I think, the following report, carried briefly in the newspaper, deserves much attention:
It was greed that killed the golden goose. That was old story. Modern times
have a twist to the tale. In the latest scenario, the All India Tennis
Association (AITA) has been struggling to ensure the continued supply of
the golden egg from the goose.
After enjoying the benefits of ‘royalty’ or ‘sanctioning fee’, of about
$40,000 every year, a princely 10 per cent of the total prize money of the
Chennai Open ATP Tour event for the last 17 years, the AITA has been
shocked about the good flow of money drying up, all of a sudden.
The Tamil Nadu Tennis Association (TNTA) which has reworked the contract of
the ATP tennis tournament in Chennai for the next three years with the
International Management Group (IMG), has refused to pay any money to the
national tennis federation. In fact, it has asked for subsidy as in the
case of the smaller ITF men’s and women’s tournaments.
In an efficient move, the TNTA has taken the requisite permission from the
Government, without having to go through the AITA. Basically, national
federations have nothing to do with the ATP tournament. After the first
edition of the ATP event was held in Delhi in 1996, it had to be shifted to
Chennai owing to advertisement restrictions for tobacco in the Capital.
The tournament continued to pay good money to the AITA, till some of the
officials in the organising committee realised that it was unnecessary
expenditure. The argument has been that nowhere in the world does the
national federation take money for holding such tournaments. It has been
quoted that some of the federations actually pay money to the organisers of
such events.
Reportedly, the AITA, buoyed by the flow of a few crore rupees from the
event over the years, stretched itself by trying to get a percentage of the
‘appearance fee’ that was being paid to the top players to ensure a quality
field for the Chennai Open.
The TNTA officials were also disappointed that holding the mega event did
not fetch them matching voting power, as per the AITA Constitution. The
national federation insisted that the tournament was hosted by the IMG and
the TNTA had no significant role in hosting the same. With the Tamil Nadu
government ensuring all the money, through a consortium of sponsors, the
TNTA realised that its expenditure was unnecessarily increased owing to the
‘unwarranted sanctioning fee’, and put a stop to the practice.
Taken aback at the turn of events, the AITA has argued that the TNTA was
not authorised to take the government clearance, without going through the
National federation.
As a counter, it was pointed out that the AITA did not charge any such fee
for all the $10,000 and $15,000 events that were being conducted in the
country, as well as the $125,000 WTA women’s tournament that was held in
Pune last year. In fact, Tamil Nadu will be hosting an additional $50,000
Challenger for men in February next year.
It may be recalled that the AITA had a running battle with Vijay Amritraj
on the conduct of Challenger tennis tournaments in the early 1990s, for
directly dealing with the ATP. The TNTA officials were upset that none of
them have been able to get into the primary office-bearer posts like
president, secretary general or treasurer of the AITA, after P. L. Reddy
had served as secretary till 1988.
The TNTA officials felt that the State-supported Asian junior champion
Snehadevi Reddy being denied a wild card for the National championship was
unfair and a childish reaction of the AITA for being snubbed on the royalty
fee.
It was greed that killed the golden goose. That was old story. Modern times
have a twist to the tale. In the latest scenario, the All India Tennis
Association (AITA) has been struggling to ensure the continued supply of
the golden egg from the goose.
After enjoying the benefits of ‘royalty’ or ‘sanctioning fee’, of about
$40,000 every year, a princely 10 per cent of the total prize money of the
Chennai Open ATP Tour event for the last 17 years, the AITA has been
shocked about the good flow of money drying up, all of a sudden.
The Tamil Nadu Tennis Association (TNTA) which has reworked the contract of
the ATP tennis tournament in Chennai for the next three years with the
International Management Group (IMG), has refused to pay any money to the
national tennis federation. In fact, it has asked for subsidy as in the
case of the smaller ITF men’s and women’s tournaments.
In an efficient move, the TNTA has taken the requisite permission from the
Government, without having to go through the AITA. Basically, national
federations have nothing to do with the ATP tournament. After the first
edition of the ATP event was held in Delhi in 1996, it had to be shifted to
Chennai owing to advertisement restrictions for tobacco in the Capital.
The tournament continued to pay good money to the AITA, till some of the
officials in the organising committee realised that it was unnecessary
expenditure. The argument has been that nowhere in the world does the
national federation take money for holding such tournaments. It has been
quoted that some of the federations actually pay money to the organisers of
such events.
Reportedly, the AITA, buoyed by the flow of a few crore rupees from the
event over the years, stretched itself by trying to get a percentage of the
‘appearance fee’ that was being paid to the top players to ensure a quality
field for the Chennai Open.
The TNTA officials were also disappointed that holding the mega event did
not fetch them matching voting power, as per the AITA Constitution. The
national federation insisted that the tournament was hosted by the IMG and
the TNTA had no significant role in hosting the same. With the Tamil Nadu
government ensuring all the money, through a consortium of sponsors, the
TNTA realised that its expenditure was unnecessarily increased owing to the
‘unwarranted sanctioning fee’, and put a stop to the practice.
Taken aback at the turn of events, the AITA has argued that the TNTA was
not authorised to take the government clearance, without going through the
National federation.
As a counter, it was pointed out that the AITA did not charge any such fee
for all the $10,000 and $15,000 events that were being conducted in the
country, as well as the $125,000 WTA women’s tournament that was held in
Pune last year. In fact, Tamil Nadu will be hosting an additional $50,000
Challenger for men in February next year.
It may be recalled that the AITA had a running battle with Vijay Amritraj
on the conduct of Challenger tennis tournaments in the early 1990s, for
directly dealing with the ATP. The TNTA officials were upset that none of
them have been able to get into the primary office-bearer posts like
president, secretary general or treasurer of the AITA, after P. L. Reddy
had served as secretary till 1988.
The TNTA officials felt that the State-supported Asian junior champion
Snehadevi Reddy being denied a wild card for the National championship was
unfair and a childish reaction of the AITA for being snubbed on the royalty
fee.
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