****** TOURNAMENT CANCELLED ****** 2020 USTA $7500 MIDWEST INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS @ Elysium - COGP

DUE TO THE CIRCUMSTANCES RELATED TO THE COVID-19 CRISIS, WE ARE CANCELLING THIS YEARS EVENT.

Sadly, after receiving considerable legal advice and intensive input and concern from our Elysium ownership and management, we are cancelling the USTA Midwest Holiday Tournament Championships for this year. Due to the myriad of Health Department requirements from the State of Ohio and many other State and county agencies, we feel it best to wait until next year. It would be very difficult to run a tournament with NO SPECTATORS and PLAYERS ONLY requirements with so many players from out of town..

A huge part of the enjoyment of these tournaments in the past is all the people one gets to see and interact with. Having to maintain the required Contact Lists for any and all people that enter the building, and enforcing social separation for the hundreds of attendees we usually have, makes it logistically impossible to perform all these tasks to eliminate the facility and management from any forms of liability. We feel it best NOT to seem like a foreign governmental force wanting to see your papers, and having spectators register to be in attendance.

Safety for all players, fans, employees and spectators is our number one concern. We apologize for any inconveniences that our cancellation may cause, but at this moment there are too many down sides to continue with our having the tournament this year. Again, everyone's safety is of paramount concern to all of us at Elysium. We hope that all players and fans understand the concerns of all involved, especially with the "new strain" of Covid-19 which is in the news just in the last 48 hours.

We hope to see you all again next December.
Hopefully the tennis world, and the USA, will be back to normal by then.

****** NO ONE HAS BEEN CHARGED, SO THERE IS NO NEED TO WORRY ABOUT REFUNDS *******

And, from me, personally, the tennis community is, and are, the best.
Keep your powder dry... Go forth and prosper............................Arnie


