USPTA Becomes Latest Tennis Industry
Leader to Join Forces with Sportwall
ITA, World Team Tennis, Brian Gottfried and Billie
Jean King Have Also Partnered With
Sportwall To Activate Americans
May 13, 2004, Santa Barbara, CA - The United
States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) announced
today that it has formed a strategic partnership with
Sportwall International® in an effort to activate
America's youth and challenge the obesity and sedentary
lifestyle epidemic.
USPTA joins the Intercollegiate Tennis Association
(ITA), and World TeamTennis as well as tennis legends
Billie Jean King and Brian Gottfried as partners of
Sportwall International.
Santa Barbara, CA based Sportwall International may
be the first company with a real solution to the current
health and wellness epidemic which has already been
proven to motivate people of all ages to exercise while
advancing brain and body fitness and motor skills.
Sportwall's three products, Sports-PC™, SmartBall™
and ScoobieBall™ all combine the thrill of computer
games with the simultaneous use of hands, feet, eyes
and ears to achieve a total body workout.
"Sportwall has combined technology and sport in
a new way that is a great complement to traditional
tennis practice and training," said USPTA CEO Tim
Heckler. "As an industry, it's important that we
join forces with creative partners like Sportwall who
add new elements of fun that can help us introduce the
game to more people and keep them playing."
In 1998, Sportwall's first product debuted at the US
Open Tennis Championships in New York to incredible
reviews. One of the first individuals to immediately
recognize its impact was tennis legend Billie Jean King.
"Individuals are getting cardiovascular fitness,
sports training and having fun at the same time,"
said King. "It's a great way to get today's young
computer game players off the couch and exercise again.
This is the wave of the future and will help the youth
of America get fit!"
The brainchild of company founder and Chief Executive
Officer Catherine Lamberti, Sportwall's technology driven
products are based on "Sensory Integration Training"
- where the individual is required to be "in-the-now"
and participate mentally and physically during the exercise
process.
"Technology has produced a lifestyle swing to
inactivity," said Lamberti. "The consequences
are being evidenced by significant increases in obesity,
diabetes and sensory integration dysfunction diseases
such as ADHD, Autism, Alzheimers and Dyslexia."
"With the addition of the USPTA, the tennis industry
has clearly communicated that they want to lead the
charge in encouraging kids to get out and play by partnering
with an innovative company like Sportwall," said
J. Wayne Richmond, a corporate development partner with
Sportwall. "This strategic alliance with Sportwall
will have a tremendous impact on the game of tennis
and the much larger sedentary crisis we face today as
a society."
The original Sportwall prototype has given birth to
three different products:
Sports-PC: For real sports play. An interactive
backboard featuring lighted targets, scoreboards and
time clocks that rewards players with scores for accuracy,
speed, control, strategy and technique and can be used
by individuals of all ages and abilities for tennis,
soccer, baseball, basketball, fitness and play.
ScoobieBall: The "Physical Fitness Jukebox"
for location based entertainment. This interactive game
that challenges mind and body is McDonalds playground
safety approved and is an ideal solution for active
child care in clubs, parks, fast food restaurants, shopping
malls and other child care facilities.
SmartBall: A curriculum driven system for instructor
led classes in education and fitness which will be added
to more than 300 schools in 2004. The National School
Fitness Foundation recognizes this as a fun, playful
and motivational environment to get kids started in
sports.
Today, Sportwall's three products are in more than
100 schools, 70 McDonalds locations and 80 tennis clubs
and parks facilities.
"With a line of products that has a direct impact
on neurological efficiency, cardiovascular fitness and
basic skills, we will not only have an incredible impact
on the health and wellness of society, but we will become
the leader in "Sensory Integration Training"
for the school, recreation and location based entertainment
markets," said Lamberti.
USPTA, founded in 1927, strives to raise the standards
of the tennis profession while promoting greater awareness
of the sport. USPTA offers more than 30 professional
benefits to its 13,000 members worldwide, including
certification and professional development. With more
than 300 days of educational opportunities throughout
the year, USPTA offers the most comprehensive continuing
education program in the tennis industry.
Sportwall International, Inc., Santa Barbara, CA, was
founded in 1990 to develop, manufacture and market advanced
interactive fitness systems for people of all ages to
enhance their level of sensory integration, athletic
speed and physical agility. Sportwall currently is marketing
three
patented systems: Sports-PC, ScoobieBall and SmartBall.
To learn more about
Sportwall visit www.sportwall.com
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