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IMPORTANT TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – All Players and Parents MUST Know this Information! Updated on Monday 6/22 with FAQs
While the tournament is taking many precautions to ensure the safety of
all players and parents who are participating, ALL PLAYERS AND PARENTS MUST
TAKE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY for their own safety while attending the event.
The regulations below are to ensure that the tournament is doing everything it
can to provide a safe competitive environment. The
Tournament Staff would like to thank each of you for your questions and
patience as we try to provide a quality tournament experience for each of you in
the pandemic world. We ask that you comply with the rules and regulation we have
laid out for the safety of everyone involved. The rules are in effect at each
of the sites and will be enforced by Tournament Staff and USTA Officials.
All draws have been posted. PLEASE NOTE THAT DRAWS MAY CHANGE BETWEEN NOW AND THE DAY YOU PLAY DUE TO WITHDRAWALS. That said, no players would be changed to a different draw or day of play. Continue to check this website often for any changes.
To access the Match Tennis App for FREE, you must use the link in the information below. If you got directly to the website or through an app store, you will be asked to pay for use of the app.
1. All players and parents must follow the directions given below to
participate in this tournament. To ensure public safety during the COVID
pandemic, all players and parents MUST follow the regulations listed or
directions given by tournament officials or staff. Any player or parent that does not follow the protocols set forth
below will be removed from the tournament and asked to leave the premises.
2. All draws will be 8-player draws using the waterfall method to
distribute the players evenly across the draws. Each draw will be played in its entirety in one day to ensure
players are only at the tournament site for the one-day.
3. The tournament will be played
on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at three separate sites: Blakeney Racquet &
Swim Club, Russell Tennis Center and Piper Glen Club (The GPS address to each site is listed below). Each site will
follow the protocols listed here. These other sites are gracious enough to let
us use their facilities, as many facilities in the area will not allow
outsiders to use their courts. The protocols listed here are to ensure
compliance with their own facility policies during the pandemic.
Blakeney Racquet &
Swim Club 10607 Rea Rd, Charlotte, NC 28277
Russell Tennis Center
1024 Sardis Ln, Charlotte, NC 28270
TPC Piper Glen, 4300
Piper Glen Dr, Charlotte, 29277
4. Players and parents are to
bring their own chairs and water to each match. The facilities will not
provide seating for players or spectators and will not have water available. Each player may have ONE
parent/guardian/chaperone/representative with them on the grounds of the
facility. Any other persons who may be travelling with the player MUST
remain in the car for the duration of their time on the grounds of all
facilities. Violations of this regulation will result in a player being removed
from the tournament. No pets are allowed on the grounds of the facilities.
5. Only players or the person
with the player may use the restroom facilities at each site. Other persons will not be allowed into the buildings at each site.
6. Players and their parties are
expected to remain in their cars or leave the facility at any time there are
not on court playing a match. Players are not allowed to remain on the
facility grounds to watch their friend’s matches or to watch the matches for
their brother or sister. Players are counted as the player representative for
the purpose of these protocols when not playing a match.
7. The person accompanying the
player must set up their chair in the specified viewing area based upon if
their player is designated as Player A or Player B for that match. This designated area will be a minimum of 20
feet away from the court and may require the spectator to view the match from a
long distance several courts away or through windscreens on the fences. We
will not be using the viewing towers or facility decks at Blakeney. Violations
of these protocols will result in the player being removed from the tournament.
8. The draw will be a Feed-In
(through the quarterfinals) Consolation in accordance with USTA/North Carolina junior
tennis regulations. The losers in the Quarterfinals (first round) will feed
into the back draw. The losers of the Semifinals will move into the Playoff
Match. We will play a Consolation Playoff match for any draws where there is a
Bye in the draw and an uneven number of players.
9. All matches will be played by The Code for unofficiated matches.
Officials will be available for rules questions or to settle other disputes,
but will not be on the court serving as line judges during the tournament.
10. The protocol for all
matches will be as follows:
- Players will arrive on site, REMAIN
IN THEIR CAR and check in through the Match Tennis App a minimum of 15 minutes prior to their scheduled match time.
See below on how to download the Match Tennis App.
- The player listed on the top line of the match in the draw will be
designated as Player A. The player listed on the bottom line of the match in
the draw will be designated as Player B. Players
will set their chair and other items in the designated place on the court
according to their designation as Player A or Player B.
- Players will spin the racquet themselves to determine choice of
serve or side. Balls will already be placed on the court at the net for the
match. ***One can of balls will be used for each match unless a request is made
per below: Either player may request that
their matches use two cans of tennis balls (one for each player to serve with)
so long as the request is made PRIOR
to checking in for their match by texting the request with the player’s name to
704-300-7940. If a match is using
two cans of balls, one can will be ODD numbers and the other can will be EVEN
numbers to designate which player uses which balls for serving. Players are
NOT to mark the balls in any
way using markers or other items.
- Upon completion of the match, players
will have five minutes to leave the court, drop their match balls into the
designated box and submit their final score through the Match Tennis App.
