Time was, BTA was all about four important yearly tasks: 1) managing USTA leagues for unaffiliated area players; 2) putting on the Austin Scott tournament; 3) offering Saturday drop-in during the summer months; and 4) running winter socials.

How things have changed! In the last couple of years, the BTA Board has decided that “business as usual” just wasn’t enough. With the deterioration of public courts, increased competition from pickleball, and the complete lack of new courts and facilities in the Boulder area, it was time to add on a new role: actively advocating for tennis in the Boulder community. In fact, we’ve been calling it the “More and Better Courts Initiative.”

The BTA Board quickly discovered that this new advocacy involved a whole other level of time and effort… regularly communicating with the Boulder powers that be, running surveys, attending open houses, speaking at public meetings, and of course passing on all the latest events to you.

That’s a lot of (tennis) balls to keep in the air. To address this issue, at its last meeting the BTA Board made a couple of changes. First, Parker Dodd, following through on his previous announcement to the board, stepped down after two years as president. The board then elected Chris DeCicco to replace him as the new BTA Board President, effective immediately. Chris has been an active board member for two years and is ready to hit the ground running as president. He brings to the position years of management experience and a wealth of energy and new ideas. You’ll be hearing more from him soon!

Parker will not be leaving the board. Rather, he will step into the newly created position of BTA Director of Community Relations. This new position reflects the board’s commitment to the future of Boulder public tennis. Whereas before, critical long-range work often took a back seat to the board’s day-to-day business, the new position will allow one officer to focus solely on the More and Better Courts Initiative. Of course the whole board will share in the responsibilities – it’s a big job. But the Community Relations Director will help keep the initiative front and center.

So those are the recent changes. Sorry for all the “inside baseball” information on board workings. But it’s critical to keep all our BTA members in the loop.  After all, it’s your BTA. (smile) If you have any observations, suggestions, or even criticisms, let us know via the email links on this page. And thanks for your support!

The BTA Board