Back-Draw defaults, redux

APTA President John Horine expressed his views in the From the APT column in PTM:

A topic of much paddle party conversation and PTM articles so far this season is back-draw defaulting. Everybody seems to have an opinion on this issue and lots of people have expressed them to me in one form or another. My personal opinion? I think defaulting out of any round of any draw of any event (for anything other than a valid injury) flies directly in the face of what platform tennis is all about. As I wrote in the last issue, platform tennis is a sport made up of a close community of people – all enjoying each other and the sport they love. If someone loses and decides not to play the consolations, they are depriving not just one, but several teams from competing in matches they may have traveled many hours to play. I cannot comprehend someone signing up to play in an event and pulling out after losing because they suddenly have “other things to do.”

Back-draw defaulting is not new, it has been going on for years. I have seen and heard of it in local, regional, ranking, and even the National Championships events. Last May, the APTA Board set up the Player’s Committee to respond to such issues. The committee will review each case and rule as they see fit. Their decision will stand. Anyone may appeal a decision to the general APTA Board who will hear the arguments in the annual May meeting.

Source: Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 3 Issue 3, January, 2002