Tennis Canada’s Compact Dynamo

By Don Goodwin

Stacey Allaster has emerged as one of Tennis Canada’s principal assets as they launch a new era for the sport in Canada. The 5’1″ Vice President of Sales and Marketing and Tournament Director of the tournaments staged in Toronto, has quickly and impressively assumed the key role in the development and maintainance of Tennis Canada’s major funding vehicle – the Tennis Masters Canada and Rogers Cup events.

Allaster

Allaster

The combination of the sales and marketing function with the actual direction of the tournaments was introduced to Tennis Canada by John Beddington, the driving force behind the growth of the tournaments through the 80s.

Stacey Allaster, interested in tennis from her teen days, took a job with Tennis Canada in the Beddington era and felt quickly at home in that demanding environment.

When Beddington returned to his native England, Allaster was ready to assume the Sales and Marketing responsibility and long-time tournament manager Jane Wynne took over the Tournament Director role. When Wynne retired two years ago, the two important jobs were re-combined and Allaster had the job of managing both responsibilities — plus participating in the drive to first fund, then build a new tennis centre.

From the sports media standpoint, Stacey Allaster is a distinct plus. She knows and values the role of the media in the effective conduct of major events and in interviews and briefings provides factual, complete, clear responses to media questions.

Behind the scenes she is sensitive to media needs for access, good working conditions on site and timely and complete information — and conditions her media department to be equally sensitive in their assistance and service to the media before, during and after tournaments.