USA SENIOR LEAGUE
2005 OPERATING PROCEDURES
COLORADO DISTRICT
(Changes from the 2004 Operating Procedures are underlined.)
ELIGIBILITY
All players participating in the USA League Tennis Senior Division must be adult members of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) and
have reached the age of 50 on or before December 31, 2005. Membership must be current through the league season (September 30, 2005). All
facilities participating in the league must be current organizational members of the USTA. A player may play on only 1 team in the USA Senior
League.
PARTICIPANTS
Based on the National Tennis Rating Program (NTRP) the levels of play will be: 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, and 4.5.
A team will consist of a minimum of six players of the same sex, eligible to compete at a specific level of competition. Each team member must
have an individual NTRP rating at or below the NTRP rating of the division; e.g., a player with a 4.0 NTRP rating may be on a team in a 4.5 division,
but a 4.5 NTRP rated player may not be on a team in a 4.0 division. Each league participant must have a published NTRP rating from the 2001,
2002, 2003 or 2004 season or they must declare a self-rating on TennisLink when he / she registers for a team. Once a player declares his / her
self-rating, the self-rating cannot be changed.
MATCHES
Team competition will consist of three doubles matches. A team member may play only one position per match. Teams are encouraged to field
their players for each match in order of strength.
Play will be the best two of three sets, with a set tiebreak (first to 7 pts. by two) if play reaches 6 games all. Players
may not play a tiebreak in lieu of the third set.
The 2005 USA League Tennis Regulations and CTA Operating Procedures are in effect for all matches. CTA Operating Procedures take
precedence over USA League Regulations in cases of overlap. In all matches played without officials, the USTA official publication “The Code”
shall be observed.
All players need to arrive at 6:00 p.m. unless notified otherwise by their captain. A forfeit may be called 15 minutes after the established starting
time. The Point Penalty System is not in effect for unofficiated league matches. Warm-up time is limited to 10 minutes. Each participating
club/facility should have three courts available for league matches.
League matches do not take precedence over tournament matches. If a player signs up for a tournament and creates a conflict with a scheduled
league match, the player must choose which match he/she will play and which match he/she will forfeit should a substitute player not be available
for the league match.
Team captains are required to reschedule one or all of their individual matches if their opposing team’s player(s) are participating in a CTA
State Championship or USA District Championship. Only the individual match(es) affected needs to be rescheduled. The line-up for the
match(es) being rescheduled should be exchanged at the time of the rescheduling. All rescheduled matches must be made up no later than
September 4th. The CTA League department must be notified when there is a request to reschedule a match due to a conflict with a playoff.
MATCH TIMES
Men
3.0
3.5
4.0
Wednesday @ 6:00 PM
Tuesday @ 6:00PM
Wednesday@ 6:00 pm
Women 3.0, 4.0 Monday 6:00PM
3.5 Thursday 6:00PM
Alternative court surfaces may be used if hard courts are not available for all or some of the individual matches. The home team will furnish new,
high altitude, pressurized, optic yellow, USTA approved balls.
ROSTERS
A team roster must include a minimum of six players. Players must be registered on their team prior to playing their first match. Matches played by
non-registered players may result in the matches being declared defaults. Additions to rosters may be done until September 1st. Players who have
not played a league match may be moved to another team until September 1st. The deadline for deleting players is June 30th
Teams with the minimum number of required players must be registered on TennisLink by June 24th to be included in the league schedule. Teams
registered after June 24th are subject to acceptance by the League Coordinator.
TEAM CAPTAINS AND FACILITY COORDINATORS
Each facility coordinator will:
(1)
Receive and distribute correspondence from their League Coordinator to the captains.
(2)
Review team rosters and report changes, corrections and deletions to their League Coordinator.
(3)
Submit a complete team captain information form to their League Coordinator no later than June 22nd.
Each team captain will:
(1)
Make available to each team member a copy of the Operating Procedures and the USA League Tennis Regulations.
Operating Procedures are also available on www.coloradotennis.com.
(2)
See that the players arrive at the proper time and place for their match each week. To avoid problems, the home team
captain MUST call the opposing team captain at least 48 hours before each match to confirm match times, court availability,
court surfaces, restrooms or other special club policies.
(3)
Exchange lineups simultaneously before the match. After lineups are exchanged, team positions are set. If a lineup is
altered after the exchange, both team captains must agree to the change.
