Emirates Airline Rallies for Inner-City Kids' Tennis

Emirates Airline Rallies for Inner-City Kids' Tennis
Serves up third annual Racquet Return Program at Rogers Cup Aug. 7-15

TORONTO - July 27, 2010 - When you donate a tennis racquet at this year's Rogers Cup in Toronto from August 7-15, you're scoring an ace for the kids. Thousands of inner-city children will have an opportunity to swing their own tennis racquets thanks to Emirates Airline's Racquet Return Program returning for its third year in support of the Doug Philpott Inner City Children's Tennis Fund.

Tennis racquets, preferably junior-sized ones, will be collected by Emirates representatives at the main entrance gate at Rexall Centre, York University for the tournament's duration. Emirates will donate the used tennis racquets from Rogers Cup fans to the Doug Philpott Fund, which reaches more than 4,500 of Toronto's inner-city youth each summer.

"Our summer tennis camps are offered free to Toronto children and youths, ages 5 to 15, who might otherwise not have access to the sport," said Sharon Arnold, Director, Doug Philpott Inner-City Children's Tennis Fund. "Our goal this year is to collect 2,000 racquets for next year's program so we can continue promoting health and physical wellbeing by providing skill-developing tennis programs," she added.

Racquet donations will give fans a chance to win two round-trip Business Class tickets to Dubai aboard an Emirates A380, the world's largest luxury two-level aircraft, equipped with showers and a fully equipped bar in First and Business Class.

"We're excited to continue the hugely successful Emirates Racquet Return Program at the Rogers Cup in Toronto," said Mary Heron, Manager Canada, Emirates airline. "We've been impressed with the support of the program for the past two years and we look forward to receiving thousands of racquets that kids can keep in order to continue developing their tennis skills," she added.

Special activities are planned for Philpott Day on August 11 when children from the Doug Philpott Inner City Children's Tennis Fund will have an opportunity to see their tennis heroes in action, learn the fundamentals of tennis and rally with tennis pros competing in this year's tournament.

The tennis racquets that are collected will be distributed among 11 summer camps in the Toronto-area. Support of the Doug Philpot Inner-City Children's Fund will provide inner-city youth with ongoing access to tennis during the program's camps and beyond.

Emirates and Sports Sponsorship

Emirates is a principal sponsor of the men's and women's Rogers Cup events this year

in Toronto and Montreal. The sponsorship represents a key investment in Canada where Emirates operates a three-times weekly non-stop operation from Toronto to Dubai aboard the Emirates A380.

Emirates has a longstanding commitment to sport sponsorships and has been involved in a range of sporting events and teams around the world for over 20 years. The airline is linked to some of the world's leading sport events, spread across the six continents that Emirates flies non-stop to from Dubai.

Emirates' sports portfolio includes prestigious properties such as the FIFA World Cup, Arsenal Football Club, AC Milan, the Breeders' Cup World Championship and Godolphin, horse racing's most successful international stable. In Canada, Emirates is also the official sponsor of Woodbine Race Tracks.

Doug Philpott Inner City Children's Tennis Fund

The Doug Philpott Inner City Children's Tennis Fund is Canada's only charity dedicated exclusively to children and tennis, operating numerous summer tennis camps in Toronto's underprivileged neighbourhoods. It has assisted local youth for over 15 years, reaching more than 4,500 inner-city youth each summer. In addition to tennis skill, Philpott Kids earn important lessons about discipline, cooperation, physical fitness, health and self-confidence.