“When I think of an idea, I always say I’m sure Activity Messenger can come up with a way to make it happen. I’ve said that at least 4 or 5 times now, and Activity Messenger has come through every time. I give it an A+, I’m a big fan.” – Steve Dreger, Executive Director at Tennis Manitoba
Tennis Manitoba is the provincial sport organization responsible for the development and promotion of tennis across Manitoba. As a PSO operating within the Sport Manitoba ecosystem, the organization manages a range of events and programs, including one of the most logistically demanding on the provincial sport calendar: the ATP Challenger tournament in Winnipeg, which attracts professional players from around the world.
Steve Dreger, Executive Director of Tennis Manitoba, was introduced to Activity Messenger through Sport Manitoba and has been using the platform for three years.
During that time, Tennis Manitoba has used Activity Messenger for a variety of tasks, from collecting information for tryouts and fundraising dinners to selling merchandise. That includes one particularly high-stakes challenge: coordinating transportation for the province’s largest professional tennis tournament.
Hosting an ATP Challenger event means coordinating players arriving from across the globe. One of the practical challenges that comes with that: getting athletes from point A to point B efficiently and without friction.
Tennis Manitoba needed a simple, scalable way to manage player shuttle bookings, one that worked for an international audience and didn’t require manual back-and-forth.
Tennis Manitoba used Activity Messenger to build an online shuttle booking system for ATP Challenger players.
A simple QR code directed arriving players to a form where they could book their ride — no app download, no account creation, no confusion.
For dozens of players arriving from many different countries, asking athletes to download a dedicated app or create an account creates immediate barriers. Not everyone will follow through, administrators become overwhelmed with support requests by phone and email, and the logistic coordinator is forced to chase confirmations manually.
In contrast, using Activity Messenger, Tennis Manitoba’s solution worked instantly, removing all of that overhead before it started. Players could book their ride in seconds, from anywhere, on any device.
On the administrative side, Steve received a daily summary of all upcoming rides, providing a clear, organized overview without manual data collection.
“It was all online, it was all easy to use. Players from all across the world used the QR code to book a ride.”
The feedback from players was overwhelmingly positive, and the process ran smoothly throughout the event.
Tennis Manitoba’s shuttle booking form worked well because it was clear, branded, and easy to complete on any device. Here’s how to get the same results for your own events:
Here’s a quick video of Olivier demonstrating these steps:
With a track record of reliability and a platform that keeps pace with new ideas, Tennis Manitoba continues to rely on Activity Messenger as a core part of its event and administrative operations.
As the organization grows its programming, the confidence that any new challenge can be solved in one place remains a key reason the platform works so well for the team.
Beyond the shuttle use case, what stands out to Steve is Activity Messenger’s ability to turn ideas into reality. As new challenges emerge, Steve’s confidence in the platform only grows. Whatever idea comes next, he’s certain Activity Messenger will find a way to make it happen.
