APTA focuses on helping weekend players and building regional support

Karen (left) and identical twin sister, Kim Barker, enjoy playing summer platform tennis on a private court in New Canaan, CT. The court belonged to Herman Schaefer, a finalist in the APTA Men's Nationals, 1953

APTA President Mike North’s remarks:

“At the Annual Meeting last year, I said that I thought that one of the APTA’s most important objectives should be to develop a program for the players who do not participate in major tournaments.

These may be players on the way up, on the way down, or people who love the game but do not have the ability to compete at the top level. We have not yet come up with the right name for this group. It is not ‘amateur’ because the distinction we are trying to make is not based on playing for money, but on the caliber of play. Neither is it truly ‘weekend players’ because many people play during the week. But the term ‘weekend player’ somehow comes closest to capturing the spirit that many of us want to retain.

The Western Platform Tennis Association (WPTA) under Dick Hornigold, George Black and, now, Dick Hall, has made great progress in developing programs for weekend players. Thus, we have tried to build on the experience of the WPTA in developing the APTA program. Here is what we have done:

Developed a schedule of Regional Tournaments leading to a Regional Championship. For men, the tournaments exclude the top players. For women, they continue their practice of distinguishing between A and B players with the B tournaments considered Regional Tournaments.

Created the Eastern Platform Tennis Association (EPTA) to provide a focal point for Regional Tournaments in the east. The role of the EPTA is to run the Regional Tournaments and to develop a program for broadening the base of interest in platform tennis in the east. Bill Dodd is the President of the EPTA.

Emphasized the importance of the Regions within the EPTA by creating the position of Regional Coordinator. George Black, who fills this position, has already done a good deal to improve the exchange of ideas among Regions and to make sure regional programs take shape. We want to get across to the players in each Region that the Regions are there to serve them. Anyone who takes the initiative and who has the interest can do a great deal to shape the development of platform tennis in his Region. Our objective is to bring the game back to the weekend player.”

Source: Paddle Talk, Vol. 3 No. 2