Mark Brosnan reported for PTM:

On Saturday, December 17, 2005, the Long Island Platform Tennis Association hosted its 3rd Annual Viking Junior Tour tournament at the Garden City Country Club, the Cherry Valley Club and the Garden City Community Park. With Christmas only a week away, the children received a surprise early morning visit from that jolly old Nordic man with rosy cheeks and a little round belly – that’s right, David Kjeldsen, founder and chairman of Viking Athletics, was there to provide his support, wearing his trade-mark “horns”! Among the four age divisions, there were forty-two (42) teams participating (84 kids!), and countless parents and grandparents cheering. The level of paddle was extraordinary, the good sportsmanship was commendable, and the smiles were constant! John Cerga, Alex Bancila and Steve Bromley, the Directors of Racquet Sports at the Garden City Country Club, Cherry Valley Club and Port Washington Yacht Club, respectively, volunteered their time and helped to make it a memorable day for the players.

<strong>10 & Under Division
Champions: Aidan Talcott (Old Brookville, NY) and T J. McLaughlin (Plandome, NY)
Finalists: Jack Stiuso (Port Washington, NY) and Dylan Neville (Port Washington, NY)

12 & Under Division
Champions: Amaury Dujardin (New Vernon, NJ) and Christopher Ju (Mendham, NJ)
Finalists: Jack Mara (Garden City, NY) and Alex Morris (Garden City, NY)

14 & Under DivisionC
hampions: Bryan Kallenberg and Matthew Kallenberg (Port Washington, NY)
Finalists: Chris Brosnan and Pat Brosnan (Garden City, NY)

<strong>18 & Under DivisionC
hampions: Cole Barris (Scarsdale, NY) and Jay Schwab (Scarsdale, NY)
Finalists: Ryan Muzzy (Huntington, NY) and Edward Krupski (North Babylon, NY)

Source: Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 7, Issue 4, February, 2006

Brook Kindred died on January 7, 2006 after a long and brave battle with cancer.

He had the distinction of having served the cause of platform tennis for more years than practically any other living individual. Dating back to the early 1960’s he was a tireless, unselfish and dedicated contributor to the support and promotion of the game.

He was elected to the APTA Board in the early 1960’s and served on the Board for 16 years. He was Treasurer, Tournament Director, and single- handedly produced the Newsletter for many of those years. He also served on many National Championship committees and was the Tournament Chairman of the 1968 Men’s Nationals.

He was instrumental in the formation and administration of the APTA Umpires Committee in the 1970’s, and although that activity no longer formally exists, he still continued to go far and wide to officiate at APTA Championships and other sanctioned events, no matter what the weather.

When the Platform Tennis Hall of Fame activity was inaugurated in 1965, Brook was the driving force in getting this underway, and designed the jackets and charms that are awarded to inductees. He served on the Hall of Fame Committee from its inception until his death, and authored the majority of induction speeches for the sixty individuals who have been inducted to date. In a fitting recognition of his contributions to the game, in the fall of 2005 he was honored by the APTA Board of Directors by his election into the Platform Tennis Hall of Fame.

Brook Kindred was a special person, a provider of wisdom, a person of good judgment, and a “do-er”. He will be sorely missed.

Source: Robert A. Brown, Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 7, Issue 4, February, 2006

Terry Miller was born in New York City 38 years ago. After tremendous success on the local junior tennis circuit, Terry jumped on the professional tour at the ripe old age of 16.

From 1983 to 1991, Terry competed with and defeated the top female tennis players in the world. Over this time period she reached the quarter-finals of the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open Grand Slam events. At one point, Terry was ranked 14th in the world.

After leaving the tour, Terry moved to Winnetka, Illinois, and became a tennis teaching professional. In 1993, she was introduced to her future platform tennis doubles partner, Jane McNitt. “I met Jane when I was teaching tennis at Indian Hill Club in Winnetka. We were then re-connected last fall when we played together at the exhibition opening of the new paddle hut at the Winnetka Park District.”

