The 2009 San Diego Open Finals: Games 4-7

Congratulations to DJ Alto for winning the 2009 San Diego Open on the 2009 JOOLA North American Tour. In front of his hometown crowd, DJ won his first ever NATT tour event over Steven Wang 4-3. Did we also mention he is only 16? Thank you to all the participants and spectators! Story courtesy of NATT

Dear Members: Welcome Back.  We are open again!  Just want to bring you up to date.  We have a new league starting this Friday.  We have a new board member.  I want to clarify the training and table policy so there is no confusion.  The City has just posted their new fee schedule for comment which is scheduled to go into effect July 1, 2009. Earl & Brana will be running a league starting this Friday.  Sign ups are still being taken.  Fee is $25.  Team will consist of 3 people and will follow the Olympic format.  See Earl or Brana to sign up. Jr. Training will will have priority in the first two rows.  Five tables may be placed in rows 1, 4 & 5.  The middle two rows (2 & 3) will have four tables only.  We would like to accomodate as many people as possible while maintaining safety in play.  Please be courteous. The Board is happy to welcome Mark Adelman.  He will serve as the new treasurer.  Additionally, Bill Cooper has agreed to serve as Secretary and Priscilla Umel is now has the job of Member Relations and James Kahn is Vice-chair.  We appreciate Mark taking on this job.  Brana and Earl will continue to assist the treasurer in collecting fees and running the club.  The board considered a number of policies related to member fees.  The two modifications that were approved were that members can bring first time guests at no charge.  We want to encourage new people to join the club.  So if you have a friend that you would like to invite, their first visit will be free.  We also adopted a hardship policy.  If a person has financial or other difficulty paying the dues, the procedure is to fill out a hardship form  for a fee waiver.  Suresh K. has agreed to consider hardship waivers.  Confidential information can be submitted to Suresh for his consideration.  Brana, Earl or other board members can provide more detail. Lastly,  the City is raising the fees they charge the club and for use of all public facilities.  Initially, there will be a $600 charge to SDTTA.  The ongoing fees charged for purchasing extra hours is going to increase by 20%.   We anticipated this and the current fee structure will cover the extra expenses. However, fees charged by the City for Clinics and Tournaments will increase by more than 20%.  This may put in danger our NATT tournaments and other functions. There is still a chance that our hours will be modified next month in the on going financial crisis at the City.  There will be a hearing today at 2:00 at the Balboa Park Club.  and another meeting on April 1 at City Council.  Please contact me at jh4484@cox.net if you can be present at either of these meetings.  We are working hard to represent your interests and keep you informed. Jerry Harris, Chairman

San Diego Table Tennis Association March  Board Meeting Minutes March 17, 2009 / 6:30p.m. / Balboa Park Activity Center – Board Meeting Room SDTTA BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Jerry Harris, Priscilla Umel, Scott Roberts, Bill Cooper, James Kahn, Angie Bengtsson SDTTA BOARD MEMBERS MISSING: SDTTA MEMBERS ATTENDED: Mark Adelman CALL TO ORDER: By Jerry Harris at 6:30p.m. January 6, 2009, January 27, 2009, February 17, 2009 AGENDA: Provided by Jerry Harris ACTION ITEMS: Approval of Minutes: Angie motions to approve the  Minutes. Bill 2^nd’s the motion with the following modifications and exceptions.  It was noted  the membership Fee Increase voted upon January 5, 2009 had a lively discussion.  We heard many opinions regarding the fee increase and Michael Jaynes took a unscientific poll of members.  He found no objections to the fee increase. All in favor – Yes (unamimous) Tournaments: A brief discussion about the San Diego Open hosted by NATT was discussed. The Board would like to sign at least 200 members to play the tournament. Tournament information will be published via email and internet. SDTTA will also be continuing to provide SDTTA members with discounted USATT memberships for $20. The California State games will be July 16-19.  Ron Spencer is the tournament director.   We have 250 postcards to distribute to encourage people to participate. REPORTS: Treasurer’s Report for February: Jerry Harris submitted the treasurer’s report.  It was accepted.  See attached The board discussed modifying the fee policy.  Jerry brought up a number of proposals including student rate, out of towner rates, summer rates and 3 month pass.  The only proposal that the board agreed to was that members could bring guests for free the first time.  Angie motioned, Bill Seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Training: The Board has not approved any subsidy for the junior players until we figure how the budget is going.  The board reviewed the training policy of using the first two rows and discussed which rows could have more than 4 tables.  Scott move and James 2^nd motion for rows 1,4 and 5 to have up to 5 tables.  Motion passed unanimously. James Kahn left the meeting. Board Nominations: Mark Adelman was nominated by Angie to join the board.  Bill Cooper 2^nd motion.  Motion passed unanimously. Board Positions: Angie moved that we rethink board positions since we have new board members.  Jerry agreed that would be a good idea and offered to step down as Chairman to open the field to other board members.  Angie moved the following board positions: Jerry:  Chairman Angie:  Executive Director Mark:  Treasurer James:  Vice President Bill:       Secretary Priscilla: Members Relation Scott:     Public Relations Bill 2^nd the motion.  Vote 3-1-2 Yes votes:  Jerry, Angie & Bill No votes:  Priscilla Abstentions:  Scott & Mark The new positions will begin at the next meeting. Priscilla left the meeting. Chairperson’s Report: Jerry reported that Suresh Kanekar has agreed to review hardship waivers.  The Board discussed various criteria and appointed Jerry to speak with Suresh.  Board members agreed that Suresh would have wide discretions and his judgment will be final. The City is in the process of changing the fee structure for the BPAC.  Jerry and Angie are monitoring the meetings and Jerry has submitted a letter to the City requesting them to modify the initial proposal to be more users friendly. Equipment Report: Bill gave an update on the equipments and was authorized to purchase more large barriers.  He informed the board that they are back ordered and we do not know when they may come. The next board meeting will be April 21, 2009 at 7:00 pm. MEETING AJOURNED:

