Hello captains - United States Tennis Association



Hello captains!

Re: Adult 65 & Over Spring 2013 (2013 league year) Season:

Starts April 12, 2013

Welcome to another season of USTA League Tennis!

Thank you so much for volunteering. Not only will you serve as the communicator and representative for your team, but we wouldn’t have our league without all of your efforts.

This introductory letter will serve as an information source throughout the entire league season. Refer to it whenever you have a question. If there is a question not listed in this information source, or if you need clarification on a topic, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Darrah Henn

Program Director, Adult 65 & Over Women

770-826-3495

darrahthehenn@

Captain 101 (can be found on Captains Corner – )

This information resource will show you step-by-step instructions on:

• Finding TennisLink;

• Finding your dedicated league page;

• Finding the Captain’s Corner (see below for Captain’s Corner content);

• Finding your level rep contact information;

• Logging in as captain on TennisLink;

• Viewing match schedule;

• Finding opposing captain information;

• Printing scorecard;

• Reporting scores; and

• Viewing team statistics.

Finding Phone Numbers for Opposing Captains

• Go to TennisLink ();

• Log in your USTA account (if you don’t have one – create one);

• Go to your team’s “Team Summary” page (the default page for your team)

• Click “Match Schedule” – you will see the opposing captain's phone number.

Finding E-mails for Opposing Captains

If you would like to find an e-mail for an opposing captain, you may find this information by doing the following:

• Go to TennisLink ();

• Log in your USTA account (if you don’t have one – create one);

• Go to your team’s “Team Summary” page (the default page for your team);

• Click “Captains Report”

• You will see opposing captain e-mails.

Assigning a Co-Captain

If you would like to designate a co-captain, please include the following info in an e-mail to Josh@:

• Your Team Name (example: Blackburn Park – Jane Smith);

• Division Level (example: 3.5)

• Co-captain’s Name.

Season Schedule for Spring 2013 Season

In the 3.0 Adult 65 & Over division level, there will be three teams playing in a triple round robin. In the 3.5 Adult 65 & Over division level, there will be three sub-flights of teams in the local round robin.

Local Match Dates

• Season starts Friday, April 12, 2013

• See TennisLink for complete detailed schedule. Click on “Match Schedule” from your “Team Summary” page.

• Match Time: Friday at 10:00 a.m.

• There will be no league play on Friday, May 24th in observance of the Memorial Day holiday

Playoff Structure

The following format will be used for the playoffs:

• 3.0 Division: There will be no playoff for this level. The winner at the end of the triple round robin will be the new city champion.

• 3.5 Division: The top two teams from each group and the 2 best overall third place teams will advance to playoffs.

Playoff Dates

The following dates will be used for playoffs:

• June 7, 2013

• June 14, 2013

City Finals

The city final match will be played on:

• June 21, 2013 at the higher seeded team’s home courts

 

Making up Matches

The makeup default time is Monday at 10:00 a.m. for the first two matches of the season (April 12 and April 19). Starting on the April 26th match, the makeup default day becomes the following Thursday.

If inclement weather occurs on the makeup default day (Monday), the new deadline moves to Wednesday at 10:00 AM for the first two matches of the season (April 12 and April 19) and continues day-to-day at 10:00 AM until weather permits the match to be played. Beginning with the April 26th match, if inclement weather occurs on the makeup default day (Thursday), the new deadline moves to Monday at 10:00 a.m.

*Exception: If inclement weather occurs on the last match of the regular season or playoffs, the makeup default time is Monday at 10:00 AM and continues weekday-to-weekday at 10:00 AM until weather permits the match to be played.

Georgia State Tournament for 2013 Championship Year

We are currently in the 2013 Championship Year! City Champions from USTA Atlanta will advance to the USTA Georgia State Tournament to be held in October 2013 in Savannah, GA. Please visit USTA Georgia’s site at for more information on logistics.

