GCTA Board Minutes

GCTA Board Meeting
1/18/01
In Attendance:
Doug Snapp, Jeff Johnston, Gary Alexander, Bud Petersen, Callie Ryan, Janet Craycraft, Shirley Neibauer, Deb Thallman, Harvey Beahm, Connie Everhart, Jake Will, Jr., Robin Comfort
1. Approval of minutes
President, Jeff Johnston, called the meeting to order and said that minutes from the 1/14 meeting had been e-mail or mailed to Board members. He noted that there were copies also on the tables for members to look at. These minutes also appear on the web site. He then asked if there were any changes to be made in the minutes. Hearing none, he asked for approval of the minutes from 1/14 as sent. Connie Everhart so moved, Bud Petersen 2nd, the motion passed.
2. Treasurer's Report
Jeff asked Jake Will, Jr. to give the treasurer's report. Jake gave us a number of sheets and explained there were some updates due to bills that had come in late. He explained a net loss for the 2000 year of $5,992. Part of this was the unanticipated $1,800 for coordinators of the USTA programs. Another was the $500 cost of the web site. Jake talked us through some changes in the way that he is showing the proposed budget. He feels these changes will better explain why we should be getting the $2 increase in dues.  In addition to the previous mentioned costs, Jake said that it is likely that the GCTA may have to pay for a person to run the Area Qualifier. Also, the GCTA has allotted more money for the USTA District Adult qualifiers; this is up to $3,900. Jake feels that if we can keep expenses down, we should break even in 2001; but if all budgeted money is spent, we will be in the red again. It was asked why we were supporting the USTA District Adult qualifiers. It was explained that we have given money in the past to junior teams, just as we are doing with USTA District Adult teams. Jake was concerned that we might need a paid coordinator for the Men's League. Gary Alexander said that would not be the case, at least, while he is involved. Gary did say that there could be some higher expenses for the Men's Leagues due to an increase in the amount spent on trophies, but he does not foresee these as great expenses. Discussion continued about costs for Women's Leagues and the Area Qualifier. Jake continued to explain the updated balance sheet. He gave us our current financial standing. There is $335 in the checking account. The Flex Fund has $41,843. The Junior Fund has $4,972. The Mansfield Fund has $1,370. The Mutual Funds have $25,000 with the market value of $29,127. Jake said he would continue to monitor these funds. Gary moved that we accept Jake's treasurer's report, Callie Ryan seconded, and the motion passed.
3. Jr. Davis & Jr. Wightman Cup
No report at this time.
4. Women's Leagues
Callie Ryan shared that the Winter Tennis Kickoff Parties are scheduled for February 2nd and 10th at the Racquet Club. Shirley Neibauer and Terry Jones will be coordinating the parties. The Women's Leagues will be having organizational meetings and will be sending out information about the summer of 2001 season.
5. Men's Leagues
Gary Alexander said that the summer 2001 information will be sent out in April. There will be a captain's meeting. One of the things that will be discussed is the possibility of adding a 3.0 League. There could also be some changes in the Platinum League. These changes will only take place after discussion with the captains. Brooks Naffziger has suggested the addition of a league beyond Platinum. This would be an over 75 league. Gary said that there will be discussion about the use of a tie-break system in place of a 3rd set in the older age-groups. Harvey Beahm stated that this was used in his summer tournament and that it appears that the USTA would like this used more and more. Gary said it would only be used if the captains agreed. Callie Ryan added that the Women's League had discussed such a format. The response was overwhelming to not use a tie-break in lieu of a 3rd set. The feeling was that the Women's Leagues are not interested in making their matches go faster: they enjoy playing out the 3rd set. Gary again commented that he is looking for ways to upgrade the awards in the Men's Leagues.
6. USTA League
Deb Thallman shared that the USTA Winter Leagues are in progress. Deb said that Terry Jones plans on coordinating the USTA Summer Leagues.  Deb said she hoped that other divisions could  be added this summer to these USTA Leagues, especially in the area regarding seniors and mixed. The comment was made that the mixed leagues likely will grow if information is provided to the clubs in a timely manner so that the clubs can get their players rated and involved.  Callie Ryan asked if she should include information about the USTA Summer Leagues with the mailings for the GCTA Women's Leagues. It was the opinion of the GCTA Board that this would be fine. It was suggested that she OK it with the GCTA Women's League Board. There was a question as to whether the GCTA had been compensated by the USTA for these USTA Summer League teams. Jake said that he had received nothing as of this date. Deb said that she would check this. Harvey Beahm had a question as to the makeup or format of the USTA Leagues. It was explained what groups had been involved for the summer of 2000.
