18(b) How do you expect that your proposed gTLD will benefit registrants, Internet users, and others?

Prototypical answer:

18(b)i. What is the goal of your proposed gTLD in terms of areas of specialty, service levels or reputation?

The .tennis TLD will present specified and targeted content which is definitive and exclusive of the Tennis Australia Community. The .tennis TLD will allow for an unparalleled engagement opportunity for community members across the country. Given the structure of Tennis Australia, there will be opportunities for all members to be represented under the .tennis TLD.

The .tennis TLD will encourage interaction with non-members and provide valuable information on the sport itself. This will also serve to enhance the reputation of Tennis Australia, as they continue to grow the tennis community in Australia.


18(b)ii. What do you anticipate your proposed gTLD will add to the current space, in terms of competition, differentiation, or innovation?

The .tennis TLD will add a significant level of competition to the market for domain registrations, as the expected primary market of this TLD presently gravitates towards the .com and com.au TLD’s, driven in part through the lack of a specific community TLD. Increasing the choice of registrations to include those under a new, highly appropriate community representative TLD will improve the general competition level in domain registrations - a major factor in the TLD expansion initiative. Increasing registration options will only result in increased competition if the new offering is a realistic alternative and .tennis is differentiated in such a manner as to affirm this.
A .tennis domain is differentiated from existing dominant TLDs by being clearly aligned with the Tennis Australia community. This will be the first time a TLD has been specifically dedicated to the purposes of serving that community. It will be easily identifiable, verified and dependable for content, contact and engagement.
Innovation will be supported within the TLD by actively promoting the Tennis Australia community, in order to utilise the TLD for uses other than being just a “pointer” to a website. A domain name directory service will be set up, allowing for an easily searchable namespace. Registrants will be encouraged to develop the websites in innovative and creative ways.
The .tennis TLD will also be highly marketable and attractive for community members hoping to promote their services.


18(b)iii. What goals does your proposed gTLD have in terms of user experience?

The proposed .tennis gTLD will provide a positive user experience which meets the evolving and growing needs of the Tennis Australia community and indeed the wider Internet audience. Registrants will be limited to listed and verified members of Tennis Australia, who will be expected to adhere to the registration policies. Their use will be consistent with that policy and the mission and purpose of this TLD, thus deterring abusive registrations.

Therefore, the .tennis gTLD will:
- Provide an easy and intuitive reference and access point for Tennis Australia community members and Internet users overall.
- Represent legitimacy, since registrants will be restricted to members of the Tennis Australia Community, thus promoting user confidence.
- Direct Internet users to relevant information in a timely manner, by providing a dedicated domain space specifically targeted for the sport of tennis.
- Enhance security and minimise security risks by implementing necessary technical and policy measures and offering rapid resolution of complaints.
- Strengthen brand reputation and user confidence by providing the Tennis Australia community with a new communication infrastructure.
- Prevent potential abuses in the registration process, via the application of eligibility criteria, reducing overall costs to businesses and users.

The .tennis gTLD will address the concerns that the current domain name system is open to potential malicious abuse and user confusion in the registration processes. The .tennis gTLD’s eligibility requirements will reduce potential abuses in the registration processes and detriment to Internet users. User confidence in the domain name system will be strengthened, which will ultimately contribute towards promoting ICANN’s core values in benefitting the public interest.


18(b)iv. Provide a complete description of the applicantʹs intended registration policies in support of the goals listed above

Given that this will be a community-based TLD, the registration policies will be very straight forward. The following policies will apply in regards to registration policies:
- Only full members of the Tennis Australia community, from established Tennis Australia membership sub-groups (see below), will be able to register.
- The registration name must be an exact match of the member or represent activities of that member.
- Individuals who are members of the Tennis Australia community may apply.
- 63 character maximum for registrations.
- Internationalised Domain Names are disallowed.
- Some domain names may be registered on behalf of Tennis Australia itself for the purposes of running the .tennis registry.
- Registration eligibility will be investigated on challenge by the .tennis TLD Registry Policy Team of Tennis Australia.

Tennis Australia Membership Sub-Groups
Tennis Australia consists of nine membership types, all eligible for .tennis registrations. These are detailed below:

Tennis Australia – Tennis Australia departments are considered members of the Tennis Australia community for the purposes of registration eligibility. Tennis Australia’s internal departments may register domain names in support of the Mission⁄Purpose of the TLD.

Tennis Australia Corporate Partners – Corporate entities who meet Tennis Australia guidelines such that they are included on the list of official Corporate Partners are eligible to register domain names which are an exact match or reasonable derivative of their operating name.

Member Associations – Each of the eight member associations (shareholders) of Tennis Australia are eligible to register domain names which are an exact match or reasonable derivative of their operating name, along with any marketing activities undertaken by that member in support of the Tennis Australia strategic goals.

