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USTA LEAGUE TENNIS

MOUNTAIN EMPIRE TENNIS ASSOCIATION

ADULT LOCAL LEAGUE REGULATIONS 2018

(Spring Adult, Mixed, Tri-Level, and Combo)

The USTA League Tennis National, Southern and Tennessee regulations have full force and applicability for META’s USTA Leagues.  The local rules handle only limited amounts of additional information that applies only to META.  If any regulation is not mentioned in the local rules, players will default to the State, Southern or National rule that pertains to the question at hand.

PLAYER AGREEMENT:  All players participating in the USTA League, as a condition of said participation, agree to abide, and be bound by the USTA Constitution and Bylaws, the Friend at Court and The USTA handbook, The Code.  Registered player agrees to use these rules and to use the standards of good conduct, fair play, and good sportsmanship. 

MEMBERSHIPS:  All participants who compete in the USTA League must be current members of the USTA. The registration fee for USTA is $44.00 annually. To join or renew your USTA membership go to http://tennislink.usta.com/leagues or http://membership.usta.com/section/Individual-Family-Memberships/101.uts

The fee to register a team is $25.00.  An additional fee of $3.00 will be assessed by TennisLink at the time of registration for a total cost of $28.00. Captain will be reimbursed $28 for each team they captain.  Captains will register the team in TennisLink with this format: TN/META/Smith or TN/META/Smith18 4.0 if captaining multiple teams.

COMPUTER RATINGS/SELF RATINGS: Each player will use his/her most current Computer Rating. Players who do not have a computer rating in TennisLink shall self-rate in accordance with National Tennis Rating Program (NTRP) Guidelines and complete the self-rating process on TennisLink when registering for a team. Failure to do so or omission of information regarding a players’ tennis history will subject the player, the captain and/or others who condoned inaccurate self-rating to sanctions and disqualification.

Local League: META geographic areas are defined as upper northeast of Tennessee and lower southeast of Virginia.  Matches will be played mostly in Tricities facilities.  These include Kingsport, Johnson City and Bristol.

LEAGUE SEASONS AND REGISTRATION DEADLINES:

Spring Adult 18 and 40 : Registration opens January 8^th.  Season begins March 25th and ends May 20th. Deadline to Register a legal roster is March 18th. Players may be added to the roster until May 1st. Match schedules will be posted by March 22nd.

Spring Adult 55 : Registration opens January 8^th.  Season begins March 18th and ends April 29th. Deadline to Register a legal roster is March 8th. Players may be added to the roster until March 28^th. Match schedules will be posted by March 15th.

Spring Adult 65 : Registration opens January 8^th.  Season begins June 24^th and ends July 30 ^th.  Deadline to register a legal roster is June 17^st. Players may be added to the roster until July 16^th. Match schedules will be posted by June 22^nd.

Mixed Doubles: Registration opens March 30^st.  Season begins May 19th and ends July 15th. Deadline to Register a legal roster is May 13th. Players may be added to the roster until June 1st. Match schedules will be posted by May 15th.

TriLevel: Registration opens March 31^st.  Season begins July 8th and ends August 12th. Deadline to Register a legal roster is July 1st. Players may be added to the roster until August 1st. Match schedules will be posted by July 6th.

Combo: Registration opens June 5^th. Season begins August 23^rd and ends September 22^nd. Deadline to Register a legal roster is August 2^nd. Match schedules will be posted by August 10^th.

Flex Single: Registration opens August 5th.  Season begins September 15th and ends November 15th. Deadline to Register September 9th. Match schedules will be posted by September 12th.

Note:

Tri-Level – ‘Team’: a ‘Team’ is comprised of a doubles team (2-4 players) at each of the following levels: 3.5, 4.0, 4.5. A player can only play in one position for each team match (no repeats). This format allows players to form a team with their friends whose NTRP ratings are at different levels.