7. OVTA
Gary Alexander commented on the grants that are available. He said the grants have been significantly reduced. Hopefully it will not influence programs. Janet Craycraft shared that the GCTA got $500 from OVTA for our area's increase in USTA memberships. Janet said that the OVTA is looking for ads for the yearbook. These ads help pay the cost of printing the OVTA Yearbook. This  is a very important book for juniors and adults who play in USTA tournaments. Janet moved that the GCTA have a quarter page ad as we have done in the past. Connie Everhart seconded the motion. The motion passed. Deb Thallman said that she is still working in Columbus at the 1505 address on Bethel Road. The zip is still 43220.  The phone number is 442-9271. Dave Engel has taken over for Gwen Dulin and works out of his house in Springfield. His number is (937) 399-4835.
8. Umpires
Bud Petersen shared that an umpire workshop would be upcoming. Harvey Beahm made us aware of the passing of John Noble. Harvey shared many of the contributions that John had made to the game of tennis, especially in the central Ohio area. He suggested that an award at the awards ceremony next year would be appropriate. It was discussed and determined that this would be something that the Awards Committee would need to consider.
9. Parks and Recreation
Connie Everhart thanked us on behalf of the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department for our continued support to their tennis programs. Connie said they hope to run two tennis camps for the summer instead of one. There was great interest in last summer's camp; they had to turn away participants. Connie noted that Arnold Schwarzenegger's Inner City Games are coming to Columbus this summer. By "inner city," anything within the boundaries of the city of Columbus is considered, not just the inner city itself. Tennis is scheduled to be part of these games. The Columbus Recreation and Parks Department is looking at tennis court improvement. However, some courts may be done away with. These might be converted to basketball courts if it is felt that the tennis courts are not getting enough play. Some courts may be added. Some courts may be resurfaced. It is a hard sell to the Recreation Department to add or resurface tennis courts due to the costs involved. Connie asked if any of us were familiar with the amount of play that Casto Park receives. There are 4 courts there now. The question has come up: should they be fixed, should two of them be taken out? Connie said they are making a list and prioritizing the ones that need work. She asked that we let her know of our feelings as to which courts need improvements and/or need to be kept. It was quickly pointed out that the courts at the Park of Roses should be kept and improved. It is important to keep a large bank of courts in the city. This bank of courts if very useful in running tournaments. There are few large groups of courts around the city. It was noted that Carol Alexander did contact the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department on behalf of the GCTA. In a letter, she affirmed the GCTA's  support of tennis programs. She emphasized the importance of maintaining tennis courts. It was asked if Connie had gotten any feedback with regard to this letter. Connie stated that she had not at this point. Other courts and their conditions were discussed. Connie asked that if we are aware or get information on grants for court improvement that we let her know. She said that Recreation Department has applied for grants but that these have been equipment grants. Connie thanked Callie Ryan for the donation of items left from previous Women's League tournaments. These items are very useful as prizes and perks. If we have others items, let Connie know.  Connie concluded by saying that a new recreation center is to be built off of Lazelle Rd., north of I-270.
