GOFUNDME: THE BODY SERVE

GoFundMe: THE BODY SERVE TENNIS PODCAST

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Here's our long story short: Jonathan and James met in Ithaca, NY [redacted] years ago. We found we shared many interests, including tennis. We talked and talked about tennis for years, until Jonathan suggested that we record these thoughts for *other* people to hear. It took a while to convince James that anyone would want to hear it. In January 2015, in the middle of Serena Slam 2.0, The Body Serve Tennis Podcast was born.

Fast forward to 2019, and we've been so fortunate to have listeners who have been supporting and encouraging this project. We wouldn't have been able to continue without that support. Honestly, we're still feeling a bit cute asking for funding ("cute" is a Jamaicanism). But this podcast is our passion, and we want to continue to get better at it. We hope to buy some better equipment, travel to more tournaments, and take the time to do the research we want to do. 

We believe we provide a unique product in the tennis media landscape. The Body Serve looks at tennis as linked to the broader world, as a site where gender, sex, class, power, politics, immigration, and culture interact. Our academic backgrounds no doubt inform our perspectives (James in Media Studies/Journalism and Jonathan in Sport History/Sociology). We have biases and we are honest about them. In tennis we see power and politics, but we also see hope, love, passion, joy, humor, and the best of us. 

If you like the podcast and want to hear more, consider helping to fund our future. Our goal is to expand our coverage and to ensure that the podcast continues to evolve, while maintaining our independent voice and the low-key, intimate relationship we've built with our listeners. 

You can find the GoFundMe here. 

As a thank you to donors, we are offering:

Donate $100 or more - Shout-out on the show, handwritten TBS postcard, and you get to submit any retired player for our Book Report segment

$50+ - Shout-out on the show and a handwritten TBS postcard in the mail 

$25 - Shout-out on the show and a thank you email

We will also have special giveaways a bit later in the campaign. Stay tuned for more details.