Terry spoke about her new-found favorite sport, “I started playing platform tennis two years ago as it is very popular in Chicago. The Winnetka Park District has a fantastic center just minutes from my house which made it very accessible. I also joined Bath and Tennis Club in Lake Bluff and began working with the pro, Ray Murphy.” She added, “I haven’t been playing for long, but I believe my tennis background has given me a strong foundation. I’ve really enjoyed getting involved in platform tennis. It is such a great way to get outdoor exercise in the winter, and it is so popular in Chicago.”

A racquet sports sensation, Terry compared the crossover skills from tennis to platform tennis and squash. She said, “As opposed to squash, I think tennis and platform tennis are highly compatible. I like the fact that I basically use the same strokes for both sports. However, platform tennis is somewhat more challenging than doubles in tennis as you’re only allowed one serve, of course, and the correct positioning is crucial in platform tennis.

When asked about the camaraderie differences from tennis to platform tennis she said, “Platform tennis is much more social than tennis doubles, and it is also a better workout as points can often last 40-50 shots. Also, we have an incredible league in Chicago, so each week we’re playing top players that we would also be facing at the Charities or other national events. That’s a great way to stay match tough,”

To come as far in platform tennis as she has over the past two years, Terry has relied on hard work, training, and studying the sport. “I drill regularly with Ray Murphy at Bath and Tennis…he has helped me tremendously.” She added, “Those new to the game should enroll in as many clinics and play as many league matches as possible. And, of course, there is nothing better than taking private lessons with a good pro.” When asked if her reading carries over to PTM, Terry answered, “Yes, I enjoy reading the articles in Platform Tennis Magazine…especially those that focus on court positioning. I also like to read the player bias to learn what motivated them to start playing platform tennis.” Commenting on future goals and plans, Terry stated, “Jane and I were so excited to win the Chicago Charities this year. Of course, it would be great to win another big tournament. As the tournaments keep getting tougher with a deeper field of talent, it will become increasingly difficult to win a major tournament; however, that is what makes platform tennis so fun and challenging”

Growing up in Pittsburgh, Jane McNitt enjoyed all sports. Early on, she was an accomplished swimmer and golfer but decided to try out for the tennis team in her junior year of high school because it looked like more fun. She recalled, “My dad encouraged me to play tennis because he said it was something I could play all my life. It was a great decision!” In the mid 70s, platform tennis was a more recognized recreational sport. Jane said, “We used to play paddle in high school with a bunch of kids just for fun. My first paddle was the ‘wooden board’ by Marcraft. I still have it.”

After graduating from Penn State, Jane went to work for Mellon Bank in Pittsburgh. She moved to Chicago in 1988 with Mellon where she met a great group of paddle players – most notable was Peter McNitt. “Peter and his brother Jim were a top nationally ranked team for many years,” Jane said. She added, “They were instrumental in teaching me the game and have been very supportive all along the way.” Over the years, Jane has been ranked as high as 5th nationally several times and has won tournaments in Indianapolis, Milwaukee, and Cincinnati as well as the Mixed and Women’s Illinois State tournaments, but winning the Charities in November was the biggest win of her tenured paddle career.

Reflecting back, Jane said, “I have had a lot of terrific paddle partners over the years and I’ve learned something from each of them.” She added, “I really enjoy playing with Terry because she is a very positive and supportive partner. She is also a great competitor.”

Discussing changes to the sport, Jane said, “Paddle has changed so much over the last ten years. There are more players, new programs for kids, better technology and a magazine that is a great source of info and updates. I feel lucky to be involved in paddle at this point in history.” Jane added, “Paddle is a great game! I have met so many long time friends through paddle. In fact, as much as I enjoy the exercise and competition, the camaraderie is unparalleled.” Jane closed the interview with her hopes and goals, ” I will play paddle as long as I can. Paddle is one great way to get through the cold Chicago winters! Would I like to win some more big tournaments? Sure, but more importantly, I look forward to meeting some more great people along the way!”

Source: Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 7, Issue 3, January, 2006

There’s a growing trend in paddle that is helping to make the sport hotter than ever.. or at least warmer than ever. Today’s warming huts are elegant, multifunctional structures with expansive social spaces both indoors and out that offer full kitchens, bathrooms and more. In fact, the term “hut” no longer does these buildings justice.

