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Executive Director
 Jim comes from
an extensive history in tennis as a former player, coach and
commercial club general manager. Jim was a Davis Cup player, as well
as, the 1980 Davis Cup Chairman and 17 time national champion. He
won the Canadian Open 18 Championships in 1968, one of only a few
Canadians to ever have accomplished this.
During
his junior career Jim was awarded the Canadian Outstanding Player
Award 3 years in a row and as an adult was the Canadian Men's
Singles and Doubles Champion in 1976. He is a Level 3 coach
and was Tennis Canada "Coach of the Year" in 1989 and coached
the Canadian Team at the World Championships in 1983 and 1985.
Jim was hired as the Head Pro at the All Seasons Club in Ottawa
and later became the General Manager. After leaving
Ottawa, he managed the Brantford North Park Club and consulted
to the Highbury Racquet Club. During this time, he was
also the Chair of the Davis Cup and as such, he was responsible
for bringing in sponsorships and managing the event.
When Jim returned to Toronto, he was hired by
the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club as the Senior Professional for 10
years (From 1980 to 1989). In 1989, Jim decided to enter the
real estate business and spent 7 years in it before returning to
tennis in 1997.
Jim held several positions at the OTA before
taking the helm. Jim became a Board Member of the OTA and
was later elected Chair of the Central Region. He soon
took on the role of Vice President of Marketing and
Communications.
Jim increasingly took a hands-on
responsibility for the marketing aspects of the association and
eventually decided to pursue the Executive Director position.
He was hired by the OTA board in 1997.
As Executive Director
of the OTA, Jim's responsibilities
include the overall management of the Ontario Tennis Association
with a specific focus on the establishment and enhancement of the OTA's revenue streams. He sits on the board of the Sport Alliance of
Ontario (SAO) and is the Chair of the Doug Philpott Inner City
Children's Fund which provides kids in need with free tennis lessons
and equipment.
You can contact
Jim at
jboyce@tennisontario.com or at (416) 514-1101.
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Club Membership Manager
 Jay
first started playing tennis at 13 in Port Perry, Ontario, when his high
school built courts for the first time during the tennis boom in the
1970s.
After high school, Jay went to Durham College to
study Business Administration and got an accounting diploma. After
working for eight years in accounting, Jay decided to return to college
for two years in the Seneca College Coaching Techniques program with a
specialty in tennis. Through this program, he gained his
instructors and Coach 1 and 2 certifications.
Jay started his tennis career at Mayfair West where
he ran tournaments. He joined the OTA in 1994. Jay has now been with the OTA for
over a decade. He spent two years in the Player Development
portfolio before returning to Club Membership in 1997. Jay is a
fully certified Coach 2 with diplomas from Seneca College (Coaching
Techniques- Tennis) and Durham College (Business Administration-
Accounting).
Jay is the person responsible for member club services such as the Club Insurance program. He also administers the Coaching Certification program.
You can contact Jay at
jneill@tennisontario.com or at
(416) 514-1103
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Provincial Coach
Kartik Vyas was born in Nairobi, Kenya and came to Canada
in 1974. Having failed to qualify for the Kenya long distance sprint team, he decided to
try his hand a tennis, learning to play on the municipal courts ant Glenshields
Tennis Club in Concord. Although he was primarily a
recreational player, he got involved in coaching as a teenager.
Kartik graduated from York University in 1994 with an Honours Degree in Political Science and a Minor in Marketing. While he studied, he also played on the varsity tennis and badminton teams. He worked for Tennis Canada as a student, looking after the clay courts among other things. He was also a volunteer at the Canadian Opens on the transportation committee and also helped with the Remington family doubles. After university, Kartik joined the All Canadian Tennis Academy at York where he ran tournaments including the ITF events.
Kartik
brings over ten years of tennis management experience to the OTA team. Kartik
has worked his way up through the "ranks" as an instructor in recreational
programs to the Director of Camps and Tournaments with the ACE Tennis Academy in
Toronto. While at ACE, Kartik was responsible for over ten events every summer
including the All-Canadian ITF Group 5 Tournament.
Kartik has moved into the position of Provincial Coach with the departure of David DeFehr
Kartik can be reached at (416) 514-1104 or at kartikvyas@tennisontario.com
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Tournament Coordinator
Elaine is responsible for Player Development programs including the overall Tournament Structure administration, including Ranking,
fair play and officiating elements and most Provincial Championships. Elaine is a passionate and involved tennis enthusiast and is an
active player at Sir Winston Churchill Tennis Club.
