GLTA Announces Corporate Changes and Upcoming Vote to Amend Bylaws
The GLTA Board of Directors is pleased to announce that in furtherance of its efforts to foster inclusivity throughout the tennis-playing world and within our tour, the Gay and Lesbian Tennis Alliance will be re-incorporated as “Pride Tennis Worldwide, Inc.” later this year.
While the formal corporate name of the organization will change, we will continue to utilize “Gay and Lesbian Tennis Alliance” or “GLTA” as the tour’s commercial brand while the Board considers whether and how to re-brand for the future.
The new corporate name will coincide with the timing of the organization’s new corporate formation in the State of Delaware, USA, where many reputable U.S.-based not-for-profit organizations are incorporated and which has laws more favorable to inclusive organizations like ours. Over the course of the last 33 years, the GLTA has grown exponentially, from 4 tournaments to over 80, and from a few dozen players, to over 5,000 annually. The Board believes these corporate changes support the organization’s mission and will allow for continued growth and modernization in the coming years.
In addition, over the last year, the Board has been working on proposed edits to the organization’s Bylaws. Although the Bylaws were recently amended by Member vote in 2022, additional updates are necessary to ensure best practices are followed for an organization of our size and reach and to reflect the worldwide nature of our tour.
During the drafting process, the Board has revisited a series of revisions proposed by an ad hoc bylaws committee of players and member representatives formed in 2019 by the then-Board of Directors.
On October 27, the Board submitted the proposed bylaws revisions to the Membership for review. On November 10, the Board will open voting among the Membership. Voting will close on November 24. Any Bylaws revision obtaining a two-thirds vote of the voting Members will be immediately implemented, and any election-related amendments will be utilized for the upcoming 2024 organization elections, to be held in December 2024. A copy of the proposed revised Bylaws are provided with this release.
Click here to read the revised Bylaws.
Players or member representatives may direct any questions to Matt Feinberg at secretary@glta.net.
* Cover photo is from the GLTA tournament Madrid Tennis Open
