General Tournament Information
GENERAL TOURNAMENT INFORMATION For ranking purposes, this is a USTA/Midwest Level 5 Tournament. Depending on the number of total players in the tournament, Friday play may be necessary. Players will need to be available to play on Friday at 1 pm, if scheduled.
PLAYERS ARE LIMITED TO 1 SINGLES AND 1 DOUBLES EVENT LATE ENTRIES If necessary, late entrants may be considered. For late entry requests that are approved, a $5.00 processing fee will be charged in addition to the entry fee. Please email the Tournament Director if you would like to request late entry, and include your name, USTA number, phone number and your current Midwest Ranking for the age group you would like to play. We will contact you to let you know if we will be able to accept your late entry.
SEEDING & DRAWS, INDIVIDUAL FIRST MATCH TIMES AND POSTING OF DRAWS The seeding and draws for this tournament will be done on Tuesday August 12, using the most current Midwest Standing List for each event. A list of Individual First Match Times will be posted on this site by 6pm on Wednesday, August 13.
When we post the SINGLES first match times on Wednesday, August 13 we will also post additional important tournament information so make sure you read the updates when you check for your first match time.
The SINGLES DRAWS will be posted on this site at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 14. The DOUBLES DRAWS will be posted on Friday afternoon.
MAKE SURE YOU PLAY DOUBLES, TOO! ALL Players who are selected for singles will be eligible to play doubles regardless of whether or not you signed up for doubles online. We will do our best to help you find a partner, if necessary. If you do not sign up for doubles online, and would still like to play (WE HOPE YOU DO!) please follow these instructions please send an email to Cindy Vickery at cvickery@midlandtennis.com to tell us you want to play doubles, tell us what age division you want to play in, and tell us your partner's name if you have confirmed one. If you need help finding a partner, please give us your contact information and give us permission to forward it to other players who are also looking for partners. We are very happy to assist with the initial connection between players, but would like the players/parents to discuss among themselves and then let us know when a partner is confirmed. We will continue to update the TennisLink tournament homepage with a list of doubles players and teams as they are confirmed. ALL DOUBLES TEAMS WILL NEED TO BE CONFIRMED BY NOON ON FRIDAY, AUGUST 15.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF PLAY To help you plan now, the tournament play may begin no earlier than 1 pm on Friday August 15th. We will attempt to schedule around high school tennis tryouts and Friday school or work commitments for players. Please email any special scheduling requests to the tournament director at cvickery@midlandtennis.com when you enter and no later than Tuesday August 12th at noon. Each day of the tournament singles matches will be played first followed by doubles. Consolation draws may not be played to completion if draw sizes are large and time does not permit.
TOURNAMENT BALL The Wilson Regular Duty Hard Court Ball will be used for this tournament
DRAW AND SCORING FORMAT The tournament will feature a First Match Loser Consolation (FMLC) draw format. Players who lose their first match will be entered into the consolation draw. Players are expected to play and complete all scheduled matches. Scoring format will be two out of three tiebreak sets with a 10-point Match Tiebreak in lieu of a full third set. A three minuted rest period will be allowed between the finish of the 2nd set and the beginning of the Match Tiebreak. This three minute rest period is the only time during the tournament that coaching will be allowed. Specific instructions as to how the rest period is handled here at the tennis center will be provided at player registration. Doubles will play a single elimination draw with an 8 game pro set, 10 point tiebreak at 8 games all.
USTA CERTIFIED OFFICIALS This tournament is USTA-sanctioned, and certified USTA officials will be onsite and roving matches throughout the tournaments. The USTA Point Penalty System will be in effect throughout the tournament, including lateness to a match. Please give yourself plenty of travel time as there is no grace period for being late to a match. The match clock will start when your match is called.
POINT PENALTIES MAY APPLY IF YOU SIGN UP FOR TWO TOURNAMENTS THAT RUN AT THE SAME TIME If you want to register for another tournament that runs at the same time as this one, you must email the Tournament Director of BOTH tournament BEFORE YOU REGISTER to get permission to register for both tournaments. You will receive suspension points and forfeit entry fees if you fail to do this.
TOURNAMENT WITHDRAWAL PROCEDURES If you need to withdraw from the tournament BEFORE entries close, you must do it online-use the EDIT REGISTRATION link in the left column of this page. ALL withdrawal requests made AFTER entries close must be made in writing to Cindy Vickery at cvickery@midlandtennis.com . Requests must include player name, USTA number, a detailed reason for the withdrawal, mailing address, and phone number. All withdrawals for injury or illness will require written verification from a medical professional to be received by the Tournament Director no later than noon on Tuesday, August 12, 2014. All withdrawals because of personal emergency will require a written description of the situation to be received by the Tournament Director no later than noon on Tuesday, August 12, 2014. Please e-mail verification to Cindy Vickery at cvickery@midlandtennis.com , or fax to 989-631-5532, to the attention of Cindy Vickery, Tournament Director. There will not be any refunds issued for withdrawals, for any reason, received after Tuesday August 12 at noon.
PRACTICE COURT INFORMATION The Midland Community Tennis Center is a nationally-recognized tennis facility featuring 16 indoor hard courts, 15 outdoor hard courts, and 4 outdoor clay courts. All tournament play will take place outdoors on the 15 hard courts, weather permitting (some doubles matches may be played indoors-TBD). ALL PRACTICE COURTS AT THE TENNIS CENTER WILL BE AVAILABLE ON A FIRST-COME, FIRST-SERVED BASIS, THROUGHOUT THE TOURNAMENT (no reservations). Please see our Welcome Center staff when you arrive for all practice court requests and court assignments. Players cannot enter any courts (outdoors or indoors) without a court assignment from the Welcome Center. There is no charge for outdoor practice courts. The indoor court rate is $17.00 per hour and fees must be paid prior to receiving a court assignment and entering the court. During each morning of play, outdoor courts will be available (weather permitting) until match play begins. Once play begins each day, there will not be any outdoor hard courts available for practice at the tennis center. Additional nearby outdoor practice courts are located within ten minutes of the tennis center at H.H. Dow High School (8 courts) and Midland High School (8 courts), as well as several nearby middle schools. Directions and a map will be available at our Welcome Center when you arrive, or click on the link on this page (Midland Driving Directions and Map) to print a copy of the map now. IMPORTANT-Please make sure you bring your own practice balls. Tennis center hoppers, ball carts, ball machines, and demo racquets are not available for tournament player use.
MIDLAND COMMUNITY TENNIS CENTER HOURS OF OPERATION The Midland Community Tennis Center hours of operation for the tournament are: Friday, August 15, open until 8:30pm or end of play; Saturday, August 16, 7am until the end of play; Sunday, August 17, 7am-8pm.
HOTEL INFORMATION We recommend these great Midland hotels. SpringHill Suites by Marriott 989-837-2700. The H Hotel 989-839-0500. Holiday Inn Midland 989-794-8500. Valley Plaza Resort 989-496-2700. Fairview Inn 989-631-0070. Hampton Inn 989-837-4000. Sleep Inn 989-837-1010.
USTA/MIDWEST SECTION DOMICILE RULES The Sectional Junior Events are open to citizens of the U.S. permanent resident aliens in possession of a valid alien registration card, individuals who are applicants for adjustment to lawful permanent resident status and who can present a USCIS receipt for a pending unadjudicated form I-485, aliens who have resided continuously in the US for more than one year and who are members of families of persons in the diplomatic or consular corps and aliens who have been granted Refugee Status, Asylee Status or Temporary Protected Status. Questions pertaining to eligibility consideration for all Sectional Junior Events must be addressed to the USTA/Midwest Section office.
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