Elaine can be reached at (416) 514-1106 or at
eyuen@tennisontario.com
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Administrative Assistant
Gulshad came to Canada from Tanzania after
working for 11 years as an assitant to the financial controllor of a
company in East Africa. After arriving in Canada, it only took two
months for her to be hired by the Sport Alliance of Ontario (then Sport
Ontario). Under the arrangements at the time, all the sport staff
that were hired were then assigned to a specific sports organization and
Gulshad was assigned to tennis. When this arrangement ended in
1994, Gulshad became an employee of the OTA. Although Gulshad
doesn't play tennis, her knowledge of the administrative underbell of
the tennis association is extensive. The office simply couldn't
run without her.
As Administrative Assistant,
Gulshad brings over a decade of service to the OTA. Her current duties
are as a receptionist and administrative assistant. She handles the
administrative support and data entry for the OTA data base systems that
handle things like player registration and the Ontario Tennis distribution
lists. She provides support for all the staff and helps out with
many of their administrative tasks.
Gulshad can be reached at (416) 514-1100 or at
ota@tennisontario.com
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Marketing Manager
 Flora has been involved with tennis since she was 7 years old. Born in Hungary, she moved to New Zealand at age 10 where she joined the National Tennis Team and later claimed the Under 16 Nationals title. She graduated from Illinois State University on tennis scholarship, with a Bachelor and Masters degree in Communication and participated as assistant coach during her Masters degree. Her first contact with the OTA was as a volunteer and assisting with the 2002 OTA Tiebreaker Dream Challenge. In 2003 she came on board as the Tennis Pathways manager, promoting tennis at the grassroots level.
Flora brings much international tennis experience, communication skills and enthusiasm to the table. As Marketing Manager of the OTA, Flora focuses on promoting tennis and the OTA in the province through increased public awareness and sponsorship support. She deals with sponsors and volunteers, seeks advertisers for the Ontario Tennis magazine, organizes promotional events, composes weekly news releases and corresponds with the media.
Flora can be reached at (416) 514-1102 or at
fkarsai@tennisontario.com
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Community Tennis Manager
David was born in Toronto, educated in Fine Art and Interior design. He spent thirty-three years as a senior school teacher, teaching Visual Arts, Physical Education and Environmental Sciences for the Toronto District School Board. During his time with the board he coached fifty-one team and individual champions in eleven different sports. He started his tennis career, as a very junior instructor for Roy Mansell at the Donalda Club. David has designed and ran innovative award winning junior tennis programs and inter-county teams. He was The Doug Philpott Inner City Children’s Fund first supervisor and head instructor and has worked as a Provincial and International Touring Coach.
As Community Tennis Manager his duties include Tennis Fairs and club clinics, Floor Tennis, New Club Recruitment and Regional Chairs.
'We need to maintain and continue to develop the game of tennis in our communities across Ontario through strong neighborhood links and community partnerships.'
David can be reached at dlea@tennisontario.com or at 416-514-1121.
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Give Tennis a Shot Manager
In April 2007 Ely Schwartz graduated from the University of Waterloo, where he studied business and recreation. Ely was a dedicated member
of the University of Waterloo varsity tennis team and in his final year, he led the team as captain.
Ely first connected with the OTA through the Tennis Pathways program. With the support of the OTA and the Trillium Foundation,
he launched a successful business, Varsity Junior Tennis, which encouraged young participants to enjoy the rewards of recreational tennis.
The program was successful in that it both raised awareness of the
sport in the Kitchener/Waterloo community and provided its participants with a unique and active summer experience. Upon returning to Toronto,
Ely worked with Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment Limited in the Community Relations department where he continued to develop his community
outreach skills and industry knowledge.
Through both his educational background and his experience as director and founder of Varsity Junior Tennis, Ely developed strong communications,
marketing and management experience, which he is excited to put to use at the OTA. Ely has been playing tennis since he was 10 years old,
and teaching as a certified instructor since he was 16. His enthusiasm for tennis, creative program development and healthy living are at the core
of his career goals and he is thrilled to bring his dedication to the OTA’s new Give Tennis a Shot program.
Ely can be reached at eschwartz@tennisontario.com
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