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Volume 42, July 2009 |
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July
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 Technical Meeting 2009 Get Ready for Savannah! 2009 Technical Meeting Registration Open. Read more...
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Call
for Nominations Make
Plans to Attend Winter
Meeting in Cancun USTA
Facility Assistance Call
for Articles: Seeking Submissions to Newsline New
$60 Million, 245,000 Square Foot Building Funded Entirely by the
USTA ASBA
Expands Marketing Outreach Efforts Through Trade Publications Tennis
Life Names Francesconi as Editor May
We "Quote" You? Sponsorship
Opportunities for 2009-2010 |
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Your ASBA Board of Directors is gearing up for a two-day strategic planning retreat later this month in Baltimore. We have been working with a facilitator over the past few months to help us prepare for the exercise, so that it can be as productive and effective as possible. At the February Winter Meeting in Puerto Rico, we conducted a focus group with several ASBA members to get a preliminary sampling of our members’ concerns, interests and hot-button issues. We followed this up with an in-depth member survey that was conducted in early June. There were well over 100 responses to that survey (more than one-third of our membership), which speaks volumes for the interest you have in your industry trade Association. The entire Board of Directors, the ASBA staff and legal counsel will be participating in the strategic planning retreat. We will provide a detailed report on the exercise at December’s Technical Meeting. July 1 was the deadline for entries for the annual ASBA Awards Program. I’m pleased to report that interest is greater than ever, with an ever-increasing number of entries. The Awards Committee will be meeting in late July to review and judge the entries. As always, award recipients will be honored at the Technical Meeting in December. We hope all of our members will be in attendance to recognize this great work. The 7th edition of Running Tracks: A Construction and Maintenance Manual has been finalized and will be on the streets later this summer. The first edition of Indoor Sports Surfaces: An Installation and Maintenance Manual was also completed and should also be printed and available later this summer. Watch your mailboxes for more information about pre-order offers in the coming weeks or contact ASBA headquarters. The Field Builders Certification Advisory Committee is making great strides in completing development of our new Field Builders Certification Program. Sincere thanks to the volunteers who have devoted many hours to this project. We are pleased to report that Synthetic Turf Council (STC) has signed on as a supporting sponsor of the program and is contributing to its development. The relationship should help to make this a truly industry-recognized program. The first exam is tentatively scheduled to be offered at the Technical Meeting in December (see article below). A nominations announcement with a proposed slate of candidates has been mailed to all members (see article). Thanks to this year’s Nominating Committee Chairman, Pete Smith, for his efforts on this process. An ambitious Membership Recruitment Campaign is currently underway. We have created a prospect list of over 1,700 contacts (builders, suppliers and professionals) and have mailed each of them a copy of our new membership brochure. We will also be promoting this year’s Technical Meeting to this group of prospective members. I urge each of you to do your part to encourage one new company to join ASBA or attend the upcoming Technical Meeting. We will all benefit from a larger organization that represents an even larger cross-section of our industry. Best wishes for a busy summer/fall season! I’m sure that we’re all looking forward to comparing notes at the Technical Meeting in December about the 2009 season.
George
Todd, Jr., CTCB MEETINGS
Get Ready for Savannah! It's time to make the Lowcountry the high point of your slow
season. American Sports Builders Association
FEATURED ARTICLES
Note: ASBA welcomes articles on industry topics from its members, and from others in the industry. Please contact the ASBA if you are interested in writing or submitting an article.
