

2016 USTA League
Alabama Adult 40 & Over Championship
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USTA
Alabama Championship Procedures
2016
Championship Year
USTA
Alabama is comprised of twelve local leagues: Anniston, Auburn, Birmingham,
Decatur, Dothan, Gulf Shores, Huntsville, Mobile, Montgomery, Selma, Shoals and
Tuscaloosa. The USTA Alabama Championship Procedures will apply to all USTA
Alabama State Championships. When not stated in the Championship Procedures, the
National, Sectional and Alabama regulations and Friend at Court will apply.
State
Championships
USTA
Alabama offers a state championship for each of the following programs:
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USTA
League Adult 18 & Over
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USTA
League Adult 40 & Over
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USTA
League Adult 55 & Over
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USTA
League Adult 65 & Over Invitational
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USTA
League Mixed Doubles 18 & Over
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USTA
League Mixed Doubles 40 & Over
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Southern Combo Doubles
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Tri
Level
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Invitational Mixed 55 & Over
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Invitational Combo 65 & Over
Team
Qualification
·
Local championship teams will be allowed to advance to the USTA Alabama State
Championships. If a local championship team declines their invitation, the state
league coordinator may offer another team the opportunity for advancement.
·
Wildcards will be issued to fill draws at the state championships. Additional
wildcards may be extended under discretion of the State League Coordinator.
Championship Format
·
USTA Alabama Championship format shall be round robin in all levels of
competition.
Each team
shall play every other team in its flight, and the team with the most team
points shall be champion in its flight. Levels with two flight winners will
offer a single elimination finals match to determine the champion. For those
levels that have three groups the second place team or teams with the best
record as determined from above will be designated the wildcard*. If a draw
results in the second place team playing against the first place team from its
own group, the draw shall be altered as follows: second place team shall
exchange places with team from the top line of the other semi-final.
Semi-finals will be played as follows for those with three groups: Winner,
Flight 1 vs Second place team, Winner flight 2 vs Winner Flight 3.
*In the event that a
team withdraws from the tournament or if all flights do not have an equal
number of teams; the wild card team will be determined by a draw from the 2nd
place teams from each flight.
Eligibility
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All
players must possess current USTA memberships through the conclusion of the
USTA Alabama State
Championship.
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All
players must be prepared to present photo identification immediately upon
request.
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USTA League Adult 18 & Over, Adult 40 & Over, Adult 55 & Over, and Mixed
Doubles:
Players are eligible to advance to the state championship level competition
if that player has played on that same team in at least 2 matches during its
local league season. A maximum of 1 default received by the player during
local league competition shall count for advancing to State Championships.
o
A
minimum of eight (five for 2.5 & 5.0+ levels) team members who were on the final
roster of their Adult 18 & Over and/or Adult 40 & Over local league team at the
conclusion of local league play must be available and eligible to compete. The
Championships Tournament Committee, by majority vote, can reduce that number to
not less than four (three for 2.5 & 5.0+ levels).
o
A
minimum of six team members who were on the final roster of their Adult 55 &
Over or Mixed Doubles local league team at the conclusion of local league play
must be available and eligible to compete. The Championships Tournament
Committee, by majority vote, can reduce that number to not less than four.
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Adult 65 & Over*, Southern Combo Doubles, and Tri Level*:
Team members are eligible to advance to championship level competition if
that player has played on that same team in at least 1 match (1 of which may
be a default received) during its local league season or state
championships.
-
A
minimum of six team members (three eligible pairings) who were on the
final roster of their local league team at the conclusion of local
league play must be available and eligible to combine and compete. The
Championships Tournament Committee, by majority vote, may reduce that
number to not less than four.
*Please
refer to 2016 Alabama Rules and Regulations for full details on eligibility for
Adult 65 & Over, Combo Doubles, and Tri Level.
Registration, and Entry Fee Requirements
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Championship Entry Fee: $35.00 per player that is non-refundable.
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Players should be registered on both TennisLink and the Alabama championship
web site.
Scheduled
Matches
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The
captain is responsible for checking his/her team in at the site of the
match. When all players are present and ready to play, the captain will
turn in their lineup at the site desk using one of the scorecards in the
registration packet. It is asked that captains turn in scorecards 30
minutes prior to the start of their scheduled match.
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If a
team has a known default, the opposing team will have the opportunity to
revise their scorecard once both scorecards are turned in and the default
has been announced by the site director.
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No substitution may be made in an individual match after the line-up has
been presented, except for injury to, illness of, or disqualification of a
player prior to the start of such match, and except other circumstances
listed in procedures. If substitution is made during warm-up, the
substitute player is entitled to a five minute warm-up. If no such
substitution can be made, the affected position only will be defaulted.
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If a
captain duplicates a name in error on a scorecard, a team may be allowed to
substitute a player for the duplicate name in the lower position (at the
discretion of the Tournament Committee), using a player not already listed
on the line-up. A substitution may only be made in the lower position if the
error is discovered before the match begins. If no such substitution can be
made, the affected position only will be defaulted.
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The
Point Penalty System, which includes the 15-minute default time rule, will
be strictly enforced. Court monitors may be used to time warm-ups and
changeovers.
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A
ten-minute warm-up will be observed which will include serves. The referee
may allow a five minute warmup in the event of a short inclement weather
delay.
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Winners of individual matches will take the balls and report the score
immediately to the site desk.
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Captains are expected to sign each scorecard after each scheduled match is
completed before leaving the tennis facility. Failure to sign the scorecard
may result in scores posted online only confirmed by opposing captain.