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~~~~~ EVERYONE NOT ON COURT PLAYING - KEEP YOUR MASKS ON ~~~~~

~~~~~ FOR SAFETY - PLEASE MAINTAIN 6 FEET OF SOCIAL DISTANCING ~~~~~
ELYSIUM IS FOLLOWING ALL COVID-19 PRECAUTIONS REQUIRED BY THE SATATE OF OHIO.
Our Elysium 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. Elysium is very prudent in following all precautions 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 AND 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.

This is a prize money tournament. Checks disbursed at the completion of division finals.
Mens Open Singles and Mens Open Doubles Payout amounts listed below, guaranteed.
Womens Open Singles Payout amounts listed below, guaranteed.
(A large draw, 16 women or more, will increase the womens Singles payout amounts).

***** MENS OPEN SINGLES *****
CHAMPION ...................................$1,500
FINALIST............................................ 750
THIRD .................................................400
BACKDRAW CHAMP .........................250

***** WOMEN'S OPEN SINGLES *****
CHAMPION ......................................$500
FINALIST............................................ 250
THIRD .................................................150
BACKDRAW CHAMP .........................100

***** MENS OPEN DOUBLES *****
CHAMPIONS ....................................$500/TEAM
FINALISTS........................................$250/TEAM
THIRD PLACE ..................................$150/TEAM
CONSOLATION CHAMPS ...............$100/TEAM


^^^^^^ OTHERS SINGLES AND DOUBLES DIVISIONS ^^^^^^
All other divisions will pay a percentage of receipts in that division.
Champs - 25%, Finalists - 15%, Third - 10%, Backdraw - 10%.

If there are over 16 entries in the Womens Open Singles, the prize money will be increased.
If there are 24 or more entries in the Womens Open Singles, the prize money will equal the mens.

For more entry info and prize money breakdown for other divisions, click on the link at the end of this section. In lieu of trophies, cash is awarded to the Champions, Finalists, Third Place and Consolation Winners in each Open Singles Division, as long as that division has A MINIMUM OF 12 ENTRANTS. If there are less than 12 entries in an Open Singles division, prize money will be reduced accordingly and paid to the Champions and Finalists only. All checks will be awarded at the conclusion of the finals in each division. ***** CLICK HERE FOR "MORE INFO" AND PRIZE MONEY BREAKDOWN *****.......

From experience, we prefer EMAIL as our chosen mode of communication. Email can be sent or answered at any time, day or night, without worry over interruptions. Email also leaves a written electronic audit trail, so there is never any question about who said what, when, or the circumstances involved. Please always include your name, USTA number and cell number.

*** EMERGENCIES - INJURY, ILLNESS, CAR WRECKS, BREAKDOWNS, ETC. CALL 614-296-7695. ***

***** BE PREPARED TO PLAY MULTIPLE MATCHES PER DAY *****

Prospective Schedule of Matches:

Dec. 27 Sun. Noon to 11 PM Men’s Open Singles (Women’s Open Singles If Needed)
Dec. 28 Mon. 1 PM to 11 PM All Other Singles Divisions, Begin Doubles
Dec. 29 Tue. 1 PM to 11 PM All Other Singles Divisions – Singles Semi’s, Doubles
Dec. 30 Wed. 11 AM to 7 PM All Finals, Third Place and Backdraw Champ Matches


12/27 Sunday - Noon to 11 PM.
12/28 Monday - 1 PM to 11 PM.
12/29 Tuesday - 1 PM to 11 PM.
12/30 Wednesday - 9 AM to 6 PM.

There is a possibility that college players, or amateurs, will win prize money in this tournament. There were some NCAA / ITA rule changes in 2015 regarding a college players ability to accept prize money up to a certain amount. College players - Make sure that you have your coaches and administrations approval to receive prize money, should you have some coming your way. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO FOLLOW ALL THE RULES PERTAINING TO YOU. High School players - you MAY NOT receive prize money, sometimes there a few participants that play well enough that they might be in a position to receive some. Amateurs - make sure you follow the rules governing you - do not jeopardize your amateur status. Each individual is responsible for heir own eligibility situation, not the tournament. ITA FORMS ..... more info

We seemed to have gotten a lot of requests for info regarding eligibility, and who can play in this tournament. It is an OPEN tournament, so if you are in a vertical position and are drawing breath here on planet Earth, and are a current USTA member of good standing, you can play in this tournament. We have had players as young as 14 register to play, though we don't recommend it, and our oldest has been 84. If you are playing in an age group, you must meet requirements, i.e. - if you want to play in the Mens 45 and Over division, you must be male and at least be in the year of your 45th birthday. And 45 is 45 years old - not a 4.5 NTRP ranked player - for some reason we have had half a dozen emails on that. Thanks.

All of our competitors in the Senior Singles divisions will be receiving a 25% discount from the standard singles fees being charged in the other singles divisions.
Once again, this is for SINGLES divisions, not any doubles divisions.

For this tournament, USTA rules will be in effect. It is not an ITA event so no coaching is allowed, and spectators must be courteous - no screaming in the middle of points like in the S.E.C. and Southwest conferences. The three step disqualification procedure will be in effect. USTA Officials will oversee all actions upon the courts. The officials judgement is final, there are no appeals. Profanity or derogatory language will not be tolerated - you will be disqualified.

We will have wrapped subs from Jersey Mike's on two evenings, for all tournament participants. There will be some packaged chips and snacks for participants - just please don't bring the entire neighborhood. LOL. All paid tournament participants will receive ONE tee shirt for playing in the event.

All divisions will be FMLC (First match losers consolation), so everyone will have at least 2 matches in each age division for their money. In order to keep the tournament moving and finish in a timely manner, we will use a THIRD SET MATCH TIE BREAK in lieu of a full third set, if contestants split the first two sets. Match tie break uses the same rules as a set tie break, except for the match winner is the first side to reach 10 points by a 2 point margin.

Elysium will be closed December 24 and December 25. Elysium will be open Thursday, December 26 at 9 AM, and every day after until New Years Eve. There will be courts available every morning, usually with member clinics, The tournament warm up court rate is $15 per half hour block of time. Please call the Elysium front desk at 614-873-8749 to reserve your block of time with a credit card. There will be times available at the same rate before we begin on 28th and 29th in the morning; we open at 7 AM on those days. Many thanks.

Other clubs to inquire about warm up courts: ask manager about special tournament rates.

WICKERTREE - 614-882-5724.
PLAYERS CLUB - 614-529-0030.
OLYMPIC - 614-296-7695.
RACQUET CLUB - 614-457-5671.

We have a fair amount of doubles players that are registered, but did not disclose who their partners were. Please look over the Competitors List if you are playing Doubles. If your name is not associated with a partner, please email the Directors so we can match everyone up correctly.

Players may withdraw at any time before registration, closes by using their USTA number and their confirmation number, which each player received when first registering. Follow the instructions on the right side of the tournament home page, under "Edit Registration", there will be the selection to "Withdraw". There will not have been charges, since selection cannot have occurred until after registration closes. Once the draws are completed and online, there are no refunds.

In order to facilitate the seeding process, please email all pertinent past performance information to the tournament directors email address listed above. USTA, ATP, WTA, ITA, ITF, NCAA or any other rankings, or what ever other information you may deem helpful to assist in seeding will be appreciated.

We will have an experienced racket stringer on site to help with racket needs. Alan Leinwohl has been stringing for over 30 years at every level of tennis competition. If you have questions for Alanm, or want to coordinate schedule for stringing, his cell number is: 614-902-0927.

Following is a list of all the local hotels within a five minute or so drive from Elysium. We are right next to Jack Nicklaus Muirfiled Village, where the $5 million Memorial is held each spring. There are a few thousand motel rooms within 10 minutes driving. They range from inexpensive to high end, depending on what fills your needs. more info