Tennis Advisory Committee

Minutes
August 23, 2005 • 10 a.m.
Robert W. Hughes FHSAA Building
Gainesville, Florida


The meeting was called to order by Gary Pigott, FHSAA Tennis Administrator, at 10 a.m. The following committee members were in attendance: Thad Boggs, Mandarin HS (Jacksonville); Todd Palmer, Spruce Creek HS (Port Orange); Karen Turman, Land O’Lakes HS; Paul Walker, George Jenkins HS (Lakeland); Tony DeFillippo, Hialeah-Miami Lakes HS; and John Danise, Sebastian River HS (Sebastian)/FACA Chairperson. FHSAA staff member Cecelia Jackson and was also present.

AGENDA ITEMS

Mr. Pigott reviewed the procedure for completing the expense vouchers and e-mail addresses were confirmed. Each person present introduced himself or herself.

Mr. Pigott welcomed the committee to the FHSAA office, reviewed the agenda and gave the committee an overview of their purpose and objective as an advisory committee. The new online rules meetings, FHSAA strategic plan and the 2006 tennis classifications and districts were reviewed.

The committee selected John Danise, Sebastian River High School, as chairperson.

Discussion - Review of 2004 Tennis Advisory Committee Minutes: The Committee reviewed the results of the 2 recommendations from the previous year. Mr. Palmer relayed his experience to the committee of attending Board of Directors meetings in both October and November to speak to the tennis recommendations.

Discussion – Hat Rule: The committee believes strongly that the hat should be removed from the uniform code as it is not part of the tennis uniform.

Recommendation #1: It was moved by Mr. Palmer, seconded by Mr. Boggs and carried, Vote: Unanimous (6-0), to remove the sentence regarding caps, hats or visors [Regulation 105.05(2)]. Hats are NOT a required piece of tennis attire.
Rationale: No advantage is gained by wearing a hat backwards.
USTA rules permit the hat to be worn backward.
Causes unnecessary friction between players, coaches and officials.
Adapting to current trends in the sport of tennis.
Legal in all other levels of tennis and USTA juniors.
Serve toss or sun location may dictate bill facing forward or backward.
Headwear is not part of the tennis uniform (unlike baseball).
ATHLETIC DIRECTORS: September 7, 2005
2nd Reading TNAC: August 2006
2nd Reading ADAC: September 2006

Discussion - Revised Playoff Format: The committee had a lengthy discussion about Mr. Palmer’s recommended playoff format that would advance the district runner-up to the regional match and advance the 16 regional winning teams (instead of the current 8) to the FHSAA Tennis Finals. Alternative region formats were also discussed, but no recommendation was made. The consensus of the committee was to review and study other alternative formats and discuss again in future years.

Discussion - FACA Recommendations: Other than the revised playoff format, Mr. Danise (FACA Tennis Chairperson) had no additional agenda items for the committee to discuss from the FACA.

Discussion - State Tournament Sites/Hosts: The following arrangements have been made for the FHSAA Tennis Finals. Mr. Pigott encouraged all committee members to notify anyone interested in hosting to contact him in the FHSAA office.
Class 4A: Site-Sanlando Park & Lake Brantley High School; Dates: April 24-26,2006
Host: Edgewater High School, Orlando
Class 3A: Site-Sanlando Park & Lake Brantley High School; Dates: April 26-28,2006
Host: Edgewater High School, Orlando
Class 2A: Site-Hillsborough Community College, Tampa; Dates: April 25-27,2006
Host: Jesuit High School
Class A: Site - FSU Tennis Complex & Tom Brown Park; Dates: April 25-27,2006
Host: Maclay School, Tallahassee

Discussion – 3 Match per Day Limitation: The committee reviewed the FHSAA tennis regulations and USTA rules regarding maximum matches per day. Mr. Danise stated that the USTA was in the process of reviewing their current guidelines. The committee did not take any action waiting to see any changes from the USTA Friend at Court.

Discussion – Policy 30 “Unsportsmanlike Conduct Policy”: Sonny Hester, Sr. Director of Athletics, presented a policy to the committee regarding removal of a school from the FHSAA state series if they received 5 gross unsportsmanlike conduct ejections during the same sports season. The committee was supportive of the proposed change and agreed with its intent to address sportsmanship concerns.

Discussion - Tennis Regulations: The existing FHSAA Tennis Manual was reviewed. The uniform shirt regulation for boys was reviewed and discussed. It was determined that a sleeveless (Nadal style) shirt was legal according to the regulation.

Recommendation #2: It was moved by Mr. Boggs, seconded by Mr. Palmer and carried, Vote: Unanimous (6-0), to change the optional deciding match tie-break to a 10 point tie-break instead of the current 7 point match tie-break. The match tie-break is played in lieu of a deciding final set when facilities or time is a factor [105.02 (2 &3)].
ATHLETIC DIRECTORS: September 7, 2005
2nd Reading TNAC: August 2006
2nd Reading ADAC: September 2006

Open Agenda:
Discussion – Revision of Form TN1 (Match Line-up Sheet): Mr. Boggs suggested that Form TN1 be revised to permit the Home & Visiting line-ups to be listed as opposed to the current format of boys and girls teams. This would make the form more practical and useful for the tennis coaches.

The meeting was adjourned at noon.