$5 MEMBERSHIPS I was in the hospital recently and I got to thinking about APTA memberships and their cost. Well, actually, I got to think about what a membership is worth. I came up with a figure of $5.00. Before everyone jumps on me, I am not picking this number out of the sky. There’s actually a convoluted logic to my theory. “Explain?” you may ask. Well, this is how I look at it. About three quarters of the APTA members come from leagues. Many, if not most, of these leagues pay $25.00 per year per player to the APTA to show their support for the APTA and the sport, and to be designated as an APTA member for a year. For this membership fee the APTA offers benefits: the ability to play in APTA sanctioned tournaments; the ability to be nationally ranked; the ability to be a national champion; and a one year subscription to Platform Tennis Magazine. Based on my very unscientific review of tournament play over the years, for many, if not most players I am pretty certain that the majority of league members never play in any APTA sanctioned tournament or seek national rankings or championships. Therefore, the subscription to PTM is the single most visible and tangible benefit of APTA membership that most league players see. (Yes, I know the APTA has a website. Yes, I know only APTA members with email addresses get Net News emailed to them regularly. But all the information in Net News is on the website and a player doesn’t need to be an APTA member to access PlatformTennis.org) So, what’s a subscription to PTM worth? Twenty dollars. Anyone, APTA member or not, league player or not, can purchase a year subscription to Platform Tennis Magazine online at PTMOnLine or PaddlePro.com for $20. Therefore by my calculations an APTA membership is worth $5.00. Twenty five dollar league payment minus the twenty dollar subscription costs yields five dollars. I have to tell you I think the APTA is selling itself too cheap. what do you think? let me know! info@platformtennisnews.com |
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