Tennis Australia

Who are they?

Tennis Australia is the governing body for tennis in Australia, with a rich history that dates back to the establishment of the Lawn Tennis Association of Australia in 1904, the organisation has been at the forefront of nurturing talent, promoting tennis, and organising events that captivate millions around the world.

Tennis Australia is renowned for organising the Australian Open, one of the four Grand Slam tournaments, which is held annually in Melbourne Park. The Australian Open is not just a showcase of elite tennis but also a celebration of the sport’s rich heritage and its capacity to unite people across different backgrounds. Over the years, the tournament has seen legendary moments and performances, contributing significantly to the global tennis narrative.

Beyond the Australian Open, Tennis Australia hosts a series of events across the country, forming the backbone of the Australian tennis calendar. These events serve as crucial platforms for talent identification, competition, and entertainment, reinforcing the sport’s popularity and participation at all levels.

The Requirements

Tennis Australia’s original accreditation system had been built in-house and expanded many times over 20 years. The original system had reached the end of its life due to the age of its operating system and development work that was needed to keep it running, but ultimately, the user experience was behind modern expectations in the fast-moving event technology world.

The Tennis Australia Accreditation team needed a flexibility that had not previously existed. Tied to spreadsheets and singular uploads, huge hours were spent at every event getting data into the original system. With multiple events across Australia, Tennis Australia needed a system that could provide consistency to users across all events while still allowing for a tailored look and feel to keep the uniqueness that each event has.

Our Approach and Solution

Together, Accredit Solutions and Tennis Australia, undertook a comprehensive evaluation of the requirements that led to the adoption of the Accredit platform. This platform was chosen for its robustness, flexibility, and comprehensive feature set:

• Advanced Digital Capabilities:

Data collection was a key aspect for Tennis Australia accreditation process; they needed to be able to capture the basic Accreditation requirements but tailor the approach to different groups within the event and ensure the experience was the right fit.

Different forms were established for the players, their entourage, international and local media and event staff and contractors attending the event. The Accredit platform gave capability to collect pronoun data for an inclusive workforce experience, coverage plans and accommodation requirements for media representatives and players the flexibility to nominate their support team for all events in a singular form.

Tennis Australia also collected vehicle details through the system to account for all vehicles parking on site, including player and official vehicles.

Transitioning from manual entries and spreadsheets to a fully digital, automated system revolutionised how accreditations were managed.

• Customised Integrations:

Tailored integrations with existing systems for catering, RFID access, and transportation created a seamless operational framework. Tennis Australia used Electronic Meal Allowances (EMA) assigned to Accredited individuals to purchase Food & Beverages via their physical Accreditation passes.

The Accredit platform was configured to incorporate 20 different values and catering codes, using pre-loaded values determined by the Accreditation team. These EMAs were then assigned by the Accreditation team to over 5000 accreditation passes on the Accredit platform which integrated via API to the point-of-sale system onsite.

• Enhanced Security Features:

Incorporating mobile access control and media portals with secure badge technology ensured a high level of venue security. A new seamless player experience was implemented at the 2024 Australian Open, using RFID on player and player support team passes the Accredit access control module was integrated with PMY Group to provide frictionless entry through key entrances and provide a secure perimeter to the player zone at Melbourne Park.

With additional integrations to the player transport application and the Athlete management system the player experience was embedded in the Accredit platform to ensure a seamless experience.

The Benefits

The deployment of the Accredit platform brought about significant advancements across various aspects of event accreditation management:

• Efficiency and Accuracy:

The digital transformation reduced manual labour and errors, ensuring a smooth accreditation process for all events. This has saved Tennis Australia across several resource areas, notably time and costs that previously incurred to facilitate all the specific requirements needed to accredit such a large workforce and stakeholder group for each Australian Open. The ease of use of the system also enabled Tennis Australia to review and subsequently upgrade the internal precinct access levels into a more efficient, modern and proactive model whilst maintaining the integrity and security of the 2024 Australian Open.

• Operational efficiencies:

The ability for Accreditees to complete their own information through the accreditation process was a key efficiency for Tennis Australia. Accurate information was no longer reliant on human resource departments in putting it on behalf of their staff, it allowed accreditation applicants to complete forms and submit data in their own time, while still giving human resource teams oversight on the process and the ability to remind and follow up with their teams.

• Flexibility for Event Specifics:

The system’s adaptability allowed Tennis Australia to maintain the unique identity of each event while ensuring consistent user experiences. Tennis Australia took a centralised Accreditation approach to ensure consistency of experience across all events. Provided with in-depth training sessions, the core Accreditation team are empowered to be able to manage and configure their events as desired through the set-up process.

• Elevated Security Measures:

Real-time access control and advanced security protocols safeguarded venues against unauthorised access, providing a safe environment for all attendees. The new platform and associated, mobile hardware (android scanners) technology allowed for more access points internal to the venue to be switched to access scan locations, removing the need to visual checking. Within the player spaces, RFID access control was implemented as an additional security layer, integrated with the Accredit platform to ensure seamless entry for the players and their support teams.

The Results:

A New Era for Tennis Australia

The collaboration between Tennis Australia and Accredit Solutions has not only addressed the immediate challenges but has also set a new benchmark for accreditation. The successful implementation of the Accredit platform has demonstrated the potential for innovative technology to transform sports event accreditation management, enhancing operational efficiencies, security, and the overall experience for participants and staff alike.

Throughout Tennis Australia’s “Summer of Tennis” all workforce, stakeholders, players and support teams were accredited within the Accredit system amounting to over 57,100 individual pieces of accreditation across 6 events nationally.

Tennis Australia’s transition to the Accredit platform has revolutionised their event accreditation process. This transformation is a testament to the power of strategic partnership, innovation, and a forward-thinking approach to overcoming operational challenges.

As Tennis Australia looks towards the future, the successful implementation of the Accredit platform not only addresses current needs but also paves the way for leveraging technology to elevate experiences and efficiencies in future events.