Captain’s Meeting



Captain 101

Resource Guide for New & Existing Captains

USTA Atlanta Web Site ()

• Find link for TennisLink. (You will report scores, register players, get match schedules, and see stats/results of everyone.)

• Find Dedicated League Page (business women, men, etc), which will also bring you to captain’s corner.

When you put your curser on “USTA League Tennis,” you will get a drop-down menu, which allows you to select your league. For this example, I will select the “Business Women (Adult)” league page.

Once your select your dedicated league page, you will be allowed to access any information pertaining to your league. The two that you will use most often will be “Level Reps” and “Captain’s Corner.”

Level Representatives

USTA Atlanta is fortunate to have level representatives and Program Directors who volunteer their time in making our programs a success! When you click on the “Level Reps” link, you will see that each division level is assigned a level representative. The “Level Rep” page will give you the name, phone number, and e-mail of your representative. What can your level rep do for you?

• Answer your questions and procedures on rules and regulations pertaining to your league.

• Answer your questions regarding inclement weather.

• Serve as your main source of communication during the league season.

Level representatives expect e-mails and calls from captains, so do not be afraid to contact them! If by chance you need immediate assistance and cannot get a hold of your assigned level rep, you can call another level representative in your league. Due to the high number of players in USTA Atlanta leagues, captains should only be contacting level representatives.

Captain’s Corner

This corner was created just for captains. If you have a question at any time, you can probably find it on the captain’s corner (as it has probably been asked before). Some of the most commonly used part of the “Captain’s Corner” are:

• League Rules and Regulations.

• Calendar.

• Grievance Procedures and Forms.

• Ratings Information (including self-rate guidelines). Please keep in mind that USTA Georgia does all of the ratings for Georgia, not USTA Atlanta. If you have a detailed question regarding a rating, you can call them at 404-256-9543.

TennisLink (you can access this site at )

Despite a little confusing at first to get adjusted to (just like any software program), TennisLink will become the easiest online tool to use! TennisLink allows captains (and players for certain information) to do some of the following:

• Create a team online for any league with USTA Atlanta.

• Register a player for a team.

• View your match schedules and captain contact information.

• Report your scores online.

• View your current standings (right after you input a team match) and view statistics and results for your team as well as other teams.

Logging in as Captain

The first thing you will want to do is log in as captain on TennisLink. You will see the (purple) arrow below, which will prompt your to enter your USTA membership number. After hitting “go,” it will ask you to confirm your e-mail (upon your first time logging in each season). Logging in as captain will allow you to view much more information than a player can access. It is highly recommended that you add a co-captain to your team (if you have not done so already). This will be beneficial for when you are out-of-town during a league match and need another player to step in as captain. The co-captain cannot log in as a captain until TennisLink assigns them as captain. (If you did not do this when you registered for the team, you will need to e-mail admin@ and request a co-captain to be added.

Once logged in, you will see the same homepage for TennisLink with a “Welcome “insert your USTA #.”

Search for your Team

You literally have several ways to search for your team. You can do this by searching for your name, your individual USTA #, and even your team #. For this example, I will use my name when trying to search for my team.

When typing your name, you can try clicking on “exact match” if you are sure of the exact full name. Since some players go by a nickname or shorter name, it is recommended that you click “name starts with” to find your name. A player named “Chris” could also be “Christopher,” “Christian,” etc.

Selecting Your Team

Once you have chosen your search engine to find your team, every league you have played in should show up. (Keep in mind that TennisLink is a national database. Therefore, common names will have more than one player, but you will be able to know which one is you by location.

As you will see, you are able to view all of the leagues that I have participated in with USTA Atlanta.

Please keep in mind that our 2010 League year begins in the summer. Therefore, our 2010 League year will be Summer 2009 – Spring 2010 (calendar-wise).

I am going to select my summer team (see arrow).

When you select your team, you will taken to your team page. You are able to view the players on your roster, your team’s current standing in your division, and all of your statistical information.

If you look above, you will see some tab buttons. If you select “match schedule,” you will able to view your match schedule, the captain and her/his contact information, and who is the “home” facility for the team match.

You will also see a tab to print your scorecard. This is one way to do it but there is a better way to do it….so hold off for a minute when I show you another way!

Clicking on Match Schedule and Printing Complete Scorecard

When you click the “match schedule tab,” you will see all the information already discussed on the previous page.

On the “match schedule” page, you will find the match ID, the team match date, the “home” team, and the captain phone number. It is recommended that you contact your captain at least 3 days in advance to coordinate all the logistics.

When on “match schedule,” there is another tab for “blank scorecard.” This will give you a COMPLETE scorecard, which will list both of the “home” and “visiting” team roster with their ratings. You will see an example on the next page.

Top of Scorecard Bottom of Scorecard

As you can see, the scorecard provides your team match #, your team vs. other team, spaces to write in your players, and (on the bottom of the scorecard) you will see the current roster for your team as well as the other team.