Nominations Open for the ASBA Board of Directors In accordance with the bylaws of the American Sports Builders Association,
the Nominations and Elections Committee is pleased to announce the following
slate of candidates for Association officers and directors: Secretary-Treasurer (1 year term) Tennis Division President (2 year term) Supplier Division President (2 year term) Supplier Director (2 year term) Fields Division President (2 year term) Builder Director (3 year term) (2 positions
open) R.A.D. Sports Rockland, MA Ben Rennolds, CTCB Tennis Courts, Inc. Aylett, VA John Schedler, CTB Fieldturf Tarkett Montreal, Canada Members may make additional nominations in writing, endorsed in writing by one other member, to the administrative office of the Association. Such nominations must be received in our office no later than the close of business on July 23, 2009. Only members entitled to vote in a given election may nominate or endorse a candidate for that election (i.e., only Builders may nominate or endorse a candidate for Builder Director or Tennis or Track Division President, only Suppliers may nominate or endorse a candidate for Supplier Director or Supplier Division President, etc.) All members may nominate and endorse for Secretary/Treasurer. Please note: no person may be a candidate for the Board of Directors or for any given position if the election of such person could cause any member company to have more than one employee serving as an officer or director of the Association at the same time. Candidates for the following positions must meet these qualifications: Chairman – The Chairman must be a Builder member currently serving on the Board of Directors or must have served on the Board of Directors within the past three years. Secretary-Treasurer – The Secretary-Treasurer must be elected from the Directors currently serving or must have served as a Director within the last three years. The Secretary-Treasurer may be a member of any division. Supplier Division President – The Supplier Division President must be a Supplier member. Tennis & Fields Division Presidents – The Presidents of the Builders Divisions must be Builder members. Builder Director-Supplier Director – Each Director at the time of election and throughout the term shall be a member or an employee or partner of a company that is a member of that Division. Candidates elected to fill any of the positions shown above will join these currently serving:
Make Plans to Attend Winter Meeting in Cancun Multiple choice test: Since 1999 the USTA has invested in infrastructure grants to existing tennis facilities. In 2005 that service was expanded to include new construction. In 2008 the USTA shifted from a facility grant program to a service program. New for 2009 is the coverage of QuickStart Tennis (QST) at facilities. Facilities can apply for funds to stripe existing courts, construct new QST courts or convert existing courts to permanent QST courts. 2009 USTA Public Facility Assistance Program Overview:
STEP 2: Optional STEP:
Call for Articles: Seeking Submissions to Newsline Articles to be submitted to Newsline should
address topics that are of interest to the general Sometimes, a contractor has developed a checklist
for customers to use when examining their courts, tracks or fields on
a periodic or seasonal basis; sometimes, a contractor wants to discuss
an issue that seems to be troubling facilities in a specific geographical
area, and to suggest some possible fixes, but to invite other builders
to chime into the discussion, and so on. Sometimes, the writer wants
to discuss the proper technique for installing equipment or supplies,
and certainly, that is an important topic as well.
New $60 Million, 245,000 Square Foot Building Funded Entirely by the USTA The USTA has announced that its state-of-the-art indoor tennis facility has been completed and is open to the public. The new $60 million, 245,000 square foot facility was funded at no cost to taxpayers through USTA financing and tax-exempt bonds. The facility features twelve indoor courts and will
allow the USTA to expand its existing tennis programs at the USTA Billie
Jean King National Tennis Center, home of the US Open, as well as provide
an opportunity to add new programming for New York area tennis enthusiasts. Further,
the world-class venue affords the USTA greater potential in its Player
Development Program, as the Association considers the creation of regional
training centers in its quest to develop the next generation of American
champions. Current tennis programs at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, the world’s largest public tennis facility, are now at capacity. The addition of the new courts — which, like the NTC’s outer courts, will be open to the public eleven months of the year — will allow the USTA to increase program participation. Additionally, the USTA expects to increase the number of national and regional tournaments at the NTC. The USTA also expects to use the new indoor facility in its Player Development Programs, under the leadership of Patrick McEnroe. The USTA currently has a national training center in Boca Raton, FL and a regional center in Carson, CA, and is actively pursuing the idea of creating regional training centers in various areas around the U.S. “This dynamic new building will help fill a void in Player Development in the Northeast,” said Patrick McEnroe, USTA General Manager of Player Development. “We are looking to expand the concept of regional training centers in order to help us identify the best talent and put them on the right path to success.” The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center (NTC) in Flushing, NY, home of the US Open, is the world’s largest and busiest public tennis facility. It features thirty outdoor courts, along with twelve additional courts located in the new USTA-funded, 245,000 square foot state-of-the-art indoor building that was opened in 2008. Year-round offerings include more than 400 junior development and adult programs, eighty-four league teams and twenty-five tournaments, along with several adaptive tennis programs. In total the NTC is used by more than seventy local high schools and colleges and approximately 75,000 people. The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is open to the public seven days a week, eleven months a year, closing only on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. The USTA pays the City of New York more than $1.5 million per year in rent and is permitted to use the NTC for its own events, including the US Open, for no more than sixty days a year, ensuring the facility’s use by the public for ten months.
