The first time David Lee played platform tennis, he hated it. New to Fairfield County, Connecticut, after business school, David was invited by a friend to play. Having been a competitive junior tennis player, David figured it should be a breeze. But after faulting endlessly, getting flummoxed by screen shots and hitting the back screens with his drives, David decided it wasn’t a game for him. It would be almost ten years before David would venture back onto the paddle courts. In 2003, David and his family joined the Milbrook Club in Greenwich, and he was re-introduced to the game by his club’s tennis compatriots. This time, David was smart enough to sign up for some lessons, including the annual Viking clinic. With a better understanding of the game and a newfound appreciation for the strategy, David quickly became addicted. Shortly thereafter, David was recruited to captain Milbrook’s fledgling entry in the Fairfield County Platform Tennis League. Starting in Division 6, Milbrook was able to capture five consecutive division championships and successfully navigate its way up to Division 1, where David continues to captain the team.

Over the last ten years, David has become increasingly active in the platform tennis community. He is an avid tournament participant often playing the Patterson Open, Sound Shore Invitational and Connecticut State Mixed. He played in the 2010 and 2012 National Championships and the 2011 Men’s 45+ National Championship. One of his daughters, Isabel, was a former player on the Viking Junior Tour and made the finals of the 14 & Under Championship a few years ago. David believes strongly in the growth of the game and wants to help promote the game throughout the United States. He has made many wonderful friends through platform tennis and hopes that he will continue to make many more through the game. David was previously treasurer for Darien Youth Lacrosse, where he organized house and travel lacrosse teams for over 1,200 boys and girls from ages 6-14. He is also an alumni interviewer and fundraiser for Harvard, his alma mater. David hopes that these experiences can be of help to the APTA board.

In the off-season, David is an avid tennis player and golfer. He is also known to enjoy a nice bottle of wine and play a little poker as well. He currently resides in Darien, CT, with his wife, Jenny, and their two teenage daughters.

Katie grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she first picked up a paddle as a teenager at the Pittsburgh Golf Club, only to watch the courts, which were built onto a steep slope, fall off the side of the hill not long after.

A self-professed “enthusiastic B player,” Katie’s true love for the game began at the now-defunct Apple Platform Tennis Club in New York City, where she met her husband, Mark, who happened to be the club manager. She is the past president of the New Jersey Women’s Platform Tennis League, whose membership includes over 800 women from throughout the state, who play weekly from October to February. During her ten years on the NJWPTL Board, Katie served in several capacities besides her presidency, including tournament director of the state tournament.

She also has been involved in running the Short Hills Platform Tennis Invitational, the nation’s oldest national ranking and PCQ tournament, for over ten years, three as the tournament director. Last year, she ran the Women’s 40+ and 60+ Nationals, also out of
the Short Hills Club.

A past contributor to the Platform Tennis Magazine, Katie acknowledges that the smartest financial investment she ever made was her lifetime membership to the APTA in 1990. During the off season, she is the owner of Bliss-Full Gardening Services, a garden design and maintenance company that serves private residences and commercial businesses throughout New Jersey. She resides in Maplewood, NJ, with her husband, Mark, also a long-time platform tennis player, and two children.

Shannon’s love for the game began on a cold Friday night when she and her husband attended their first paddle party. This strange-looking tennis game “looked fun” and she was hooked.

Shannon is a past captain, coordinator, facilitator, committee member and president of the Chicago Women’s Platform Tennis League. She was the co-chair of the 2011 National Championships and the 2012 Mixed National Championships and has worked closely with John Noble and Alan Graham for the last few years executing tournaments held in the Chicago area. Shannon has also worked on the APTA’s Platform Tennis Magazine Committee.

She is an avid local league player and plays in as many APTA tournaments as time away from family permits. Since 2008, she has been a member of the Region V President’s Cup Team. Shannon lives in Winnetka, Illinois, with her husband, Scott, and their two children.

Changes in format will create a PC final and offer top men a spot on the teamEarlier this year, the Men’s and Women’s Players Committees submitted changes in the President’s Cup format to the APTA Board for their consideration and approval. The APTA Board has voted to move forward with the suggestions made by the Players Committees. For the upcoming President’s Cup competition in New Jersey this March, the following changes will be implemented on a trial basis:
1) Regional teams will consist of a minimum of ten players and a maximum of thirteen players.

2) Each team should consist of players who reside in that region. Cases where someone plays regularly in one region and lives in another will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the President’s Cup Committee.

3) If all seven regions enter a team, a team consisting of players who did not qualify for their regional team will form an eighth independent team.

4) The field of teams will be divided into two balanced pools and each team will play every team in its pool to determine seeding.

5) The top two teams from each pool will advance to a championship round with the remaining teams moving into a consolation round.

6) The Men’s Players Committee has determined that all players will be eligible to compete no matter what their national ranking. The Women’s Players Committee will continue to prohibit players ranked in the top eight nationally from participating.

7) The President’s Cup Committee, consisting of the current APTA President, the most recent past APTA President and the APTA Executive Director, will act as the sole group to interpret the guidelines as approved by the APTA Board and Players Committees, including the roster of the potential eighth independent team.

8) The format of match play will be forwarded to the Regional Presidents and their appointed President’s Cup captains by January 1st.

APTA President Rob Coster said, “I’m very excited about these changes and I sincerely thank both Players Committees for their efforts. I think it’s great that they have taken the initiative to take an already great event and make it potentially even better. The largest number of players ever will compete in the President’s Cup competition on March 7th in New Jersey. I look forward to what promises to be a hard-fought President’s Cup final showcased for the rest of the arriving Nationals players to see.”

A team competition starts the ball rolling at Nationals

You may have seen the designation PCQnext to the name of many tournaments on the APTA tournament schedule and wondered what it meant. PCQ means President’s Cup Qualifier.

So what is President’s Cup? It is a region versus region tournament that takes place the day before the Nationals. The APTA divides the country into seven regions and each region sends a men’s team and a women’s team to the competition. This year there will be an 8th team, the Independent team, which will consist of players who did not qualify for their regional team.

Spots on each team are earned through season-long competition. Each region has its own rules regarding qualifications. Some require participation in three tournaments, some only two. Points are awarded on the basis of how a team or an individual does in a PCQ designated tournament. Many players plan their season around playing in a number of PCQ tournaments to earn enough points to qualify for their region’s President’s Cup team.

A few years ago, the maximum number of team members was increased from 10 to 12. This year that number is increased to 13. All members of the APTA can try to qualify for their regional team. Women members who end up ranked in the top eight after the Short Hills tournament cannot be selected for a PC team.

The President’s Cup competition starts early the day before the Nationals and consists of five lines from each region. Line one players play against line one players from the other regions; line two against the line two players and so on.

After a full day of excellent paddle and great camaraderie, all the President’s Cup players enjoy a reception and the awarding of the President’s Cup trophies. The unique team aspect of the President’s Cup makes it an extremely popular event and often the highlight of the paddle season for the participants.

Residence: Northfield, Illinois
Years of Service on the APTA Board: 2
Family: Three adult children: Amanda (27, married), Megan (26), and George (23)
Years Playing: 15 years

Have you ever won any major tournaments? Only in my mind. I’m there to be first-round cannon fodder and get the pullovers. I did win a first round match in the Nationals once and a back, backdraw in the Mixed Nationals several years ago.

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