This past week, from June 10-June 18, New York Junior Tennis & Learning hosted its 35th annual NYJTL Mayor Dinkins Cup at the Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning, featuring 577 participants in grades 3-12 at public, parochial, and private schools from across all five boroughs of New York City.
Renamed to honor New York City’s first Black mayor, David N. Dinkins, the Mayor Dinkins Cup has brought the largest free junior interscholastic tennis competition to New York City for 35 years. The NYJTL Mayor Dinkins Cup offers a week of both individual and team competitions for elementary, middle, and high school students, culminating in a closing ceremony, “Family Finals Day,” that awarded 8 scholarships to students who showed exceptional achievement both on and off the courts. “Family Finals Day” was also a day of free activities, giveaways, and more for families to enjoy while their children take part in the tennis competition.
“This year’s Mayor Dinkins Cup was a resounding success, and we were so proud to be able to kick off the summer in this way,” said Udai Tambar, President and CEO of New York Junior Tennis & Learning. “The Mayor Dinkins Cup gives hundreds of kids the opportunity to partake in a week of friendly competition with their peers, all while earning prizes, spending time with family, and strengthening their tennis skills. And this year, we were able to award $86,000 in scholarships to youth who have demonstrated what it means to be a scholar and an athlete on the court and away from it. Thanks to all who make this work possible.”
The 2023 Mayor Dinkins Cup wraps up the organization’s 2022-2023 season, which has been a particularly impactful one. Last summer, NYJTL partnered with Hunter College Silberman School of Social Work to bring social work interns and a social worker to its ACES Afterschool programming, which serves nearly 5,000 youth in more than 30 afterschool programs around the city. As the youth mental health crisis persists in this country, NYJTL recognized the importance of ensuring that its youth feel comfortable and open in speaking about their mental health challenges.
Additionally, NYJTL began its Holding Court: Player Series this year and invited former professional tennis players Lori McNeil and Chris Eubanks to the Cary Leeds Center to provide free tennis instruction and academic support to hundreds of youth in underserved communities, making for a day of fun activities and learning experiences.
The Mayor Dinkins Cup took place in the Cary Leeds Center, an indoor and outdoor space that opened in 2015 with 22 courts in the south Bronx that now provides more than 6,000 hours of free court time to underserved youth throughout New York City. And in 2022, NYJTL launched its Scholar Athlete Program, offering youth in grades 3-12 in-depth tennis instruction, educational enrichment, and college preparedness with the goal of 100% high school graduation and college entrance to create socioeconomic mobility.
For more information about the Mayor Dinkins Cup, visit https://www.nyjtl.org/mayor-dinkins-cup/.
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