What is LATA?
The Los Angeles Tennis Association is a non-profit Tennis Organization that
offers organized tennis activities and social events to enhance tennis play in the
Los Angeles/Orange County area. We are guided by a group of member volunteers
(our annually elected Board of Directors) who keep the activities and events running,
and keep the members informed. We call upon all members to join in organizing the events,
as well as participating in them. Our goal is to bring together a
"tennis-playing" community of gay and lesbian people, although
we welcome non-gay or non-lesbian folks to enlist as well and to enjoy what we offer.

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What can I expect when I apply
for membership?
Membership sign-up will get you four important things:

1. Access to the MEMBERS ONLY section of our website
   
2. Access to a Membership Directory, including contact information,
   geographic locations, and playing level abilities of all 500+ members
   
3. Access to past and present issues of our Monthly Newsletter, THE SCORE,
   which will keep you informed of all LATA activities, and provide you with
   applications for activities well in advance of deadlines
   
4. Invited to attend our two annual parties – our Summer Social and our
   year-end Holiday party.

What should I not expect when I apply for membership?
The biggest misconception about membership in
LATA is that one applies and tennis activities come to them. Yes and no. Yes, a whole
varied range of tennis activities are instantly available to our members, but you
still need to be pro-active about participating in and signing up for the individual
activities. Membership is simply a required step for participation. Each
activity requires specific sign-up and an associated fee, as each activity is
organized by different members and is designed to be financially self-sustaining.
Please familiarize yourself with the different activities organized by LATA by
clicking on the different tabs above:

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What is the best recommendation for finding people to play?
Without a doubt, sign up for Team Tennis. This
is our most popular activity for a reason. It is very well organized and matches
members to many, many players of like ability in a ten week period. Even if structured
tennis is not for you, we recommend that you cut your teeth in LATA by participating
in Team Tennis for one season. Most likely you will come back, but at the very least,
you will sample a good selection of tennis players of similar level, and can—from
then on—set up matches outside of Team Tennis.

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What if I am just a beginner or haven’t picked up a raquet in years?
That’s the best part of LATA. But for the
exception of our Inter-City Team Competitions, all of our other activities are
designed to include players of all levels from Open to "never touched a racquet".
LATA has an "in-house" ranking system made up of 9 levels of playing ability. These
levels ensure that players are matched up with opponents of near equal abilities,
much closer than the USTA scale (3.5, 4.0, etc.), which LATA does not employ. Your
level is determined based on an advance informal visual evaluation of your playing
ability. We have dozens of players at all nine levels, including beginners. And, of
course, under structured (Team Tennis) play, if you improve or are out-gunned, your
assigned level will be adjusted.

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Should I take lessons before I join LATA?
Definitely not necessary. Tennis lessons are
a good idea for real enthusiasts who have the time and money. We have found that most
members improve their play quickest by simply playing more often. After the lesson,
tennis pros will tell you to get out and play. That’s the real opportunity that LATA
provides. Through the resources of this club, you will have year-round access to
players of all levels and styles, in competitive, structured, or more informal
settings—whatever may suit you and your schedule…and your pocketbook. If you are
concerned that you are a beginner who hasn’t been taught the basic rules and scoring,
the other beginning members that you will be playing will talk you through it on your
first day.

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What do I need to bring?
For every activity, you will need to bring proper tennis attire
(the most important component is rubber-soled shoes) and at least one tennis racquet.
Tennis balls, court reservations and costs are provided only by Team Tennis and
Tournament play. Courts are pre-reserved for Inter-City Team
Competitions. Challenge Ladder matches requires both players to share these
arrangements.

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Where does LATA play tennis?
Keep in mind that LATA does not host a "drop-in"
type of activity of any kind. Due to demand and a variety of playing levels, advance
sign-up facilitates fair play and organization. Each activity is planned differently
each year and the locations are determined by availability. However, currently the
most frequently used locations for our organized events are these:

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If I want to sign up for Team
Tennis or any other activity, what do I do?
There are two activities you can sign up for when applying for membership:
1) Challenge Ladder, and 2) Team Tennis. The
general Membership Application includes the Challenge Ladder sign-up option
year-round. You simply check the box and include the Ladder fee with your Membership
fee. Sign-ups for Team Tennis occur two times per year. The general Membership
application is modified in November to include Team Tennis sign-up for Winter League
which begins play in late January; and again in May the application is modified for
sign-up for Summer League which begins play in late July. For Team Tennis your two
sign-up periods are early November to mid-January and early May to mid-July. As a
non-member wanting to sign up for Team Tennis, you should come back to our website
here at the beginning of these sign-up periods, print out our Membership Application
under the "Membership" page, and follow the directions for Team Tennis sign-up. It is
best to apply as soon as the modified application is available. Team Tennis fills up
well before deadlines, and the applications are mailed directly to current members
through the Newsletter before they are posted on the website.

For the other activities, Tournaments, Social Doubles, Inter-city competitions, these
are annual events for which you must apply by way of separate applications made
available in our MEMBERS ONLY section on this website.

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Can I contact other members to
play tennis outside of organized activities?
If a members phone number or e-mail address is
listed in the Membership Directory, that member has made it available to the full
membership. LATA honors every request by its members to not disclose personal
information in our published lists, even though we have it on record. Once you
become a member, please feel free to contact any member in the current Directory who
has provided contact information, but we, of course, insist you use common sense and
courtesy when making phone calls to the home or office. Also keep in mind, every
member has the right and should exercise the right to decline any request. As well,
keep in mind, the Membership Directory is a list of "tennis players", not "tennis
singles" although you may someday meet the person of your dreams playing tennis,
the LATA Directory is not an alternative to speed dating.

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How do I become a LATA member?
This is the easiest direction of all. Go to the
"Membership" page on this website and follow the directions for printing the
application. Fill it out, sign it, and send it in with your check to the address on
the bottom. Look for the additional options of Challenge Ladder and Team Tennis, if
you are interested in participating in either or both. You will need Adobe Acrobat to
print out the application. If you are unable to print an application online, e-mail the
Membership Director for a application to be mailed to you.

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