01 / 11A Guide for Tennis Australia Representatives
Internal Training Resource — Not for External Distribution
02 / 11The HIT (Health, Insights, Thriving) Venue Report is Tennis Australia’s standardised assessment tool for evaluating the health and sustainability of tennis and racquet sport venues across Australia.
Purpose
The report provides venue operators with an objective, data-driven view of their venue’s performance. It transforms raw data from booking systems, infrastructure audits, and financial records into a structured narrative that venues and TA representatives can act on together.
Scope
Each report covers a single venue and assesses three interconnected domains: participation activity, infrastructure condition, and financial sustainability. The report uses benchmarking to position the venue against comparable facilities, and forecasting to project the venue’s trajectory over the next 12 years.
How It Is Generated
Reports are generated from data inputs including Book a Court platform data, coaching provider records, venue-submitted financial information, and infrastructure audit data. The system processes these inputs against a benchmarking model that accounts for venue tier (size and capacity) and catchment (the demographic and geographic context of the venue’s location).
Remember: The report is a tool for conversation, not a verdict. It is most powerful when presented in partnership with the venue, not delivered to them.
03 / 11The HIT Report is built on four interconnected pillars. Understanding how they relate to each other is essential for presenting the report effectively.
Participation
The driver. Measures the volume, diversity, and sustainability of activity at the venue across coaching, competition, social play, schools, and events.
Infrastructure
The enabler. Assesses the condition and lifecycle of the venue’s physical assets — courts, surfaces, and lighting — and the provisions in place for renewal.
Financial
The fuel. Evaluates the venue’s financial capacity to sustain its operations, maintain its infrastructure, and invest in growth over the next 12 years.
Thriving Tennis Communities
The goal. The overarching framework that connects participation, infrastructure, and financial health into a holistic view of venue sustainability.
Key message: These pillars are deeply interconnected. Strong participation generates the revenue that funds infrastructure, and quality infrastructure attracts the participants that drive activity. Financial health is what makes this cycle sustainable. A weakness in any one pillar will eventually affect the others.
04 / 11The five participation pages in the HIT Report map to a participant journey framework. Each stage represents a different type of engagement, and the data on each page tells you how well the venue is performing at that stage.
Promotion
Schools & Holiday Camps
→
Acquisition
Coaching & Complementary
→
Retention
Court Hire & Social Play
→
Pathway
Tournaments & Competitions
Promotion is about exposure — giving people a first taste of racquet sports in a low-commitment environment. Schools programs and holiday camps serve this function.
Acquisition is about skill development — converting interested participants into regular players through coaching and structured learning.
Retention is about independence — participants who can play on their own and choose to come back because they enjoy it. Court hire and social play are the markers.
Pathway is about depth — participants who engage in competition and tournaments, deepening their involvement and contributing to the broader community.
Note: The journey is not always linear. Some participants start with court hire. Others go straight from a school program to competition. The framework is a lens for understanding programming, not a rigid sequence.
05 / 11Preparation is the difference between a productive meeting and a confusing one. Use this checklist every time you prepare for a HIT Report presentation.
Preparation Checklist
- Review the full HIT Report and note the overall scores for Participation, Infrastructure, and Financial
- Identify the 2–3 most important stories in the data (the biggest strengths, the most significant gaps, the most urgent concerns)
- Review the benchmark position — understand where the venue sits relative to its peers and be ready to explain the comparison methodology
- Check whether a previous Business Action Plan (BAP) exists for this venue and review progress on its action items
- Review any venue-specific context you have (recent conversations, known challenges, planned developments, committee changes)
- Prepare your opening framing: how will you set the tone for the meeting in the first two minutes?
- Identify potential sensitivities in the data (negative financial score, declining participation, infrastructure concerns) and plan your framing approach
- Have blank BAP templates and relevant TA program resources ready to share
Time investment: Allow 30–45 minutes of preparation time per venue. A well-prepared presentation typically runs 60–90 minutes. Underprepared presentations often run longer because the conversation loses focus.
06 / 11Structure your presentation to tell a story, not just display data. The recommended flow moves from broad context to specific insights to collaborative action.
Recommended Flow
- Set the context (5 minutes). Explain the purpose of the meeting, what the HIT Report is, and how it will be used. Emphasise that this is a partnership tool, not a performance review.
- State of Play (10 minutes). Start with Page 1 — the overall participation score, benchmark position, and category breakdown. This gives the venue the big picture before diving into detail.
- Deep dive into the most relevant section (20–30 minutes). Based on the venue’s situation and priorities, spend the most time on the section that matters most to them right now. If participation is the main concern, walk through Pages 2–5. If infrastructure is urgent, focus on Pages 6–7. If financial health is the priority, focus on Page 8.
- Connect the dots (10 minutes). Show how the sections relate to each other. A venue with strong participation but ageing infrastructure needs to plan for renewal. A venue with good infrastructure but low participation needs to focus on programming.
- Action planning (15–20 minutes). Transition to the BAP. Identify 2–3 priorities, agree on specific actions, and schedule a follow-up.
Common mistake: Going through every page sequentially. This overwhelms the venue and buries the most important insights in a flood of data. Be selective. The venue doesn’t need to absorb every chart — they need to understand the story the data tells.
07 / 11Benchmarks are one of the most powerful features of the HIT Report, but they can also be one of the most sensitive. Here is how to use them constructively.
What Percentiles Mean in Plain Language
- P90: “You’re in the top 10% of venues like yours. That’s exceptional, and we want to understand what you’re doing so we can share those insights.”
