APTA launches new live tournament scoring system at Chicago Charities

This year’s Chicago Platform Tennis Charities Tournament featured the launch of the APTA’s new live tournament scoring system, a joint venture between the APTA and the CPTC. The system is designed to enhance the tournament experience for players and fans using the internet and social networking.

The initiative began last spring when John Noble, tournament director for the 2011 APTA Men’s and Women’s Nationals in Chicago, approached the APTA with an idea to use the internet and social networking to make news and scores available real-time for the 2011 Nationals. It was a two-pronged approach.
One: develop a truly interactive draw that could be updated real-time by tournament volunteers at any location.
Two: use social networking to report news that could be displayed within the system and also accessed directly through the social networking site. The system would also include directions and player information.

The APTA came on board quickly, and throughout the summer Noble worked closely with APTA Webmaster Isabel Cabanne, who took on the development work. The plan was to launch the system at the Charities, use it at several tournaments to practice and work out kinks, and have it fine-tuned for the Nationals next March. Cabanne remarked that, “John has a very clear and complete vision, and an openness to implementation details, which is an ideal combination for a development project like this one.” [enlarge image to read full report]