APTA Annual Meeting Recap

The Short Hills Club, in Short Hills, New Jersey, hosted the 2014 APTA Board Meeting and Annual Meeting.

HELLOS AND GOODBYES The board welcomed four new members and said farewell
to two whose terms expired. The APTA membership elected Ray Crosta, Region I, Cooey Lyon, Region III, Jim McCready, Region VII, and Bill O’Brien, Region V.

Thanks go to Rich Green and Tim Mangan for their service. Rich Green helped usher in the dynamic growth of Region VII by being the champion of the first APTA “Grow the Game” grant. He will continue as the Region VII President. Tim Mangan was Region I’s President and President’s Cup Captain, and also is an indefatigable tournament director.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS The Board approved the slate officers: Rob Coster, President; Fritz Odenbach, Vice President; Bill O’Brien, Vice President; Aila Main, Treasurer; and Cooey Lyon, Secretary.

FINANCIALS Alia Main reported that the APTA is in excellent financial health at this time. Revenues continue to increase.

GROW THE GAME One of the largest financial commitments of the APTA is to the “Grow the Game” initiative. In its eighth season, this program offers grants and loans to new clubs for construction, as well as to established clubs for repairing facilities. Twenty-seven inquiries were received this year, with seven facilities awarded grants and/ or loans from the association.

LEAGUES The newly formed League Committee, headed by Katie Bliss, sent out the first national league survey. Eleven leagues from around the country responded. Court counts showed that there are about 525 platform tennis facilities nationwide, and 1,500-2,000 courts in North America. The committee plans to create communication between leagues and share important data.

HALL OF FAME Gerri Viant and Flip Goodspeed have joined the Hall of Fame Selection Committee. Walt Peckinpaugh stepped down this year. Three new members were inducted this year: Bob Calloway, Mary Doten, and Susie Keane.

SPONSORSHIP/BRANDING Viking continues its commitment to the sport. They are again the title sponsor for Clinics and Exhibitions, the Junior Tour, and the President’s Cup, and will supply balls at all of the APTA National Championships. Viking has been cross-branding platform tennis with other sports they represent. Their collaboration with the APTA on social media outlets and revenue building continues to be forward thinking. Two very successful branding projects were the Platform Tennis Channel and the APTA windscreens.

EXHIBITIONS AND CLINICS Chair Nathan LeFevre reported on the success of the nine clinics held last year. This year’s clinics and exhibitions will be offered in Glen Ellyn Park District, Illinois; Stonington, Connecticut; Detroit and Oakland County Parks, Michigan; Toronto, Ontario, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Charlotte, North Carolina; Prairie Village, Kansas; and Quechee, Vermont. (The calendar is listed in this issue.)
PPTA Thanks were conveyed to Brad Easterbrook and the PPTA for their invaluable assistance to Platform Tennis Magazine.

JUNIORS Junior Tour Chair Steve Caccam, along with Patty Hogan and Mike Gillespie, are spearheading a new Junior Tour format this year, which will offer the growing number of junior players different types of tournaments.

MEMBERSHIP Executive Director Ann Sheedy reported that player membership has grown 65% in the last seven years and the club membership has increased 117%.

RULES New rules-books will be printed this fall. A few rules being reviewed are Rule 10-Serve, Rule 11-Footfault, and Rule 21-Hinderance. The President’s Cup rules will be revised, in regard to Region VIII and mandated player qualifications.

COURTS AND BUILDING New surfaces, lighting, and heating systems continue to be explored. President Coster said, “We currently have what appears to be the greatest demand for new platform tennis courts in the history of our sport with only two manufacturers trying to keep up with the demand. Perhaps it’s time for a few new court builders to enter the picture. I honestly feel it’s the only way our sport will reach it’s full growth potential.”

SOCIAL MEDIA The APTA Facebook page grew from 200 members to 780 this year, thanks to the considerable effort of Sara Lanthier.

RANKINGS The Men’s and Women’s Ranking and Players Committee continue to craft objective ranking and qualification systems for NRT and President’s Cup events. The rankings will be updated online more often this season.

UMPIRES The APTA continues its concerted effort to find and certify qualified umpires for major events. The Rules Committee and the Umpire Committee will work together to implement necessary rules changes, particularly foot faults, evident during umpired matches.

TECHNOLOGY Chair John Noble and Isabel Cabanne reported on the Live Scoring and Platform Tennis Network. About 4000 users checked into Live Scoring, which was offered during 16 events this season. As for Live Streaming, the APTA expects that more tournaments will be broadcast on PTN this coming season and that the level of commentary will continue to rise. The APTA website has a new web-master, Anne Clauss, while Cabanne focuses on Live Scoring. The MyAPTA page continues to be tested in Chicago, and the APTA eagerly anticipates its use soon.

Source: Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 16 Issue 1, Sept./Oct. 2014