Page 2: USTA League. Page 5: Tennis Afterschool Zone (TAZ) Page 6: USTA/PNW Tournament Schedules. Page 7: USTA/PNW Member Organization Ads

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1 USTA PACIFIC NORTHWEST E-NEWSLETTER E OCTOBER 2013 USTA/PNW Works with Players and Facilities to Improve USTA League Program Over the last year, the USTA Pacific Northwest (PNW) has conducted a comprehensive review of the USTA League program. Section League Coordinator Adam Hutchinson has worked together with our league players, coordinators and other members of the local tennis community to collect extensive feedback. While not all feedback received could be implemented, much of it was taken into consideration. Other factors such as USTA League National Regulations and tennis facility constraints also limited the extent of changes that could be considered. The goal of the review and subsequent modifications to the program starting with the 2014 season was to improve the USTA League experience for players in the Pacific Northwest and the tennis facilities who host the program. We look forward to an enjoyable 2014 season and would like to sincerely thank the 60-plus host facilities and 13,000-plus players who play USTA League in the Pacific Northwest. Page 2: USTA League Page 5: Tennis Afterschool Zone (TAZ) Page 6: USTA/PNW Tournament Schedules Page 7: USTA/PNW Member Organization Ads If this issue of Passing Shots was not delivered directly to your box, please click the following link to join our USTA/PNW list:

2 2014 USTA League Regular Season Schedule Coming Soon The USTA League 2014 regular season dates of competition for all divisions in all geographic areas in the Pacific Northwest are nearly completed (some 2014 Early Start Leagues started play last month). The schedule dates for each area will be posted by October 4 on the USTA/PNW website on the Captains & Players Info page: Calling All New USTA League Players in the Pacific Northwest Are you receiving our e-newsletter Passing Shots and thinking how can I get involved in USTA League play? The best thing to do to get more information on leagues in your area is to contact your Local Area League Coordinator. USTA/PNW Local Area League Coordinators are your resource for finding league play opportunities in your community. They recruit players, schedule matches, and oversee most aspects of local USTA League play. They can also help you find answers to almost any league-related question. For coordinator contact information, click here: USTA League Resources Page = Gold Mine for Players and Captains Have you ever had questions about NTRP ratings? Want to know what players are asked on the selfrate questionnaire? Perhaps you are curious to know how the USTA national office interprets those sometimes complex Regulations. Whatever it is you are looking for with regards to USTA League tennis can likely be found on the USTA League Resources Page. This page should be bookmarked by all players and captains alike. It contains a wealth of information much too large to put into this e-newsletter. To check out this extensive gold mine of information, click here: More Help for USTA League Captains: Without U, There s No US Being a USTA League captain is not as daunting as it seems, especially with the resources that the USTA provides. The USTA national office has put together a short publication to help new captains navigate through the season. Please click on link below to view this document: If you would like hard copies of this document, please contact your USTA/PNW Local Area League Coordinator. For contact information, click here:

3 USTA/PNW One Doubles Teams Take Home Sectional Titles in Yakima The USTA/PNW One Doubles Sectional Championship was held in Yakima, Wash., on September Despite Mother Nature also participating in the event, forcing some matches to be played indoors, players were patient with the weather issues thanks to the help of Tournament Director Kathi McKay and her staff. Teams at the 3.5, 4.0, and 4.5 levels who won a 2013 USTA/PNW Sectional Championship then have the opportunity to team up and form one Tri-Level team. This combined team represents the USTA Pacific Northwest at the 2014 Tri-Level Invitational in Indian Wells, Calif., in March One Doubles Sectional Champions Women 2.5 W Sather (NW WA) 3.0 W Wang (NW WA) 3.5 W Devore (SW WA) 4.0 W Czeisler (NW WA) 4.5 W Gilman (SW WA) Men 3.0 M Cowger (SW WA) 3.5 M Sparks (SW WA) 4.0 M Satre/Siok (NW WA) 4.5 M Ogden (N. OR) One Doubles is a league where teams play just one individual doubles match. In all other leagues, teams will play five or three individual matches per team match. In One Doubles, it is just like the title says: one doubles match! You can carry a roster of up to four players and then the captain selects which two players will play in a match. Another unique feature of One Doubles is that teams schedule their own matches. This is a great format due to the fact that One Doubles leagues are played in the summer. All you have to do is call your opponent, figure out which court to play at and show up and play. For more information about One Doubles, please contact your USTA/PNW Local Area League Coordinator. Fall is the Season for USTA Adult and Mixed League National Championships October and November signal the start of the USTA League National Championship season! The Pacific Northwest has some strong teams representing our section this year. From now through mid-november, the following leagues will hold their National Championships: Adult 18 & Over, Adult 40 & Over and Mixed 18 & Over. For complete information on all the USTA League National Championships, including schedules, updated scores and photos, click on the following link and select the event you want to view:

