Elysium Girls 14, 16, 18 July Compass Draw #261

SATURDAY - HOT AND MUGGY. BRING LOTS OF WATER AND FLUIDS. WE CANNOT PROVIDE.
BRING YOUR OWN TOWELS AND SWEAT BANDS. WE ARE NOT ALLOWED TO PROVIDE.

SUNDAY - WE WILL START OUTSIDE - MOVE INSIDE WHEN IF IT RAINS.
REPORT AT YOUR SCHEDULED TIMES..........

Weather is the bane of all summer outdoor activities. Check here for updates frequently.
The forecast is for a chance of rain, not huge, but some. We have indoor courts available, so we will get all matches completed and the tournament finished on Saturday and Sunday.

There are a few indoor courts with activity already scheduled on Saturday. If there is rain outside, we will move indoors and play our matches on courts as they become available. There may be some slight time delays. Sadly, that is the real tennis world, and that is tournament tennis. After 2 PM we have the entire club indoors, all the indoor courts, so everything will catch up quickly. If it rains in the morning and the sun pops out and dries the courts, which happens frequently, we may move matches back out doors to continue play. For all tournaments - everywhere - always bring books, snacks, head phones or entertainment items with you - just in case.


***** WEATHER UPDATES WILL BE POSTED HERE CONTINUOUSLY AS THINGS CHANGE *****

We have run over 200 Compass Draw Tournaments in the past 10 years, as such we have chronicled just about every possible question that has been asked, with answers covered below. EMAIL is our preferred method of communication due to the ability to communicate at any time of the day or night, and more importantly, email leaves a definitive electronic trail. Email, due to the clarity of the written word, also tends to mitigate questions of what was stated, at what time, and by whom. If you have any questions, please email the tournament directors at the email address listed above. We monitor messages constantly. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU INCLUDE THE PLAYERS NAME, AND USTA #. Thank you.

Our Elysium Summer tournaments will be using the latest, and most up to date, precautions prescribed by the USTA and the Ohio Dept. of Health and the OHSAA, in order to help ensure the maximum possible level of safety for all our participants, fans and attendees. Our dominant concern is for the safety of all individuals of every strata that may be in attendance at the tournament.

The latest publications form the USTA, OHSAA and State of Ohio will be posted on the wall for review and education.

Players - In Summary:
BRING YOUR OWN WATER, DRINKS, FLUIDS. LOTS. GONNA BE HOT. DO NOT SHARE.
BRING YOUR OWN TOWELS. LOTS - GONNA BE HOT. DO NOT SHARE.
EACH PLAYER / TEAM WILL GET 2 BALLS TO PLAY WITH. USE ONLY YOUR BALLS.
ONLY TOUCH / HANDLE YOUR BALLS. HIT YOUR OPPONENTS BALLS BACK TO THEM WITHOUT TOUCHING.
PICK UP YOUR OPPONENTS BALLS WITH YOUR FOOT OR RACKET, TO HIT THEM BACK.
PARENTS, FANS - BRING YOUR OWN CHAIRS OR SEATING. WE CAN PROVIDE NONE.
PARENTS AND FANS PLEASE MAINTAIN YOUR SOCIAL DISTANCE FROM OTHERS.

We start first matches at 9 AM this Saturday, and 9 AM this Sunday. PLAYERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR CHECKING THEIR MATCH TIMES LISTED IN DRAWS, DIRECTLY ABOVE. With a full draw of 16 players all participants will have 2 full matches Saturday morning & afternoon and 2 full matches Sunday morning & afternoon.

To help facilitate participation of out-of-town players, we do our best to schedule players coming from long distances later in the morning so there wont be a need to come on Friday night and require a hotel room. We cant guarantee this, but in the past few years, this has worked very well for us - and saved a lot on Friday night hotel rooms.

Saturday:
Matches begin at 9 AM and may run until 5-6 PM.

Sunday:
Matches begin at 9 AM and may go until 5-6 PM.

We will use indoor courts when necessary to keep the tournament moving.
We hope to be completed by 5 PM so non locals can get travel home as soon as possible.

Be sure to check your individual official match times - they will be posted in the "DRAWS" section above.. more info

Our tradition for all tournament participants is an all you can eat pizza chow down, produced by Papa John's, with pop provided, on Saturday afternoon. Pizza is delivered around 2:00 PM. Siblings are welcome, within reason, to jump in, after the players have eaten. Please use a little discretion, we want to make sure the players get enough to eat first. Trophies are awarded for first, second and third place in each division. Each player will also receive an Elysium Compass Draw tee shirt for participating. Muffins on Sunday morning for the players, and parents, as a big thank you for having the kids participate.

