The lead article in the January edition of Platform Tennis was on the large turnouts for regional tournaments.

The Westchester (Rye) Invitational put a 64 team cap on the number of entries to keep it manageable.

Despite this the Minutes of the APTA Executive Committee of February 9, 1981 reflected the struggle the APTA was having with dwindling sponsorship and the crisis this was having on Tournament play and the APTA’s bottom line. The forecast for 1981 was for a $11,903 loss. [Also see APTA 1981 Annual Meeting Minutes>]

To kick off the 1980-’81 season, 15 couples combined platform tennis with a sightseeing tour in Europe. Bellfires, the European licensee for R.J. Reilly Company, sponsored the October event.

The players were on the road for eleven days, wheeling around Europe on a luxury bus. Starting in Paris, the couples played platform tennis indoors and toured the sights. Then the bus took them to the Mediterranean coast, near Perpignan, where two courts had been built. Then, on to Switzerland to compete on the highest courts in Europe (with a little skiing on the side), and to visit Basel where there were courts in town.

Source: Platform Tennis News, April 1980

The APTA worked hard to develop league play around the country. The November issue of Platform Tennis News carried an article on how to build a successful program.

“This fall, literally thousands of men and women are absorbed in what has to be the most vital part of paddle: league play. To get a league going, it takes three ingredients: commitment to the sport, organizational ability, and energy.”

The article went on to provide detailed advice for those building a league.

Source: Platform Tennis, November 1980

Sponsorship by companies like Tribuno Wine, Passport Scotch, and Vat 69 Gold that fueled more than five years of “money tournaments” began to dry up. Sponsors realized the sport was somewhat limited in its exposure and appeal.

Conflict loomed within the small community of platform tennis players about whether to preserve the sport by keeping it amateur, or offering money to attract the highest level of talent. Having just experienced several years of professional tour events, the trend reversed to embrace amateur play.

Some 240 juniors received top-caliber instruction in the fall of 1979 at four New Jersey clinics. Two more junior clinics were scheduled for early 1980 before the paddle season ended.

Following in Hilary Hilton Marold’s footsteps top-ranked player, Linda Wolf, represented platform tennis on ABC TV’s “Super Stars”. She finished in sixth place and made more money than she did playing paddle!

The first indoor event was the 64-team New Canaan Men’s Invitational on February 2-3.

For the first time in APTA history, from the quarterfinals on, the rounds were played indoors, in the New Canaan High School gymnasium.

The R.J. Reilly Company installed a temporary Reillx-surfaced court with an aluminum superstructure.

The regional championship circuit and its prestigious playoff, the President’s Cup, had a new sponsor. It was Carte Blanche, the international credit card for sportsmen, sportswomen, and all people committed to staying fit.

For the third year, the top regional players competed within their respective regions for the chance to vie for the President’s Cup. A regional player, by APTA definition, was any player not ranked nationally after the previous season.

Source: Platform Tennis, January 1980

The team of Hilary Hilton, of Glen Ellyn, IL, and Yvonne Hackenberg, of Kalamazoo, MI, defeated Kit Knight, of Oyster Bay, NY, and Mimi Raney, of New York City, by scores of 6-2, 7-5, to win the Third Annual Manufacturers Hanover Platform Tennis Invitational.

The event, organized by Iris Langdon of Promotion Plus Sports and held February 9-10, took place at the Apple Platform Tennis Club in New York City. It offered a $6,000 purse, with Hilton and Hackenberg splitting the $2,000 first-place share.

Source: Platform Tennis, March 1980