Ann Sheedy, Executive Director of the APTA, had her reflections on the President's Cup and the Men's and Women's Nationals in her A Nationals Diary printed in PTM.
Thursday - President's Cup (March 6, 2014)
The women are in Sewickley today playing the President's Cup and the men are in Fox Chapel. Not surprisingly, the Region II men took the title and the Region V women were the champs. Both regions were pretty darn loaded. Oops, we blew a breaker panel and the electrician has to come back and give us more power. As usual, the President's Cup ran late and I had to keep asking the Pittsburgh Field Club to hold off serving dinner as most of the players were still on court. During dinner I heard the news that two women's teams might have to drop out of the Nationals, due to injury and illness. Took a while to confirm the withdrawals but luckily we had some happy replacements[...]
Six-time National Champions Mary Doten and Susie Keane were inducted into the Platform Tennis Hall of Fame during the 2014 APTA Men's and Women's Nationals at the Fox Chapel Golf Club in Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania, on Friday, March 7. Hilary Hilton Marold, a member of the Hall of Fame and also a six-time National Champion, introduced both of the players.
Among an audience of long-time friends, family members, and the best platform tennis players in the nation, Doten and Keane were lauded for their dominance in women's paddle from 2003 to 2010. In their best season, 2008-2009, they won every tournament they entered.
The following are excerpts from Marold's introduction speeches and from the winners' acceptance speeches.
Mary Doten Introduction
In 1993, some tennis friends of Mary's convinced her to come out and try platform tennis and she became hooked on the sport. They had[...]
The video is a short history of the game from its start in 1928 through to 2014. It highlights the key events in the game's development, the leading players, the role of the APTA and the Foundation's efforts to document the story for the next generations of enthusiasts.
The video was produced by Camille Thoman who produced the indie documentary The Longest Game which was inspired by a group of octogenarians at Dorset Field Club, Dorset, NH who met regularly to play paddle and reminisce.
Click link to play: Platform Tennis: A celebration of the game, its camaraderie and those that made it happen
Family and friends gathered at the Sleepy Hollow Country Club in Tarrytown, New York, on March 14th, 2014, to celebrate Bob Callaway's induction into the Platform Tennis Hall of Fame. Steve Baird, Hall of Fame Nominating Committee Chair, presented the green jacket to Callaway, one of the first platform tennis professionals.
The following is excerpted from Steve Baird's introduction speech.
We are here tonight to honor a very special person, a trail blazer who dedicated almost his entire career to platform tennis. No one has ever done as much, on such a full-time scale, with such longevity as Bob Callaway. At his core, first and foremost, Bob was a teacher. It was not about him, it was about his students. He cared deeply about them and their progress.
Bob was arguably "the first paddle pro." He began in the late 1960s and retired in 2012 at age 78. Today, there are well over 20[...]
The occasion of the Men's 145+ Nationals and the induction of Bob Callaway into the Hall of Fame provided the Platform Tennis Museum and Hall of Fame Foundation an opportunity to create a short video - A Celebration of Paddle. Eric Taylor was the producer
One of Radley Run's future stars shone brightly at the 2014 Junior Nationals
While demonstrating the good sportsmanship, integrity and respect that goes with the "Spirit of the Game" honor, this award is so special because paddle is a game where good sportsmanship is so keenly recognized. Independent but commanders were on the lookout for exemplary behavior during the tournament and, at the end of the day, the tournament committee made their decision.
The winner of this year's "Spirit of the Game" Award is ten-year-old Mary Emma Guldi. A fifth grader at St. Agnes in West Chester, Mary Emma has played platform tennis at Radley Run for about three years.
Mary Emma lost her partner when the tournament date was changed, due to an ice storm, but still wanted to be part of the event. She created her own rainbow after the storm by signing on as a junior reporter for the APTA. She thoug[...]
Charlotte Lee was a national champion in the women's and mixed draws in the 1960s and 1970s. She was known as a fierce but unfailingly fair competitor on the court, and an ambassador of the game. The Charlotte Lee Sportsmanship Award is given yearly to the woman who displays the most sportsmanlike conduct on and off the court during the season. In that spirit, Cindy Prendergast was chosen as the recipient of the award by the APTA Women's Players Committee.
Prendergast responded: "Thanks to my paddle peers for this award. I've been playing paddle for a long, long time and feel so fortunate to have been surrounded by such a fun, gracious, and competitive group of ladies. The good news is that the game of paddle keeps evolving yet the integrity of the player remains the same. I am so grateful for this sport."
Prendergast won the APTA Women's Nationals four times (three times with Laur[...]
The Short Hills Club, in Short Hills, New Jersey, hosted the 2014 APTA Board Meeting and Annual Meeting.
HELLOS AND GOODBYES The board welcomed four new members and said farewell
to two whose terms expired. The APTA membership elected Ray Crosta, Region I, Cooey Lyon, Region III, Jim McCready, Region VII, and Bill O'Brien, Region V.
Thanks go to Rich Green and Tim Mangan for their service. Rich Green helped usher in the dynamic growth of Region VII by being the champion of the first APTA "Grow the Game" grant. He will continue as the Region VII President. Tim Mangan was Region I's President and President's Cup Captain, and also is an indefatigable tournament director.
ELECTION OF OFFICERS The Board approved the slate officers: Rob Coster, President; Fritz Odenbach, Vice President; Bill O'Brien, Vice President; Aila Main, Treasurer; and Cooey Lyon, Secretary.
FINANCIALS Alia [...]
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