L5 UticaWon TennisRecruiting.net Showcase at City of Utica (BG16-18) 16 player draw

In response to safety issues pertaining to COVID-19 we will be using Match Tennis App’s Virtual Tournament Desk technology to help facilitate CDC best practices.
In order to compete in this event, all competitors MUST click the below link to fill out the check-in form, and sign the waiver for this tournament. Once competitors have been selected please revisit the Tennislink tournament page and click the link at that time to complete your mandatory check-in. Players will NOT be allowed to compete until doing so. more info

For the safety of all Tournament players, parents, coaches and staff we will NOT be using a physical tournament desk where social gathering is most common. We instead will be using Match Tennis App’s Virtual Tournament Desk to help facilitate CDC guidelines for social distancing. Please click the “more info” link to learn how we will be using VTD to keep you SAFE during the tournament:
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* When setting up your Match Tennis App account, all family members should sign in with the same username and password.
* Make sure you add three DIFFERENT contact numbers during the Pre Tournament Virtual Check-In THAT WILL BE ON during the tournament. They all should be cell numbers since messages will be in the form of texts. When you are called to court, all your contact phones will receive the message.
* If you need to add or change contact numbers go to “My Account” in Match Tennis App and click “Completed Waivers” to add or change contact numbers.

To help ensure everyone's safety in addition to utilizing Match Tennis App as a virtual tournament desk for match check ins, court assignments and score reporting we will be implementing the following additional safety protocols:
· * All player and parent communications with tournament staff will be conducted through Match Tennis App or by emailing abf11@cornell.edu or texting 607-742-3197 in order to prevent gatherings at the tournament desk.
· * Masks are to be worn in all common areas where social distancing of at least 6 feet may not be possible.
· * Players are encouraged to sanitize their hands regularly and not touch their face during matches and will set up on one side of the court and switch sides on that side of the court only.
· * Each player will be provided separate balls which will be poured on the courts prior to the start of matches and balls will be marked by players prior to warm up (players are to bring their own markers) - designated balls should only to be touched by one player.
· * Players write down scores on change overs on paper they bring to the tournament rather than using commonly touched score keepers. We will also have white boards on the courts, which will be sanitized between matches, and each player can use to write down the game score on change overs.
· * Eastern events currently have a spectator limit of one spectator per player.
· * Gates to the courts will be left open to minimize contact with common surfaces.
· * Players will go directly to their court following their virtual court assignment and head to their cars upon completion of their matches.
· * Players may only communicate on-court concerns to officials and court monitors from a socially distanced position (during matches cell phones must be put away).
· * When matches finish players will forego shaking hands and will instead give each other a thumbs up while confirming the score with each other from a socially distanced position before both players submit the score through Match Tennis App.
· * When players leave the courts upon completion of their matches they are encouraged to drop the match balls in boxes which will be left outside of the entrance to the courts.
· * In doubles partners should communicate with each other in advance and communication between doubles partners will need to take place from a distance of at least 6 feet.
· * Trophies will be left on the court for players to pick up at the conclusion of finals.

Courts will be available for players to utilize for practice prior to the start of each day's matches. We will not be taking reservations for practice courts but with 18 courts at the tournament site there should be enough space for any players who want to practice before the start of each day's matches. Players will not be allowed to practice on courts adjacent to matches.

We are scheduling a consolation round for players who lose their first match. The consolation match format is the same as main draw matches - Best of three sets with a 10-point match tiebreak in lieu of a third set, NO-AD scoring. There is a 2 minute on court break if players split sets and coaching is not allowed. We've scheduled most of the consolation matches on Friday but due to the First Match Loser Consolation (FMLC) format and the number of players in some of the divisions, we will not be able to indicate some of the consolation match times until after the second round of main draw matches are played - we plan to schedule these matches on Saturday.

Main draw and Consolation Singles: Best of three sets with a 10-point match tiebreak in lieu of a third set, NO-AD scoring. There is a 2 minute on court break if players split sets and coaching is not allowed.
Doubles: 8 game pro-set with a 7-point end of set tie-break at 8-8 and NO-AD scoring.

All doubles pairings will need to be confirmed by 9 PM on Monday, August 17 in order for teams to be included in the doubles draws. Requests to partner with other players can be forwarded if emailed to abf11@cornell.edu. Players can also opt in to use the Match! Tennis App “Doubles Pairing” service.
If doubles partners are not indicated in the applicant list the pairing will need to be confirmed by emailing abf11@cornell.edu. After selection is completed and both players have confirmed the pairing it will be indicated in the competitor list.

We've recently been approved to offer doubles in addition to singles in this tournament.

This tournament has been designated as part of the TennisRecruiting.net (TRN) showcase series. Matches played in TRN showcase series tournaments are guaranteed to count towards TRN rankings and players who do not have TRN ratings and win at least one match become national players on TRN. Normally TRN showcase series events are open to players from all of USTA’s Sections but due to the current situation related to COVID-19 this tournament is limited to 16 players from the Eastern Section per division and selection is based on the Eastern Standings lists of each age division. For more information on the TRN showcase series please click the link for
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At this time Eastern has approved singles divisions and we expect to find out in a few weeks whether doubles can also be offered. The tournament page will be updated by the end of July if doubles is approved.

We plan to schedule the tournament’s first matches at 12 PM on Friday, August 21st and to schedule first matches at 9 AM on Saturday, August 22nd. The tournament is an outdoor event and all matches will be scheduled August 21-22 weather permitting and August 23-24 are rain back-up dates.

The format of the singles draws is First Match Loser Consolation (FMLC) and we plan to schedule one consolation singles round for players who lose their first main draw singles match. If there's an odd number of players in a draw or withdrawals from scheduled consolation matches we may need to schedule a second consolation match for some players in order to guarantee everyone the opportunity to participate in at least two singles matches.