Players must be registered for the team before they step foot on the court. If a player is found to have played a match without being registered on the team prior, the match will be disqualified and the individual match win will go to the other team (regardless of who wins the individual match). It is also recommended that both captains exchange line-ups with each other at the same time. Once line-ups are exchanged, no changes may be made. (The only exception is a team substitutes another player in (that was not originally on the roster) or inclement weather reschedules. (Please refer to rules and regulations for more information on this.)

Reporting a Score on TennisLink

When you are on the TennisLink homepage, you will want to go to the “report a score online” link on the right side of the page under “League Players.” To report a score, you will need to have your own individual USTA # and the match # of the match you are reporting. (You can view this on your match schedule. Please see above.)

After typing in your individual USTA # (remember, only captains can report a score), and your particular team match #, TennisLink will confirm the two teams that played (which is a good way to confirm that you typed in the correct team match #). If this is the correct match, hit “next.”

Once you are in the scorecard, you are allowed to start inputting the results. The first thing you will want to do is fill the date that the match was played. (Please see red arrow.) You will also start putting in the names of the players for each match line. (Every player from each team will be on the drop down menu under each line.)

**Very Important: Report the score as the match was won! For example, your team may have won the overall team match (for example, a 3-2 win over a team), but you will always report the score as it was won. For example, if your team won the overall team match (3-2), but you lost your #1 singles match, you would not report the score as 4-6, 4-6. You would report it as 6-4, 6-4, and you are given the choice to select a “winner” for either the “home” team or the “visitor” team. (See green arrows.) So in this example, you would report the score 6-4, 6-4, and select the “other” team as the “winner” of the match.

You are also asked to give specifics about the completion of the match. (See purple arrow.) If the match was completed, then you would select “complete.” If the match was started and a player had to quit the match due to injury/sickness, etc, then you would mark it as a retirement (i.e. you would input

6-2, 3-1, and then select “retired.” If a team has to forfeit a match, you would select “default.” (**Very important: If you are marking a default, the only players that should be listed on the roster are the players that “won” by default. No score needs to be entered for a default. DO NOT mark it as 6-0, 6-0.) A “double default” is when both teams cannot provide a line-up for that match. There is no need to fill out any players for a “double default.”

Once you report the score, the other captain will either “confirm” the score, or have a chance to “dispute” the score within 48 hours. Once the match is inputted and both captains confirm, your division standings will be updated immediately when you do a search for your team and/or sub-flight. If the score is disputed, the captain will be notified. ALWAYS have both captains sign each other scorecards (after each team match) to ensure that scores are accurate.

This is an example of how the standings would look after a local league season is completed. As you can see, the most important factor for determining placement in your division is your “head-to-head” win. If you win a match 5-0, 4-1, or 3-2, you are awarded “1” team point. If you lose the team match you, you receive “0.” In the case of a tie, the next determining factor is “individual matches won,” then “sets lost.” This is why it is very important to ensure that scores are correct. Sometimes 1st and 2nd place teams are determined by “sets lost” or “games lost.” In this case, you see there is a tie for 2nd place, but the 2nd place team was determined by “individual matches won,” which was 22 individuals wins to 21 wins for the 3rd place team.

Division standings in each sub-flight are used for determining seeds in the city playoffs for each division level.

Important Captain Tips and “Frequently Asked Questions”

• Be sure to thoroughly read through and be well-versed with USTA Atlanta local rules and regulations.

• If you have a question or issue, do not be afraid to call your dedicated level representative. They are here to help you! If you are a new captain, they will be your new best friend! *smile*

• Assign a co-captain for your team! This will help for when you are out-of-town unexpectedly and can have someone take over for a team match. If there is not one currently, e-mail admin@ and give your name, your team #, and the captain you want to assign as co-captain. Once assigned, they will be able to have captain access on TennisLink.

• Contact your captain at least 3 days in advance to coordinate logistics for the team match.

• When speaking with your captain, confirm the facility address ( is great) to make sure you have the correct address on file. You will also want to find out the number of courts that will be given for match and court surface.

• If both captains agree, you may play your match earlier or at a different time on match day. Keep your level rep informed if you do this!

• “Home” teams are required to provide two courts of the same surface for each team match. Unless another arrangement was made (and “agreed upon” by both captains), the first two matches to go on will be the #1 singles and the #1 doubles. The #2 singles and #2 doubles should be there within one hour after the start of match time, and the #3 doubles should be there within the next hour.

• Make sure your player is registered on your team before stepping foot on the court. If your player’s match is started at 12:30 PM, and they registered on the team at 12:32, it is an illegal match and will be disqualified and awarded to the opposing team.

• “Home” teams are not required to provide refreshments for team matches. However, please consider providing light refreshments for your visitors, as they may be traveling a long way to come to your facility.

• Each player should bring a can of balls for their match. “Home” players provide the balls for the match, with the “winners” receiving the unopened can.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download