Why? Because As any parent knows, while you always love your kids, at times young children can be very annoying. “Dad, why does this happen?” “Dad, why is it that….” “Dad, why do ……” “But why Dad?” Often in frustration after repeated questions of “why, why, why?” the answer becomes simply “Because.” “Because” is not a bad reason or explanation as to why something is the way it is. Using it as an answer is often conceding that one’s arguments may not be up to the rigors of scientific evaluation or that the explanation may take too much time to put forth. But just as frequently it is a reason that expresses a faith or a belief in a set of values and principles that are unexplainable but known to be “right” nonetheless. Last Spring, coupled with the knowledge that the 75th anniversary of the American Platform Tennis Association was soon upon us, I set out to find the answer to the basic question, “Why should platform tennis players join the APTA?” I was hoping to find the Holy Grail, the “one” reason that all could agree was “the” reason why players should join and support the APTA. In the process of my enlightenment endeavor, I had the pleasure of chatting with many current and former members of the APTA Board of Directors, present and past officers, Hall of Fame inductees, and players - both members and non-members. Almost to a person the first answer given was, you join to get Platform Tennis Magazine. When pointed out that one can purchase a subscription without being an APTA member, there usually is some hesitation. Then there is discussion about the availability of instructional articles in PTM. I would suspect that from a general player’s perspective the instructional articles are one of the most given reasons for reading the magazine; active players are always seeking to improve their game and the articles in PTM deliver. That said in this day of rapidly changing technology, there are other sources of instruction available besides print media. There is the availability of “YouTube” type videos on the web produced by the APTA, and others by the PPTA (Professional Platform Tennis Association, an organization of the sport’s teaching professionals, www.pptausa.com ); there is a central “electronic warehouse” of instruction on the web at PaddlePro (www.paddlepro.com/tips/index.shtml ); there are DVDs such as The Ultimate Experience, Volume 1 Fundamentals (www.theuedvd.com ) and VCR tapes produced by Green Mountain and Reilly Platform (www.platformtennis.com ). The uniqueness of printed instruction is becoming less and less. The second most expressed reason to join is the ability to play APTA sanctioned tournaments. My guess is that for five hundred or so of the very top players who seek rankings that may be the main reason for membership. But for the average player, who may or may not play in a weekly league, playing tournaments outside of their club is not even a consideration. Another reason cited for the importance of APTA membership is rule consistency. If there were no governing body, there would not be consistency in the rules and equipment specifications. One only has to look at the sport of paddle tennis where there is no vibrant national governing body to see the importance of rule consistency. In the world of paddle tennis, you have some rules (the bucket rule in particular) that are used on the West coast and other rules used on the East coast. In my search to the elusive single reason as to “why?”, the following reasons were also cited. Without the APTA the sport would not thrive and grow. Without the APTA there would be no central repository to retain the history of the sport. Without membership there would be no access to the APTA’s eblast Net News. Without the APTA there would be no exhibition tour bringing top pros to future growth areas. Without the APTA there would be no Hall of Fame. Finally, Bob Brown, former president of the APTA and Hall of Fame member, believes that APTA membership offers the ability to give back to a sport that one loves and also offers the opportunity to help, serve and support the platform community. Let’s face it, many members join because they are required to if they want to play in leagues. Often times, the APTA dues are rolled right into the league dues so some league players don’t even know they are members of the APTA. Some leagues don’t promote the APTA membership benefit; it just comes with being a league member. To be frank, none of the reasons cited above in and of themselves make the compelling single argument to join the APTA. The PTM is a great magazine but admittedly some of the content is available on the APTA’s own website and the Internet in general for free. Tournaments are great, but the reality is most players never play in an APTA sanctioned event preferring to limit themselves to their club or local offerings. Yes, rule consistency is important, but let’s face it the rules of platform tennis are for the most part already established and it’s been almost ten years since the last major rule change occurred: the no let serve. This still begs the question, “Why should players join the APTA?” The bottom line is as I see it if there were a multiple choice question regarding membership, there would have to be an answer that was “all of the above”. There are lots of different reasons and benefits to APTA membership and when put together, they provide a very strong rationale for joining. If one is looking for the one, single, overwhelming reason to join the APTA as I was it can only be “Because” and that to me is one very, very powerful reason. To become an APTA member or to find out more about APTA membership, click this on this link: https://thriva.activenetwork.com/Reg4/(S(u3y0wx55ovpglu55d0dwel45))/Form.aspx?regkey=RpYOYPxE378wNjTYCkFkMw%3d%3d or contact the APTA at APTA@platformtennis.org what do you think? let me know! info@platformtennisnews.com |
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