Over 45: Chris Fazekas Defeats Frank Hong in 2 sets