Chuck Vasoll filed an update with PTM:
We are up and running. Our web site, that is. The address is platformtennishalloffame.org. We encourage you to visit the site which has: a video history of the sport, a snap shot biography of the Hall of Fame inductees, information about how you can help provide funds and memorabilia to the museum, a list and background of the Trustees of the Foundation, a photo gallery of progress in the construction at the Centercourt Athletic Club in Chatham, New Jersey, and other historic photos from the sport's archives. It is truly worth a few minutes of your time to view this very interesting presentation about our sport.
The Trustees are hard at work in many areas of the development of the museum. Chairman Robert Brown, President Richard Lombard, Treasurer Joseph Rogers and Curator James McCready met with a representative of a firm that designs the int[...]
Every year, nearly all of the nation's top players converge in Chicago for this early-season tournament. As the second highest-ranked tournament of the year (next to the APTA National Championships), players wishing to attain a high rank see the Charities as a must fight for.
The 36-year history of the Charities is one of great generosity. This year's charitable recipient is JDRF - an organization committed to Type 1 Diabetes research.
The Charities is the first major tournament of the season and that means that seedings are based on ranking points earned the previous year. In the summer off-season, teams switch around and new ones form. What does this mean? It means that the Charities is the new status quo for how the new teams will be judged for the rest of the season. If you want to prove yourself, perform well in Chicago.
With below-seasonal average temperatures, mixed with [...]
"We had a great time and would love to do it again" - Mike and Bob Bryan, 5-time Grand Slam doubles champions commented after playing platform tennis for the first time
A public relations concept turns out to be arguably the most memorable event in platform tennis history.
Just one week before the National Championships, from March 5th through 9th, platform tennis put on a show at the Tennis Channel Open for the entire nation to watch via live television.
The Tennis Channel Open is an annual ATP Tennis Tournament held in Las Vegas and features many of the best players in the world. Lleyton Hewitt, Marat Safin, Marcos Baghdatis, Robby Ginepri, and 5-time grand-slam winning doubles team - the Bryan Brothers are a few of the top-billed participants.
The Open is televised live for the week and also features coverage from the world "paddle" (not platform) tennis championships, and[...]
Rod Workman, PPTA Professional Director of Racquets at the Onwentsia Club in Lake Forest, IL, recounted the experience in a column on intermediate and advanced instruction in PTM:
Sixteen years ago, I was teaching a paddle camp in Eureka, Montana with the "Godfather of Paddle," Hank Irvine, when my ideas on the winning shot began to take shape.
A gentleman from Long Island arrived at the camp and said to Hank, "I've traveled all the way across the country for you to show me how to hit more winners when I play."
Hank's blood pressure spiked and he swiftly responded, "Sir, my suggestion is that you get on the next available plane back to New York because we won't be teaching winners at this camp. The game is not about hitting winners but never making errors!"
With that, I adopted Hank's style of teaching and playing, which I still use today.
Source: Platform Tennis Magazine,[...]
APTA President Mark Fischl met with 2008 Hall of Fame inductee, David Kjeldsen, and discussed the recent sale of Viking Athletics to Prince.
MF: David, there has obviously been a lot happening in your life of late. Is it true that you are selling Viking Athletics to Prince?
DCK: Yes.
MF: Are you excited by it? Are you working less now?
DCK: Excited yes. Very excited. I have been working harder in the last few months than I have in the last couple of years. There is so much information to share with and transfer to the great staff at Prince.
MF: Is it true you talked with other companies before selling to Prince?
DCK: Mark, I am not comfortable talking about that. It's not proper to talk about those that you dated in the past on your wedding day.
MF: What will this sale mean to the platform tennis community?
DCK: The platform tennis community will benefit in a number of wa[...]
The 2008-09 paddle season is here and the future of our sport is very promising. Junior paddle is on the rise with a record number of sanctioned tournaments (16) scheduled for this season.
The season kick off tourney is on October 25 in Cleveland and the 2009 Nationals in Long Island on January 31st.
Players of all levels are encouraged to sign up and will receive a tournament favor. Consider getting your child involved in tournaments. If they do not have a partner, contact the tournament director. They often get similar requests. It will be a positive learning experience. [enlarge image to read more]
The APTA Rules Committee (Martin Sturgess, Bob Callaway, Steve Nycum and Mike Stulac) filed this update with PTM:
There have been a couple of rule changes that you should be aware of before your next venture on to the court.
No, the let rule has not been changed and lobs out of the court are still a loss of point.
However, a major change passed by the Board at the May 2008 meeting is that a "carry" or "double hit" is now a legal shot providing that the player uses a continuous motion, and hits the ball before it reaches the screen. This rule has been changed mainly because it is felt that a "continuous motion" is a much clearer concept and thus should eliminate disagreements. Tennis made this switch many years ago for the same reason.
To summarize this rule, any ball struck using a continuous motion is now legal.
In 2007, a rule was established that if player A strikes a [...]
Buffy Briggs died on October 30, 2008, after a long bout with cancer. She was 82 and lived in Vero Beach, Florida.
Buffy teamed with Charlotte Lee to win the Women's Nationals in 1963 and 1964, and in 1968 she was runner-up with Do Deland. Shortly thereafter, her playing career was curtailed by a fall from a ski lift, seriously injuring her shoulder.
Although her competitive activity was ended, Buffy was a major contributor to the administration of women's activities , serving as Women's Tournament Director for the APTA over a period of ten years during the 1970's. She also served on the APTA Board. She was responsible for creating the point system, still used today, for ranking players and for use in doing seedings in women's draws. She also created reprieves for women's events, to provide further information for ranking and seeding. She traveled extensively to all of the women'[...]
On October 11th & 12th, Region 1 and Plainfield Country Club (Edison, New Jersey) played host to the 4th Annual Premier Cup. An invitational event for the top eight Men's
teams from the final year end standings.
This year, such as others, a few teams had scheduling conflicts which allowed teams just outside of the top 8 to grab the opportunity to spend the weekend playing against the best in the country.
Event coordinators David Dodge(Premier Platform Tennis) and Jason Gray decided to go east after Guy Moore (Director of Racquet Sports at Plainfield Country Club) put together a package that would be perfect for the event. Plainfield is located 30 minutes outside of NYC has a pristine tennis and platform facility and program featuring four platform courts situated beautifully around a platform hut that overlooks all courts.
Presenting sponsors Premier Platform Tennis along, with[...]
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