The singles semis of the Texas Tennis Open offered up quite an evening of power play tennis. These women...don't call them girls....are fantastic. All four semifinalists improved their games as the week went on until the semis. I hope the other fans appreciated the talent as much as I did.
For the event itself, I really liked the food selection; it was not your standard fried fare and processed cheese food nachos. The fresh smoothies were incredible. The burgers, salads, and chips all looked good. It was nice to be at a sporting event where the fresh and healthy options were really the only choice.
The only two things which could be managed differently were the entrance area and the cash-for-tickets line. Then entrance area and box office were stacked right atop one another, and the box office was actually past the security line and the ticket checking people. Having the box office outside the entrance (like at other sporting events) would clear up both confusion and congestion. Maybe they can do that next year.
As for the food tent, it was not obvious that you had to get tickets to get food. The idea itself is a good one, but the instructions for its requirement were not posted anywhere; you just had to figure it out. Plenty of children were in the food room trying to buy food not understanding the ticket situation. You could see the bewilderment on their faces. In addition to posting the instructions, moving the ticket line away from the food selections would have 1) given more room for people to investigate what they wanted to order 2) made the ticket line more obvious, and 3) made the overall process easier.
The silent auction offered some interesting items; however, I saw very few people actually participate. (Maybe by the finals, it was more full.) Perhaps if someone had been at the table encouraging you to come over, check out the offerings, and bid, more participation would have occurred. The proceeds were for a great cause (children's hospital), so I hope that the auction worked ok for them. Perhaps next year, someone could encourage (not push or force) folks to come over and have a look. This year, the only way you even knew about it was through the PA person.
Overall, I loved being at this event all week and am thrilled to have professional women's tennis a part of the DFW area. The people running the event and volunteering at it were all happy, friendly, and helpful. That was so nice to see. The DFW area is known for its strong volunteer activity, and I was proud to see it in effect at the TTO. I look forward to next year.