Tournament Overview 55 & Over

2024 55 & Over – Huntsville, AL – May 16-19,2024

TOURNAMENT OVERVIEW

2024 55 & Over
Huntsville, AL

This tournament overview provides players with all relevant information pertaining to this championship.  Players should become well-versed with the Tournament Overview and Championship Procedures prior to arrival to a championship.  The tournament overview and championship procedures can be found at www.alabamachampionships.com by clicking on the appropriate championship link.  Please note that either document may be amended at any time at the discretion of the Championship Committee.

USTA Alabama would like to thank each and every captain for their volunteerism and dedication to our league program.  We recognize the amount of work in captaining and your work and commitment is much appreciated.  This championship event would not be possible without each of you.  Thank you!

ALL PLAYERS MUST BE REGISTERED IN TENNISLINK BY APRIL 28TH, 2024, TO BE ELIGIBLE TO COMPETE AT THE TOURNAMENT.

Captain’s Registration: 

All captains are expected to pick up and relay to their team members all relevant items prior to championship start.  This includes but is not limited to captain bag as well as the player gift.  The registration period will also allow captains the chance to ask any questions prior to the championship start.

Captain Registration Logistics: 

Location:  Huntsville Tennis Center 2305 Airport Road SW, Huntsville, AL 35805

Captains can pick up their bags and packets on Thursday May 16th 3:30-5:30. 

In order to give captains more time to arrive to the host city, there will be no captain’s meeting.  However, captains are expected to read over and relay all information to their players.  For captains that do not attend the captain’s bag pickup, he/she should pick up their items prior to the start of their first scheduled match at Huntsville Tennis Center.

Tournament Dates:  May 17-19^th, 2024

Championship Tournament Staff:
Meg Edwards, USTA Alabama Director of Adult Leagues, Championship Tournament Director
Referee:  Jeff Burns
Greg Edwards, JTT Coordinator
Ruth Anne Bendall, Birmingham Local League Coordinator

Tournament Committee:   Greg Edwards, Jeff Burns, Joc Simmons, Ruth Anne Bendall

Local Tournament Chairperson:  Joc Simmons

Championship Contacts
Meg Edwards, USTA AL Director of Adult Leagues meg.al.tennis@gmail.com 205-454-5533 *For any questions, captains only may reach out to championship contacts. Players should go to captains with all questions.

Championship Facilities:
Tournament Headquarters:

Huntsville Tennis Center
2305 Airport Road SW
Huntsville, AL 35805

Other Possible Sites:
Athletic Club of Alabama
Leeman Ferry Road SW
Huntsville, AL 35805

Hard courts may be used in case of inclement weather, play may be under lights and on indoor courts if available.

Official Ball:  Penn 

Practice Courts
If the championship is on soft courts, players may not warm up at any time on the soft courts.  Players will be expected to vacate any warm up on hard courts at 30 minutes prior to the first scheduled match each day so matches can get started.

Relevant Rules and Information

• On the website, you will find the code of conduct, Tournament Overview and the scoring conversion chart in the event of format changes due to inclement weather.
• All teams should arrive to their site 30 minutes prior to match time ready to play.

• Lineups will be submitted through Match Tennis Team.  Our staff will be inputting results into TennisLink after each round.  Please make sure to hit update and then submit when you are ready to turn in your lineup. If you submit a wrong scorecard, we cannot give it back.
• Site desk workers will have the balls ready for the home team to pick up. When you are assigned your court, come to the desk and pickup the can of balls with your assigned court number. 

• Staying on schedule is contingent on getting players on and off the court as quickly as possible.  Therefore, one person from each team is to report scores into Match Tennis Team immediately after each individual match.  At the end of the team match, captains can review scores in Match Tennis Team and sign off on the scorecard.  If the scorecard is not signed off on in a reasonable amount of time, it will be signed off by administration.  At any time however, a captain can dispute a score. 
• Teams are expected to complete all individual courts/matches as scheduled. 

Captains are required to submit a team deposit hold of $300.00 by the deadline set by the state league coordinator.  Deposit will be made online via the Match Tennis Team app.

• The deposit will be held until the conclusion of the applicable 2024 USTA League Alabama Championship. If the team successfully completes the championship (e.g., no defaults), or if a team withdraws before the draw is published, the deposit hold will be removed (not forfeited). If a team withdraws after the draw is published, or if a team does not successfully complete the Alabama championship, the deposit will be forfeited, or partially-forfeited. The situations where the deposit hold will be forfeited, or partially forfeited, is as follows:

If a team withdraws after the draw is published, or if a team does not successfully complete the Alabama championship, the entire deposit will be forfeited.