(4)
Report match scores through TennisLink within 72 hours of match completion.
SCORING
A Team Match Format will be used. The team winning the majority of the three matches will be awarded one team point.
Blank scorecards can be printed by accessing TennisLink (national.usta.com or www.USTA.com). Scores can only be reported online by accessing
TennisLink. Scores must be reported within 72 hours of match completion. Failure to report scores within 72 hours of the completion of
the match may result in penalties to include loss of match. Either team captain or alternate team captain may report the score. The opposing
team captain should verify scores through TennisLink. Any scores not received by September 4th will be recorded as a double default. This date
constitutes the end of the local league season.
FORFEITS
Teams may forfeit the #3 doubles position without forfeiting the entire match. Before entering a complete match forfeit, the team captain must
inform their League Coordinator of the reason for the forfeit. The League Coordinator may require the team match to be played. In the event of a
complete match forfeit (2 or more matches), all matches played and to be played for the entire league season may be null and void. Any individual
matches that can be played shall be played and scored accordingly.
INDIVIDUAL MATCH FORFEITS
Prior to the match, if a Captain notifies their opposing Captain that he/she will be forfeiting any of the individual matches then the forfeit stands, even
if the team match is rained out. If both Captains agree to play the match that was forfeited they may do so. The match will then count as if it was
never forfeited.
SUSPENDED OR RAINED OUT MATCHES
Unless agreed upon by both captains, all players must be present at match time, even if a rain out is obvious. Rained out or suspended matches
are to be made up within two weeks of the originally scheduled match or by September 4th, whichever is first. The new, agreed upon re-scheduled
match date becomes the scheduled date for the match to take place. A lineup with players who will be in town and able to play within the two week
allotted time must be exchanged with the opposing captain within 48 hours of the originally scheduled match. Once lineups have been exchanged,
no changes are allowed without consent of both captains.
If a match has started and is suspended, play begins with the same set and game score. Once a match has started, no player changes may be
made. If additional time is needed to complete a match, the home facility team captain must contact their League Coordinator for an extension.
DARKNESS
If players cannot agree on the suspension of play due to darkness a decision should be made at the end of any even number of games, or any
set, by the spin of a racquet. The spin of the racquet determines
1) whether two more games (or one, if it ends the set) will be played OR
2) the match is suspended immediately
If it is decided to play two more games, at the conclusion of those two games or the set (whichever comes first), the match is suspended due to
darkness. A tiebreak is considered a game.
2 examples would be:
1)
2)
One player is within winning the set by two games (6-1, 5-7, 4-0) and wants to continue. The other
player wants to suspend play. A spin of a racquet will decide whether the players play two games, and only two games (to try
and finish the set) or whether the match should be suspended. The racquet spin determines two more games to be played. At
the conclusion of those two games, or the set, (whichever comes first), the match is suspended due to darkness.
If the score is 1-1 and one player wants to suspend play and the other player wants to continue, a spin of the racquet would
determine if they play 2 more games or the match is suspended. If it is decided to play 2 more games, at the conclusion of
those 2 games, the match is suspended due to darkness.
GRIEVANCES
A grievance alleging a violation of the USTA Constitution, By-Laws, Standing Orders, League Regulations or standards of good conduct, fair play
and sportsmanship must be filed with the District League Grievance Committee by the team captain of the team that has competed in the match or
by a League Coordinator. A grievance filed by a team captain during local league competition must be filed within 48 hours after the violation or
within 24 hours after the end of local league play, whichever occurs first by fax, e-mail or mail to the CTA. A $30 fee must accompany the grievance
and is refundable only if it is determined that a violation has occurred. League Coordinators may file a grievance within 48 hours after becoming
aware of the violation.
The District League Grievance Committee will send a copy of the complaint to the parties against whom the complaint is made. As soon as
reasonable, the District League Grievance Committee shall investigate the complaint with anyone deemed appropriate and render its decision in
writing to both parties. The Committee shall have the power to correct any violations found by reasonable means and/or suspend the player(s) from
the USA League Tennis program and/or reverse any previous points earned by the player(s) in prior matches.
Either party may appeal the decision of the District League Grievance Committee within 3 days after receipt of the Committee’s decision. All
appeals must be filed in writing with the District League Grievance Appeal Committee.
Grievances filed during playoff competition shall be subject to the 2005 USA National League regulations.
