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
Passport Scotch felt that they were not getting their expected value from their level of financial commitment.
The APTA President Packard felt it was imperative to replace Passport Scotch with another sponsor for the Nationals and preferably not a liquor company so that it might be possible to get television coverage
Source: APTA Executive Committee Meeting Minutes, July 1, 1980
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 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>]
For the second year, the New Canaan Savings Bank was the sponsor of the women's National-ranking New Canaan (CT) tournament on November 19-20. The event was played at the Country Club of New Canaan, New Canaan Field Club, and Waveny Park.
The top 10 winning teams divided the $2,000 in prize money.
After winning the Chicago Invitational on November 7-8, Yvonne Hackenberg and Hilary Hilton continued their unbeaten streak with a win against the unseeded pair of Meri Lobel and Allison McCance.
Source: Platform Tennis, January 1981
Back to TopAdvertisment for the Marcraft Sorba paddle
The APTA endorsed the Swift River “Reflex” court shoe following tests by a Board-appointed players committee.
The Swift River “Reflex” court shoe was made in New Hampshire.
The sneakers had bottoms made of a gum-colored compound of high-abrasion rubber to assure maximum mobility in any weather, as well as resistance to abrasion.
Many players liked a more bouncy ball, especially when it became very cold. To accommodate them, Vittert made both a lo-bounce (V-30) and a hi-bounce ball. The APTA had approved the V-30 for all National ranking tournaments and the hi-bounce ball only for singles. The January edition of Platform Tennis explained the APTA position and provided guidance for using the V-30 ball in cold.
When it’s really cold, the standard V-30 needs a respectable warm-up, or it will just dribble when you expect a bounce. Nevertheless, cold is part of life on the platform. So, what do you do about ball selection? Well, the “book on bounces” says:
• For virtually all doubles tournaments or matches, use the standard, low-bouncing V-30.
• Always warm up with two balls. When you start to play, put the second ball in the warming hut, a warm car, a ball-warmer, or perhaps a down jacket -- but ne[...]
Very few women were entering singles tournaments. In order to encourage more to play Mark Bliss, a promoter of singles from the Apple Club in New York, suggested allowing women to participate in men’s tournaments.
Following this, Robin Rich Fulton and Linda Wolf played in a couple of the men’s warm-up tournaments before the National Singles championship.
Herb Fitz Gibbon and Hank Irvine, seeded #2, defeated the top-seeded, 1980 National champions, Steve Baird and Rich Maier, at the Westchester Country Club in Harrison, NY.
Frigid weather caused the match to be reduced to two out of three sets by mutual agreement, and Herb and Hank prevailed with a score of 6-4, 6-4.
Although R.J. Reilly introduced the aluminum deck in the early 1970s, many of the courts built prior to the 1980s had wood decks. These decks were relatively inexpensive to install, yet became difficult to maintain as active play and the elements took their toll. Aluminum decking not only extended the life of a platform tennis court, but builders now had the ability to install heaters beneath the courts that would warm the decks and eliminate thin layers of snow or ice that would prohibit play.
Aluminum decking revolutionized the court-building industry, yet it had an unforeseen impact on the accessibility of courts outside the more privileged country club scene. Wooden courts around the country that had been decommissioned, particularly in communities, municipalities, and schools, were simply not replaced because, though aluminum courts are less expensive to maintain, they were much [...]
© 2025 Platform Tennis Museum and Hall of Fame Foundation, All Rights Reserved.