A force behind many of these new and improved huts is Chris Casiraghi, President of Reilly Green Mountain Platform Tennis. Most know the firm for their 45+ year history and innovation building of platform tennis courts; yet, they have expanded their offerings to meet the changing needs of their clients. ‘We have definitely seen a shift in what our clients are asking for when it comes to warming huts,” Casiraghi explained. “More than a decade ago, Reilly Green Mountain built (for the most part) modest warming huts. Today we are asked to build state-of-the-sport, useful buildings to sit alongside our platform tennis courts.”

Source: Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 7, Issue 3, January, 2006

PTM Editor Wayne Dollard reported on one of his favorite tournaments:

The sun rose at 6:25 am on Wednesday, November 3rd over the Glenview Club as 76 women arrived to prepare for a long day of battle at the 33rd annual Chicago Charities tournament.

At first glance of the tournament draw sheet there were gaps that had previously been filled by top national ranking players: Aery, Shea, Hogan, Prendergast, Zink, Debbs, Mangan and Delaney. Was this Chicago Charities going to live up to the expectations set by the previous 32 events? After further review of the draw the #1, #4, #5, and #6 teams in the country were all represented. Perhaps more important, Chicago showed up with some fresh new talent taking the tour by storm.

On display the traditional first weekend of November was the power and depth of the Chicago area women’s field featuring: former State Champions Sally Cottingham and Chris Sheldon, 2004 National Champions Susie Keane and Mary Doten, and 2005 Nationals semi-finalist Terry Miller with Jane McNitt.

On a roll from their win at the 2005 APTA National Championships, the top-seeded team of Aila Main and Kerri Delmonico (New York City) were regarded as the team to beat.

The opening day proceeded as expected when the top four seeded women’s teams advanced to the quarterfinals. The scheduled matches were: Delmonico-Main (#1) vs. Budde-Goldberg, McNitt-Miller vs. Tarzian-Viant (#4), Cottingham-Sheldon (#3) vs. Doten-Keane and Frei-Sierks vs. Dardis-Shay (#2).

Like most tournaments, it is hard to top the late day thrill and excitement of quarter-final match play. These four no-holds barred match-ups began at 4:00 pm and exhibited driving and volleying skills that equaled the best competition seen on platform tennis courts in years.

With the top seeded teams Delmonico-Main advancing over Budde-Goldberg (6-2, 6-3) and Dardis-Shay defeating Frei-Sierks (7-5, 6-4), all eyes were glued to the six locals remaining in the quarter-finals.

After losing the first set 0-6 to the overpowering Chicago duo of McNitt and Miller, Tarzian and Viant rallied back 6-4 in the second to force a third set. The match ran past 6:00 pm before McNitt and Miller closed the door, 6-4.

Without a doubt, the most anticipated match of the day was on court one between Chicago rivals Cottingham-Sheldon and 2004 National Champions Doten-Keane. 2005

Cottingham and Sheldon were mentally poised to advance after recently winning the Milwaukee Women’s Open two weeks earlier when they defeated Doten-Schaefer in the semi-finals and McNitt-Miller in the finals.

In front of a capacity crowd, Cottingham and Sheldon lost a surprising anticlimactic 6-1, 6-3 battle, setting up the semi-final match-ups between Delmonico-Main vs. McNitt-Miller and Doten-Keane vs. Dardis-Shay

For Terri Miller, she saw her opportunity to get revenge against Kerri Delmonico and Aila Main who defeated her (with partner Nancy O’Suilivan) in the semifinals of the 2005 APTA Nationals Championships.

While Miller and Main put on a backhand driving exhibition, Delmonico and McNitt traded well-placed forehand drives on key points. After two hours of battling. Miller and McNitt walked away three-set victors (6-3, 3-6, 6-2).

The other semi-final match featured unseeded Doten and Keane defeating the second-seeded team of Dardis and Shay in straight sets. The finals were set as an all-Chicago event featuring two former world-ranked tennis players (Susie Keane #27 and Terry Miller #14) and their partners. In the end, sophomore superstar Terry Miller and veteran Jane McNitt dominated the field and walked away the victors. Look for this young team to excel and be a major threat at the 2006 APTA National Championships in Chicago.