We always employ a USTA referee for all compass draw tournaments. We are trying to prepare all the players for making it to the high level Midwest tournaments, where the rules are adhered to without exception. Not that we will be as tough as they are, but it is best to be used to following the unbending USTA rules. The referee makes all decisions upon the court. Just as at the higher level tournaments, the referee's rulings are final, there are no appeals. You are responsible for knowing the rules of play, as set forth in, "Friend at Court", which governs all USTA tournament play. more info

This is the rule book that governs all tennis in the U.S. under the umbrella of the USTA. Click on the link to see the 365 page manual. Good idea for you to review, download and retain a copy for yourself, for future review, if you wish. more info

Player selection process is as follows: we use a 16 player compass draw format. Only 16 boys and 16 girls will be selected to play. If fewer than 16 participants sign up for a particular age division, we will use modified compass draws for 8 or 12 participants. With an 8 or 12 player compass draw all players will get at least three matches. If there are more than 16 entrants in a division, per USTA Midwest guidelines, the highest ranked 16, using the most recent USTA Sectional rankings, will be selected for the draw. USTA Sectional rankings from any Section are considered of equal merit. The remaining registrants will be placed on the alternate list and be called in order of ranking should any players selected withdraw due to illness or injury. If a player registered online and was not selected - YOU WILL NOT BE CHARGED.

We almost always have more applicants than the 16 spots available for play in any given division. The applicants not selected to play will then be automatically placed on the Alternate List by the TDM tournament software. If there is a withdrawal due to illness, injury or family emergency, the next highest ranked alternate will be called to take the available spot of the withdrawn player. Please email us to confirm you want to be on the Alternate List. If you want off, or have other plans, please email us so we will not bother you with communications.

Alternates - If there are injury or illness withdrawals, we will go down the list in numerical order calling players to find a replacement.
*** If you wish to play in another tournament, please EMAIL us, WITH PLAYER NAME AND USTA NUMBER, and we will remove your name from the Alternate List. ***
The competition is tough. Hang in there. We hope to see you in our next tournament. Thanks.

Please check in 15 minutes before your scheduled match time. Be ready to go on the court, ready to play. Stay close to the desk, do not wander away, please stay within hearing range. If you miss your match being called you may be hit with game penalties. Check in time is not when you decide to go to the bathroom or change shoes or a racket grip. Matches go on court in the order of arrival of both players. If both participants are early and a court becomes available, those checked in first, go on first. Standard 10 minute warm up - enforced by the referees - we need to keep things moving. On Sunday there are USTA Adult leagues scheduled and we need to finish on time. Many Thanks.

The TDM software that runs the tournament separates players by zip code in an attempt to prevent 2 players from the same area playing each other in the first round. There is the possibility that 2 players may live in adjoining suburbs, with unique zip codes, and still belong to the same club or junior program. If there are a large number of kids from one program, group or school please email us and list their teammates. We can enter them into an avoidance software program where they would hopefully not play each other in the first round. Reminder - this is not always possible, but we will try to accomodate and prevent first round teammate matches.

NO MONETARY REFUNDS ONCE THE DRAW HAS BEEN COMPLETED AND PUBLISHED ONLINE. You may withdraw without penalty up until the time that registration closes (Tuesday at midnight). You just need your confirmation number from your registration and your USTA number. Go to the tournament home page and follow the directions under "Edit Registration", for WITHDRAWAL. Since this is a director selection process, no players will have been charged since no one yet has been selected to play. Once registration closes online and the draw has been done, you may only withdraw due to illness, injury or family emergency. NO MONETARY REFUNDS ONCE THE DRAW HAS BEEN COMPLETED AND PUBLISHED ONLINE.

This is a general explanation of compass draws and the process by which matches are run. more info

Here is a list of most of the hotels within a 5 mile radius. We always suggest calling the hotels directly, ask to make a reservation through them, and avoid their corporate reservation call center at all costs. The local managers have a lot of latitude to give away deals and special promotions - which you ill not get from the call center overseas. Quote tham a low rate you have received from from Travelocity, Expedia, Priceline or Hotels.com and many times the attendants have the power to match it. more info

There will be racket stringing available at the tournament. Alann Leinwohl will be in attendance to take care of all your racket stringing needs.