Focus, accountability, teamwork, and growing the game…….
It is a privilege and a pleasure to have been selected to lead the American Platform Tennis Association as we enter our 75th year as a not-for-profit association. I look forward to giving back to the sport that has introduced me to so many wonderful people across the country.
I am committed to the tradition and integrity of our sport and am also focused on the APTA's mission to govern, grow and try to improve the sport we play and enjoy so much.
I was introduced to platform tennis as a child and started playing competitively in 1982. My mother helped bring the sport to the Philadelphia area in the early 1970's and taught platform tennis to hundreds of players over the next two decades. Known as Mother Paddle in Philly,
Platform tennis legend and Hall of Fame inductee, Dick Reilly has been a staple of the game for more than four decades. Growing up with the sport in Scarsdale, New York, Reilly remembers his father playing recreational platform tennis. Reilly took up the sport in college. After college, he entered the world of academia as a teacher, but worked on a construction crew, building houses in the off-months to supplement his income. It was during these summer vacations that Reilly got the idea that building platform tennis courts to a higher standard could do both him and the sport a service.
How did the idea to build platform tennis courts come to you?
"While playing on some courts in Scarsdale, I was shocked at how poorly the courts were made. In 1961, the wooden joints and butts of the platform were raised, causing many bad bounces. I thought that if I built a court, I would make the jo[...]
Back to TopEarle Gatchel and Fessenden Blanchard in 1930 on the first court built by Jimmy Gogswell at his home in Scarsdale. Source: Platform Paddle Tennis by Fessenden S. Blanchard, 1959, Durrell Publications
Today, 80 John Street in Lower Manhattan is a newly renovated art deco building offering loft apartments with steep rents. In 1934, it was the site of the founding of the American Platform Tennis Association. With the upcoming anniversary of the APTA, it's fitting to highlight the origins of the organization that has overseen our sport for 75 years.
After the 1928 foundation of platform tennis by James Cogswell and Fessenden Blanchard, the game's popularity grew rapidly. Within a few years, the founding fathers deemed it necessary to create an official organization that could oversee rules and equipment while shepherding the development of the game.
In November 1934, John C. Ten Eyck Jr. from Manursing Island Club in Rye, New York, organized a meeting of five of the sport's leaders at his office at 80 John Street. The men represented three clubs that had been instrumental in devel[...]
The APTA is proud to announce the formation of the APTA Junior Tour. Formerly known as the Viking Tour, the APTA Junior Tour will be led by Tom Safford who has been working closely with David Kjeldsen to ensure a smooth transition.
Viking will also continue to be the lead sponsor for the Tour.
Our thanks go out to John Embree, President, Prince Americas and to David Kjeldsen, former Viking CEO, for all of their support in making the APTA Junior Tour a great experience for our junior platform tennis players.
Source: Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 11, Issue 3, January, 2010
The APTA is seeking new worthy platform tennis court projects from around the country to help fund - Are you interested?
Mindful that a stated mission of the APTA is to grow the great sport of platform tennis, as well as the quandary that it's hard to justify courts if you don't yet have players, and yet it's hard to attract new players if you don't have courts for them to play on, the Board of Directors of the APTA decided several years ago to experiment with a Grant Program. The concept was and is to solicit proposals for grants to help build publicly accessible platform tennis courts in areas where the sport has great growth potential.
The first grant was made in 2006 toward a pair of courts at the Chapel Hill Tennis Club. At the initiative of Rich Green, a NY transplant to this tennis rich area of North Carolina, this small and inexpensive tennis and swim club embraced Rich's v[...]
At Tim McAvoy's invitation, I write with great and growing news on what is arguably the single most important mission of the APTA: to grow our great sport to the prominence in this country and beyond that we all think is worthy. Each of us has seen how players who are new to the sport light up after their first few games saying 'Wow, this game is great fun," or the like. We've witnessed juniors who wander into a paddle tennis cage with great curiosity, start banging a ball around with friends, and get hooked. It's a terrific sport, and we'd like to see it grow further and faster. [enlarge image to read more]
Platform tennis technology continues to evolve, making the sport more enjoyable and easier to play. The key components to determine a paddle's playability are: weight, density and composite materials, surface area, grit, hole sharpness, rim style and grip length.
Most of today's paddles come standard with grit and sharp holes. It is the other things that will ultimately define an end-user's preference in equipment.
With the introduction of EVA Foam paddles and the record sales of the Viking OZ back in the 90's, manufacturers have committed to altering foam paddle core densities for new paddles.
Eleven of the 17 paddles comprising the 2009 lines are 2008 remakes. Three more are remakes with minor alterations.
While Viking comes out with major innovations every few years, Wilson's new [K] line is the year's greatest innovative change in 2009. Not necessarily better or worse tha[...]
The APTA, in conjunction with talented and experienced tournament directors, is compiling a resource inventory to assist tournament directors. From small local events to National Championships, you will find documents that will provide a guideline for you and your volunteers. Many of these documents are now available at Tournament Support
The site includes documents such as: Tournament Director Handbook, How to Conduct a Draw, Draw Sheets in Detail, Rules of Platform Tennis, Standardized Warm-up.
Coming soon: Budgets, Timelines, Organizational Charts, On-Line Registration Information, Entry Form Template and Hut Commander Playbook.
Source: Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 11, Issue 3, January, 2010
Last season was a nightmare for the platform tennis ball industry. Wilson was criticized for two reasons: their balls came out late and the ball wasn't as bright as their Viking competition. On the other hand, the Wilson ball's flocking held up much better in competition than Viking's and it seemed that there were fewer Wilson "wobblers" (balls that were not properly balanced) than Viking wobblers.
Players will also notice changes to both the Viking and Wilson balls this season.
Orlando Retirement Community to Build Six Platform Tennis Courts
The inaugural meeting for a Paddle Instructor Committee, or PIC, was held at the Villages in Orlando on Friday, Jan. 15, 2010. Anderson DaSilva, Manager of the Truman Recreation Center, hosted the meeting.
Village of Bonita resident, Joe Russo, Sr., volunteered to be the instructor. At the meeting, he discussed the following:
A. The new ground-level paddle court design used here
B. Demo of current play equipment
C. Sources of equipment
D. Membership in the APTA
E. Update of APTA Rules
F. A flyer on paddle in The Villages to be given to newcomers
Other discussions and activities included:
1. Outline of free teaching clinics, court play regulations and court times by Anderson
2. A 33 minute DVD on paddle (and ask for comments)
3. Question and answer period
4. Discuss next PIC meeting time and date
5. Enjoy[...]
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