Viking Athletics is proud to officially announce the arrival of its 2011-2012 product line – complete with 3 new lite weight paddles, the re-introduction of the most popular paddle ever made and yet another addition to Viking’s technology portfolio – all added to the existing line of proven paddles and the Viking ball.
Viking has done it again! Introducing a new paddle technology application called Carbon Mesh. Carbon Mesh material consists of braided graphite strips of material which are bonded together for extra strength and stiffness. This material will be featured at the 12 o’clock position on two new paddles this season adding extra stiffness and strength to the rim area. Viking continues to be clearly focused on raising the bar on platform paddle innovation again this year as Carbon Mesh follows SpinTex and Triple Threat technologies which were both introduced during th[...]
Platform tennis in Chicago is nothing new. Dating back nearly 40 years, organized platform tennis owes its existence to Dick Hornigold, who brought it to Chicago after he was transfered there. He met up with platform tennis entrepreneur Dick Squires, and the two put on an exhibition at the Exmoor Country Club that launched the sport officially in the Chicago market.
The pair partnered with Jack Watson and Harry Brown to form the Chicago Platform Tennis Charities organization. Today, the organization is run by Alan Graham, who’s been steering the ship for the past 15 years. Under his guidance, the CPTC has grown by leaps and bounds, and that growth is something that has been studied and determined to be sustainable.
“Initially, the region had a lack of resources,” Graham said. “When courts were put in, the very first ones were put in private homes. The next phase were in cou[...]
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 [...]
Mike Stulac
Age: 40
Residence: Manhattan, New York
Family: Kerri Delmonico
Profession: Global Loans Product Controller at JP Morgan Chase
Achievements in tennis/platform tennis: Winner of the Canadian Nationals more than 10 times; Winner US Nationals twice; Winner of the 18-and-under Junior Nationals; Winner Mixed Nationals; Winner of Husband and Wife Nationals two times; Winner in Chicago, numerous regional tournaments
Hobbies off the courts: Golf
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The following clubs were fortunate to receive grant money from the APTA to help fund new or refurbished courts in the 2012-2013 paddle season. Here are some details of their programs. From the rocky coast of Maine to the peachy state of Georgia, our game is growing!
Windward Lake Club, Alpharetta, GA
Two refurbished courts were installed. The grand opening event in December had a turnout of almost 100 players. They held a beginner instructional class in the morning and an intermediate/advanced class in the afternoon. In between classes, there was a women's exhibition with Sue Aery, Agata Cioroch, Lisa Teer and Sharon LeRoux and a men's exhibition by Jay Bailey, Peter Lauer, Scott Kaufman and Graham McNerney. Peachtree Paddle League will now include Windward in their functions and organized league play. In addition, the club will offer recreational play on Monday, Wednesday and Friday[...]
In keeping with the stated mission of the APTA to help grow the great sport of Platform Tennis, the Board of Directors of the APTA has recently approved seven different financial grants / loans to help organizers begin or accelerate their efforts to promote local paddle. Projects approved at the APTA Annual Meeting in May spanned from Kansas to Massachusetts to South Carolina. They will all further a quest of the APTA Growth Committee, to open up paddle beyond the traditional private country club strongholds.
Peter Lauer, Chair of the Growth Committee, remarked of the overall effort and the various projects approved: “We are delighted by the growing interest in the grant program and in particular the enthusiasm, energy and professionalism of the local champions who seek the APTA’s help in their efforts. They are the key to success and, in many ways, we are making a bet on the peo[...]
In April of 2011, the Fox Meadow Tennis Club celebrated it’s 80th anniversary as the first platform tennis club. The history of the club, located in Scarsdale, New York, has been well documented over the years.
Platform Tennis Magazine reviewed the history of the sport and provided insight into how the game saved Fox Meadow from possible bankruptcy during difficult financial times.
Origination of “Paddle Tennis”
Platform Tennis, or Paddle Tennis as it was originally named, was started in 1898, in Albion, Michigan. At nearby Albion College, a young boy, younger brother to a student, had been enviously watching the on-going tennis matches. The 14-year-old boy’s own backyard was too small for a tennis court and, besides, tennis courts were expensive to put up and to keep up. But the concept of playing a ball back-and-forth across a net would not be refused. If the court were[...]
The 7th Annual "Super Bowl of Platform Tennis" was held October 14-16 in Columbus, Ohio, at the Scioto Country Club. Columbus hosted some of very best men’s teams in the country, who showcased their incredible talents for all to enjoy. Teams from cities and states such as Chicago, New Jersey, Cincinnati, and Richmond, competed for the only paddle purse as well as bragging rights. Columbus’ own Denny English’s and Brian Heil’s fans helped fill the home team’s warming hut.
At the same club where Jack Nicklaus learned how to play golf, beginners were encouraged to pick up the game of platform tennis. Kicking off the weekend’s festivities was a free clinic conducted by the APTA. All ages and levels were invited to learn the game and its intricacies and were taught by an enthusiastic group of pros. This is a relatively new feature of tournaments nationwide and is one way that t[...]
Paddle is her balance. Just back from a weekend on Long Beach Island, and having spent two weeks skiing in Sun Valley, Idaho, it was pure luck to find Helen Garrett with some time to talk. No moss grows on Garrett, the perennial senior tournament winner, with 16 APTA Senior Championships and eight "silvers," as she puts it. She plays both women's and mixed tournaments, enjoying the differences of each game. And she very much enjoyed the team concept of the President's Cup. Garrett played in the very first one in 1986, and was on the Region III team for several years.
Garrett and long-time partner Sandy Simmers won the Women's 70+ Nationals in Scarsdale, New York, this past December. Both players are from the Washington, DC area, and Garrett really enjoys the time they spend together, whether in the car traveling to tournaments or on the court. "Neither of us has a big forehand or big [...]
Rich Green
Age: 47
Residence: Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Profession: Hedge Fund Reporting and Analytics
Achievements in Tennis/Platform Tennis: The most memorable tennis achievements were more than 20 years apart. Winning both team and individual 1984 New England Championships and being awarded the tournament’s Individual Sportsmanship honor while playing for the University of Vermont tops the list. Twenty something years later winning the 2007 North Carolina State 40s was quite unexpected after a frustrating year of hitting forehands into the ground and fence from changing continental to semi-western grip and swing.
Bringing paddle to Chapel Hill, North Carolina in 2007 is certainly my greatest paddle achievement. Playing achievements came mainly winning several tournaments in 2003/2004, each with a different partner: Short Hills B, West Hartford B, Long Island B, and the [...]
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