USTA Tennessee 2016 Annual Meeting Committee Meeting Minutes

USTA Tennessee 2016 Annual Meeting Committee Meeting Minutes Adult League - pg. 2 Adult Competition- pg. 3-4 Community Development - pg. 5-7 Grievance pg. 7-8 Junior Comp - pg. 9-10 Junior Team Tennis - pg. 10-11 Youth Play- pg. 11-12 Page 1

Adult League Committee Annual Committee Report January 30, 2016 1. Cheryl Thompson called meeting to order and Roll call 2. Present members: Barbara Hooper, Paul Fultz, Pam Sneed, Charla Patrick Cheryl Thompson, Cayce Neal, Jeanne Jones, Elizabeth Walker 3. Approved meeting minutes 4. Present committee members introduced selves 5. Cheryl requested committee have 48 hour turn around on any voting requests for rules etc. 6. Mission statement for adult league committee and description read by Cheryl, copies given to committee members 7. Bill McGugin reported on the TTA Vision for Leagues 8. Tracy Davies gave an overview for the leagues for 2016. Wants to decide on 1-3 initiatives that committee wants to achieve in upcoming year. 9. Charla Patrick presented 2016 rule changes, 2015 ESl and metric and participation 10. Discussed why Mixed league was done in participation. Will talk regarding this in the future 11. Cheryl says she plans quarterly phone conference meetings to improve committee function and results Open Forum Much talk about one team per level leagues in cities and lack of advancement due to State rules. Barbara Hooper and Cayce Neal volunteered to submit an idea for a qualifying tournament for these one team level leagues. ALC will establish a calendar for LLC with a timetable Further discussion for the role of the ALC in state championships ALC will work on guidelines for LLC s and CTA s regarding Leagues and relationships between the two organizations. Page 2

Adult Competition Committee Meeting Minutes Friday, January 29, 2016 ATTENDING: Nancy Vineyard, Chair, Pat Evans, Jan Goodsell, Shelley Knight, Mike Parker, Tiffany Saunders, Isabelle Snyder and John Morris, USTA TN Director of Adult Tennis. Absent: William Taylor. Also attending: Jim Flanagan and Deanna Garretson (Executive Director, Arkansas). The meeting was called to order. Committee members introduced themselves. Nancy and John recommended that the name of the Adult Competition Committee be changed to Adult Tournament Committee to be more aligned with the USTA Southern Committee structure. The Committee agreed una nimously. RESPONSIBILITIES OF ADULT TOURNAMENT COMMITTEE: (See attached.) John presented a brief review of tournament statistics to the committee. The committee discussed challenges to increasing tournament participation. Compete with leagues for dates Many players do not want to take time off work for the 3-day tournament format. It was suggested that tournaments should start on Saturday instead of Friday with finals Monday so fewer players would have to miss work. Players in age division tournaments prefer to play only 1singles match per day. SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVING TOURNAMENT PARTICIPATION: Mike Parker (Chattanooga) suggested that Tennessee hold a tournament using the Southern Senior Cup format for 4-5 major areas (Bristol, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Memphis and Nashville) in Tennessee. Mike, Nancy, Isabelle and Jim Flanagan agreed to serve on a subcommittee to explore interest in this proposal. The subcommittee would develop a format for the tournament and make a proposal to the committee. NTRP Tournaments: There is a need to create a motivation for NTRP players to participate in tournaments: Social media promotions of winners Create an event where two top finishers in each NTRP division compete for the state title. USTA Southern NTRP Sectional Invitational being planned for November 2016. Players would be required to play State and local NTRP tournaments to Page 3