11. The Finals and the Playoff Match
for 3rd/4th Place will use regular scoring: the best two-of-three tiebreak sets
to six games with a match tiebreak in lieu of a full third set and regular
scoring.
12. To ensure social distancing and control the flow of people at the
tournament, we will utilize a TIMED
MATCH SCORING FORMAT for the Quarterfinals, Semifinals and all consolation matches
will be as follows:
- Play will begin at the sound of the horn. Players do not start early,
even if both players desire to
- Play will last for 1 hour and 15 minutes for all age divisions except
10 & under matches will play for one-hour
- Play MUST stop when the horn sounds (even if a point is in play, it
will not count)
- If a game is not completed, players do not finish the game
- Any game that is not completed
does not count in the score (If the score
is 3-1 or 40-15 when the horn sounds, the game does not count)
- The player who wins the most games wins the match
- If the game score is tied when
the horn sounds, the players will continue playing the game that is in progress
to decide the winner.
- The scoring will be no-ad scoring (first to win 4 points wins the
game). The Receiver chooses which side to
return serve when the score is 3-3
- Based on these protocols, there is no coaching period in timed
matches, even if the score is tied at the end of the regulation period.
All divisions may be played on hard or clay courts depending on the draws. Consolation draws may switch to another surface if necessary for scheduling. Update: All divisions will be played on clay courts, except Boys 16s which will be played on hard courts. Girls 18s consolation may be played on hard courts.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
Based
on some of the phone calls and emails received over the past several days, we
are providing a FAQ for some of those questions and the answers to those
questions:
In the timed matches, what happens if
a player has won a set, but is down in the second set?
The scoring for the timed matches does
not include “playing sets” as we are used to in normal scoring formats. Players
will continue to play games until time expires. The final score could be 10-5
or 22-16. This eliminates the “what if” described in your question.
In a timed match, what if we are in
the middle of a point when the horn sounds?
Play stops immediately and the point
being played does not count. The match is over and the person with the most
games when the horn sounds wins the match. If the game score should be tied
when the horn sounds, then play will continue in that last game until a player
has won that game. If a point was in play when the horn sounds, a let is called
and the point is replayed.
In a timed match, what if I am down in
the game score 5-6 but I am up 3-0 (40-love) in the game when the horn sounds
to stop play?
The match is over since the last game
was not completed PRIOR to when the horn sounds.
Are bathroom breaks allowed during a
timed match?
Players will be granted ONE bathroom
break with a time limit of 3 minutes during timed matches. A verbal announcement will be made with one
minute left in the break. Players who are not back on the court within the
three minute time limit will initially receive a Time Warning with a one-point
penalty for each 25 seconds after the initial warning until they are on court
and ready to resume play. To take a bathroom break, the player must STAY ON
COURT, RAISE THEIR RACQUET and receive permission from a USTA Official or
Tournament Staff prior to leaving the court. No bathroom breaks may be taken in the last 15 minutes of the timed
period in timed matches. If a player requires a second bathroom break
and must leave the court, they must retire the match.
How do I know when to report to the
court for the match?
For ALL matches, a message will be
sent through the Match Tennis App to your cell phone register in the app when
you should report to your court. This message should be sent roughly 5 minutes
prior to your match time.
How do I know what court to report to
for the match?
For ALL matches, a message will be
sent through the Match Tennis App to your cell phone register in the app as to
which court you should go to. This message should be sent roughly 5 minutes
prior to your match time.
Will there be a warning before the
start of a timed match?
We will announce a 1-minute warning
prior to the start of the timed matches.
Will there be a warning before the end
of the timed match?
No, the only announcement for the end
of a timed match will be the horn sounding.
Is there a warm-up period prior to the
match?
If both players are on court prior to
the stated match time, they may elect to have a brief warm-up until the
1-minute warning before the start of the match.
Will there be warm-up courts available
for use at the playing sites?
No, there will not be courts available
for use by players for a warm-up on site. If a court happens to be open, we
ask that all players and parents DO NOT go on these courts! This includes
the other facilities being used for matches.
How many matches will I play?
We will play out the main draw to
completion and play all matches in the consolation draw. Players who lose in
the semifinals and the consolation semifinals will also play the playoff match
for 3rd place and 7th place. For draws with eight
players, each player will play three matches during the day.
When do we play the regular scoring
format?
Only the Main Draw Finals and the Main
Draw Playoff Match for 3rd/4th place will use regular
scoring for those final matches of the day. The quarterfinals and semifinals of
the main draw and all consolation matches will use the timed match format.
Where will the Tournament Desk be
located?
The main tournament desk will be located
on the 2nd floor deck of the main clubhouse at Blakeney Racquet
Club. All communication with the tournament desk can be made through the Match
Tennis App or by texting/calling 704-300-7940.
What if I have an issue during my
match? How can I get help?
First, STAY ON COURT! Raise your
racquet so the official or tournament staff can see you and they will come to
your court to assist you.
Please feel free to email any other questions to
the Tournament Referee at scott@scoben.com
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