2017-18 Junior National Team Trials and Selection Procedures Team Composition The Boys and Girls Junior National Teams will consist of eight (8) boys and eight (8) girls. Only athletes eligible, according to the rules and regulations of the ITTF, to represent the USA at the World Junior Championships born on or after January 1, 1999 will be eligible for Junior National Team membership. It is within the sole discretion of the High Performance Director to add additional players due to verified and documented injury or illness as described below. As the 2017 Junior National Team Trials will also be used to select the eight (8) qualifiers for the ITTF North American Youth Olympic Games Qualification tournament, athletes that are Olympic (but not World Championship) qualified may participate in the Junior National Team Trials. Those players will not be eligible to participate in Junior National Team events. To be eligible to participate in the Youth Olympic Games, athletes must have been born between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2003. Junior National Team members and Youth Olympic Games qualifiers must also be USATT Members in Good Standing. All athletes earning a position on the Junior National Teams and/or Youth Olympic Games qualifiers will be required to sign a Code of Conduct before their selection is final. Team Selection USATT will select the 2017 Junior National Teams as follows: (a) Trials The 2017 Junior National Team shall be selected solely by placement (order of finish) at the 2017 Junior National Team Trials. (b) Points Qualification On January 1, 2018, USATT shall fill any vacated spots (due to team members aging out of Junior National Teams) solely by the following calculation: National Team Trials Points + US Open Junior Singles Points + World Ranking Points (December ITTF listing) 30 The following table will be used to determine National Team Trials Points: 1 st : 130 2 nd : 110 3 rd : 100 4 th : 90 5 th : 85 6 th : 80
7 th : 75 8 th : 70 9 th : 65 10 th : 60 11 th : 55 12 th : 50 13 th : 45 14 th : 40 15 th : 35 16 th : 30 17 th 20 th : 20 21 st 24 th : 15 The following table will be used to determine US Open Junior Singles Points: 1 st : 130 2 nd : 110 3 rd : 100 4 th : 90 5 th 8 th : 80 9 th 16 th : 50 17 th 32 nd : 15 Olympic (but not ITTF World Junior Championship) qualified athletes placed in the top sixteen are not eligible for National Team Trials points. Players finishing below those athletes will be awarded National Team Trials points based on order of finish without non-eligible athletes included. World Ranking Points shall be based on the December 2017 ITTF World Junior ranking list. For January 1, 2018 selections, if two athletes have the same National Team Points total, the Trials order of finish will be used to determine team selection. If the players are still tied, World Ranking points will be used to determine team selection. The final tie-breaker will be USATT rating on the date of team selection. Junior National Team Trials Playing System The Junior National Team Trials will be held in conjunction with the 2017 Super Micro US National Championships from July 3 8, 2017 in Las Vegas, NV. The Junior National Team Trials will be conducted in three (3) stages: Stage One: Qualification The Top 12 seeded players will automatically advance to Stage Two. Any remaining players will be divided into twelve (12) round robin groups, the size of which will be determined by the number of entries into the event. The winner of each round robin group will advance to Stage Two. All matches in Stage One will be best of five. Stage Two: Main Draw Round Robin Groups Twenty-four players (12 top seeds plus each round robin group winner) will be divided into four (4) round robin groups of six (6) players. The top-two finishers in each round robin group will advance to the Stage Three Championship bracket. The third and fourth place finishers in each round robin group will advance to the Stage Three Placement bracket. All matches in Stage Two will be best of five. Page 2
Stage Three: Single Elimination The Championship bracket will be played as a single-elimination tournament of eight (8) players, with placement matches for first through 8 th place. The Placement bracket will be played as a single-elimination tournament of eight (8) players, with placement matches for 9 th 16 th place. All matches in the Championship bracket will be best of seven. All matches in the Placement bracket will be best of five. There will be no geographical separation used in seeding or draws. Playing System Changes The playing system may be changed depending upon the number of entries. Any such changes will be announced within 4 days after the entry deadline 2018 Youth Olympic Games Qualification In 2017, the Junior National Team Trials will also be used to select the eight (8) qualifiers to represent the United States at the ITTF North American Youth Olympic Games Qualification tournament, which will be held in conjunction with the US Open in December 2017 (Las Vegas, NV). All Youth Olympic Games eligible athletes must compete in the Junior Team Trials to qualify to participate in the ITTF North American Youth Olympic Games Qualification tournament, irrespective of world ranking. The top eight (8) Youth Olympic Games eligible finishers (by gender) in the Junior Team Trials will be selected to represent the United States. Illness and Injury Players not able to compete in the 2017 Junior National Team Trials or 2017 US Open Junior event due to verified and documented injury may still be eligible, at the sole discretion of the High Performance Director, to participate as a member of the Junior National Team. Players not able to compete in the Trials due to verified injury will not be eligible to participate in the North American Youth Olympic Games Qualification event. The High Performance Director will take into account performance and order of finish at the 2017 National Team Trials, 2017 US Open Junior event, world ranking, and other major competitions. Players not participating in the US National Team Trials for any reason other than verified injury or illness will not be eligible to participate on the 2017-18 Junior National Team. Mandatory Participation in National Team Events Members of the Junior National Teams are expected to participate in all team activities which are fully-funded by USATT. Any athlete who fails to attend a fully-funded mandatory team event may, at the discretion of CEO of USATT or his designee, per recommendation of respective team coach, be removed from the National Team. Page 3
Team Selection for International Events The following criteria will be used for selecting athletes to represent USATT at International events (excluding the 2018 Youth Olympic Games): Athletes will be selected based on their National Team Points as calculated by combining National Team Points earned through Trials order of finish, US Open order of finish, and World Ranking points (divided by 30) for published ITTF rankings ninety (90) days before the competition. For example, the 2017 World Junior Championships will be held in December 2017, thus the World Ranking Points from the published September rankings would be used to calculate National Team points. Team members that are not able compete in the 2017 US Team Trials or 2017 US Open Junior event due to verified injury or illness will be assigned 70 National Team Points per event. If two athletes have the same National Team Points total, the Trials order of finish will be used to determine team selection. If the players are still tied, World Ranking points will be used to determine team selection. The final tie-breaker will be USATT rating on the date of team selection. In the event a qualified player declines participation in an International event, the next player (based on points calculation) will be invited to participate. Funding for Participation in International Events USATT may partially or fully fund Junior National Team Program activities, depending upon USATT s needs for an event, budget limitations, and the number of athletes that are permitted to be entered in a particular event. Prior to agreeing to represent the U.S. at an event, athletes will be informed of their funding status and any remaining costs. The World Junior Championship will be fully-funded by USATT. For other international events, Junior National Team players will be divided into four (4) funding categories as follows: GROUP A 100% funding for Junior National Team Events Top 30 in the World*; National Champion; or North or Pan American Champion. GROUP C 50% funding for Junior National Team Events Top 150 in the World*; National Semi-Finalist; or North or Pan American Semi-Finalist. GROUP B 75% funding for Junior National Team Events Top 100 in the World*; National Runner-Up; or North or Pan American Runner-Up. GROUP D 25% funding for Junior National Team Events Top 250 in the World*; National Quarter-Finalist; or North or Pan American Quarter-Finalist. Page 4
*based on published ITTF rankings three months prior to the event. Page 5