qualify for invitation. Chris Walling at Southern has drafted a flyer for distribution to NTRP tournament directors for use in promoting local and state events. John discussed the recent tournament series held in Nashville. Competition consisted of four Friday night sessions- three hours in length. Cumulative points determined an overall winner who received tickets to a day at the Memphis Open. The tournament was not sanctioned. A $20 set fee was charged. Deanna Garretson, Executive Director/Arkansas, attended our meeting. She said Arkansas has had great participation in their 70s and 80s team tournament which will be held April 27-May 1. Also, she encouraged 1-day events. TOURNAMENT RULES AND REGULATIONS/POINTS SYSTEM: Review TN points while playing out of state tournaments. (John agreed to follow up regarding current method of determining these points.) Define criteria to assign points level for tournaments in state. It was felt that tournament participation could be encouraged by a change in the number of points accumulated to determine an NTRP ranking from the Current 3 points to 5. Isabelle made a motion that for age division and NTRP tournaments, the top 5 points accumulated in a year shall count toward ranking (instead of the current 3 points). Shelley seconded. Vote was unanimous. 2016 GOALS: Support the promotion and growth of adult and senior NTRP and agelevel tournament participation Explore traditional and non-traditional venues for tournament participation Review and rewrite rules and regulations. John will review and make suggestions for committee approval. Support USTA Southern NTRP Invitational Championships proposed to be held in Memphis The committee will communicate by email and conference calls over the next six months or as required until such time as we determine the need for another meeting. Page 4

Community Development Committee Meeting Minutes Saturday, January 30 th, 2016 10:00 a.m.-12:00p.m. Present Laura Huss Chairperson; Megan Jakoby 2016 Incoming Staff Liaison; Tara Williams Outgoing Staff Liaison; Nancy Hixson; Shelley Knight; Thom Druffel; Jennifer Magee; Linda Swope; Julie Wishing; Brant Donlon Call to Order 10:05 a.m. Roll Call o New Chair Laura Huss o Meeting Note Taker - Nancy Hixson o Members for 2016-17 Linda Swope, Nancy Hixson, Brant Donlon, Jennifer Magee, Thom Druffel, Megan Jakoby (Staff Liaison) o Awards and Special Events Sub-Committee Members for 2016-17 Julie Wishing, Shelley Knight, Brandt Donlon, Megan Jakoby (Staff Liaison) Brief Introductions by all present, including why serving on committee and what each would like to see in Tennessee or local community Development of Committee Statements [Laura Huss] o New mission statement as a committee: To support our local efforts across our state both to grow the game and to use tennis as an instrument for mentoring and community building. o New vision statement as a committee: We will assist in promoting and bringing awareness to all programs that are being offered at the local level by CTAs and NJTL chapters. We will actively foster efforts by associations who serve under-resourced youth and who provide adaptive tennis and military programs. We will be actively engaged in the strengthening of our tennis communities and maximize opportunities for their citizens. Approval of Minutes from January 31, 2015 Meeting o Julie Wishing made motion to approve minutes and Thom Druffel seconded the minutes were approved by the committee 2015 Review [Current Staff Liaison, Tara Williams] o 2015 Recap Community Development Committee started off strong in 2015 but lost momentum during the year. 2016 goal will be to develop a more working committee, with more staff communication on a regular basis, plus scheduled and attended conference calls with goals updated throughout the year. Be in communication and be active. o CTA Deskbook (Task Force: Linda Swope, Julie Wishing) - Completed (Available Digitally on Website and CTA Dropbox) To be updated by new Staff Liaison, Megan Jakoby, in early 2016. In 2015, Tara accumulated information for the CTA Desk Book, along with creating an administrative and programming calendar that is completed and available in a digital format to all CTA s online. o Renaming of Committee and Sub-Committee Community Development Committee to Community Outreach Committee Awards Sub-Committee to Awards & Special Events Sub-Committee Role of committee defined and 2016 goals set o Review of the 2015 Goals set by and voted on by Committee as focus of 2015 efforts [Tara Williams] NJTL s identifying current programs and adding programs to new areas. Laura reported that a NJTL Buddy System has been developed as part of her role serving on USTA Southern NJTL Task Force and will be rolled out in first quarter. Page 5