Combo Doubles: The format of play will be three individual men’s or women’s doubles matches per team match. Each individual doubles team’s combined NTRP ratings may not exceed the level entered.  Players may play at their NTRP level or .5 higher. Each individual player’s NTRP rating may be no more than 1.0 apart from that of their partner’s for level 2.5 , 5.5, 6.5 and 7.5 at the 18 and 40 level.(example: a 3.0 rated player may play with a 4.0 rated player at the 7.5 level).  Each individual player’s NTRP rating may be no more than 1.5 apart for levels 8.5 and 9.5 at the 18 and 40 levels. (example: a 3.5 player may play with a 5.0 rated player at the 8.5 level).

The match schedules will be posted to TennisLink. A legal roster consists of 8 players for league type 18 and over and 40 and over and 6 players for league type 55 and over and 65 and over.

AGE REQUIREMENT: Each player shall have reached the minimum age prior to or during the calendar year in which that player participates.

CAPTAINS DUTIES:

Captains are responsible for all matches and their players, team administrative matters, and representation of their team in league matters.

Keep players informed of match times and any changes that may occur.

Player’s name must be listed on team roster as shown in TennisLink prior to participating in any match.

MATCH PLAY: If the local league coordinator is not present, captains will run their league match. Captains are to exchange lineups at match time or before if both captains agree and are ready to play. The home team will provide balls for league matches. Players will report 15 minutes prior to the match.

MATCH LINE UP: If a player is not present when the lineup is to be exchanged, that player or players must be placed in a defaulting position (i.e. #2 singles or #3 doubles). In the event of illness, injury, disqualification, or no-show of a player prior to the start of an individual match (once the lineup has been exchanged), a team may substitute a player in the affected position within the 15 minute default time, using a player not already listed on the lineup. If no such substitution can be made, the affected position will be forfeited. If a player is substituted that player will have a 5 minute warm up. Matches will be placed on the court in order of match play: #1 singles first, #2 singles second, #1 doubles third, #2 doubles fourth, #3 doubles fifth.

MATCHES: All matches will be the best of two sets and a Set Tiebreak (first one to 7 by 2 points) shall be used at 6-All in each of the first two sets. In lieu of a third set. A Match Tiebreak (first one to 10 by 2 points) shall be played. The Coman Tiebreak procedure will be used for all Set Tiebreaks and Match Tiebreaks. There will be a two-minute set break at the end of each set with no coaching. The tiebreaker shall be scored as 1 set and 1 game for tiebreak procedures in the event of a tie. Scoring in the event of a default, forfeit or NTRP dynamic disqualification shall be 6-0, 6-0.

NUMBER OF MATCHES:

1. NTRP levels with 2 teams will play a minimum of 3 matches
2. NTRP levels with 3 teams will play triple round robin
3. NTRP levels with 4 or 5 teams will play a double round robin
4. NTRP levels with 6 or 7 or more teams will play a single round robin
5. NTRP levels with 10 or more teams will be divided into two flights. The winner of each flight will enter into a playoff to determine the local league winner

REPORTING SCORES: Captains are responsible for keeping match scores. The team winning the match is responsible for reporting the teams match score into TennisLink within 48 hours of the completion of the match. If not reported, the local league coordinator will contact the captains to remind them to enter the scores. If the scores continue to go unreported, the local league coordinator may forfeit the entire match in TennisLink.

FORFEITS: A team must have 4 players available for all matches or it becomes a team default. If you only have 4 players for a match (18 and over and 40 and over), you must play #1 singles, #2 singles, and #1 doubles positions. If you only have 4 players for a 55 and over match, you must play #1 doubles and #2 doubles. If a captain knows ahead of time he/she will forfeit an entire team match or any individual court(s), they must notify the opposing team captain and the local league coordinator.  If the winning team at any level of USTA Tennessee local league competition is unable to advance to the State Championship, the Local League Coordinator, with permission of the State League Coordinator, will select the next team in line for such further competition. This does not apply to Adult 18 & Over Early Start League.

