USTA NorCal Junior Tennis Council Committee Claremont Resort, 41 Tunnel Rd., Berkeley, CA Thursday, Sept 17, 2009, 7:00 PM

Transcription

1 USTA NorCal Junior Tennis Council Committee Claremont Resort, 41 Tunnel Rd., Berkeley, CA Thursday, Sept 17, 2009, 7:00 PM Committee Members Present: Dale Evans, Suzy Cossette, Ron Ward, Hunter Gallaway, Dexter Fong Absent members: Francisco Ruiz Staff Members: Jim Coyne, Summer Verhoeven Guests: Steve Cornell, chair of the Sanction and Scheduling Committee Ken Schuler, coach of the U12 Zone team. Introductions Dale Evans, Committee chair called the meeting to order at 7:35 PM. Approval of Minutes. The first order of business was the approval of the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on July 1, A motion was duly made, seconded to approve the minutes. Corrections were suggested and accepted by the Committee, and the following resolution was approved: 3 0. RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on July 1, 2009 are approved. Committee Decision: A motion was duly made, seconded that all Novice Level tournaments on the 2010 Schedule are required to provide a minimum of 2 singles matches if there are more than 3 entrants. The decision was approved: 4 0. Committee Decision: A motion was duly made, seconded that all Challenger Level tournaments on the 2010 Schedule are required to provide a minimum of 2 singles matches if there are more than 3 entrants. The decision was approved: 3 1. Discussion items: Junior Council discussed the call item at the semi annual meeting of the USTA, that address the sanctioning of tournaments for Under 8 year olds. As of January 2010 all sanctioned Under 8 tournaments must be played on 36 courts. The council will actively pursue tournament directors that will hold Quickstart tournaments for Under 8 s. Staff will notify tournament directors of this change to the sanctioning rules once we receive all the information from the national office. Bill Talbert Sportsmanship Award staff will place a story on the web regarding the details and application procedures in order to be considered the nominee from NorCal. Steve Cornell, chair of the Sanctioning and Scheduling committee presented the issues that were brought up at the August town hall meeting. Those items can be viewed in Attachment A. Steve also presented a conflict of interest statement the Sanction and Schedule committee was developing. The Council discussed the conflict of interest statement. The Junior Council understood the rationale and responded that the conflict of interest should be addressed and possibly expanded even more to include member organizations and referees that are impacted financially by tournaments. Junior Council Chair Report (9/17/09) Events/ Meetings Bank of the West Kids Day (7/26): Daniel Scafidi Award winner, Brooke Workeneh spoke as part of the panel for the Bank of the West Kids Day. Boys & Girls 16 Zone Championships (7/27):

2 Attended primarily as a coach, however interest of a sectional exchange with USTA Southwest has been brought to the table. Southwest Managing Director, Goeffrey Russell ( also a member of the National Competition Committee), expressed his interest in our push for sectional team tennis and is looking to establish an event possibly for late 2010 with a theme similar to Maze Cup for our younger divisions. Budget Committee Meeting (8/24): Unable to attend. Sanction and Schedule Town Hall Meeting (8/24): Attended the meeting and participated in forum addressing a number of issues, some both positive and negative. The forum included parents, players, coaches, and administration from the USTA NorCal community. The major issues the came to light and are the Junior Council s responsibility were accessibility, affordability, and tournament/ TD accountability. Minor issues discussed changes in format for scoring, scheduling, and the inclusivity of doubles. Sanction and Schedule Meeting (8/24): Brief meeting was held to sort through issues on the floor after the Town Hall meeting. After sorting through the issues, Sanction and Schedule Committee Chair, Steve Cornell will attend the September Meeting. Submitted, Dale Evans, Chair Staff Report September Tournament Schedule The Sanctioning and Scheduling committee is in the approval process. The Sanction and Schedule committee hosted town hall meeting at the BTC. Dale and Steve Cornell will review feedback received at the meeting. A summary of the points can be found at the end of this report. USTA NorCal Tennis Academy The National staff has reached a decision and will notify everyone once the contracts are complete. Steve Devries, John Hubbell and myself have been requested, by national, to attend the 2009 Coaches Meetings at the USTA Training Center-Headquarters in Boca Raton, Florida on Oct 5 and 6 th. This is the one time each year that Patrick, Jose and all of our coaches and staff in Player Development from Carson and Boca are able to get together to discuss and refine our Coaching Philosophy and plan for the year ahead. This will be a great opportunity, as part of the USTA Player Development team, to interact with our coaches and staff. USTA Semi annual Meeting New York Here is a quick synopsis of the two Junior Competition Committee meetings. If something was either a major action item or a request from the Committee, I put it in bold. These are not the official minutes. - Dr. Brian Hainline gave a brief report on a project he is working on with the ITF and WTA age-eligibility rules (a re-examination of those rules). - It was voted upon that all regional tournaments that were subject to re-leveling (either moved to 3B or dropped off the schedule), they are all now back to Level 3 for Lew Brewer gave a report on the attempt to create a uniform system of suspension points. The project is very complicated as you can imagine, as a first step starting in 2010, Lew would like all the sections to send his office the point violations that are given in each section. - The JCC amended the refund policies of tournaments on the National Junior Schedule to 14 days prior to the start of the tournament, rather than the existing 7 day rule. - Rick Meyers of Texas alerted the Committee to a format being used in Texas as an attempt to bring together the top players in the section (28 players, 16 qualifying for 4 spots, 12 direct acceptances, compass draw). This and/or other similar formats will be taken under consideration by the JCC match formats for NJTS tournaments were deferred to a later time this year for approval. The main issue that has been raised is the doubles format at National Championships.

