The Tennis Channel

For those tennis enthusiasts planning a trip and traveling to Hawaii... Requires non-anonymous membership. HAWAII TENNIS COMMUNITY NETWORKING WEBSITE LAUNCHED HONOLULU: FRIDAY, September 19, 2008 -- Hawaiian Isles Tennis announces the creation and official opening of the Hawaiian Isles Tennis (HIT) tennis focused networking portal, reporting and community website at www.HITennis.net. HIT fosters awareness, sharing of opinions and advancement of players at all levels, ages and locations and supports events, education, community and business in Hawaii. HIT's motto is " Advancing Community Through Tennis". Tennis is an integral and historic part of the culture and landscape in the Hawaiian Islands. HIT uses an integrated networking platform that enables members to efficiently and safely connect with each other as real people and to interact with groups based on geography, skill levels, mutual interest, shared experience, style and more. Groups can facilitate dialog, announcements, invitations, partnering and connection. People can set up their own page with profile, photos, video and writing to easily share with the community. It is the ultimate in grassroots community building for the sport. Hawaiian Isles Tennis features articles, photo galleries, video and forums on relevant topics to which members can add comments and extend the stories. HIT hopes to foster the development of writers and photographers of all ages who want to contribute, share and selfpublish their views and experiences with tennis and life. The site requires non-anonymous membership to help protect people from spamming and abuse and provide a "family and minor friendly" online experience. HIT even has a "Moderator" to guide the environment respectfully forward, help settle complaints or disputes and ban the civilly challenged if necessary. The basic rules of respect, however, shouldn't prevent the free expression and flow of diverse opinion. HIT has opportunities for coaches, organizers, service providers, retailers, clubs, resorts, writers and more to hang out a "shingle" in the directory and customize there own pages to share offerings. But the greatest value of participation comes from the technology itself, which enables presentation of useful information to people looking for it and the facilitation of efficient "social" dialog to bring them together beyond what traditional media and advertising can accomplish. The topic forums can illuminate expertise on training, equipment, facilities, programs, health issues and more. There really is no limit to the community defining, expanding and evolving itself. Of note, there is a separate national social networking site started independently at the same time as HIT called Tennisopolis (www.tennisopolis.com) which dovetails nicely. The founder of Hawaiian Isles Tennis is Leilani Magee, the local and international teaching professional who as a player recently swept the revived 2008 Hawaii Grand Prix Women's Open Circuit at the proud age of 39. She combines years of experience and connections in all things tennis with the latest technology to enhance the experience of the game for Hawaii's people. Leilani says, "I invite the tennis players and tennis communities of Hawaii to join, find and create their place and personalized tennis experience online with HIT." She adds, "We can't be separated by distance or lack of a place to share our stories and love for tennis. This is the modern way to bring us together and empower us to create the brightest experience and future for tennis in Hawaii." HIT is multifaceted, a place for publishing, social networking and business and so defies easy categorization, like any community. Membership in 2008 is free but HIT will request a $10 per year membership donation starting in 2009 to defray the basic costs of maintaining the environment. Businesses are requested to contribute $250 or in-kind services a year for assistance in facilitating commercial presence and marketing. Sponsors and donors are sought to support journalism, community expansion and the ability to extend the services of HIT into non-profit realms. Leilani closes, "It's your tennis game, Hawaii. Let's all get together and make it a big HIT!"