In a major decision that led the way for other racquet sports, the Board of Directors voted 17-3 to make the “no let on net cord service” a permanent part of the official rules. The vote had been taken following a random poll of 10% of the membership that showed support for the change.
At the annual meeting in 1996, under the leadership of the late Charley Stevens, the Board of Directors approved, by a narrow margin, the change proposed by Rules Committee Chairman Robert A. Brown, under which serves that touched the net, but landed in the correct service box, were in play.
The 1996-97 season was a first-year trial, with a provision that the change would be reviewed again at the annual Board meeting in 1997.
At the meeting in 1997, there was a strong sentiment to make the rule permanent, but knowing that there was a group of players who were unconvinced of the wisdom of the[...]
Costs of operating the office, including increases in compensation for the Executive Director and a new stipend for the Treasurer, were reasons for the needed action. Individual and family dues were both increased to $55.00.
The length of playing time for the Men's President's Cup matches had been brought up as a concern, and a poll indicated that players from the various regions would like to have an eight game “pro set,” with no-ad scoring and a tiebreaker at eight games all.
A trial of this approach was approved for the following season.
The Rules and Equipment Committee submitted a review of the ball specifications and test results from the U.S. Testing Laboratory.
Recognizing that many questions about the liveliness of the ball were a result of unusually warm weather during the prior season, the Board approved a change in the rebound specification, increasing that number from 48.0" to 51.0".
Though most modifications were grammatical or technical in nature, the new booklet added the revised ball bounce specification and a definition and procedure for no-ad scoring, and a description of scoring in singles.
The no-let on serve procedure had already been included during the two-year trial period.
Just 118 days earlier, Don had won the Men’s 70+ Nationals.
The "Hyde Cup" was anonymously gifted to the APTA in his memory.
He had been battling cancer for many years, but always found a way to bounce back after various operations to win nine Senior National titles in the 60+, 65+, and 70+ between 1988 and 1999.
He had been an outstanding athlete at Lawrenceville School and Princeton, and excelled at tennis.
He had been awarded the Bronze Star for heroism in the Battle of the Bulge in WW II.
Source: Platform Tennis News, Summer & Fall 1998
Hope Kerr scored a hole-in-one with a nine iron on the 103 yard 11th hole of the Hendricks Field Club in Belleville, NJ.
Most golfers go an entire lifetime without such a feat, and Hope did it after only three years on the links.
In 1998, the APTA launched its own web site. www.platformtennis.org
Along with the rules of the game, the tournament schedule and results, the web site established an area where members could subscribe to receive a “News Blast”" from the world of platform tennis.
As things developed during the season, they could now receive the "latest" news along with their e-mail.
Subscribing was easy to do and it was free!
Source: Platform Tennis News, Fall 1998
The concept was a natural offshoot of the APTA attempts to expand the game.
"It's a win-win situation for everyone," beamed women's National Champ Gerri Viant of Nyack, as she explained the series of “paddle camps” that she and partner Sue Aery have been conducting under the sponsorship of Wilson Racket Sports. “The whole concept is a natural off-shoot of the APTA's attempts to expand the game, create a larger and more professional teaching core group, and ignite interest in different segments of the country,” she continued. “Sue has been doing it for awhile, and when John Embree and Wilson got behind us, the whole camp thing just sort of exploded. We expected to do a half dozen or so, but we're already in double figures all over Connecticut, Jersey and New York, and we're looking to spread the word in Philly, Washington, Chicago ... anywhere they'll have us.”
" The goa[...]
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