Tennis Australia Coach Members – Registered Tennis Australia Coach Members will be eligible to register a .tennis domain name which is an exact match or derivative of their name and⁄or business.

Tournament Organisers – Organisers of Tennis Australia-endorsed or sanctioned tournaments may register a .tennis domain name which is an exact match or derivative of that tournament.

Local Associations – Affiliates of a member association (shareholder) may register a .tennis domain name, which is an exact match of their association or a derivative thereof.

Competition Organisers – Organisers of a competition that is sanctioned or endorsed by Tennis Australia or a member organisation (shareholder) may register a .tennis domain name which is an exact match or derivative of the competition.

Hot Shots Volunteers – Volunteers registered to deliver Hot Shots coaching with a Tennis Australia-affiliated club are eligible to register a .tennis domain name which is an exact match for their name or a derivative thereof.

Cardio Tennis Deliverer – Applicants who are Coach Members of Tennis Australia and registered to deliver Cardio Tennis activities operating in Australia and⁄or New Zealand are eligible to register a .tennis domain name which is an exact match for their business name or a derivative thereof.

Additional Registration Requirements

In accordance with Specification 5 of the Registry Agreement, geographic names will not be available for registration unless there is agreement from the relevant government(s) or review by the GAC. The protection of geographic names in the .tennis TLD will be described further in the response to Question 22 – Protection of Geographic Names.

In addition, the domain name registration processes for the .tennis TLD will address the requirements as mandated by ICANN, including but not limited to rights abuse prevention measures such as the use of the Trademark Clearinghouse. Launch and rights protection mechanism implementation is described in detail in the response to Question 29.

In the registration policy and Anti-Abuse Policy, the registry operator will reserve the right to to suspend or cancel the registration of a domain name in contravention of the eligibility criteria.

The safeguards against allowing for registrations in violation of this eligibility restriction are discussed in the response to Question 28.

In addition to restrictions on which domain names may be registered and who may register them, restrictions will also be imposed on how domain names may be used. The content must be consistent with the mission and purpose of the TLD and regular audits will be conducted internally to ensure this practice.

Registrations within the .tennis TLD will be available for one, two and three-year terms.


18(b)v. Will your proposed gTLD impose any measures for protecting the privacy or confidential information of registrants or users? If so, please describe any such measures.

In accordance with the mission and purpose of the .tennis TLD, Tennis Australia is committed to the protection of privacy and confidential information, fostering increased consumer trust through providing a safe, user-friendly and valuable Internet space for the Tennis Australia Community and Internet users. Privacy and confidential information will be protected in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations relating to Internet security, privacy and user’s confidential information, including the Privacy Act 1988 (Australia) and the National Privacy Principles (Australia). The .tennis TLD will develop a privacy policy and practice that is intended to protect the personal data of its registrants and Internet users. The .tennis TLD and its policy will comply with the Specification 9, subsection 1(e), of the Registry Operator Code of Conduct contained within the Registry Agreement.

Tennis Australia will provide a publicly-available and searchable WHOIS look up facility, where information about the domain name status and registrant information (including administrative and technical contact details) can be found in accordance with Specification 4 of the Registry Agreement. In order to prevent misuse of the WHOIS look-up facility, Tennis Australia will utilise measures including a requirement where any person submitting a WHOIS database query is required to read and agree to the terms and conditions in accordance with the registration policy. This will include the terms of use that the WHOIS database is provided for information purposes only and that the user agrees not to use the information for any other purposes, such as allowing or enabling the transmission of unsolicited commercial advertising or other communication.

Tennis Australia will deploy Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC), which is intended to benefit both Tennis Australia and its users interacting with domain names under the .tennis TLD. DNSSEC provides additional security by validating information in transmission; therefore it is intended to benefit those who publish information in the domain name system (DNS) and the users who retrieve information from .tennis.

Further, Tennis Australia will comply with all security measures, policies and practices required by ICANN in the Registry Agreement and any relevant Consensus Policy for protecting the privacy and confidential information of registrants and users in the .tennis TLD.

18(b)vi. Describe whether and in what ways outreach and communications will help to achieve your projected benefits.

The outreach and communication activities for the .tennis TLD will be conducted in two different formats.

The first will focus on internal communications and be directed towards the community members of Tennis Australia. This collateral will be developed for the purposes of communicating the use of the .tennis TLD and the opportunities this presents. It is envisaged that this will be carried out and implemented by initiatives such as internal memos, email communications from the marketing department and speaking opportunities.

The second will focus on communicating the new TLD to consumers and the wider Internet community. This will be conducted in accordance with the current online strategy employed by Tennis Australia to market and communicate any and all URLs.

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