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A
Brief History of the Central Ohio Grand Prix
In 1983,
Alann Leinwohl started a tournament, the Newark Open, at the OSU-Newark
campus. Two years later, during the summer of 1985, he began discussions
with a group of tournament directors about organizing their events
in terms of scheduling and creating a unified circuit with a Masters
finale. As a result of these talks, the Central Ohio Grand Prix
tour debuted in 1986.
That first
year, the circuit was quite informal. The job of organizing fell
to Leinwohl and he added the Masters tournament at the end of
the 1986 season in Newark. Subsequent Masters events alternated
between Newark and Lancaster until 1991 when the tournament moved
to Wolfe Park in Columbus.
By 1988,
the COGP tournaments began paying fees to support the publication
of a yearbook and promotion of the tour through advertising and
direct mail. Leinwohl also offered tournament directors a computerized
draw-making program which he developed. Individual memberships
were sold offering players discounts on entry fees, stringing
and equipment. Also in 1988, the Tennisfax Ranking System was
adopted as a basis for seeding in COGP events. In the beginning,
the goal was simple... just a little organization. Soon, the COGP
took on a life of its own. By 1991, every week from Memorial Day
to early October was filled by a COGP tour event.
While the
tour started as an adult organization, Leinwohl is proud of adding
junior events to the circuit. He sees the COGP as a place for
kids who are just starting to play tournaments. Many COGP players
have gone on to success in OVTA and Midwest events while they
continue to play on the COGP tour.
In 2000,
The COGP launched a web site where players can find announcements,
match results, tournament reports and current rankings. The COGP
also provided individual tournaments on the circuit with their
own web pages. Visitors can enter tournaments online and find
match schedules and results posted daily.
Leinwohl
retired as tour director after the 2002 season. New owners Arnie
Jones and Alan Kinnard will continue the COGP philosophy. Jones
and Kinnard would like to see the COGP membership base expand.
They also see the need to encourage kids to make the transition
from junior to adult events and to keep the 20-something player
competing on the tour. They feel the COGP tour is a great place
for the high school and college players to compete with top amateurs
and teaching pros.
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