GLTA announces new awards system

From FGG member organization Gay and Lesbian Tennis Association:

They are back for 2012: GLTA AWARDS

The GLTA strongly believes that dedication, effort and good results need to be recognized and rewarded. In 2010 we needed to suspend the GLTA awards for a number of reasons. Very few players engaged with the voting process. An award could be won with less than 30 votes. Tournaments with the most entrants had an unfair advantage in both the small and large award categories. Votes were cast by players who might not even have attended the tournament that they were voting for! Frequently awards were won by GLTA Board members! The voting process was open to abuse and the possibility of multiple votes being cast by one person. Something had to change, and the GLTA Executive Board of Directors has made some very needed corrections.

The Board have come up with a solution, while it's not perfect, it will be a vast improvement. The intention at the moment is to e-mail all players at the end of each tournament they play and ask them to score a number of the tournament features. Scores would be cast using a Likhert scale (1-7). Besides questions about venue and organisation, players are asked to score the tournament team and the tournament overall , and these two scores will be used for awards.

To explain, a tournament with 100 players could achieve a total possible score of 700 for tournament overall. If 50 players voted and they each awarded the tournament a maximum score of 7, the tournament would have achieved a 50% of the total possible score. At the year end, the tournament achieving the highest percentage of the total possible score would be awarded a GLTA Award. There is an award for Best Large and Best Small Tournament. The award for Best Tournament Director is being replaced with Best Tournament Team and votes will be cast in the same way.

Awards for Player of the Year and Volunteer of the Year will be voted on by players at the year end. We are looking at maybe using Facebook as part of that process. The most important aspect of the awards is that they are a true reflection of our players opinions and appreciation. Please use our Facebook page for any suggestions for improvement.