The 2005 men’s Charities began on Saturday, November 5th and saw one of the deepest draws in recent memory. The eight seeded teams were Gambino- Ohlmuller, Goodspeed-Mansager, Cochrane-Marino, Fiedler-Stulac, Caldwell-Cordish, Browne-Estes, Hough- Rahaley and Englesberg-Kelly.

The top five seeded teams advanced to the quarter-finals as expected.

Although last season’s third and fourth-seeded teams were not in the draw, the addition of 2005 Nationals finalists Cochrane-Marino and the reemergence of Chicago spinmaster Brian Uihlein made up for the absence.

Saturday night quarter-final play saw one upset when the local unseeded team of Keevins-Uihlein defeated former National Champions Goodspeed-Mansager 6-3, 6-3. With this, semi-final action was set for Sunday morning between Fiedler-Stulac and Keevins-Uihlein and a 2005 APTA Nationals quarter-final rematch between Gambino-Ohlmuller and Cochrane-Marino.

The Chicago Charities semi-finals began at 10:00 am at the Glen View Club. In the first match, Fiedler and Stulac defeated Keevins and Uihlein 7-6, 6-7, 6-3 with an incredible display of reflex volleys, booming serves and clever drives.

In the second semi-final match-up, Cochrane and Marino continued their winning streak against Ohlmuller and Gambino by winning 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.

The finals pitted Canadian Mike Stulac with Bill Fiedler (Chicago) against New York native Mike Cochrane and partner Mike Marino (Chicago). The four men battled for two-and-one-half hours before Fiedler and Stulac closed the match in a third set tie-breaker 6-4, 5-7, 7-6.

The big winner for the weekend belonged to Chicago who fielded all four women’s finalists and two of the four men’s finalists.

Platform tennis is certainly on the rise in the Midwest with the competition getting deeper each passing season. Next season’s Charities promises to offer more new faces from the most exciting platform tennis region in the country.

Source: Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol 7. Issue 3, January 2006

During the summer, Platform Tennis Magazine launched their new web site www.ptmonline.com in partnership with the Pittsburgh-based web design firm Amixa, LLC.

A list of core features for the site were:
• An on-line store
• Tournament dates and information
• Rules of platform tennis
• History of platform tennis
• Featured articles from the most recent issue (summary only)
• Platform Tennis Magazine archives (for ordering)
• Advertising information for Platform Tennis Magazine
• A robust set of links to other platform tennis web sites

The website was not affiliated with the APTA

Source: Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol.7, Issue 1, September, 2005

The iconoclastic Platform Tennis News.com was published by 2005 Hall of Fame inductee Charles Vasoll and a former President of the APTA.

The first issue was in September 1, 2003 and after a year of publishing hard copies the newsletter was moving online. Vasoll wrote articles that gave his view of happenings in the sport and invited others to submit articles with their views.

Vol 1-1 discussed Vasoll’s view of the new APTA logo [enlarge pages to read his views]. The APTA had started a search for a new logo in late 2002 and had picked a winner in May 2003.

Note: All issues of Platform Tennis News.com are available in Search and Explore

Source: Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 6, Issue 1 (mislabeled as Issue 6), September, 2004

PTM Editor Wayne Dollard had the story:

On Saturday, October 8th, 16 of the top men in platform tennis competed for $5,000 in prize money at the first-annual Premier Cup. The group included last season’s #1, #2, #3, #5, #6, #8 and #11-ranked teams.

Nearly one year ago, David Dodge (owner of Premier Platform Tennis Courts) and Jason Gray (head professional at Four Bridges Country Club) were brainstorming on ways to bring improvements to platform tennis. In the spirit of tennis’ ATP tour, the two men came up with the “Premier Purple” court color. The demand for the new look has been overwhelming
on Dodge. He explained, “Wherever I go, I am being asked to repaint old brown and green courts with the new Premier Purple. The more vibrant color is not only refreshing but it also makes line calls easier because of the ball contrast on the court.”

At the 2005 National Championships in Pittsburgh, Dodge and Gray introduced the “service gap” a six-inch erased portion of the alley line behind where it meets the corner of the service box. The line gap has made calling serves in or out around the outside corners of the service boxes easier.