10. Area and District Qualifier
Janet Craycraft gave us background as to the ongoing problems of coordinating the Area Qualifier. This is a big, big job. The tournament takes up the month of May. In addition, there is much planning that goes into it before that time. Janet feels that a solution, to a degree, would be to get the local tennis clubs more involved.  She came up with this idea after talking to Jim Criswell at Olympic Swim and Racquet. It is hard to get one person to volunteer to do the whole Area Qualifier, but if we could get the clubs to do different divisions, it would be very helpful. Someone from the GCTA would still put the draws together. The clubs would administer. Jim Criswell offered his courts to be used. Janet has contacted the other indoor clubs and they have indicated they are willing to take an age group, but not for free. Janet said that we are presently charging each participant $22. If we raise the amount to $35 we will be able to cover the cost to run this tournament. $10 per participant would go to the GCTA, $25 per participant would go to the club. The club would buy balls, buy trophies, and, most importantly, run their age division of the tournament. Jeff Johnston said that $35 would not be out of line with other tournaments. The GCTA would still need a person to coordinate the sending of materials and the ordering of trophies; this would insure that the trophies would be universal. Janet suggested that we do away with the tee shirts. There was discussion and it was felt that tee shirts are not as important to participants as they once were. However, the fact that many of the divisions would not be played outdoors may cause a problem. The next level of these events is played outdoors. It was suggested that this might be a disadvantage to the players who play the local event indoors. It was pointed out that there is plenty of time to hit outdoors and that our events often go indoors because of weather. Having many of the divisions at indoor clubs would solve the weather problem. If the weather were bad, the play could be taken inside. It was thought that clubs with outdoor courts would likely schedule the event to be played outdoors as a money saver for the clubs. It could be mandated in the tournament rules that the event must be played on the outdoor courts where they are available. All in all, the discussion concluded that the issue of playing outdoors or indoors was not that significant. The discussion then turned to one of the clubs having people running the events who may not be qualified to do so. There are often problems with rules. There are problems dealing with some parents and players. It was suggested that there may be favoritism in this regard if the clubs are put in charge, especially if an inexperienced person is involved. However, it was pointed out that there would be a qualified umpire at each site. Also, there could be training and information sheets available to the clubs. If this issue was considered great enough, we could have coordinators at sites to oversee problems much the same as we have had in the past. Their responsibilities would be far less than what we have had for the one or two people running the whole event. Another possible problem that was discussed was that some of the sites are not conducive to having spectators watch matches. It was countered that there are presently locations that do not afford good spectating. It was suggested that one of the problems of the past years has been that we have catered too much to the players as far as trying to arrange times. One of the things that has caused this has been the lack of sites with a large number of courts. This has necessitated the playing of one match here, the next match there, and so forth. Robin Comfort said that unless there is one person that can run the tournament, it would be better to go with Janet's plan. There will still be problems with weather even if you get the one person to run it. The court conditions will be much better than what we have had to offer at many of the sites we have used.  The Park of Roses was sited as an example of how our sites have deteriorate. It was suggested that we try Janet's plan for this year and see what problems we have. If we need to change, we can do that next year. Even with this plan the GCTA needs to find the right person to be the general coordinator of the event and make the arrangements with the draws, umpires, and the clubs. This person would be compensated. Terry Jones might be a person to contact. If she is not interested, we will need to find someone else. A committee will be formed to work on this. Jeff Johnston, Harvey Beahm, and Gary Alexander said they would be willing to work with Janet. They would like to get the coordinator by the end of February.
11. USTA Junior Team Tennis
Shirley Neibauer explained that they were several months away from putting things together for this coming summer. However, she did note that she is thinking about adding a novice division to the divisions that already exist.
12. Champion of Champions
No report at this time.
13. Awards Ceremony
Janet Craycraft shared that the Awards Ceremony will most likely be held on September 23rd at the Upper Arlington Municipal Building. All this has not been confirmed at this time, but she plans to follow up on this. Callie Ryan noted that the people she had talked to commented on how well the event was run this last year. All thought that the ceremony had risen to a new level with regard to honoring those involved in tennis in the central Ohio area.
14. Wheelchair Tennis
No report at this time. However, Larry Hunter did e-mail Doug on Friday, the 19th of January with the following information: the PVA Buckeye Wheelchair Tennis Classic will be held at Upper Arlington High School this year. The dates are July 20th through the 22nd. He wrote that he had mailed 27 letters to various groups as potential fundraisers. He will have further information at the April 19th meeting. He was sorry to have missed our meeting on the 18th.
15. Old Business
Doug Snapp asked that people connected with the various divisions of our organization look at the related web pages on the web site and give him updated information. Be patient, but remind him if information does not get changed. Also, continue to think of ways that the web site can be utilized.
16. New Business
None.
17. Adjournment
Jeff asked for a motion of adjournment. Connie Everhart moved, Callie Ryan 2nd, the motion passed.
Respectfully submitted,
Doug Snapp
Corresponding Secretary
Next Meeting
Thursday, April 19, 2001 at the
Swim and Racquet Club on Kenny Road
Meeting time is 7:30 PM
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