Joe Creason Kentucky State Qualifier presented by Verizon

SITE ABBREVIATIONS
SEN: Seneca Park
STX: St. Xavier High School
KCD: Kentucky Country Day
TGA: Top Gun Academy
CH: Crescent Hill
BR: Bass-Rudd Tennis Center
ADV: Advantage Tennis Center
LTC: Louisville Tennis Club
LIRC: Louisville Indoor Racquet Club
SPRNG: Springhurst Tennis Club

* DATES/SITES: This year's tournament is scheduled for May 27-31 in Louisville. If we do not have any rain or delays, we will schedule the event to finish on Tuesday, May 30th and the 31st will be used as a rain day. You should fully plan on playing into Wednesday as it is rare to get 4 consecutive days without rain. We will be playing at Seneca Park, Bass-Rudd Tennis Center, Kentucky Country Day High School, Top Gun Academy, and Saint Xaiver High School, and Crescent Hill Park (10U Divisions).

* REGISTRATION DEADLINE: The registration deadline for the event this year will be NOON on Friday, May 19th. THERE WILL BE NO LATE REGISTRATIONS ACCEPTED UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE. I emphasize this because registration is open right now so you should go ahead and register now. That way if you have computer issues we can address them now. I am absolutely serious that there is not an excuse that will allow late entries.

* DOUBLES DETAILS: The junior competition committee voted this year to allow players to play singles in one age division and doubles in a different age division. Players must register for their respective doubles division by the registration deadline of May 19th and must declare their doubles partner online by 5pm on Monday, May 23rd. We highly encourage parents/players to find their own doubles partners.

* SEEDS/SCHEDULES: All seeds will be published by 5pm on Tuesday, May 24th. All first match times for singles/doubles and complete draws will be published by 5pm on Wednesday, May 25th. All singles draws will be Feed-In Consolation through the Quarterfinals and matches will be Best 2 out of 3 sets. All doubles draws will be Single Elimination and 8-game pro-sets played.

* BIRTH CERTIFICATES: All players must have a birth certificate on file with USTA Kentucky/USTA Southern to participate in this event. Many of you will already have a birth certificate on file if you have participated in the Creason or Southern-level events in the past. If you are unsure if your birth certificate is on file, you can check here. If you don't have a birth certificate on file with USTA, you can either scan and email to me at bhash@ustaky.com or fax them to our office at (502) 491-1228. Please check on these early so we don't have to hunt you down the week of the tournament and bring your child's entry into the event at risk.

* 10 AND UNDER DIVISIONS: This year, for the first time, we will be holding both a GREEN BALL and ORANGE BALL 10 and under division. The green ball division will be eligible to only Green Level 1/Yellow Ball players in the Youth Tennis Progression system. The orange ball division will be eligible for those in Green Level 1 or Orange Level 1. Players can only play in one division or the other. The green ball division will be the division playing for the quota spots to the Southern Closed Championships (info below). It is our plan, depending on draw size, to complete the 10U divisions by Sunday, May 28th.


CREASON WAIVER
For those looking into playing the Southern Closed Championship but not able to play the Creason, you must fill out the following waiver to be under consideration for one of Kentucky's allotted spots. Please return this waiver by the registration deadline of May 19th. You can find the waiver HERE.


* SOUTHERN CLOSED CHAMPIONSHIPS: Many of you already know this but for those that don't, this event is actually our state's qualifier into the Southern Closed Championships, which are obviously the championships closed for the Southern section. The basics are that each state in the section receives a certain number of automatic spots into the Southern Closed based off their state qualifier. In Kentucky, we receive 9 spots into each gender/age division in the 12-18 age divisions, and 10 spots in the 10U division. The junior comp committee long ago decided that 6 of those 9 spots will be determined by results from the Creason and the other 3 spots would be decided through a wildcard process. Now, here are some keys points everybody needs to understand:
* Only singles results are considered for those automatic spots. What that means is you need to sign up your child up in the singles age division they would like to play at the Southern Closed. So, if you sign your child up for the 14U division at the Creason, but they would like to play 12U at the Southern Closed, Kentucky will not endorse them with one of our 9 spots. Please make sure you sign up in the correct singles age division. * The following will be given automatic spots: Winner, Runner-Up, 3rd Place, 4th Place, Consolation Winner, Consolation Runner-Up * The junior competition committee will then select the remaining 3 spots (4 spots in 10U) on Thursday June 1st. Those wildcard spots will be selected based on a variety of factors, including Southern ranking, Creason result, and sportsmanship. * Now, despite the fact that Kentucky is given 9-10 automatic spots in each division, THAT DOESN'T MEAN IF YOU DON'T QUALIFY THROUGH CREASON THAT YOU CAN'T PLAY. There will always be spots available in the championship either from states not meeting their quota, wildcards, late withdrawls, etc. So, if you have any interest in wanting to play at the Southern Closed, go ahead and sign-up. Even if you don't end up getting selected, you won't be charged on your credit card. It doesn't hurt you to go ahead and sign up. * Now, on registration. YOU SHOULD REGISTER FOR THE SOUTHERN CLOSED BEFORE THE CREASON. The deadline for the Southern Closed is June 4th but again, it doesn't hurt you to go ahead and sign-up before you know if you will actually play. Here are the registration details: i. 10U (Tuscaloosa, AL, June 9-12): REGISTER HERE
ii. 12U (Cary, NC, June 10-17): REGISTER HERE
iii. 14U (Macon, GA, June 10-17): REGISTER HERE
iv. 16U (Little Rock, AR, June 10-17): REGISTER HERE
v. 18U (Mobile, AL, June 10-17): REGISTER HERE

* VOLUNTEERS: This is an event that runs at 4-6 sites at a time so we can always use volunteers. If you would be interested in volunteering at any time during the event, please let me know. You will be given a training and not expected to run a site or anything. You would simply be asked to support tournament staff at tournament desks, keep sites neat and clean, and be a general friendly face for the kids. We would schedule around your child's matches if needed. Just please email me if you would be interested.

HOTEL BLOCKS
Ramada Louisville North (http://www.ramadalouisville.com)
1041 Zorn Ave, Louisville, KY 40207
To Make Reservations call Phone: (502) 897-5101 or email call5018975101@gmail.com
The guest should say that they are part of the Joe Creason State Qualifier Tournament.

No Selection Process. All registered players will be selected.

Entry to this tournament is open to specified residents only. Entries must be submitted by Friday, May 19, 2017 11:59:00 AM Eastern Time. Only USTA members can register online if available.

In the future, you can jump straight to this tournament by entering the tournament identification number: 700002717 from the searchable schedule homepage.

Division and Draw Type Abbreviations Legend

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