Highlights of APTA Board Meeting and Tim McAvoy on the Board members and mission

Financials:
Aila Main presented an overview of our income statement and balance sheet which showed our financial position as being very strong.

However, given the wide variety of initiatives the APTA is pursuing, it was proposed that we raise the league membership dues. Tim and Ann proactively reached out to many of the APTA league Presidents and the idea was agreed to by all of those people.

It was moved that we raise the APTA league member dues from $25 per year to $30. The motion carried unanimously.

Then, a variety of discretionary spending items were discussed resulting in the following actions:
It was moved that we put $15,000 into the budget for “Grow the Game” grants this year and each succeeding year. The motion carried unanimously.

It was moved that we transfer (one time) $40,000 from our cash on the balance sheet to the fund for grants for this coming year. The motion carried unanimously.

Exhibitions:
Proposed exhibitions for next season include Delaware (Wilmington CC); UNC Chapel Hill; The Villages in Orlando, Montana; the Wilton CT, YMCA; and Boston.

It was moved that we commit $15,000 for exhibitions this year. The motion carried unanimously.

Grow the Game (GtG):
Peter Lauer described the criteria the GtG committee uses to evaluate and score each grant applicant. Currently, there are 40+ grant requests on their list. Peter then reviewed the three grant requests which were selected as prime candidates for a grant.

It was moved that we fund all three recommended projects at the following levels: St Louis – $15,000, Wilton CT YMCA – $10,000, North Park – $10,000. The motion carried unanimously.

APTA Junior Tour:
The goal is to grow participation in Junior events. Tom Safford related some things that haven’t worked so well and some that have worked.

As part of this effort to grow participation we would like to get one or two persons from each Region to work with Tom to more formally organize and administer the Junior Tour.
It was also suggested that, if we had Regional Tournaments, the APTA could help support the top teams from each of those areas to encourage them to participate in the Nationals.

It was moved that we allocate $2,000 to continue to support the Junior Nationals next year and continue, at a minimum, that financial support in the years to come. The motion was carried unanimously.

Branding:
Hendy Dayton reviewed our efforts to celebrate our 75th anniversary with the poster and calendar, the articles in PTM, etc. Hendy also reviewed other branding efforts including the PPTA videos, the Nationals video, etc.

Going from last year into the new year, the theme will be moving from our history to how our sport results in “building community” — camaraderie, etc.

PPTA:
Action item: Paul will produce a short APTA intro/promo to go at the front end of all the PPTA videos.

It was moved that we allocate $2,000 for the creation of six PPTA videos provided they are in accordance with our agreements regarding branding, etc. The motion carried unanimously.

Executive Director Initiatives:
It was moved that we reduce the number of players required for a “league” designation from 75 players to 40 players. The motion carried unanimously.

It was moved that we give the ’70s men and women players an APTA rate of $25 per year, but then NOT send them the PTM. The motion carried unanimously.

It was moved to give each Regional President a budget of $500 to enable her/him to provide APTA support to various projects in their Region toward bringing in more leagues as APTA league members. The motion carried unanimously.

Platform Tennis Magazine:
Currently, there are 5 issues per year at 32 pages per issue.

It was moved that we spend up to $4,000 to expand two of the five issues of PTM from the usual 32 pages to 40 pages. The other three issues would stay at 32 pages. The motion was approved on a vote of 14 in favor and 1 opposed.

Rules:
It was decided that Rule 18(i) should remain unchanged: When a player is standing close to the net and his opponent hits a ball into the net such that the net then touches his paddle, body or clothing, then the person being touched by the net loses the point.

We want more compliance with or enforcement of Rule 3: We want the Rules Committee to approve any changes that manufacturers make to balls or paddles.

With the growth of the sport in the South, the committee is working to more clearly describe what court surfaces will be considered “official” (including brushed concrete and asphalt). However, snowboards at the bottom of the screens will remain as a design requirement to keep all the other playing surfaces consistent with the official court standards.

Intentional distractions: The more egregious forms of distraction are alluded to in the “Comment” paragraph in Rule 21 — Interference and it was decided that we did not need to expand that section. Therefore, the Rules Committee will add something on intentional distractions to Appendix D — The Etiquette of Platform Tennis.
Regarding Rule 18(j), it was moved that we approve the principle (with the final wording yet to come from the Rules Committee) that the ball having touched the back screen or corner, which then comes back across the net and lands either inside or outside the court, results in a loss of point for the team who hit that ball. The motion passed unanimously.

President’s Cup:
Starting with the 2011 Nationals in Chicago, we will run a two-year pilot where each P-Cup team will play the usual format but can have up to 12 players with the bottom 2 players serving as subs for others on the team so as to reduce the wear and tear on players prior to the Nationals.

Hall of Fame:
The following list of candidates for the Hall of Fame Committee were nominated: Bob Brown, Chair; Steve Baird, VP; Chuck Vasoll, Secretary; Scott Bondurant, Patty Hogan, Walt Peckinpaugh, Deirdre Redden and Tim McAvoy (ex-officio).

It was moved that we select the above proposed slate of candidates for the Hall of Fame Committee. The motion carried unanimously.

Nominations for candidates to be inducted into the Hall of Fame must be received by the Committee by September for a Board vote in January. Nominations must be based on playing accomplishments and/or what the candidate has given back to the game.

The HOF coffee table book will be published in October.

New Business:
We will form a Corporate Sponsorship Committee to begin a corporate fundraising effort at the national level.

Source: Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 12, Issue 1, September 2010