3 - Brent Frueh reported on work the Zonal Sub-committee has started to re-examine the Zone Team Championships and its relevance/importance on the NJTS. Further information to follow. - Liz Blum & Timon Corwin gave a brief report on the new Junior Competition Action Team (JCAT), a follow-up from the PDAG process. The group (which includes section staff members Andrea Calvert- Sanders & Bill Ozaki) will have a working meeting in October. - As part of a cross-committee project with Davis/Fed Cup Committee, the JCC voted to increase the doubles percentage for 2010 from 15% of a player's best 8 doubles results to 25%. - The 2010 National Junior Tournament Directors Workshop has been scheduled for Friday January 29th (late afternoon start)-sunday January 31st (lunchtime finish). All section staff are welcome to attend at their section's expense. - A major topic of this JCC meeting was player and parent sportsmanship issues from the 2009 tournament season. Liz Blum has solicited input from the section staff about best practices in the section in relation to this topic we should send directly to her. Leaderboard Staff met with a racquet manufacturer representative regarding a sponsorship of the Leaderboard challenges. We need to begin detailing and organizing team challenges between Leaderboard areas. Is there anyone willing to step up to lead the events? HIGH PERFORMANCE NorCal Coach at the National Championships NorCal s first attempt to send coaches to the summer national championships has been well received by our players and from the coaches alike. While in any type of travelling endeavor there are logistical challenges the overall first year went well. We would like to thank the coaches who participated in the program. Steve Devries Girl s U12 & 14 G s in Georgia Steve Jackson, Boy s U14 s San Antonio, TX Ron Ward, Girl s U16 s, San Diego, CA Dale Evans Boy s U12 in Arkansas Jay Udwadia, Boy s U16 & U 18 s Kalamazoo, MI NorCal Team Update Review the 2009 Zone Team Championships. Ken Schuler is here for the U12 s that were held in Arizona. Ron Ward will report on the U16 s held for the first time at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado. Dale Evans will report on the U16 s in Salt Lake City. Questions to consider regarding the Zone Team Competitions: 1. This year all the zonals were the same time in the calendar, was that a positive for your section or did it cause more problems than having the 14's at an earlier time (both getting players and coaches)? 2. In your opinion, what level of importance does your section place on these events (specifically your Junior Competition Committees)? 3. If it is available, what % of your top 10 players participated this year in that specific age divison? 4. Are the team allotments that you were assigned manageable or not? If not, what specific division(s)/site(s) are you having problems? What do you think the #1 reason for that is? 5. As you know, PDAG had an 18's zonals as one of its proposed new events. Do you feel that this event has any merit on the schedule? 6. Do you have any comments on the format being used (co-ed teams, mixed doubles, etc.), plus any section coaches feedback that you have received?