Having made innovative changes to the court, Dodge and Gray decided they wanted to do something that hadn’t been done in 20 years and host an invitation-only prize money tournament for the men’s top players. Dodge agreed up front to sponsor the $5,000 purse. Reebok, Viking and Michelob Ultra followed suit. Finally, the top eight 2005-ranked teams were invited and the event was scheduled at Gray’s courts at Four Bridges Country Club in West Chester, Ohio.

With 11 of the top 16-ranked men making the event, the success of the Premier Cup was guaranteed. Following a 10-game pro-set, round-robin format the teams were divided into two brackets based on the previous season’s ranking.

The tournament produced some of the most exciting play ever witnessed on the platform tennis court as the 2005 Nationals winners (Mike Stulac and Bill Anderson) met up against the National finalists (Mike Cochrane and Mike Marino) twice, once in the round robin, and once in a third-place playoff. The finalists defeated the National Champions in both match-ups. When #6-ranked Scott Mackesy could not make the event with partner Scott Estes, former National Champion Bill Fiedler was called in to partner with Estes. The pair had a close loss to Goodspeed / Mansager before winning 10-1 over David Ohlmuller and Chris Gambino and 10-2 over Rob Pierce and Greg Bennett. In the semi-finals, Estes and Fiedler cooled the smokin’ hot team of Cochrane and Marino 6 2, 6-2 Perhaps the biggest surprise of the tournament was the dominating performance of Flip Goodspeed and Scott Mansager who lost 13 games in the three-match round robin before tightening up and dropping only five games in semi-final and finals action.

All players viewed the event as a tremendous success. Gray said, ‘This is the first time in 20 years that this format has been tried. Not only will we repeat the event next season, but right now I am also in the works to add a women’s Premier Cup competition.”

Source: Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 7, Issue 2, November 2005

Rex Savorum, paddle enthusiast, reported from The Paterson Club (Fairfield, CT):

If it’s true that “necessity is the Mother of invention,” then jam-packed weekend calendars for families in Fairfield County, Connecticut, was the catalysis for starting Sunrise Paddle. Beginning the week before Daylight Savings Time, and running through mid-March, a hardy group of passionate paddlers arrive in the paddle hut at 5:30 AM on Saturday mornings for coffee, donuts and stretching.

Accompanied by an eclectic mix of Rock, Blues, Punk, Reggae and (very little) Rap music piped out to the platform courts, play starts at 6:00 AM sharp and normally runs to 8:00 AM, or whenever the blinding early morning winter sunrise makes it near impossible to play. This unique “paddle cult,” now going into its third year at The Patterson Club (Fairfield, CT), started with a member e-mail blast to over 100 fellow paddlers that make up Patterson’s Men’s Paddle League. While there were many humorous and rather “colorful” replies nixing the idea, there were four paddlers willing to give it a go.

Through the club’s monthly newsletter the original four gained further notoriety and support through the paraphrasing of the legendary Grantland Rice:

Outlined against the ebon pre-dawn sky of winter, the Four Horsemen ride again. In dramatic- lore they ore known as Famine, Pestilence Destruction and Death. These are only aliases. Their real names are Joe Murphy, Matt Terry, Sean Kelley and Mike Hoover.

They form the crest of The Patterson Club’s newest paddle tennis movement: Sunrise Paddle. While it’s not a sanctioned league per se, some narcoleptic slumberous skeptics refer to it as a radical movement (or even a cult). Devotees affectionately call it: “The Dawn Patrol.”

Within the first weeks of play, the number of participants doubled and then quickly tripled. The goal of the founders was reached as all platform courts are full in the predawn hours most Saturday mornings. It seems the growing “paddle mania” at The Patterson Club is becoming a 365 days/year activity as play has now carried over into the summer months… Sunrise Paddle has now given birth to “Summer Paddle”. The goal this upcoming winter paddle season is to host the first Sunrise Paddle inter-club match.

Source: Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 7, Issue 2, November, 2005

Nestled in the center of the Niagara Region, the Niagara Platform Tennis Club (NPTC) will open its doors this fall as Canada’s first new platform tennis facility in over 10 years. Located just 30 minutes from Buffalo, one hour from Toronto and just 15 minutes from Niagara Falls, the NPTC can offer plenty of enjoyment for both platform tennis enthusiasts and fans.

[enlarge image to read full story]

Source: The Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 7, Issue 1, September, 2005