Military Initiative Take tennis to VA hospitals, non-profits, etc, utilizing new national initiative to make new relationships easier. Carrying forward this goal for 2016. What s Next Kit for brand new CTA s and CTA s transitioning into new boards; Linda Swope will update on the admin and league side, with goal of making accessible to state office and new CTA's. Megan Jakoby will make needed 2016 updates. o Review of Additional 2015 Initiatives and their progress [Tara Williams] Promote and market Tennis on Campus on a local level through JTT and JTT Championships. Continue efforts in 2016. Shelley Knight will spearhead efforts, as a vice-chair for USTA National TOC Education for CTAs set up quarterly conference calls to discuss any questions that CTA s may have and upcoming opportunities. Staff Liaison Megan Jakoby will coordinate efforts for 2016. Each member to make three local connections (including media/newspaper, community center and one additional (such as local business, corporation, charitable organization) in effort to partner for an event. Communicate progress to Megan. Monthly CTA electronic newsletter was sent out by Tara with current and relevant content using Constant Contact. Megan will continue to send in 2016. CGPG process - will continue the CGPG application process for all CTA's, including communication on the grant that starts in spring, however strategic plans and goals should go ahead and be set for 2016. Tara Williams worked closely with the CTA's that chose to partake in the 2016 process. She reported that there were 10 CTA's that submitted grant applications: Chattanooga, Clarksville, Cookeville, Greater Knoxville, Greene County, Jackson, Memphis, META, Murfreesboro, Tennis Nashville. All grants were successfully submitted to Southern, and CTA's who will receive $300 in lieu of filling out their CGPG Grant are NW Racquet Club, Shelbyville, Wilson County and Tellico Lakes. All four of these CTA's run at least one USTA program in their local community. Grants - communications from the state office to continue, with individual CTA's regarding grant information and support Additional Community Development updates from Tara - The Community Development Workshop for the CTA's of Tennessee will be held during the 2016 Annual Meeting on January 29th and 30th. In 2015, two areas had Local Community Coordinators that were hired by CTA's - Coleen Davis in Chattanooga and Laura Huss in Memphis. Nashville (through USTA TN) hired a Community Coordinator - Kim Wilson - who starts in January 2016. Tara reported that having a community coordinator in the major cities in Tennessee could play a very vital role in the growth of tennis in our state. USTA TN would like to see community coordinators hired for GKTA and in the Upper East. Discussion of prior year's goal - development of facility recognition program; focus shifted to updated goals for 2016 Three Goals for the 2016 Community Outreach Committee [see member list above] o Continue efforts of 2015 Goal to help promote and bring awareness to programs that are being offered by CTA's on a local level (Task Force: Linda Swope, Julie Wishing). Make appropriate 2016 update's to Tara's CTA Handbook [Megan Jakoby]. Linda Swope will assist from admin side and league side. o Continue work on NJTL, identifying programs and adding to new areas (Task Force: Laura Huss) Reference the national Start System for NJTL. Identify community centers that are providing USTA programs and make them aware of funding and grants available to them through NJTL. o Reach out to local VA / Military and/or layer with a new or existing event, partnering with outreach effort, philanthropy or non-profit partner Page 6

Three Goals for the 2016 Awards & Special Events Sub-Committee [see member list above] o WWDoP Promotions and Execution in Local Areas - Committee will coordinate with state office on goals of WWDoP, including date selections. Goal to pair with local sport seasons (example, soccer) to cross-promote. Confirm whether or not Nickelodeon will be sponsor. Work with staff liaison Megan Jakoby on promotions and marketing. o Increased involvement in awards process and in Annual USTA TN Awards luncheon - Committee will assist the Community Development Staff person in the awareness, selections and distribution of the 2016 Annual Award Winners, also during the 2017 annual meeting. Throughout the year, the committee will assist as asked by state to help promote and bring awareness to special events in local areas, along with attendance at some of those events to bring awareness to USTA. o Community Goal - review award categories locally; review current list of awards and make recommendations on enhancements; increase efforts to promote local awards prior to state. Schedule for Next Meetings and Conference Calls o With chair, staff and members, hold quarterly conference calls o Each committee member is to review their sub-committee and task force goals and send summaries to chair via email by February 24th, 2016 (including local awards review), memphisjrtennis@gmail.com (assign members to task forces for individual committee goals) o First conference call will be at 12:00 p.m. CST on March 1st, 2016 Meeting Adjourned at 11:40 a.m. Grievance Committee Meeting Minutes January 30, 2016 Attendees: Tiffany Saunders (chair), Kyle Blackburn, Jeanne Jones, Kevin Miller, Lane Williams, Paul Malone (staff liaison) Meeting called to order at 2:00pm 1. Introductions & USTA TN background Each committee member gave a description of their background and experience with USTA, tennis and grievances/mediation. Paul gave a brief synopsis of USTA Tennessee s path as an organization in recent years. 2. Discussion of policy The committee discussed the overall process of receiving and processing a grievance: i. Individual files grievance and submits to Committee Chair, c/o USTA TN Exec. Director ii. Chair determines whether grievance was filed within 30 days of alleged violation, or in the case of discovery of falsified info, within 30 days of the date of discovery. If no, dismiss; if yes, proceed. iii. Chair determines whether grievance concerns JTT or League issue. If yes, dismiss and redirect to proper committee; if no, proceed. Page 7

