2017 Alabama Invitational Championshipc

Tournament Overview General Information Championship Procedures Hotel Information Schedule Photos USTA Alabama


 
USTA Alabama Championship Procedures 

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:

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

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. 

*Please refer to 2017 Alabama Rules and Regulations for full details on eligibility for Adult 65 & Over, Combo Doubles, and Tri Level.

Registration, and Entry Fee Requirements

Scheduled Matches

 Scoring

·         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

·         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

 Tournament Cancellation Policy

§  During Round Robin Play

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 to see if play can continue later that evening. 

 Administration