NTRP GRIEVANCES
A request for player review replaced the NTRP Grievance Procedure with the introduction of DNTRP in 2003. A Player Review may be requested
when it is believed that a player’s NTRP rating is above the level they are registered to play. A request for Player Review must be filed during the
local league competition by the team captain of the team who has competed in the match, or by a League Coordinator. The request for Player
Review must be filed by the team captain by fax, e-mail or mailed to the CTA (attention NTRP Appeal Committee) within 48 hours after the match or
within 24 hours after the end of local league play, whichever occurs first. A $30 fee must accompany the request for Player Review and is
refundable only if the complaint is upheld. League Coordinators may file a request for Player Review within 48 hours after becoming aware of the
match.
The decision of the NTRP Appeal Committee shall be by majority vote. If the NTRP Appeal Committee decides the player is not properly rated and
is disqualified for that level of play, all matches played by the disqualified player shall be considered a loss. The player may not play at the
disqualified NTRP level of play for the remainder of the league year and for the succeeding league year. There shall be no further right of appeal
from the decision of the NTRP Appeal Committee.
SELF-RATE GRIEVANCE COMPLAINT
A self-rate grievance complaint may be filed when it is believed that a self-rated player misrepresented his/her actual skill level when he/she selfrated. This would be a violation of the standards of good conduct, fair play and good sportsmanship. A self-rate grievance complaint must be filed
during the local league season by the team captain who has competed in the match or by a League Coordinator. It must be filed within 48 hours of
the match or within 24 hours after the end of local league play, whichever occurs first. A $30 fee must accompany the complaint and is refundable
only if the complaint is upheld. League Coordinators may file a self-rate grievance complaint within 48 hours of becoming aware of the match.
The decision of the NTRP Appeal Committee shall be by majority vote. If the NTRP Committee decides the player is not properly rated and is
disqualified for that level of play, all matches played by the disqualified player shall be considered a loss. The player may not play at the disqualified
NTRP level of play for the remainder of the league year and for the succeeding league year.
SCHEDULES
Schedules will be available on TennisLink on July 5th. Please check your schedule for any errors. Contact your League Coordinator immediately if
errors are found. The 2005 sanctioned tournament schedule was taken into consideration while preparing the schedules.
FEES
The CTA League fee will be $15 per person plus the USTA’s TennisLink user fee. League fees will not be refunded after June 30th. The USTA’s
TennisLink user fee is not refundable.
PLAYOFFS
Only the team with the most team points in each division will become eligible for the District Playoffs September 9-11th. If there is a tie within the
division, the tie shall be broken by the first of the following procedures that does so:
A.
Winner of the most individual matches during the league season
B.
Loser of the fewest sets
C.
Loser of the fewest games
D.
Winner of head to head matches
E.
Coin toss
Wild Card teams may be invited to participate in the playoff should the Tournament Committee determine that it would improve the event. It will be
the sole discretion of the Tournament Committee to decide if Wild Card teams are invited to participate. Only 2nd place teams will be considered as
Wild Cards. Wild Card teams will be randomly drawn from a statewide pool of 2nd place teams and will be representative of the geographic make
up of the total league’s registration. I.e., if 75% of the league’s participation is in the Denver Metro area, then 75% of the Wild Card teams will be
selected from the Denver Metro area. For more information on Wild Card teams in the USA Adult District Playoffs, please visit
www.coloradotennis.com and click on Seniors and click on USA Senior League.
To qualify for the playoffs, an individual must have played in a minimum of 2 matches. A forfeited match will count as a match played for the
player(s) receiving the forfeit, but not for the player who forfeited. The District League champion for all levels will be determined by a flighted round
robin format. Scoring in the playoffs will be the best two of three sets with a match tiebreak (first to 10 pts. by a minimum of two) played in lieu of
the third set. Hard court surfaces will be used.
Winning teams at the district level will have 48 hours to confirm that they will be competing in the Sectional championships in Boise, Idaho. Date to
be announced. If confirmation is not received, the second place team will be given the opportunity to compete in the Sectional championship.
Should a team confirm participation then withdraw from the Sectional championship, members of the team may not be allowed to participate in USA
Senior League tennis in 2006. Sectional winners will advance to the USA Senior League National Championships.
Please contact Diane Westlind, Northern Colorado League Coordinator @ 8223 Golden Eagle Road, Fort Collins, CO 80528
phone: 970.225.1281 email: dmwestlind@frii.com with any questions.