iv. Chair sends grievance to committee to determine whether a violation occurred. If committee unanimously determines no violation occurred or it cannot be substantiated, dismissed; if yes, Chair mails accused party copy of grievance and allows the subject of the grievance 20 days to furnish a written response v. Chair sets up date and time for committee to convene and deliberate, and notify involved parties of committee s findings and any penalties applied vi. Appeals will be heard by Board of Directors or appointed sub-committee who will then prepare a written decision which will be considered final and binding. 3. Other discussion- Review of various actions the grievance committee can take against an offending party, according to the Grievance Policy. The committee s desire to adopt a standard grievance report form- Tiff will look into what Southern and National have in place to use as a guide and will get back with the committee with her findings. Option to instate a grievance filing fee- some CTAs and other states have a grievance filing fee to deter aggrieved parties who may be less than serious about their claims. The committee informally determined that it would wait to see what sort of response it gets in the coming months and if necessary, will revisit instituting a non-refundable grievance filing fee. Such a change to the policy would require a vote of the Board of Directors to amend the existing Grievance Policy. The Grievance Policy requires that a Vice Chairperson be appointed to support the Chair as she sees fit. Jeanne Jones was asked to step in to the position and graciously accepted. Meeting adjourned at 3:00. No future formal meetings were scheduled at this time. Action Items: Paul to send each committee member 2016 Friend at Courts once they arrive. Tiff to look into developing a standardized grievance report form. Paul to send Tiff samples of past grievances to distribute to the committee. Page 8

January 30, 2016 Junior Competition Committee Meeting Minutes Attendees: Michael Chamberlain (chair), Scott Patrick, Andy Veal, Aaron Browning, Andrew Rogers, David Poole National Update given by Michael Chamberlain Discussion of new tournament structure including return of Nat l Indoors Level 3 bids College scoring to be used at Nat l team events National quotas were handed out and mentioned Noted to send out Nat l L3 bids again Southern Update given by Michael Chamberlain Southern quotas, membership, and other figures handed out and discussed Mention of 4 Wild Cards offered for Southern Closed Mention of 11U Green ball adjustment Computerized seeding calculator now being used for STA L1-L2 Ted Reese, USTA Southern Board Member, gave an update on Youth Progression Noted that we would like to add an additional STA L3 to the state USTA TN Update given by Tyler Strong Annual Committee Report read to the committee Discussion led by Michael Chamberlain TD Rating system was proposed to the committee Amendments were suggested and requests were made to change wording. This will go back to the committee for approval. Endorsement policy was discussed, voted on, and approved unanimously by the committee (motion made by Scott, seconded by Andy) o #1-40 National ranking are eligible for waiver o #1-10 Southern ranking are eligible for waiver o Player may only apply for injury waiver, with doctor s note, twice in junior career (noted to clearly state that injured players may apply for waiver and are not automatically endorsed) Noted to make these policies transparent to junior parents Entry Fees for Entry Level tournaments (TN L5s) were discussed Staff liaison suggested lowering fees from $30 to $20 and stated rationale Page 9

