APTA develops policy on platform tennis court builders

The September 15th Newsletter carried the following basic policy:

• It is the intent of the APTA that the game of Platform Tennis be played under uniform court conditions wherever it is played.

• The APTA considers it appropriate to provide advice and guidance, where needed, to ensure quality and uniformity in court construction while recognizing the desirability of encouraging innovations in the use of materials and methods of construction so long as the basic nature of the play of the game is not affected.

• The APTA will offer guidance to those seeking information on plans, specifications, and builders of platform tennis courts. Such guidance is offered within the framework of this policy, the implementation of which is outlined below; while it is based upon the best information available, the APTA cannot accept responsibility for quality of construction, delays, or failure of any sort in contractual arrangements between builder and customer.

The APTA implementation Plan had the following elements:

(1) A list of builders will be maintained, divided into two sections; Section I, “Builders of Wooden Courts to APTA Specifications” and Section II, “Builders of
Courts to APTA Dimensions but Using Materials other than Wood or other Construction Design.”
(2) Any builder who wishes to be included on the list may apply in writing. If he is a new builder constructing courts to APTA specifications, a completed court (or courts) will be inspected by the APTA and, if considered satisfactory, the builder will be included on the list with a footnote indicating:

“New builder constructing courts to APTA specifications which have been inspected and are considered satisfactory by the APTA but which have not been in use for two full playing seasons.”

If he is either a new builder or an established builder constructing courts with different construction materials or construction design, he should outline in his written application specific deviations from APTA plans and specifications. A completed court (or courts) will be inspected by the APTA and, if considered satisfactory, the builder will be included on the list with a footnote indicating:

“Builder constructing courts with different construction materials or construction design which have been inspected and are considered satisfactory by the APTA but which have not been in use for two full playing seasons.”

In each of the above cases, after two playing seasons of use and a satisfactory
second inspection, the applicable footnote will be removed from the builder’s listing.

In the event that a builder who has been in the business for more than two seasons applies for listing, both a recently constructed court (or courts) as well as a court (or courts) which have been in use for two or more seasons of play will be inspected and, if considered satisfactory by the APTA, the builder will be included on the list as applicable without footnote.

(3) Inspections will be made by APTA officials, including regional Vice Presidents, or others specifically designated. No expense may be incurred by the Association for
such inspections. If in the judgment of the inspecting officials, including actual play on the court, the bounce of the ball on the deck and off the screens and the feel of the deck are similar, and provided court dimensions are according to APTA regulations, then recognition as applicable will be granted.

(4) The APTA reserves the right to remove any builder from the list at any time if, in the judgment of the APTA, the quality of courts being constructed by that builder and/or the construction performance of that builder are considered to be below normally acceptable standards.

Source: The APTA Newsletter, Vol. 3 No. 4