As set forth in Section VI (page 5) of the Rules and Regulations, a player must play at least once during the season to qualify for State Championship play. The season includes regular season matches and local play off matches. Receiving a forfeit counts as a match. (See detailed Rules & Regulations via Captain's Corner.)

Adding a Player After Season Begins

You may add players at any time up until 11:59 PM on the Thursday before the last local round robin match. Make sure your player is registered on your team before stepping foot on the court. If your player’s match is started at 10:00 AM, and they registered on the team at 10:02 AM, it is an illegal match and will be disqualified and awarded to the opposing team.

Captain’s Corner

The Captain’s Corner is another key resource tool for captains. You can find the Captain’s Corner by going to > Captain’s Corner > Senior Women. Here, you will find:

• TennisLink instructions;

• League calendar;

• USTA Atlanta local league rules and regulations;

• Friend at Court. FAC tells you everything you need to know about line calls, balls that hit scoreboards, hindrances, losing your hat during a point, yelling at your partner, etc. The section called “The Code” is a great reference for unofficiated matches.

• Grievance forms and procedures;

• Self-rating Guidelines;

• Playoff information (when available); and

• City Finals information (when available).

Team Management Tool

The newly-revised TennisLink has a new team management tool! This will be similar to the Netcord and TennisPoint features you have used in the past. However, this is free with your USTA registration. It will take some time to play around with it, but you will find it user friendly and will save you $15 each season. For a step-by-step presentation on using it, please go to the Captain’s Corner and find “Team Management Instructions.”

Signing up for USTA Atlanta Newsletter/E-Blast

If you want to keep updated with USTA Atlanta’s league registration openings, closings, and happenings, sign up for our e-blast newsletter. It will take less than 30 seconds to register.

Click this link now:

The Grievances Process (found in captain’s corner)

When viewing the captain’s corner, you will notice a grievance section with two types of complaints that can be filed from a captain.

Self-Rate Grievance aka “Fair Play Grievance”

Thankfully, TennisLink now assists in the determination of appropriate playing level. Just remember that ANY PLAYER that played college tennis, or was considered an “elite” player in high school or college MUST fill out the self-rating information when registering with TennisLink.

If you believe that you (or one of your players) have played against a player that has misrepresented their playing ability within the self-rating process (i.e., their playing level is at the top of the next level or higher), you should file a “Fair Play Grievance” ASAP before the next match is played. USTA had several self-rating grievances filed last year – many (with evidentiary support) were upheld and the players bumped up. The process works if you use it. However, you must have evidentiary support for your claim (ALTA record, K-swiss record, college background, etc). An opinion is not a valid back-up for a self-rate grievance.

USTA Atlanta does not process self-rating “Fair Play Grievances” – this is done by the USTA Southern Section. (However, you will submit your form to USTA Atlanta, who will forward your complaint to USTA Southern.) You can find forms and instructions on . Fair Play Grievances may only be filed against self-rated players. If a player has a computer-generated rating, their rating usually cannot be disputed through this process.

Sportsmanship Grievance

Unfortunately, a captain may come across a bad experience where they felt the opposing captain displayed poor sportsmanship. Examples of this type of behavior would be violation of USTA Atlanta rules and verbal abuse. (Playing against a player who was not the most pleasant does not count in this instance.) Although sometimes these cases can be hard to prove, USTA Atlanta encourages captains to file a complaint if you felt extreme poor sportsmanship was witnessed. You never know – you may not be the first one to file against that captain this season!

Important Tips

• 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 contact me. I am here to help you!

• Ensure a proper scorecard exchange before each match. Both captains should simultaneously exchange COMPLETE scorecards before the start of the match.

• 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. 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! The best way to do this is to send an e-mail to the other captain while copying your Program Director. This will help to avoid confusion and resolve matters.

• “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 doubles and the #2 doubles. The #3 doubles should be there within one hour after the start of match time.

• Each player should bring a can of balls for their match. After the match is finished, the “winners” of the match should receive/have the unopened can.

Good luck – and have a great season!

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