At the annual board meeting, the board and staff met to discuss the state of the game. Here is a recap from the new APTA Board President Demian Johnston.

Board Members

• Tiernan Cavanna and Mark Holtschneider both rolled off the Board 
• Sarah Padgitt (Chicago) and Whit Harwood (Westchester) were voted in as new members 
• Demian Johnston was elected as the new President of the Board
• The APTA Board currently consists of 14 people (8 men and 6 women) from areas around the country, reflecting the makeup of our membership

2023-2024 Financials Review

• The APTA ran an operating loss of ~$45k vs a budgeted loss of ~$95k for the 2023-2024 season. This was the first operating loss in eight years
• Membership growth was 10% (vs 6% expected)
• Our expenses were in line with our budget

Grants & Loans (for public-access courts)

• This past year, $57,000 was awarded in grants across 3 projects in support of the construction and rehabilitation of 7 courts and other facility enhancements
• We anticipate funding nearly $200,000 in previously awarded and new grants and loans in the coming season

Staff

• We’ve recently added two new members to our staff
• Mark Thomford – Director of IT
• Karen Nejedlik – Director of Tournaments

Technology

• We have a backlog of IT projects we plan on tackling this off-season
• Moving the PTI platform (database and calculation) in-house from Paddlescores
• Switching over to a new PTI algorithm (PTI2)
• Phase 2 of APTA website development
• Court Director: Live scoring technology that allows viewers on site and at home to follow tournament match scores 

Digital Media

• Live Streaming: we plan on streaming every weekend (except holidays) next season
• 20 APTA Tour events plus Junior Nationals and Mixed Nationals
• Social Media: focusing more on the most watched videos 

Membership Dues Increase

• In order to fund our investments in new staff, technology, and digital media, the Board voted to increase the yearly membership fee
• From $35 to $45 for “League/Club” members
• From $45 to $90 for “Individual” members (the goal is to have all members eventually joining through some sort of league, club or group)
• In addition to funding staff, technology, and digital media, a dues increase is necessary to ensure the APTA can continue to fund our Grants & Loans program (public-access courts);  new court installations range between $140,000 and $180,000 
• This is the first membership dues increase in eight years