ASBA Expands Marketing Outreach Efforts Through Trade Publications ASBA has made a concerted effort to expand its reach to sports and recreation markets by working with trade publications to place technical articles on a variety of topics. These articles typically quote ASBA member companies on a variety of topics and position ASBA as the “go-to” source for this information. Mary Helen Sprecher, ASBA’s technical writer for most of these articles, has developed the following summary of technical articles that have been placed or are scheduled to be placed since the membership year began October 1, 2008. Sports Destination Management Magazine March/April 2009: Baseball and Softball Fields Athletic Business Magazine Club Business International ASBA is supplying articles to Club Business for Entrepreneurs, which is a special supplement of CBI that goes to independent club owners. So far, we have written: "Facility Safety" (May 2009 issue) andSports Turf Magazine SportsTurf targets sports turf managers and provides them with practical technical and management advice. In the early spring, ASBA wrote an article on "Classifications of Tracks and Surfaces" for the magazine; it is projected for publication this summer. Landscape Superintendent Publication aimed at groundskeepers, landscapers and maintenance staffs. In May, the editor asked for a proposal for an article on trends in terms of use of fields (many schools seem to have a variety of synthetic and natural turf fields, which they rotate for various types of play, weather, etc.). LS Magazine is probably looking at an article on this topic in late 2009. American Track and Field Magazine ASBA continues to publish articles in every issue of American Track & Field, as well as its sister publications, Runner & Triathlete, Fast Forward, Latinos Corriendos (for which our articles are translated into Spanish) and others. Articles have appeared in:Fall 2008: "Is Your Facility Competition-friendly?"Racquet Sports Industry Magazine Primary readership: Tennis and racquet sports club owners, managers, staff members and teaching pros, pro shop managers, racquet stringers, directors of tennis and racquet sports at clubs, camps, colleges, universities, high schools and other facilities. November/December 2008: "Tennis Court Construction in a Changing Economic Climate"NRPA Magazine For the first time, the National Recreation and Parks Association will be publishing an article by ASBA. The article, which was written in May 2009, will appear in August 2009, and is entitled: "Keeping Municipal Courts Safe from Public Enemy Number One." NOTE to ASBA Members: if you have an idea for an article that you would like to write (you can earn re-certification points for writing such articles); or have written and placed in one of the industry trade publication, contact ASBA Headquarters. Additionally, if there are trade publications in which you think ASBA should have a presence, please send us information about the publication and its readership and why you think it would be a good fit for ASBA. If you as a member would like to be quoted in upcoming articles, ASBA would be glad to make sure you are. Please e-mail Mary Helen Sprecher at mhsprecher@verizon.net and let her know that you are interested. Also, if there are any particular subjects you are interested in (tennis, track, fields, indoor facilities, design topics, etc.), you may note that as well. We look forward to your input!
Tennis
Life Names Francesconi as Editor Tennis industry publishing veteran joins fastest growing tennis magazine Tennis Life Magazine has named industry publishing executive Peter Francesconi as its editor. Francesconi has been in the tennis publishing business for twenty-two years, working with the Tennis Industry Association, US Tennis Association, Tennis magazine and Racquet Sports Industry magazine, among other groups. Tennis Life Names Francesconi as EditorTennis Life Magazine has named industry publishing executive Peter Francesconi as its editor. Francesconi has been in the tennis publishing business for twenty-two years, working with the Tennis Industry Association, US Tennis Association, Tennis magazine and Racquet Sports Industry magazine, among other groups. “This is an exciting opportunity to bring my experience, talents and skills to a magazine that continues to grow and improve,” Francesconi says. “Tennis is the fastest growing participation sport in the US and Tennis Lifemagazine and TennisLife.com have unlimited potential in providing players and fans with all the information they could want about the sport.”Tennis Life, which recently added nearly 50,000 readers, for a total circulation now topping 180,000, is the fastest growing tennis publication in the US. The magazine also has United Kingdom (Tennis Life UK) and Spanish-language (Tennis Life en Espanol) editions. “Peter is well-regarded in this industry and brings a wealth of experience and relationships to Tennis Life,” says Todd Goldman, the magazine’s publisher. “We’re excited to have him join us and feel that our readers, advertisers and partners will be excited, too. Additionally, we feel that Tennis Life will move to the next level.” Francesconi will continue to work closely with the Tennis Industry Association in communications and public relations and will continue to be the editorial director of the award-winning Racquet Sports Industry, the world’s largest tennis trade magazine. He also is the president of Ace Publishing Group, a communications and marketing company. From 1999 through 2008, Francesconi was the editorial director of Miller Sports Group Custom Publishing, a division of Tennis magazine that worked with the USTA to produce and edit the award-winning USTA Magazine, the organization’s membership publication. He was the managing editor of Tennis from 1990 to 1998. Francesconi, who resides in Woodbury, CT, is a frequent tennis player and a member of the Board of Directors for the Woodbury Area Tennis Association. He also is a member of the USTA’s National Community Tennis Association Committee and on the Tennis Industry Association Hall of Fame Committee. A former vice president of the US Tennis Writers Association, Francesconi received the Media Excellence Award in 2006 from the Professional Tennis Registry.. One of ASBA's most important programs is its technical articles, which are written for trade magazines in various segments of the industry, including design, tennis, track, indoor and fields facilities. We are always looking for our members to comment on and be quoted in these articles. This is an excellent chance to help raise ASBA's profile and, in an ancillary capacity, to increase visibility for your company. If you would like to be quoted in these articles, please send an e-mail to Mary Helen Sprecher at mhsprecher@verizon.net Please indicate your area(s) of expertise: Tennis, Track, Indoor,
Fields, Design, etc., so that we do not bother you with excess e-mail. Note:
You can appear on several lists if you have several areas of interest.
