League News

All,

There is some exciting news to share with all of you.

• The 2011 Nationals will be held in Chicago and use most all courts (not sure yet if they will reach out to Glen Ellyn). 550 players are expected. Save the dates March 10-13 on your calendars to either play or volunteer or watch!
• The Men’s Series Tournament will be held Jan 15-16. Save those dates as this is a must for anybody Series 4-21.
• The Chicago Charities Tournament will be held November 5-7. This is open to all players and is a national ranking tournament (NRT)
• The topic came up again (it does every year) about splitting the league into North and South to limit the length and qty of travel. Eventually this will happen, we just need more courts in the South. Next year we know GE is adding 2 more, Midtown is adding 3, Hinsdale PD is adding 2. There will be others and they expect the League to keep growing by 20 teams each year. Their best guess is 3 years from now we will have North and South divisions.
• For Glen Ellyn League play this year all the Hinsdale clubs have agreed to split the hosting of their matches with Glen Ellyn and this will show up on the schedule! We will have to reserve the courts for those nights in advance with the Park District. If it is a conflict we can always switch dates with the Hinsdale Club.
• Here’s some real big news. They have finally agreed to do it! After this year, the nights will begin to rotate clockwise. Series 3,6,9,12,etc…will move from Thursday nights to Tuesday nights, Series 1,4,7,etc will move from Wednesday to Thursday, and Series 2,5,8,etc will move from Tuesday to Wednesday. Each year they will rotate 1 night clockwise.
• Lastly, the Pros have been instructed to watch for foot faults. 90% of those who foot fault don’t know that they are doing it. The other 10% just get to net really fast! They are not going to penalize anybody and ruin anybody’s night, just make guys aware of the facts. (NRTs will have officiating during the later rounds, not the Series Tournament)

The season begins October 6^th or 7^th. Priority is given to returning players, players coming off injury, Glen Ellyn residents, and those who paid their dues. There should be plenty of new roster spots available and opportunities to play in a league match. The Captains will be organizing their rosters between now and the start of the season. There is plenty of time to get involved, time to practice, and meet the guys. The season continues through March (18 matches in total, then 2 weeks of playoffs). Please reach out to any of us so we can help you get involved.

Series 3 – Thursdays – Chuck Smith, 312-307-4612

Series 6 – Thursdays – Larry Page, 630-660-4485

Series 9 – Thursdays – Rick Bush, 847-812-1396

Series 13 – Wednesdays – Tim Vesevick, 630-362-2132

Series 16 – Wednesdays – Dan Iverson, 630-779-2246

• Dues this year for all League play is $200 per player. This includes league dues, $25 GEPTC dues, courts, food, and beverages. Any remaining balance goes to the fund the new courts and hut. Players only will have to pay dues if they play in 4 league matches or more. Otherwise, they only have to pay the $25 dues to the GEPTC which gets you on the roster, available to play and sub, an APTA membership (when you provide a valid email and address to your Captain), and you will receive Platform Tennis magazine (6 issues).

So, if you have not already been in contact with a Captain, please do so immediately. This Sunday, we will be sending out the rosters for each Series team. Being on a roster means you will have an opportunity to play, not a guarantee to play each week. The Captains will do their best to involve everybody over the season. We hope to have the League schedule available on the league website this weekend, which is…

http://cptc.reveregroup.com

I will send more info about the league website, rosters, guidelines, and rules to each Captain to distribute to his team next week.

Finally, the spirit of this league is about Sportsmanship and a fun Men’s night out! Competition will happen naturally, but please remember it is just paddle!

Regards from the corner,

Chuck

Dual Use Facility at Mary Knoll Park- Draft

Project Update

Many of you have asked us where are we at? We have received pledges for $33,700 to date. All different levels of contribution are being pledged, from $100 on up, it all matters as we get closer to our goal of $50,000. Please keep in mind, that your donation is a 2 for 1 match, turning a pledge of $500 into $1500 for your club. Maybe your employer will match your pledge? It is tax a deductible 501 (c) (3) and you will receive a letter for tax purposes.

