Board Member Profile – Darryl Noble
As Treasurer of the USAPA, Darryl Noble has been a member of its Board for six years and serves on the governing body’s ratings committee, national tournament committee and is the group’s budget committee chairman. And, if that isn’t enough, he and his wife Cathryn are avid pickleball players when not spending time with their three daughters and granddaughter. AS USAPA’s financial guru, Darryl oversees the annual budget, investment of its funds, financial reporting and profitability and federal tax filing.
A native of Pennsylvania, Darryl earned a degree in accounting from Salem University in West Virginia and immediately upon graduation, passed the certified public accountant exam and later, secured his investment advisor license with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He spent most of his working career in the south-central Pennsylvania area as a partner in a public accounting firm for 20 years. Then, a partner in an investment company that he helped grow from a start-up to $900 million in assets before retiring in 2013.
An adventurous couple, the Nobles made the most of their newfound freedom. “Cathy and I spend our Summers and Fall on the eastern shore of Maryland in Ocean Pines and our Winters and Spring in Fort Myers Beach, Florida. Prior to that, we spent 3 1/2 years living full-time in a motor home traveling the country circumventing the United States three times and traveling through Canada to Alaska in the summer of 2017.”
He has seen first-hand the explosive growth of the sport, and steady increase in USAPA’s membership. “I attribute our member growth to the following — approval of the medal match only sanctioning provision for tournament play which has allowed many tournaments that couldn’t have every match refereed to become sanctioned tournaments, conversion of the USAPA rating system to an automated tournament results dependent calculation versus a subjective opinion of a person and also partnerships with organizations like SSIPA and PPR.”
Darryl feels the USAPA needs to find additional avenues to attract recreational players and provide programs, especially for those within the age range of 15-40 to join the USAPA. “We currently are in the development phase for a new marketing plan to be initiated in 2020 that will address recreational players. Also, with the retirement of all the baby boomers, the retirement participation will continue to skyrocket.”
Looking forward to the new year, Darryl is at the forefront of USAPA’s further ascension in the sports world. “We are always looking at ways to attract businesses for sponsorships and creating other new sources of revenue, getting more of the approximately 800 tournaments per year that are held throughout the country to sanction their tournaments. Currently there are about 25% of those tournaments that are sanctioned. Also finding a national headquarters for the USAPA is part of the current strategic plan.”