Sponsorship Opportunities for 2009-2010 Launching a New Product ? Last year, ASBA rolled out a sponsorship
program for its Technical Meeting that included special opportunities
for suppliers to showcase their products at the meeting. The program was so well received by ASBA suppliers
that we’ve decided to expand and enhance the program for the entire
year.
MEMBER NEWS
Find Out What Your Colleagues Are Up To
TitanTrax Shield for Better Built
Running Tracks NGI Sports introduces
the patent pending “TitanTrax
Shield” to protect your running track from the
ravages of age and asphalt cracking. Applying the shield to
your existing track asphalt base ensures that your new latex or urethane
track finished surface is uniform in performance in all directions
with a high resistance to shear forces caused by cracks in the asphalt
track base.
LEE TENNIS COURT Products Serves up a New Platform for Clay
Court Enthusiasts “We get pretty crazy-excited about tennis and particularly clay court tennis,” said Pat Hanssen, Director of Sales at Lee Tennis Court Products. “We saw an opportunity to create a virtual space for others who feel the same way. The purpose of ‘Play the Clay’ is to teach site visitors about the clay court experience, and provide the information and, hopefully, the inspiration they need to go experience it for themselves.” Establishing connections with others who love the game of tennis and sharing stories and experiences about clay court tennis is an important feature of “Play the Clay”. Links on the site to the Lee Tennis Court Products’ fan page on Facebook and Twitter will help facilitate this. A Join the Movement section is dedicated to sharing information about clay’s pivotal role in developing our country’s next wave of champions. Another part of the site focuses on showcasing experiential clay playing events in Northern and Southern California and information on winning a clay court through Play the Clay Events. The Play the Clay section provides a place where people can share their clay court experiences. The site also highlights photos from various playing events, a blog, industry news, tips and tricks on playing tennis on clay and a directory of facilities that offer clay courts. “Bringing people together in one place to talk about their love and appreciation for the game in general and clay courts specifically is energizing,” Hanssen closed. “Being an advocate for the game of tennis and getting others involved is a top priority for Lee Tennis.” To learn more about ‘Play the Clay,’ visit www.playtheclay.com.
UNC Wins NCAA Hoops Title on FIELDTURF Despite over 70,000 mostly Michigan State fans in attendance at Ford Field it was North Carolina that dominated and cruised to an 89-72 win over the Spartans to win a national championship. The championship is the fifth for North Carolina in school history. The Tar Heels led 55-34 at halftime, the largest halftime lead ever in NCAA Tournament history. In the second half, the Spartans did cut the lead to 13 but Carolina was never seriously threatened and the Tar Heels won their second national title in the last five years. FieldTurf helps venues at all levels convert quickly and easily from sports events to conventions or concerts. Professionals depend on the flexibility and convenience of staging events right on top of FieldTurf, with no damage to the surface. With standard floor covering, the solid load-bearing capacity of the patented infill system allows for heavy-duty events.
The following companies have joined the ASBA or renewed their membership since the last newsletter. Please add their names to the appropriate section of your membership directory.
FYI ASBA Steps Up Membership Recruitment Efforts Field Builders Certification Program Moving Forward ASBA Steps Up Membership Recruitment Efforts ASBA has developed a new membership brochure to promote
the many benefits of joining ASBA: its Certification Programs, the technical information
and education provided, its Winter and Technical Meetings, customer leads,
etc. The brochure was mailed to more than 1,700 prospective members
in June (builders, professionals and suppliers).
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Mark
your calendar for the ASBA Technical Meeting. 
With the summer season underway, I’m pleased that you’re
taking time out of your busy schedule to read ASBA’s NEWSLINE. Thanks
for “making” time for ASBA.
in
Savannah, GA for the ASBA Technical Meeting. This year’s meeting,
to be held December 5-7 at the Hyatt Regency Savannah in Savannah, GA,
has all the tools you need to succeed for the coming year.
antiquing
on Broughton and Bull streets. Patrons of the arts can find museums and
galleries, and history buffs can explore forts and more to their hearts’ content.
Committee is pleased to announce the following
slate of candidates for Association officers and directors: (See Article
Continuation.)
membership. (Certainly,
we realize that not all topics are relevant to everyone, so perhaps this
might be of interest just to those who make post-tensioned concrete courts,
or asphalt tennis courts in park and rec facilities, or latex tracks,
or multi-purpose artificial turf fields, etc.)
