Platform Tennis becoming the rage; try it out at Spring Lake Country Club

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Spring Lake Country Club offers 2 heated platform tennis courts

Platform tennis becoming the rage; even bankers love it

Posted by Shia K. at 11/11/2010 7:53 PM CST on Chicago Business

    

Call it the North Shore's version of a cage match. Platform tennis is taking Chicago and the suburbs by storm — bankers and their wives are even playing — and new courts are being added to country clubs and park districts throughout the area.
 

"It's the kind of sport that anyone can take up. We'll see a mom start, and then she gets her husband involved, and the kids follow," said Alan Graham, who oversaw last weekend's annual Chicago Platform Tennis Charities tournament at Glen View Club in suburban Golf, Ill. 

The event drew dozens of competitors from across the country and many more fans who watched from the club's parking lot overlooking the caged court.

Women's Open doubles winners were Gillian Climo of Naperville and Jane McNitt of Winnetka (she's the wife of Harris Bankcorp Inc. Vice-president Peter McNitt). They defeated a team from Rye, N.Y.

Men's Open doubles winners were Alex Bancila of Chicago and Juan Martinez-Arraya of Riverside, Conn., over a men's team from Connecticut and Ohio.
 

The Skokie, Northmoor and Midtown Tennis private clubs have plans to add additional paddle tennis courts to their facilities, as do park districts in Glenview, River Forest and Glen Ellyn.
 

"It's a way to bring people in for another sport, and maybe they'll use other facilities, too — like the restaurant," Mr. Graham said.
 

Platform tennis is played in wintertime and usually in doubles form. The courts are smaller and enclosed, raised on a platform to allow snow to melt off, and heated to keep players' feet warm.
 

The game plays faster than traditional tennis, requiring more strategy. Players use wooden paddles with a textured surface and holes to help keep ice from forming on cold days. 

And the ball is solid and super bouncy, making for more challenging play than the whiffle ball used in pickle ball, a similar racquet sport that's gaining popularity on the East Coast, especially among seniors.

Since 1995, when Mr. Graham took the helm of the Chicago Platform Tennis Charities tournaments, the game has grown from 70 men's teams with 850 players to 200 men's teams and 3,000 players.

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