INCLEMENT WEATHER:  If it is raining or the temperature is below 45 degrees, captains may agree to reschedule their match. Weather.com will be the official source of weather information.  The league coordinator should be contacted if a match is postponed. The makeup match must be completed within 10 days of the original match date and no later than one week after league play has ended. In the event that inclement weather forces the cancellation and rescheduling of a team match, substitutions may be made in any individual matches which had not begun.  The line-up would stand only for those positions that had already started (first service attempt) their match. All other positions, even those that were in warm-up may be changed including defaulted courts.

PLAYER LIMIT: There is no limit on the number of players for a team. Teams must be able to qualify all players on the team roster (at least two matches with only one default counting for regular, mixed leagues and Tri-level; one match including default for combo).

PLAYERS PLAYING ABOVE NTRP RATING: Players may only play one NTRP level above their current NTRP rating. If the league only consists of two teams in a level of play, each team must maintain its roster with at least 40 percent of its players at designated NRTP level of play.  Exempt to this rule are 55 and over when using combined ratings and 65 age group. If only two teams in a level of play, each team must maintain a roster with 40 percent of players at designated NTRP level of play.

OTHER NTRP RULES:

The NTRP difference between members of any individual doubles team may not exceed 1.0.

Adult 40 Age group 4.5 may include up to three 5.0 players on the team roster with the restriction of only two 5.0 players in each match per team.

Adult 18 Age group 5.0 may include up to two 5.5 players on the team roster with the restriction of only one 5.5 player in the #1 position in singles or doubles per match

The following NTRP levels will play their local league at the TN State League Championship: Adult 18&over 2.5 men, 5.0 men, 5.0 women, 5.5 men, and 5.5 women. These levels must meet the TN State League deadline of May 20th, 2018, for team registration. Teams may add players up to 2 weeks before championship (June 1st/June 8th, 2018).

TWO TEAM RULE: Players will be allowed to play on two teams of different NTRP levels within a league type in META local league and must qualify separately for each team he/she plays on to advance with that team. In the event that both teams win the local league, players can advance to the TN State Championships on both teams; however, players must qualify separately for each team he/she pays on to advance with that team.

PLAYERS WHO PLAY ON TWO TEAMS: Players who play on two different Adult level teams may advance to the Tennessee State League Championship on both teams, but must qualify separately for each team he/she plays on to advance with that team. Adult players must play in two matches to qualify for advancement with only one default counting. A retired match counts for all players.

ONLY ONE TEAM: If there is only one team registered at the local league deadline of, that deadline will be extended two weeks in order to find another team to play in order to meet the minimum of two teams.

RESIDENCY RULE: NONE

TN STATE LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS: For a player to qualify for league championships, they must play in 2 matches with only one coming from a forfeited match. For 65 and up and all combo leagues they only have to play one match to qualify; If the winning team at any level of local league competition is unable to advance to the State Championship, the local league coordinator may select the second place team to participate. All players advancing to the 2018 Tennessee State League Championships will be charged $35 per person. Players must be registered in TennisLink and registered for the State Championship via Reg Online in order to participate. There will be NO REFUNDS. Each advancing team must send a $250 deposit check (payable to USTA Tennessee) to the state league coordinator immediately following the end of the local season. Deposit checks will be shredded at the end of the Championship matches.  Any team defaulting a court at the Tennessee State League Championship without approval from the Championship Committee will be fined fifty dollars ($50) per court.

ADULT STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS ARE SCHEDULED AS FOLLOWS:

GRIEVANCES: Grievances will be submitted in writing to the local league coordinator.  Non-NTRP grievances filed at the local level will have a $25 filing fee.  The filing fee will only be returned to the grieving party if a penalty is imposed.

LOCAL LEAGUE COORDINATOR:

Alice Zhang

Email: xfielitz@hotmail.com

Cell: (423) 451-6812

META BOARD OF DIRECTORS:  The Board of Directors will also serve as the Grievance Committee

President: Jan Goodsell

Vice President: Jim Flannagan

Secretary: David Poole

Treasurers: Joel Faidley

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