4 NorCal Team Results Intersectionals NorCal won 3 and lost 2 Boy s 18 National Team won 2 and lost 2 Girl s 18 National Team won 2 and lost 1 Zone Teams U12 s Falcons finished 7 th with 2 wins and 3 losses Eagles finished 12 th with no wins U14 s NorCal A no wins NorCal B no wins U16 s Widowmaker finished 10 th with 1 win and 4 losses Sidewinder finished 11 th with 1 win and 4 losses Desperado finished 12 th with no wins Crotona Cup National Doubles Championships in New York Playing tennis in NY around the US Open is a fantastic experience. The players from NorCal had an exciting and productive time in the initial event that invited top doubles teams from the 17 sections. While not all sections participated there was some excellent tennis. In addition to the tennis our players were allowed access to Arthur Ashe Kids Day. As you know we assisted the players financially to participate in this event. A great deal of time was spent by staff organizing the trip to NY. Kim Facey served as a coach/manager, while Vikki Burns, NorCal Community Tennis staff (attending the USTA Teacher s Conference) assisted with transportation to AAKD and the airport. Teams Participating and Results: Boy s Under 14 Richard Pham and Timothy Tan - Winner Boy s Under 16 Andrew Malozak and Andrew Pises Won the back draw Girl s Under 14 Lauren Thaxter and Bridget Guenard Won the back draw. Girl s Under 16 Kaelyn and Kat Facey Finalists. Other items brought to the staff s attention: Concern about parent behavior at USTA NorCal sanctioned tournaments. Review the conflict with school schedule and the annual Sectional Championships. Determine Bill Talbert Sportsmanship Award nominee for NorCal. Increase warm up time from 5 minutes to at least 10. Excellence doubles format 8 game pro set. Entry fees comment from Steve Stefanki College Showdowns Announcements: Next meeting: October 7, 2009 at the Claremont Resort Meeting adjourned 10:38 PM. Minutes submitted by Jim Coyne

5 Attachment A Sanctioning and Scheduling Committee - Town Hall Meeting August 24, 2009 Panel: Summer Verhoeven, Jim Coyne, Jason Scalese, Chrissie Costagmagna, Steve Cornell, Suzy Cossette, Sh aron Smith, Gene Fortino, Steve Leube and Dale Evans. Attendance: Jean Hassoun, Paul Kepler, Jeff Southwick, Andrea Norman, Scott Ferris, Bill Conway, Michael Cooke, Dave Sperry, Daryl Carr, Brook Workeneh, Mark Manning, Bill Alaimo, Jeanie Alaimo, Niru, Fentress Hill, Deline Davis Discussion points: Concerned players who play Open and Challengers are the same players is there a need for the Challenger level? For the price the players are paying for entry fees there are no amenities provided give something back to the player Offer sibling discounts for families who have more than one player entered in the tournament Increase the amount of TAG (Tournament Entry Assistance Grant) from 8 to? Send an evaluation to the players directly asking them what they want from junior tournaments Put a question on the player evaluation that asks them if they feel the quality of the tournament is worth the fee Find ways to encourage players complete the Player Evaluation. For juniors, the response is low because of fear of retaliation from the tournament directors Evaluate the cost of Novice tournaments. It was recognized that Novice tournaments need to have the highest entry fee to ensure that that event is high in quality (higher fee, more amenities, referee s etc. better experience for the player) For Novice tournaments make it mandatory that they get a minimum of two matches For tournaments with more than one level encourage that the tournament director has clear communication about what portion of the tournament will be on what particular weekend

6 Bring Jr. Regional Reps back they would visit tournaments and help the tournament directors if needed with their operations Concerned draws are too diluted for the younger players not have as many tournaments for the younger age divisions There was a discussion about having multiple levels (i.e. Open, Challenger & Novice) in one tournament. The benefits would be for players with more than one child playing tournament tennis. The other side was that when tournaments have more than one level they block other member organizations from being able to host tournaments. Would like to recommend that it is encouraged that doubles is scheduled before singles Evaluate the parameters of how a member organization can be used to run tournaments