Dear Members: The Spring league is now forming. It will have a different format. It will follow the Olympic team format. Check out the flyer by clicking here. Do not forget to sign up for the 4 star NATT tournament coming at the end of April. We have entry forms in the equipment room. If you are not a USATT member, the club offers half price membership.   Talk to any board member, Brana or Earl to get your application and discount. Jerry Harris Jerry Harris Chairman SDTTA

What: Thursday Club Rummage Sale Where:  The BPAC Description: The Thursday Club is having a rummage sale, so all activities have been canceled. From:03-07-2009 Until: 03-15-2009

Dear Members: We have experienced several challenges in the first two months of this year. We greatly appreciate your patience as the City works out their problems. The new hours go into effect this weekend. We will be playing again on Sundays from 12-4:30 pm. Saturday hours will be 10-3:30. We worked out a deal with the City and the Badminton club to purchase 9 hours on Saturday, Sunday and during the week. This may cost more than we originally expected especially since the City has announced that they are going to increase the hourly fee 20% in April. As most of you know, our long time treasurer, Neil, has resigned. To date we have been unsuccessful in finding a new treasurer. This leaves a huge gap in our program. At Neil’s suggestion, we are going to hire part time assistance treasurers that will be responsible for collecting dues and organizing other functions at the club. Brana Vlassic and Earl Altos will share the position. We urge you to cooperate with them and assist them in carrying out their duties. The dues for 2009 are $100 per year, $30 for Juniors and $100.00 per family. Daily rates are $5 for adults and $1 for juniors. We will establish a membership desk at the front of the club. Please ask for a receipt whenever you pay for your membership. All players will be expected to carry their membership cards or receipts for payment at all times when playing. Players that fail to bring their cards will be expected to pay the daily fee. We hope to do a better job of collecting daily fees so that we can keep membership dues as low as possible. Members that paid $50 previously are expected to pay the additional $50.00. If a member has a financial hardship, scholarships are available. Please speak to Brana, Earl, Angie or myself. The Board also voted to move the junior training back to the 1st two rows of the club. This will assist the collection process as the junior parents and other volunteer collectors will be manning the membership tables. The juniors have priority on the first two rows on Monday, Tuesday & Friday nights and also on Saturdays. Please be courteous when you are asked to move prior to the start of junior training. Lastly, a number of members expressed concern over the fee increase and want to make sure that the money is spent wisely. The board has approved a budget for 2009 (click here to view) . Given the uncertainties, we hope to meet or exceed the goals and objective set forth in this budget. The expected increased revenue is going to fund the purchase of the hours from the City, the 50th year Gala and also the assistant treasurers positions while maintaining our other member services (leagues, tournaments, web site, clinics etc…). We were forced to make cuts in other areas. Unfortunately, the club’s investments suffered along with everyone elses in the recent and ongoing financial turmoil. Please feel free to contact me if you questions or concerns regarding club activities at jh4484@cox.net. Jerry Harris Chairman SDTTA