MY SERVE
AD IN (+) DEUCE (=) AD OUT (-)

A REVIEW OF PLATFORM TENNIS MAGAZINE VOL. 8 ISSUE 1

AD IN – The first issue of the season had a more readable presentation. This is the first issue ever published in which the articles were not overshadowed by the background color on the page and the graphics.

AD OUT – Too many small errors. For example, Fred Gumbinner is indicated as Region III President in the “On The Cover”, page 3 and not listed in the Board of Directors on Page 5 nor on page 7. He is leader of the fund raising program on page 9 where he is listed as Region I President.

DEUCE – “APTA Annual Meeting Recap” had a hit and a miss. The writer and Board Secretary, Taylor Bowen, did a solid job of presenting many actions of the Board, earning the (+). It seems, however, that two changes in the Rules, reported on the web site, paddlepro.com, were overlooked, getting the (-).

AD OUT – Lack of advertising outside of the sport. In his “From the Publisher” column, Wayne Dollard relates when “Platform Tennis Magazine” was conceived in 1999. He overlooks all the promises he made to the APTA Board of Directors at that time of how the magazine would prosper by getting advertising dollars from national accounts.

AD OUT – In “Senior Scene”, the year-end ranking shows a Men’s. 75+. Some of the players will have gained a few years of age that they will not appreciate. The Championship was a 145+ and several of the participants were under 70.

AD IN – The issue has several excellent articles. The answer by Chris Gambino to the change from tennis in the summer to platform in the fall/winter was simple, direct and easy to put into action. The column title, “Ask the Paddle Advisor”, however, could be improved to stimulate attention.

AD IN – Tips for a successful Junior program. Brief articles by Lindsay Cheris and Bill Dollard should encourage every community to increase its efforts to implement junior platform tennis.

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