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BTCA - the freedom to be different.
Who are BTCA?
We are the British Tennis Coaches Association.
So, what does that mean to our members and all of the other coaches and tennis clubs in the UK?
It means that coaches and clubs can continue to have the freedom to choose...
Joining BTCA can either mean choosing an alternative to LTA accreditation, or choosing an addition to it that also provides an element of freedom from complete conformity.
What do I mean by conformity? I mean the red tape associated with a coach or clubs membership solely to one governing body.
Over the last 20 years the LTA have become more and more of a one-stop-shop for everything a club or coach could ever need and in many ways we could say that this is a good thing, but when it comes at the cost of the independent freedom to choose something else if desired, then it is too much of a price to pay.
This is what BTCA is all about and it is important for us now to tell the industry what we do, and that we are here to stay, and to stay independent.
So what does choosing an independent BTCA membership offer a tennis coach?
Unlike restrictive membership rules and insurance policies that govern how tennis coaching is delivered, BTCA provides coaches at all levels with qualification equivalent certification and unrestricted Public Liability Insurance, enabling them all to coach individual and group sessions.
Unlike the limited design features of Clubspark free websites, BTCA provides its Platinum and Jade members with their own personalised TennisBase Club/Coach Management Website. Not only does this package have all of the features of Clubspark, but it is also much more dynamic and does not take any extra transaction fees. The transaction fees taken by Clubspark every time a coach delivers a lesson or a new member joins the club can prove to be very expensive. For example; a coach or club that processes £50,000 per annum through a Clubspark site pays the standard paypal/stripe fees 'plus' Clubspark is also taking an additional £400 for the privilege.
The BTCA TennisBase alternative is completely free to use other than the standard paypal/stripe fee, so, it is better and it is also less costly.
The BTCA also holds its 2 day National Conference in December each year and it is not only a fantastic opportunity to listen to some great presentations from some of the best experts in the game, but it is also a great event for networking freely with other UK and International coaches and visit the trade stands of some of the industry's top tennis suppliers. All this for the cost of a small admin and refreshment fee.
That's the BTCA... that's who we are. We have been here for over 75 years and we will continue to offer an alternative for coaches who need it, or an addition for those that want it, for many more years to come.
Without choice, tennis and the wonderful coaches and clubs that facilitate it will become over regulated and one dimensional and this will inevitably lead to limitations in entrepreneurialism within the industry of tennis and a lack of variation within the game itself.
BTCA will always support the 'freedom to be different', as losing that would be too great a price to pay and this is the very reason why BTCA will always be the 'Independent' Association for all UK Tennis Coaches.