Save Sept the 18^th and come on out to the courts for the GEPD Paddle Social.

Save Tuesday Sept the 21^st to attend the GEPD Board Meeting.

Be sure to sign up at he Park District ASAP for your yearly membership!

On the Park District agenda for September 21st

The GEPTC will be requesting approval from the Park District Commissioners for the plan outlined below at the September 21st meeting. Please come out and support our efforts to create a unique partnership between the GEPTC and GEPD for betterment of our community.
We are overall 60% of the way to reaching our goal of $50,000 to be matched 2 for 1 and then donated to the project for a multi-use facility (Safety Village class room and Platform Tennis warming/ viewing) and 2 additional courts (at a major discount).

Exciting Times!

We have some exciting news to share with you. We are very close to achieving our goal of a four court platform tennis facility. Thanks to the efforts of many on this list, the Glen Ellyn Park District (GEPD) will acquire two new platform tennis courts and begin construction on a new warming/viewing hut this year with your help. This building will also be used by the Safety Village in the summer months and will be positioned between the four courts. Let me explain how we got here:

Some of you on this list were involved in Glen Ellyn Platform Tennis from it’s infancy in 2005 and some of you may be just getting involved this year. We will all benefit from this. In January ’09 a group of enthusiasts from 2005 volunteered to form the Glen Ellyn Platform Tennis Club (GEPTC). It’s purpose to promote this sport in Glen Ellyn; to work in conjunction with the GEPD; to develop Men’s, Women’s, and Junior Programs; and to raise funds through donations, dues and league fees to be used for local tournaments and to cover a portion of the costs of a new, permanent warming/viewing hut and at least 2 additional courts. Platform tennis is a social, family, and community activity that requires this type of facility. The warming/viewing hut will be multipurpose and be used by the Safety Village in the summer months.

Scope of Project:

2 NEW Premier Platform Tennis courts - $116,000 installed. (A special one-time offer due to Chicago hosting the APTA National 2010-2011 Tournament saving us $25,000)

Platform Tennis/Safety Village warming/viewing hut – approximately $200,000

Fundraising:

Our immediate goal is $50,000 and will be matched 2 for 1 by various charitable sources up to $100,000.

The GEPD will contribute $50,000 that is included in the 2010 budget.

The GEPTC will shall secure a (3) year commercial loan of up to $150,000 to cover the remaining balance of the project. The GEPD will pay the principal balance due at the end of the (3) year load period

We are asking for an immediate pledge in the form of a check made payable to the Glen Ellyn Parks Foundation and sent to Scott Park at 693 N. Park Blvd. This is a 501(c)(3) tax deductable contribution registered with the IRS and the State of Illinois. This check will NOT be cashed until the full $50,000 is raised and the agreement with the GEPD is finalized by a formal vote. If we fall short of our efforts or the GEPD Board has a sudden change of heart, then all monies shall be returned.

Contribution Levels *:

SILVER: $100 - $499

GOLD: $500 - $1499

PLATINUM: $1500 +

*All donors shall be recognized with their names on a plaque to be mounted proudly inside the hut. If you wish your contribution to be in the honor or memory of someone, or simply to remain anonymous, please let us know.

This is URGENT as we would like to report our successful efforts to the GEPD Board on September 21 so we can proceed to order 2 courts to be installed this year and begin work on the foundation for the warming/viewing hut.

Current Pledges to date:

Chuck/Susan Smith – Platinum

Patrick/Camey Walker - Platinum

Scott/Alison Park - Platinum

Ryan/Shawn Snyder - Platinum

GEPTC Board

Chuck Smith - President

Marty Engel - Vice President

Scott Park - Treasurer

Scott Power – Secretary - Legal Counsel

Patrick Walker - Program Development

We will be sending information separately about nominations for new GEPTC Board members this fall.

We could use some fresh ideas, passion, and energy, not to mention legal and accounting advice.

If you are interested let us know.

If there are specific reasons why you cannot support this effort other than financial please let us know.

As your Board...Thank you.