4 2014 Move Up/Split Up Rule: Does It Impact You or Your Team? Many USTA League players have asked questions about the changes made to the Move Up/Split Up rule (Rule 2.06A if you want to look it up). The USTA Pacific Northwest submitted a request to the USTA national office to have this rule waived for our section. The request was denied for the 2014 season and we will make the request again for For more information, please see the FAQs below. Q: What does all of this mean for me? A: If you do not have players on your team who advanced to a USTA League National Championship in 2013 you do not need to worry about this regulation. Q: What if my team advanced to 2013 Nationals? Can we keep the same team in place for 2014? A: Your team may move-up one level together but may not bring on any players who were on any other National Championship rosters. Q: What happens if we have more than 3 players that went to 2013 Nationals on a 2014 roster? A: The first three players to register will be considered the eligible players. All other national championship players who registered after that will be considered ineligible. If the ineligible players play a match, the individual match will be Disqualified. Q: If we have 1 player who played Adult 18 & Over Nationals, 1 player who played Adult 40 & Over Nationals, 1 player who played Adult 55 & Over Nationals and 1 player who played Mixed 18 & Over Nationals, can they all be on the same 2014 team? A: No. Only 3 of those players may be on the same 2014 roster since they were all on 2013 National championship team rosters. Q: Does Mixed 40 & Over apply to this rule? A: Not for Mixed 40 & Over was not a part of the USTA League National Championship Program, i.e., there was no national championship for this league. Advancement stopped at Sectionals. Your 2013 Mixed 40 & Over teams do not need to move-up or split-up for 2014, provided NTRP ratings allow this. However, in 2014 Mixed 40 & Over will become a national program and there will be advancement to a National Championship. Therefore, any 2014 team that advances to Nationals will be subject to this rule for the 2015 Championship Year. Q: Does One Doubles apply to this rule? A: No. One Doubles is not a national program. Teams that advance to the BNP Paribas Tri-Level Invitational, which is an independently run tournament, are not subject to this rule. Q: Which leagues does Rule 2.06 apply to? A: Adult 18 & Over, Adult 40 & Over, Adult 55 & Over, Mixed 18 & Over. For 2015, Mixed 40 & Over will also be included. Q: I do not like this rule? What can I do? A: You can submit your statement to Adam Hutchinson at ahutchinson@pnw.usta.com. The USTA/ PNW Section will be submitting a rule proposal change for 2015 which is due by December 2, Our goal is to show the USTA national office examples of how this rule may be a hardship on our players as well as give them suggested proposals so that both the USTA Sections and national office can have their objectives met.

5 New School Year is Here and Tennis Afterschool Zone is Off to a Smashing Start The USTA Pacific Northwest (USTA/PNW) Tennis Afterschool Zone (TAZ) has doubled the number of schools, children participating and instructors working from the spring launch. Schools that participated last April June were the first to commit to the fall season and Bellingham, Wash., went from two schools to four and all four programs received the maximum number of registrations. The USTA/PNW TAZ team worked this summer to modify the program curriculum and still keep all the great tennis activities that were used in the spring launch. One modification included helping children learn to serve, rally and score for a USTA Play Day during their final session. The USTA/PNW has also made it easy to be a TAZ instructor and nearly 100 people have applied to work with our programs this fall. New instructors receive training and support to help kids learn to play tennis and as Wendy Hoch from Colville, Wash., wrote after her first week of training: Lovin' it! :-) Kids and tennis...doesn't get much better. Most instructors and site directors had little or no experience delivering tennis before TAZ. The USTA/PNW provides the necessary curriculum and training. It s easy to apply: just go to to become part of the TAZ team. Our most successful TAZ programs are sponsored by the schools Parent Teacher Associations (PTA/PTG or PTO) so if you are involved with a PTA that wants to bring a healthy, fun activity to your school, please contact taz@pnw.usta.com or Karen Green (503)

6 Entry Deadline Dates Tournament Name ID # (click link to go to tourn. page) Location Oct. 3 Oct Sunset Athletic Club Fall Boys Champs Portland, OR Oct. 4 Oct Lewis & Clark Fall Girls Jr. Champs Portland, OR Oct. 5 Oct Western Oregon Jr. Challenger Salem, OR Oct. 7 Oct. 12 THPRD One Day Rookie Tournament Beaverton, OR Oct. 11 Oct Glendoveer Junior Challenger Portland, OR Oct. 11 Oct Yakima Fall Champs Yakima, WA Oct. 17 Oct Birch Horton Alaska State Jr. Championships Anchorage, AK Oct. 27 Nov. 2-3 Central Park Boys B14s Endorsements Kirkland, WA Oct. 27 Nov. 2-3 BTAC Endorsement B18s Bremerton, WA Oct. 27 Nov Sprinker Jr. Challenger/Rookie Superset Tacoma, WA Oct. 27 Nov Central Park Boys B16s Endorsements Kirkland, WA Oct. 27 Nov. 2-3 Salishan Girls 14 Endorsement Gleneden Bch, OR Oct. 27 Nov. 2-3 Lewis & Clark Girls 18s Endorsement Portland, OR Oct. 27 Nov. 2-3 Eastside T.C. Boys 12s Endorsement Kirkland, WA Oct. 27 Nov Lewis & Clark Girls 16s Endorsement Portland, OR Nov. 4 Nov. 29-Dec. 1 Capitol City Tennis Jr. Champs Tumwater, WA Nov. 24 Dec Capitol City Tennis Winter Champs Tumwater, WA Nov. 27 Dec. 6-8 Sprinker Jr. Challenger/Rookie Superset Tacoma, WA Oct. 6 Oct USTA/PNW Invitational (Age Division) Yakima, WA Oct. 14 Oct Columbia Silver Lake Doubles Only Everett, WA Oct. 23 Oct. 30-Nov. 3 MPRC NTRP Fall Classic Lake Oswego, OR Oct. 24 Oct. 30-Nov. 3 MPRC Pro Doubles Invitational Lake Oswego, OR Oct. 27 Nov USTA/PNW Invitational (NTRP) Yakima, WA Nov. 7 Nov Nordstrom Open Seattle, WA Nov. 24 Nov. 29-Dec.1 Thanksgiving NTRP Doubles Bellevue, WA

7 Advertisements in PASSING SHOTS are provided as a free service to USTA/PNW Organization Members. Ad content is the responsibility of each organization and readers should contact advertisers directly for more information. If you are a USTA/PNW Organization Member and would like more information regarding advertising in a future issue of PASSING SHOTS, please Ruth Turner at rutht@pnw.usta.com.