If a team defaults an individual court/line during championship, an administrative fee of $100 per individual court will be charged up to the full amount of the deposit. (For example, a team defaults an individual line during its Saturday afternoon match. $100 of the deposit will be charged by USTA Alabama within 30 days.)

Team captains with deposit forfeiture and/or administrative fees for individual defaulted courts may submit a waiver to be exempted from paying fees. Waiver requests will be submitted to and reviewed by the Alabama Adult League Committee and must be submitted within 7 days of the completion of the championship.  Only cases of “extreme” circumstances will be accepted and/or considered.

Note: Collected monies will be donated to the Alabama Tennis Foundation.

• All communication will be through Match Tennis Team App

• Do not bring alcohol to the site as no alcoholic beverages are permitted by the City.
• Pay close attention to the parking directions at any facility as your car could be towed if parked in an area where parking is not allowed!

• Award presentations will be at HUNTSVILLE Tennis Center for the winning team.
• USTA Alabama maybe taking photos during and/or in connection with this event, for promotion, commercial and/or any other purposes.  If either I (or any of my players) do not consent to all such uses without any further compensation and/or other consideration becoming due, I (or player) will notify Meg Edwards (meg.al.tennis@gmail.com) prior to the event.
• The winning teams will be eligible to advance to the 55 & Over sectional tournament hosted by Little Rock, AR, surface:  Hard.  Dates can be found at https://www.usta.com/en/home/play/adult-tennis/programs/southern/league-programs.html#tab=tournaments

Player Lunch: Friday and Saturday 10:30-2:30.  All players must present ticket.

Reminders from the Referee

• Cell Phone/Pager Warning:  This is your official warning.  Please make sure all players have their cell phone and pager off or on vibrate.  If a cell phone or pager goes off in the middle of a point, the opponent may claim the point.  Friend at Court states the following:  While on court or during a match, a player may not receive information via electronic devices capable of receiving communications such as cell phones and smartwatches. All electronic devices should be on airplane mode once the player(s) take the court.
• No coaching is allowed and spectators including team captains should not be asked for their opinion.
• Scoring Format:  All matches will be the best 2 out of 3 sets with a 10-point tiebreak in lieu of a full 3^rdset. The Coman Tiebreak Procedures will be used for all tiebreaks (including the 10-point match tiebreak).
• Changeovers:  The rest time for all changeovers is 90 seconds, except between sets which is limited to 2 minutes.  There is no break after the first game of each set – players simply change sides.
• Warm-Ups:  Players are limited to a 10-minute warm-up including serves prior to match play. If players exceed the 10 minutes, the players may be told to play regardless of where they are in warm-up, so it’s important to stay within time on your warm-up.
• Medical Time-Outs:  The player in need of the medical time-out should not leave the court.  Immediately send someone not involved in the match to get a referee.  All medical time-outs will be addressed in compliance with “Friend at Court.”
• Bathroom Breaks:  A player can take a bathroom break at any time but players should try to take breaks during changeovers or between sets.
• Rain Procedures:  If there is a rain delay, players are not permitted to leave the tennis center unless otherwise released by the Tournament Director and/or Tournament Referee.  If pulled from the courts due to rain, players must report their match scores in progress in the app immediately after being pulled from the courts.
• Point Penalty System (PPS):  The PPS will be enforced.  If a player is :01 to 5:00 minutes late, it is a loss of toss and 1 game for that player.  If a player is 5:01 to 10:00 minutes late, it is a loss of toss and 2 games for that player.  If a player is 10:01 to 15:00 minutes late, it is a loss of toss and 3 games for that player.  If a player is 15:01 minutes late, it is a default.  The Championship Referee is responsible for issuing defaults for failure to arrive on time.
• Note:  Matches are un-officiated and all issues should be resolved on the court by the players involved.  The Championship Referee should only be requested if all players on the court cannot resolve the problem on their own and if requested by the players on court.  Spectators are not permitted to request a Referee unless the players on court request it.

Social Media & Marketing

• Like us on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/USTA-Alabama-804479939622609/
• Team photos will be taken after the final or conclusion of round robin and posted on the ATA Championship Website, www.alabamata.usta.com, by clicking on the championship link.

 Please be nice to the site coordinators and other volunteers.  They are giving up their time to provide you with an outstanding championship experience.  Players who display inappropriate behavior to any of the site coordinators, volunteers and/or tournament staff may be subject to a sportsmanship grievance.  This also includes any violation of the USTA Alabama League Code of Conduct.