- P75: “You’re performing better than three-quarters of comparable venues. That’s a strong position and a foundation to build on.”
- P50: “You’re right at the midpoint. This is a solid baseline — there’s a clear path to move up, and we can look at what the top-performing venues do differently.”
- P25: “There’s a significant opportunity here. Venues in similar situations are achieving more activity, and we can work together to close that gap.”
- Below P25: “This tells us there’s room to make meaningful improvements. Let’s focus on identifying the one or two changes that could have the biggest impact.”
Framing Rules
- Never say “you’re in the bottom quartile” or use ranking language. Use “opportunity” and “potential” instead.
- Always remind the venue that benchmarks compare like with like. They’re not being compared to larger or better-resourced venues.
- Offer to share (de-identified) insights from higher-performing venues. This turns the benchmark from a judgment into a learning tool.
- If the venue disputes the benchmark, listen and document their perspective. Data accuracy is an ongoing process.
08 / 11Every presenter will encounter situations where the data tells a difficult story. These moments are where the quality of the relationship between Tennis Australia and the venue is either strengthened or damaged. Approach them with care.
Negative Financial Scores
Start by acknowledging that financial data can feel confronting. Explain what the negative score means (projected costs exceed projected reserves) and what it does not mean (the venue is not in immediate crisis). Focus on the timeline: “When is the projected shortfall? What can we do between now and then?” Offer concrete options: increase sinking fund contributions, explore grant funding, review revenue opportunities, or develop a phased renewal plan.
Declining Participation
Ask before you tell. Before presenting the data, ask the venue what they’ve been experiencing. They may already be aware of the decline and have context that the data doesn’t capture (a coach leaving, a competing facility opening nearby, demographic shifts). Validate their experience, then use the data to identify where specifically the decline is occurring and what the most impactful response could be.
Ageing Infrastructure
Frame infrastructure age as inevitable, not negligent. Every surface, light, and fence has a lifecycle. The question is never “why is this old?” but “what’s the plan?” Connect infrastructure needs to available funding pathways and TA support. Many venues don’t realise they may be eligible for grants or council partnerships to support renewal.
The golden rule: Every difficult data point should be paired with at least one constructive pathway. Never leave a problem on the table without an option for action.
09 / 11The final phase of every HIT Report presentation is the transition from data to action. This is where the meeting delivers its real value.
The Three-Step Close
- Summarise the key insights. Recap the 2–3 most important findings from the report in plain language. “What we’ve seen today is that your participation is strong in coaching but has room to grow in social play, your courts are approaching their renewal window in about four years, and your financial position is adequate but will need attention as those renewal costs approach.”
- Connect insights to actions. For each key finding, propose a specific, achievable action. “For social play, I’d suggest trialling a weekly mix-in session. For the court renewal, let’s build a staged plan and look at grant eligibility. For the financial position, let’s review your sinking fund contribution rate.”
- Agree on next steps and timing. Document the agreed actions in a Business Action Plan. Assign ownership, set timelines, and schedule the follow-up meeting. This creates momentum and accountability.
Pro tip: Ask the venue what they think the priorities should be before you share yours. This builds ownership and often surfaces priorities that are more practically grounded than what the data alone might suggest.
10 / 11Quick reference for presenter behaviour during HIT Report meetings.
Do
- Ask the venue about their goals and priorities before presenting data
- Start with the big picture before drilling into detail
- Use “we” language — position yourself as a partner
- Acknowledge effort and celebrate strengths
- Frame benchmarks as learning opportunities, not rankings
- Connect every insight to a constructive pathway or action
- Prepare for sensitive data points in advance and plan your framing
- Listen when the venue provides context the data doesn’t capture
- End with clear next steps, ownership, and a follow-up date
- Leave documentation behind (report copy, BAP template, resources)
Don't
- Lead with negative data or the lowest score
- Use judgmental language (“failing”, “poor”, “below standard”)
- Compare the venue to specific named venues
- Go through every page sequentially without prioritising
- Present data without context or actionable recommendations
- Dismiss venue concerns about data accuracy
- Rush through the action planning phase
- Leave the meeting without agreed next steps
- Use technical jargon without explaining it (percentile, provision, sinking fund)
- Promise outcomes that Tennis Australia cannot deliver
11 / 11Support is available at every stage of the HIT Report presentation process. Here is where to find what you need.
People
- Your State/Territory TA Representative: First point of contact for venue-specific questions, BAP development support, and escalation of complex situations
- National Venues Team: Support for infrastructure assessment queries, benchmarking methodology questions, and report generation issues
- Participation Development Team: Resources for programming recommendations, schools program templates, and competition format guidance
Documents & Templates
- Business Action Plan (BAP) Template: Structured template for documenting meeting outcomes and action items
- HIT Report Methodology Guide: Technical documentation on how scores are calculated and benchmarks are constructed
- Grant Application Guidance: Templates and tips for incorporating HIT data into funding applications
- Programming Resource Library: Social play formats, schools program templates, competition format guides, and participation growth strategies
Systems
- HIT Report Portal: Generate and access venue reports
- Book a Court: Source platform for participation data
- Infrastructure Assessment Tool: Input platform for court and facility condition data
Final thought: The HIT Report is only as valuable as the conversation it enables. Your role as a presenter is not to deliver data — it’s to help venues understand their story, own their priorities, and take meaningful action. Every meeting is an opportunity to strengthen Tennis Australia’s relationship with the venue and contribute to a thriving tennis community.