The All India Tennis Association has adopted several sweeping changes in its new constitution. The amendments passed at the digital special general body will to some extent will free the tennis governing body from the clutches of select few.
The posts of the Life President and the Life Vice President have been abolished along with the implement the one-State one-vote system to make the AITA National Sports Code compliant.
The SGM on Monday has also approved to increase the number of joint secretaries from two to four.
“We have to follow the Government guidelines and the Sports Code. We used to follow the ITF method of voting because they are the parent body but the Government wants to bring uniformity and we are fine with that,” AITA secretary general Hironmoy Chatterjee has told PTI.
The States like Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, which better representation in the national tennis circuit previously had move votes in the AITA under the differential voting method, followe by the International Tennis Federation. The nations with the Grand Slam tournaments have more have more votes in the ITF than other countries.
Maharashtra Lawn Tennis Association, which conducts a lot of international tournaments apart from developmental activities throughout the year, in the previous system had 20 votes under the weighted voting pattern. It will also now have only one.
Tamil Nadu Tennis Association, Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association and Delhi Lawn Tennis Association were among the States to have multiple votes.
The new constitution will put all the 28 AITA-affiliated full member States on a par in the politics of national tennis administration.