The committee unanimously voted to lower entry fees to $20 for L5s (motion made by Aaron, seconded by Andy) The committee also agreed to implement an eligibility policy for L5s o Players ranked #1-60 in BG 12s-18s may not enter L5s Noted to clarify head tax verbiage Also noted to provide contact information of the five regional officials in the state on USTA TN website Two subcommittees were established to assist staff liaison o Sanctioning and Scheduling Subcommittee: Aaron, Andrew, and David o Endorsement Subcommittee: Andy, Andrew, Michael Meeting Concluded at 3:00 pm Junior Team Tennis Committee Meeting Minutes Saturday, January 30 th 10am-12pm Minutes Welcome & Call To Order Roll Call & Introductions o In attendance: Aaron Browning, Christian Burns, Elizabeth Henderson, Laura Huss, Rusty Morris, Kim Wilson, Tara Williams (staff liaison), Thomas Fanjoy (USTA TN Staff) Approval of Minutes from last meeting Laura Huss motioned to approve, seconded by Rusty Morris, passed unanimously Create Mission Statement o The USTA Tennessee Junior Team Tennis Committee is responsible for promoting, regulating, and executing the JTT program, including championship events. 2015 Recap TN JTT numbers are increased and one of top in the section. There were a lot changes that staff and local coordinators had to adapt to in 2015. State championship in Chattanooga was successful. Detailed info available in the JTT Committee Report. 2016 National Changes o Mostly on local play, such as team composition and match formats which Southern & TN already abide by o Tiebreakers at Championships clarified from past info then allow section/state to add on to the list. This TN tiebreaker adopted in 2015 is in line with the national change. Page 10

2016 USTA Southern Additions to National Regulations discussed. File given to committee. The green ball will be used in 12U Intermediate play at Southern JTT Championship in 2016. New Business / New Ideas o Elementary School Leagues Pilot compile info from Knoxville league to share with others o 18U Intermediate Invitational discuss with 18 INT coaches at state. See if teams would be interested in 1-2 weekend events to keep players engages (as many are not playing tournaments but like the team aspect) 2016 JTT Committee Goals, Projects o Replacing Tara and transitioning to a new State JTT Coordinator seamlessly o Prepare for National Junior Ratings educate coordinators as information becomes available o Develop a Non-Membership/Non-Advancing Program Policy o Develop USTA TN JTT Captain of the Month program and procedures o Promote and support JTT State Championship in Memphis in July o Promote Southern Growth Initiative Stipend and assist with coordinator appreciation by collecting coordinator contact info o Explore Elementary School pilots & 18U Intermediate Invitational events in fall Goals over next 2 years o Improve pathway from JTT Tournaments o Increase 10U & 8U play new formats/leagues like Elementary School JTT leagues Youth Play Committee Meeting Minutes January 29 th Opened with Roll Call: All were present except Julio Godreau Discussed & accepted Mission Statement: To increase activity in all areas of the junior pathway including: Play Days, Jr Development Camps, Regional EDC s, JTT, Level 4,5,6 tournaments. Reports from 2015 pathway Report from Sue Bartlett on 10 and under Report from Rusty Morris on Junior Team Tennis: 5 percent growth in TN in 2015 3 rd in section in growth, captain of the month Introduction of idea of having a 18 and under team tournament in the fall to follow the JTT state championships. Page 11

Introduction of a middle school JTT league in the fall for Meta and the introduction of an elementary school league in Chattanooga. Report from David Poole on Junior Competition: o David reported that a tournament evaluation system will be introduced to set standards and expectations for tournaments. o David also spoke about TN Level 5 tournaments and the success stories of tournaments that took place in 2015. Karl Davies discussed the 2016 TN pathway. We had in depth discussion of Rally Cats and how it operates. We had several reports on the Junior Development Camps from all areas of the state. Goals for 2016: Each participant on the committee will take an active part in defining weaknesses in their area of the state as it pertains to the Junior pathway. Offer Early Fall Play Days in all areas of the state. Offer Junior Development Camps and Regional EDC s in all areas of the state Form a contact list from the Junior Development Camps to use contact participants about upcoming events in their area that facilitate growth in the pathway. Junior Team Tennis offered to all participants of the camps. Level 5 and 6 tournaments to follow up the summer JTT season. 18 and under tournament in the fall. Advertise this event at the State Junior Team Tennis Tournament. Long term goals: Sustained measurable growth in all areas of the pathway. Increased communication as to how to achieve goals throughout the state. Meet every 3 months to discuss progress in all areas of the state Minutes submitted by Karl Davies Page 12