1. Call to Order
The Greater Columbus Tennis Association April 19, 2001, board meeting
was called to order by President Jeff Johnston at 7:40 PM.
2. Approval of Minutes
President Johnston motions to accept the minutes from the January,
2001 meeting. Harvey Beahm moves to approve the motion and Carol Alexander
seconds; the motion passes.
3. Treasurer's report
Treasurer Jake Will, Jr. presented the budget and balance of
activities. January - March usually doesn’t reflect much activity. The
Women’s budget came in right on target. As of 2 days ago, our mutual fund
account was $28,234, an increase of $1000.
4. New Business
Jeff welcomed OSU Men’s and Women’s tennis coaches, Ty Tucker and Chuck
Merzbacher. Both teams have had a banner year; the women are 7-1 in the
Big 10. Next weekend the men host the Big 10 Championship at the OSU Stickney
Tennis Center. Jeff Johnston encouraged the Board to come out and support
OSU tennis. Jeff presented a motion to approve funds creating a banner
saying: “Greater Columbus Tennis Association Welcomes The Big 10 Championships
to Columbus, Ohio.” Chuck will check on the legalities of the NCAA. After
discussion from the Board, Carol Alexander motions to accept Jeff’s motion;
Harvey Beahm seconds. All approve and the motion passes. Chuck told the
Board plans are in the works to build new OSU tennis facilities. $8 million
for a full facility and $5 million for indoor courts. If the moratorium
on athletic building is lifted, ground could be broken as early as next
year.
Janet Craycraft mentioned the need for an indoor mailing list. The
Board discussed the reasons for not distributing our mailing list but we
would mail out as information was needed. The Board decided that Andy Alexander
would be the keeper of our mailing list. Gary Alexander suggested to Jeff
Johnston that he always discuss and review information with the Executive
Board before mailing anything to protect himself from any criticism. Sharon
Rusk recommended a written policy be in place for our mailing list. She
also suggested only distributing it to promote tennis events. Gary warned
to be careful that we protect the clubs that support GCTA programs. Janet
would like to see our mailing list made available to more organizations.
5. Women's Leagues
Sherry Seimen reported 130 to 138 teams should be participating
in summer leagues. Their kick-off meeting is scheduled for May 17th.
6. Men's Leagues
Gary Alexander reports the deadline for sign-up was yesterday. Numbers
this year are up as there are more participants in the Platinum division.
The men will try out an alternative format for scoring in the Champ of
Champs Tournament. They will use a 10-point tiebreaker instead of a third
set. New this year is a 3.0 League. The Open division is still 3 courts.
7. USTA Summer Leagues
Rosters are due May 1st. There will be 15 new teams. No mixed-doubles
are planned. League fee is $18.
8. Jr. Wightman Cup & Junior Davis Cup
Janet Craycraft reports the round-robin tournament is scheduled for
July 5th and 6th in Springfield, Ohio. Mike Uretsky has been contacted
to captain the men and Michelle Jarrett has been contacted for the women.
9. OVTA
Janet tells the Board that all is going well. The next meeting will
be held in Chillicothe.
10. Umpires
Bud Petersen outlines the two workshops that were held for umpires.
The group still needs volunteers.
11. Area and District Qualifier
This year’s entries are down. The boys are down by 38 and the girls
are down by 26 kids. The deadline has been extended to try to boost our
numbers. Chuck Merzbacher suggests mailing applications to the area high
schools. Entry fee this year is $35. All indoor clubs will run the tournament.
GCTA will pay each club a per-player fee. Jim Hendrix is the tournament
director; we are paying him $500. The seeding meeting is Monday at 4:00
PM. The draw is done by computer. May 4th is the tournament check-in at
the Racquet Club. May 11th match-play begins. Athletic Adventures is the
only club holding their events outdoors. The Board thanked Janet Craycraft
for all of her hard work.
Deb Thallman suggested taking applications to the high school coaches
meeting and dispersing them there.
Carol Alexander is Tournament Director for the Girls’ 16 Districts
held June 9-13 at Upper Arlington High School courts. Columbus has 14 spots
available.
12. USA Junior Team Tennis
Shirley Neibauer reports more clubs are participating. We have the
largest participation rate in the section. 57 teams played last summer.
They well add a Novice League. Shirley and Deb attended the Jr. Team workshop.
13. Columbus Parks and Rec
Connie Everhart reports April 28th is camp registration. This summer
the city will run 8 large camps with 50 kids a week. Two new courts are
being built at Sawyer. Schiller Park is getting 3 new courts and metal
nets are being replaced by cloth. Wolfe and Whetstone Parks are next to
undergo renovations. Currently there are 148 courts in the city. Connie
will be hiring one pro to work with kids ages 4-14. Anyone interested contact
Connie.
Connie gave an update on the grant program offered by Olympic Indoor.
One child has moved out of town and the other girl is showing up for her
lessons and doing well. The Tennis 1 2 3 program was well received by the
city. Columbus Recreation and Parks made just under $3000. The Inner
City Games will be held August 5-11th. The city has agreed to run this
tournament and all monies will go toward the purchase of trophies and balls.
Connie welcomes any help. Janet Craycraft recommends any tournament winners
be recognized at our September Awards Ceremony.
14. Champion of Champions
The Women do not have a date yet.
15. Awards Ceremony
Our recognition banquet is scheduled for September 23rd from 4:00-7:00
PM at the Upper Arlington Municipal Building. Ice cream and cookies will
be served. A press award is still in need.
16. Wheelchair Tennis
Larry Hunter discussed the PVA Buckeye Wheelchair Classic. It will
be held July 20-22nd at Upper Arlington High School. Door prizes will be
donated and volunteers are welcome. A banquet is also scheduled. On-line
registration will be provided with a link to the GCTA web site. Larry would
like to hang a GCTA banner. Other highlights include a split-the-pot raffle.
Last year’s tournament raised $200. Larry hopes to have 30 players in the
draw.
17. Old and New Business
Andy Alexander asked the Board if there was interest in pursuing the
USTA Tennis 123 program. Andy discussed the problems with the clubs not
mailing their cards in. Connie will mail in the CRPD cards as they benefited
from this program. Andy said Tennis Industry will provide money to us to
advertise in the suburban news approximately four times. Andy will contact
the clubs to see if there is any interest.
Janet Craycraft receives calls from new Columbus tennis families about
the best indoor tennis facilities. Janet suggested putting together a generic
list. Janet will work on something.
Harvey Beahm reports the USTA National Junior Amateur Hardcourts will
run July 14-18th at OSU.
18. Adjournment
Sharon Rusk motions to adjourn the meeting and Carol Alexander seconds.
The meeting is adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Jean A. Shaw
Next Meeting
Thursday, July 19, 2001 at the
Swim and Racquet Club on Kenny Road
Meeting time is 7:30 PM