Awards & Recognition
Ruth-Ellen Alcendor
The TIA worked with IdeaConnection, one of the world’s leading Open Innovation service companies, to develop the Discovery Challenge, which started out in July with an online competition to showcase innovative solutions and culminated with the presentation of the top ideas at the Forum.
More than 500 people from the U.S. and around the world participated in over 3,000 discussions on how to increase tennis participation, engagement and retention. At the Forum, the top ideas were presented by Carlos Salum, president of Salum International Resources, and Lena Belogolova, chief behavior officer at EasyKnock and a former Facebook leader.
A panel of industry judges determined the Discovery Challenge Grand Prize winner, Ruth-Ellen Alcendor of Paris, France, who received a $1,000 prize for her winning idea –a tennis crowdfunding platform where “individuals, associations, clubs, organizations and other entities will be able to submit their projects for all things tennis, from gear to tournaments.” Examples include requests to build tennis courts locally, requests to buy new equipment, sponsorship for talented young players and requests to send club members to tournaments.
More than 500 people from the U.S. and around the world participated in over 3,000 discussions on how to increase tennis participation, engagement and retention. At the Forum, the top ideas were presented by Carlos Salum, president of Salum International Resources, and Lena Belogolova, chief behavior officer at EasyKnock and a former Facebook leader.
A panel of industry judges determined the Discovery Challenge Grand Prize winner, Ruth-Ellen Alcendor of Paris, France, who received a $1,000 prize for her winning idea –a tennis crowdfunding platform where “individuals, associations, clubs, organizations and other entities will be able to submit their projects for all things tennis, from gear to tournaments.” Examples include requests to build tennis courts locally, requests to buy new equipment, sponsorship for talented young players and requests to send club members to tournaments.