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Minutes From the Febuary 2004 General Meeting February 18, 2004 Pelham Civic Center Kelly Buck called the meeting to order. After a welcome, all officers and coordinators were introduced. Mrs. Buck asked that anyone with an interest in serving on the Softcourt board should contact her for more information. Secretary Kim Rogers called the roll. All clubs were represented. It was moved and seconded that the minutes of the last meeting be approved as written and the reading of said minutes be dispensed with. The motion carried. Linda James gave the Treasurer's report. It was reported that since our last meeting there had been deposits of $11,874.00 and debits of $18,067.79. The current balance is $2,757.14. The Fall, 2003 season winners were announced and received prizes of a folding chair and bag tag (1st place) and travel coffee mug (2nd place). Kevin Theos, Executive Director of BATA reported on the organization's recent activities. BATA has received a grant from the USTA to introduce more young people to tennis. With the grant money, BATA was able to send equipment and instructors to elementary schools, working with the school's PE teachers. Mr. Theos announced that 7 schools participated in the program last year, and this year's goal is 20 schools. An upcoming event is a skills competition for elementary aged children to be held on April 17, 2004. Volunteers are needed and information on both the special event and the school-based program is available. Debbie Atchley announced that directories were in the lobby for pickup by club representatives. She noted that we now have listed e-mail addresses for officers and coordinators. For corrections, it was suggested that members contact their club reps. All club reps are sent a list of their club players for corrections prior to the printing of the directory. It is the club rep's responsibility to make corrections and e-mail them to Mrs. Atchley. Mrs. Atchley was thanked for her hard work and congratulated on a job well done. Mary Kay Pickering announced that all rosters were received in a timely manner. Currently, 24 clubs field a total of 150 teams, made up of 1221 players! Of the 150 teams, it was noted that 45 of them play on Tuesdays -- making scheduling something of a challenge. Packets were prepared for all officers, coordinators, and captains of each team. A roster packet was prepared for each club rep, and it was suggested that these rosters be placed in a binder and left with the club for reference by players when needed. Kelly Buck asked that the level coordinators and club reps and captains please pay special attention to the letter included in the packets. Some procedures have changed based on the web site use, and these changes are highlighted in the letter. Susie Barnes gave an update on the Softcourt web site. Mrs. Barnes thanked everyone for her patience and support of the web site in its first season of use. She announced that after this season, club reps and captains would no longer receive team rosters. This will eliminate paper usage and all of the information is readily available on the web site. Mrs. Barnes went over the procedures used to build a team and strength roster on line. All strength rosters are to be finalized at midnight on the Sunday before level play begins. After this time, no changes are to be made in the strength roster, without special permission by the level coordinator. She also reminded team captains to have a copy of the team's strength roster available for each match. Mrs. Barnes noted that each Softcourt player has a Softcourt ID number. Players can log onto the web site using this number to check their information. Changing club affiliation will not affect this Softcourt ID number. Remember that only the player can change her club affiliation -- a captain or club rep cannot. Mrs. Barnes discussed how new players are to be added to a team. If the new player is not listed on the web site, please contact an officer or coordinator. The player's name, club affiliation, address and phone number are required in order to add her to the web site. At the completion of a match, either captain can enter a match score, however the home team is ultimately responsible and will receive a phone call from the coordinator if the match score is not reported and confirmed in a timely manner. Currently, captains cannot view strength rosters for other teams. Captains are required to present the strength roster to the opposing captain on match day. Discussion followed on the pros and cons of opening up the strength roster information on the web site after it is finalized. Kelly Buck suggested that club reps talk to their pros and players about this issue for later discussion. Janice Langston spoke on the relationship of captains and level coordinators. Captains should make sure that they have the phone number and e-mail address of their coordinator and vice versa. Captains should record and confirm match scores in the allotted period of time. Captains should not immediately put a match in dispute if a question arises -- call the opposing captain first. Captains should reschedule matches promptly and let the coordinator know the date of the rescheduled match. Mrs. Buck reminded captains that all matches should be rescheduled within 2 weeks if possible and all matches are to be completed within 10 days from the last match of the season. Before calling the level coordinator to add a new player, captains should have all required information. Mrs. Langston also reminded captains that any money paid to Softcourt for a player stands and cannot be refunded or assigned to another player in the event that the original player does not play. Kelly Buck reminded teams that pictures of season winners can be posted on the web site. She also emphasized that the strength roster presented to the opposing captain on match day should be computer generated -- printed directly from the Softcourt web site. If captains cannot agree that a team's line-up is correct, the level coordinator should be called. Coordinators need to be cell or home phone accessible on match day. If a coordinator is unavailable on a match day, she should arrange to have another coordinator or officer on call and let the captains know in advance. Captains were advised to use e-mail if at all possible to contact officers and coordinators. Officers and coordinators will respond within 24 hours. Mrs. Buck reminded everyone to read the rules of Softcourt thoroughly and to call the coordinators with any questions. Remember that no cell phones are allowed on the court for any reason. Mrs. Buck explained the procedure used if sets are taken away from a team. If a coordinator sees a mistake in a lineup, she calls both captains and collects information from both sides. The coordinator then contacts the President. The President presents the issue to the Executive Board. The issue is discussed like a protest. The Executive Board then votes to take sets away or let them stand. Susan Fillippini questioned the practice of "layering" strength rosters. Softcourt rules allow for multiple players to be listed at each position on the strength roster. This may give larger teams more flexibility and thus an advantage over smaller teams. It was suggested that captains let the level coordinator know if sandbagging is suspected. Coordinators will also be looking for positions that consistently win by large margins to determine if the strength roster has been incorrectly used. Mrs. Buck announced that Softcourt needs to file for tax-exempt status as a non-profit organization. We would like to have accounting and legal fees donated or done for a reduced fee. Please let her know of anyone willing to perform these services. Mrs. Buck asked for any questions or further discussion on any issue of interest. A question was asked concerning how strict the start time for singles should be. Mrs. Buck stated that Softcourt rules state the after 15 minutes, 1 set is defaulted and after 30 minutes, 2 sets are defaulted. She further stated that it is the prerogative of the captain whether to take the sets. She suggested that captains use their best judgment, based on the situation. There being no further discussion, Mrs. Buck presented Susie Barnes with a bag tag, commemorating her Softcourt presidency. Door Prizes (folding chairs) were awarded to Nancy Majors, Margaret Rice and Judy Murchison. "When all the dust has settled and all the crowds have gone, the things that matter are faith, family and friends." Barbara Bush With no other business, the meeting adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Kim Rogers, Secretary |