NCHSTCA Meeting Minutes, January 2021
NCHSTCA
Winter Board Meeting - January 23, 2021
The board met via Zoom on Saturday with the following members present:
Andrew Tuttle – President
Donald Clark – Vice President
Lee Matthews – Secretary
Vic Ramsey – Treasurer
Jon Huffman – Technologist
Ken Hazen – Vice President Emeritus
Steven Rochkind – 4A Representative
Pam Beecher – 3A Representative
President Tuttle welcomed everybody and called the meeting to order at 8:05. The minutes of the summer meeting were approved. It was noted these were taken by Coach Clark in the absence of Coach Matthews.
President’s Report
Coach Tuttle noted that high school sports started in November, and that the first state championships in cross country and volleyball are taking place this weekend. Volleyball has been moved from the NC State campus to Green Hope High School.
Coach Tuttle recapped the details and plans for the upcoming tennis seasons, starting March 1 for men and April 12 for women. Coach Tuttle noted the two match per week limit with the exception for weather. Coach Beecher noted you could also play a third match for a COVID delay. COVID protocols currently require all sports participants to wear masks.
Coach Tuttle stated there might be decreased participation this spring, either from smaller teams or from schools not fielding teams. This is a concern for the future. Decreased participation has already been noted in basketball. Coach Rochkind also noted the overlap between the seasons is a concern for coaches involved in both seasons.
Coach Tuttle noted that as it stands now, tennis will be the only sport that will not crown a team champion, and he would like to see some version of a team champion recognized at the individual state championship. Coach Hazen noted that before the dual team they recognized a team champion using a progressive scoring system for matches won. Schools were required to have at least two entries in the state championship. He also noted that the state draw was larger than 16 in those days. Coach Beecher stated that regional participants could be included in the scoring. Coach Ramsey and the board did not want this to set a precedent for eliminating the dual team championship.
Treasurer’s Report
Coach Ramsey presented the treasurer’s report showing a balance of $1,021.63. There was limited activity of one check and one deposit. He reminded the board that our account would be subject to fees if the balance fell below $1,000. Suggestions were offered to help raise funds to maintain the balance above $1,000.
The board unanimously passed three motions to insure smooth handling of the bank account in the future. As a result of these motions, President Tuttle will be added to the checking account. In addition, debit cards will be acquired for Coach Ramsey, Coach Clark, and Coach Tuttle. They will also have on-line access to the account.
Finally, Coach Ramsey noted that he had filed the federal taxes for the association.
Old Business
Coach Ramsey’s “Everybody Plays” playoff proposal was reviewed and discussed. Coach Ramsey highlighted that the NCHSAA does not have the resources or metrics to decide which 32 teams should be in the playoffs. He also noted that each sport has its own unique characteristics, and tennis is the one sport that requires two events to crown both an individual and team champion.
After discussion regarding bringing this proposal to the spring NCHSAA meeting, it was decided the spring meeting would be too busy with issues of realignment, COVID, and finances. We will present this proposal to a member of the NCHSAA staff at the June board meeting.
A vote on including private school coaches in the association was delayed until the June meeting. In the discussion it was noted that the private school coaches have no parallel association. Also, in Coach Clark, we have a private school coach on the board who is also involved with public school tennis.
New Business
The length of the two seasons this spring was noted. Coach Beecher stated that with the girls’ season extending beyond the end of school some players might want to “disappear.” She asked if it might be possible to move the regionals up in the week. The consensus of the board was that the dates were set based on previous years and were unlikely to be changed. Coach Ramsey and Coach Rochkind stated that it was important to communicate with the players the importance of the dates and being available for the regionals and states. Coach Beecher stated with only individual regionals and states it was important to get the conference tournaments right.
Considering decreased participation, Coach Tuttle asked the board to work on ways to promote tennis. Coach Rochkind discussed getting community tennis associations involved with high school tennis. He mentioned getting players in CTA events and leagues if their schools do not have teams. Coach Ramsey proposed asking the NC Tennis Association to get involved in a “relaunch program” in more rural areas.
where schools do not field teams. This could involve financial resources, equipment, and coach mentoring.
Coach Ramsey and Coach Rochkind proposed having quarterly meetings. The board agreed with the January and June meetings continuing to be in person meetings, and the other two quarterly meetings being virtual meetings. The next meeting is scheduled for April.
The meeting was adjourned.