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If a
team match is postponed following the exchange of line-ups, the original
line-up will stand for the make-up match UNLESS teams are released from the
tournament by the tournament director and/or referee. If teams are released,
the line-up would stand only for those positions that have already started
(first service attempt) and all other positions (even those that were in
warm-up) may be changed. Defaulted courts will stand for matches in
progress. If teams are released and play has not begun then the line-up may
be changed including defaulted courts.
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Tournament Referees will not be used to make line calls or call foot faults.
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In the
event of significant weather challenges, the Tournament Committee may use an
alternate scoring match format, change court surfaces, play under lights, in
order to complete the tournament. See Alternate scoring document located on
championship website.
Scoring
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Each team will receive 1 point for each team match won. Results will be
posted in TennisLink. To comply with national regulation 2.03H, in the
event of a tie, the tie shall be broken by the first of the following
procedures that does so: winner of the most individual matches, then winner
of head to head match, then least sets lost, then least games lost, then a
coin toss. Please see national regulation 2.03H(1) for further information.
All scores are final 48 hours after the conclusion of the tournament.
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Coman
procedure will be used for all tiebreaks.
·
Results will be entered into Tennis
Link throughout each day and can be viewed on TennisLink.
·
All
teams are expected to play all scheduled matches. Any team not complying may be
subject to grievance procedures. In accordance with USTA League Tennis
Regulations, any team forfeiting an entire team match for any reason will result
in all matches of that team previously played or to be played to be declared
null and void. If all teams in contention for the Championships have already
played the forfeiting team in good faith, the matches stand as played.
·
If any team is released from the
Alabama championships due to inclement weather and/or court availability issues,
matches in progress between teams that are no longer in contention will be
scored as retirements. The players leading in the set and/or game count will
receive the retirement. Courts that have not begun will be scored as double
defaults. Teams that are not in contention may not leave the championship
without verbal permission from the Tournament Committee.
Grievances
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Forms
are available at each of the sites at the tournament desk. Completed
grievance forms must be presented to the Site Director at the site of
the match within 30 minutes of the completion of the team match.
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The
committees involved will handle all Grievances as promptly as possible.
Unless requested by the committee, only the captain and the player(s)
involved will be permitted at any hearings.
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NTRP
Grievances filed within 21 days of the start date of the player’s and/or
captain’s state championship will be administered after the event unless the
section authorizes the administration of the grievance prior to that time.
If the grievance is not administered until after the event, points won by
players will stand.
·
A team forfeiting an entire team
match during championship play may receive further penalties imposed by the
Championship Grievance Committee.
·
Teams entered in the State
Championships that withdraw after the state entry deadline will be subject to a
fine of $75 per person payable to ATA.
Any team that defaults a court
throughout the championship is also subject to the $75 fine unless excused by
the tournament committee. Said players will be ineligible to compete in
any USTA League including Tri Level and Southern Combo Doubles until the fine is
paid. Appeals may be submitted to the chairman of the Adult League Committee
within one week of the said championship.
NTRP
Dynamic Disqualification
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USTA Southern follows national regulation 2.04E(2)c in that dynamic ratings
will be generated following the State Championships. It is possible for any
self-rated (S), appealed (A), dynamic disqualified (D), and/or early-start
league (E or C) players to be dynamically promoted at his or her NTRP
level. (Please see National NTRP Dynamic Disqualification table for further
details.) The promoted player will not be eligible to advance to the next
level of competition. Points earned by disqualified players will stand.
Tournament Cancellation Policy
§
During Round Robin Play
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Should
inclement weather or other circumstances prevent the completion of a state
championship or prevent round robin matches from starting by 5:00 PM
on Sunday; the level/flight winners will be determined by the first
of the following procedures that does so:
o
In the event a level or
flight within a level consists of multiple round robins, the first place team
will be determined by TennisLink standings at the conclusion of the most recent
full round robin. If a full round robin is not completed, the below-mentioned
procedures would apply.
o
In the event that only one team in a round robin has a mathematical chance of
finishing first, that team will be declared the winner of the round robin.
o
If more than one team has a
mathematical chance of winning their round robin, and the first place team has
already beaten the other teams with a mathematical chance of winning, the 1st
place team would be considered the round robin winner.
o
If a round robin winner cannot be determined, and each team in a round robin has
been given the opportunity to complete a minimum of one team match, only teams
with a mathematical chance of finishing first will receive an entry into a
drawing. Undefeated teams will receive a second entry into the drawing.
o
If a round robin winner cannot be determined, and each team in a round robin has
not been given the opportunity to complete a minimum of one team match, each
team will receive one entry into a drawing to determine the round robin winner.
§
During Playoffs
o
Should
inclement weather or other circumstances prevent the completion of either the
semi-finals or finals during the State Championship; the following procedures
will be used:
o
If cancellation occurs before or
during the semi-finals, all flight winners will receive two entries in the
drawing and the best 2nd place teams will receive one entry into the
drawing to determine finalists. Any winning team that has completed their
semi-final match will receive two entries into the drawing and the losing team
will be excluded from the drawing.
o
If cancellation occurs once the
finalists have been determined, but play has not begun, each team will receive
an entry in the drawing to determine one state champion.
o
The Tournament committee may
keep both finalist teams at the site past 5:00 PM on Sunday to see if play can
continue later that evening.
Administration
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Rain
Hotline Number: 1-800-592-1838
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Tournament Committee will use proper and fair judgment with regard to all
State tournament-related issues.
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Tournament Committee: To be appointed by Alabama State League Coordinator.
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Championship Grievance Committee: To be appointed by Alabama State League
Coordinator.
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Championship Procedures may be amended at Tournament Committee’s discretion.