Annual CALTA Captains' Meeting

March 10, 2003

The 2003 annual captains' meeting was held on March 10 at 9:30AM

in the auditorium of the Charleston County Library on Calhoun Street.  

Of the 47 CALTA teams, 33 were represented.  

Each team had one vote on the issues requiring a vote. 

President, Linda von Grotthuss, made a brief opening statement that included an introduction of the Board members and a summary of the functions of the Board.  As there were no objections from the floor, discussion of the minutes of last year's meeting and the CALTA financial statement were dispensed with.  Both had been on the CALTA web site for the past year. 

Web Site:

    The on-line roster entry form established last year was very successful.  While not mandatory, 46 of the 47 teams opted to use the system for the 2002-2003 season.  Printed rosters will still be accepted next season. 

    Our members were reminded that they can have immediate access to the Board through the Board's e-mail address (board@caltatennis.net) and that comments and opinions deemed pertinent to the general membership will be noted on the web site (names withheld), thus making continuous dialogue among our membership readily available.  

    CALTA members were also urged to check out (and contribute to!) the new "photo gallery" now on our web site, to consult the site regularly, and to remember that all suggestions are welcome.

Scheduling and Division Structure:

    The Charleston Public School system will commence its 2003-2004 schedule on August 11, 2003.  The CALTA calendar is geared to coincide with the public school year.  The membership was asked to express their preferences between three possible start dates for next season:  August 19, August 26 or September 2.  It was noted that an earlier start would allow for additional make-up dates and perhaps allow for our annual captains' meeting to be held on a Tuesday instead of on a Monday.  The captains present indicated their preferences as follows:  September 2 (17),  August 26 (10) and August 19 (5) with one captain not indicating any preference.  This input will be considered by the Board in establishing the calendar. 

    June 1 will continue to be the deadline for adding new teams or for existing teams to request a change of division.  Once again every effort will be made to accommodate a team's preference -- with the understanding that the league division structure as a whole must take precedence.  New team applications will be accepted after June 1 but cannot be guaranteed.    

Nomination Process:

    The term for most of the current board members will expire at the end of the 2002-2003 season.  In beginning the nomination process for the next term, the Board realized that the procedure outlined in the CALTA Charter (now to be used for the first time) was too complicated and cumbersome for an organization such as ours.  As a result, the Board proposed to the membership  a simpler, more streamlined method for bringing new members onto the Board.  It was proposed that anyone interested in serving on the Board at some point make their wishes known to the Board, and, as positions become open, the next person on the list will be asked to serve.  (There is currently one Director At-large position becoming available for a 3-year term beginning in June 2003.)  It is hoped that the simpler process will avoid a lot of paperwork, voting, "winners and losers", etc. and will guarantee that all those interested will eventually get a chance to serve.   The membership agreed with no dissent.  The Charter will be amended to reflect the new procedures. 

    In closing, the President announced that the current executive board (President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer) were willing, as everything is still so new and evolving in the administration of CALTA, to serve another 2-year term, should the membership wish to consider this option.  This was met with immediate and enthusiastic approval.  The Board thanked the membership for their vote of confidence!

Rules Changes/Additions:

    Nancy Pitcairn, Vice President and Chairman of the Rules & Grievance Committee,  reviewed the rules that were new in the current season.  She reviewed the 10-point tie-break as an alternative to a third set, all parties willing, and asked if everyone was in favor of keeping this option as a permanent part of the CALTA Rules.  All were in favor.  The Vice President was pleased to report that, since our last rewrite of the "weather" rule, the Board had not received a single grievance or complaint, so that rule will stand as written at last year's captains' meeting.

    A new issue on the agenda concerned refreshments.  Some teams would like to discontinue refreshments, but, after some discussion, the vote was 20 in favor of keeping refreshments and 13 against.  So the Rules will continue to specify that the home team will provide light refreshments. 

    The membership was asked to consider dropping the deadline for adding new players to a team.  The captains voted 30 to 3 in favor of dropping the deadline.  The rule will be amended and will include the provision that the division coordinator must be notified prior to any match played by a new player.  As is the usual CALTA process, this change will be monitored for a year and reviewed at next year's captains' meeting.   

    A request was made by the Board for a dues increase from $15 to $20.  Dues have not been raised for several years, while the costs of awards, bag tags, luncheon subsidies, administrative expenses, etc. have all increased.  The dues increase was passed by a 25 to 8 vote. 

Junior Scholarship Program: 

    Pamela Doggett, CALTA Secretary and Co-chairman of the Junior Scholarship Program, reported that the first year of our program was a great success.  Nominations were received from every type of tennis venue in the Charleston area -- private courts, public facilities, country clubs, public and private schools -- and also from individuals, including at least one CALTA member.  The recipients were equally diverse and all have reportedly benefited from their awards. 

    This year's budget is $2,000 -- the same as was awarded last year.  There will be a raffle held at the year-end luncheon, with some generous prizes, and those funds will be used to augment the budgeted amount. 

Year-end Luncheon:

    This year, instead of the individual division luncheons, and in honor of CALTA/City League's 30th anniversary, we will have one large luncheon for all 600+ members (and subs) on Tuesday, May 13.  Pam Shaw, Division 2 Coordinator, reported on the plans for the luncheon and urged everyone to encourage their players to attend.  The menu is spectacular and everyone will get a surprise. 

There being no further business on the agenda or from the floor, the meeting was adjourned at 10:45AM.