Insider’s Look: USANA Distribution at the US Open

tennis, ball, racquet

By: Kathleen Stroia, M.S., P.T., ATC; Senior Vice President, Sport Sciences & Medicine and Transitions for the Women’s Tennis Association.

We just wrapped up one of the biggest events of the year – the US Open – second only to USANA’s International Convention that I hope you were able to attend!

WTA Distribution 1Over 196 players, from all over the world competed for more than $18.1 million in prize money at this year’s US Open – the last grand slam event of the year.  Because the size of this event is so large, the US Open is a good opportunity to target a lot of players and check in on any changes in their health they may be experiencing (as well as have them stock up on USANA vitamins & supplements for the remainder of the year).

As part of our partnership with USANA, all Full and Associate members in good standing on the WTA receive product free of charge as determined by our Sports Science & Medicine team (SS&M) in order to help our players perform at an optimal level day in and day out.

A few of these products include My Healthpak™, Procosa, BiOmega™ and Calcium.  BiOmega™ has been the most requested product this year, however the Healthpaks™ continue to be a staple for the WTA players. “They’re simply “Essential!” and are routinely taken by the players. Two other key products that are extremely popular are Vitamin C and Probiotics as players travel and play in various countries.

WTA Distribution 2Women’s professional tennis is an 11-month sport.  It is a grueling lifestyle by any sports standard.

The WTA’s SS&M is very proactive in emphasizing prevention strategies to our athletes to protect against illness and to maintain optimum health throughout the season. The players are educated on many topics to maintain health such as proper nutritional advice as they travel across the globe, which includes the appropriate use of USANA products to supplement their nutritional intake based on personalized advice from the WTA Sports Dietitian Advisor. However, given the length of our season, it is inevitable that the rigors involved with their job, the physical exertion and the travel between different climates and time zones impact their health.

Because we know the importance of vitamins and supplements for our players, our SS&M team who travel to all 54 of our events, carry USANA products with them to all tournaments in case a player runs out or needs a bit more.

This year’s distribution just happened to fall on the eighth anniversary of our partnership – we launched our relationship and introduced USANA to our athletes in 2006.   Eight years later, our partnership is stronger than ever and more than 160 of our athletes entrust their health to USANA, including seven of the top ten and 14 of the top 20 athletes.

Our players not only trust that the products are safe and pure, but they also believe that they help them perform at an optimal level.  We thought we’d give you an insider’s look at how the Player Product Distributions work:

We kicked off the US Open distribution on August 27th and wrapped it up on August 30th. We were there for three days and of course, the players wait until the very last day – even the very last hour  of the distribution – to pick up their product! (They’re just people too!)  We usually have a mad rush at the end of the distribution.

Carson Cook and Dan Bennett from USANA, work with SS&M to make sure that the player’s customized healthpaks and other products are delivered on time.

WTA Distribution 3Because our players are young and because of their lifestyle, we have a licensed sports nutritionist, Susie Parker Simmons, speak to each player before giving out product.

Our marquee players have their own “team” that they work with but that’s a small segment of our players. For most of the players, their Personal Health Care Providers follow up as well. Their main responsibility is caring for the health and well being of our players – not just as athlete but the person behind the racquet too.

Once the athlete’s health is assessed, we hand out the product based on the Sports Dietitian’s feedback.  Because players live out of their suitcases, they can only carry so much product with them.  Our players are also known for liking to shop and New York has some prime shopping opportunities as I’m sure you know.  However, as it is the last product distribution of the year, the players like to stock up on USANA products so that they have enough to last them through the off season.

The next swing on the WTA will take our players to Asia and they are requesting a lot of Vitamin C and Probiotics to make sure they stay healthy during the last tour of the season.

We are still tallying how many players we saw at this year’s distribution, but in March, we saw 140 players – a great success! Our distribution numbers continue to grow and we’ve seen 61 new players this year alone.

All seven Team USANA Ambassadors stopped by the distribution to stock up on some of their favorite USANA products, as well.

I hope you enjoyed a sneak peak of our USANA distribution at the US Open.  We truly value our partnership with USANA and look forward to continuing our mutually shared goal of keeping our players healthy and helping them perform at their best.

Kathleen StroiaKathleen Ann Stroia, M.S., P.T., ATC; Senior Vice President, Sport Sciences & Medicine and Transitions for the WTA Stroia earned a B.A. in Sport Sciences with an emphasis in Athletic Training from Purdue University, a M.S. degree in Athletic Training from West Virginia University and a B.S. degree in Physical Therapy form Chicago Medical School. In her positions as Senior Vice President, Stroia is ultimately responsible for the supervision and direction of both the Sport Sciences & Medicine and Transitions departments and staff. As such, she has been responsible for coordinating all health and medical services for the WTA to present. Stroia has served on several committees, including Special Olympics Committee, ITF Sport Science and Medicine Commission, Tennis Anti-Doping Committee, WTA Insurance Committee, National Athletic Trainers Association and many more.

 *The mentioned athletes are either distributors or dedicated users who have received compensation for their partnership and/or complimentary USANA products.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

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