Captain 101 Updated August 2013 Resource Guide for New & Existing Captains This document is designed for new captains, current captains, and league players. It will help you with various aspects of league play as members of the Savannah Area Tennis Association. If you are a team captain, Congratulations! SATA cannot operate without you. You have decided to become a captain because either you know you have what it takes to be a great leader of men or women, or because no one else would do it! In either case, you are special. Note: This guide will help you understand SATA league tennis. It is NOT a set of USTA governing rules. In case of any inconsistency between the governing rules and this guide, the governing rules are the controlling factor. Any failure to comply with the USA League Tennis Regulations, STA, GTA or SATA Regulations will not be excused on the grounds that you relied on this guide. Contents of this Document I. Types of Leagues II. Players and Player Eligibility III. Courts IV. Matches V. The SATA website www.savannahtennis.com Link to Tennislink, the USTA s online system for team registration, schedules, match scores, league and player stats and standings. Link to USTA membership Links to current NTRP standings for the Savannah Area List of board members and contact information Shortcut to SATA league standings Rules SATA local, GTA (Georgia), STA (Southern Section), USTA National Current annual calendar of league offerings Descriptions of league programs Grievance information Annual calendar of Georgia State Tournaments Page 1 of 19
Contents of this Document (continued) VI. Tennislink Creating teams, registering for teams, viewing rosters, schedules, recording scores, and viewing league standings. VII. Captain s Checklists: Team Building Before a Match During a Match After a Match VIII. State, Sectional, and National Tournaments IX. Rules X. Grievances XI. NTRP Complaints XII. Courtesy, Sportsmanship, and Other Stuff XIII. What is a Tie-Break? XIV. NTRP Guideline XV. FAQ XVI. Glossary of Tennis Terms Page 2 of 19
Savannah Area Tennis Association (SATA) Website (www.savannahtennis.com) If you are not receiving a newsletter from savannahtennis.com, then be sure to subscribe your email address. We will send newsletters, highlighting our important league dates, such as when particular league registrations open and league play begins. Find a subscribe link as marked by either of the blue arrows below. Also marked by a green arrow is the League Coordinator s Corner where you can find current important notes about our leagues. You can access Tennislink in a couple of different ways from the SATA website. (You will report scores, create new teams, register players, get match schedules, and see stats/results of everyone through Tennislink.) 1. The Tennislink Icon at the top right of the site. Clicking the icon will take you to the USTA League Page on the Tennislink site. 2. League Standings. From the League Standings menu on the left hand side of the page, you can click on the particular league that you are interested in. You will then be on the Tennislink website, on a stats and standings page for the particular league. You can further drill down on a particular flight or team to see additional details Page 3 of 19
Captain and Player Resources: 1. 2. 3. 1. Organization Board/Staff Contact information is listed here for each of the league coordinators. The Local League Coordinator (LLC) oversees all the leagues and is the main liaison with USTA Georgia. Captains and Players should always contact the league coordinator for their individual league first with any issues or questions. 2. Leagues/Programs > Adult Leagues Annual League Calendar Published annually at the beginning of each new championship year. The championship league year begins in the fall after the Georgia Early Start Ratings are published. Play in these fall leagues is around Labor Day. The Annual League Calendar shows registration dates for all leagues, and anticipated start and end dates for play. NTRP Self-Rating Guidelines If you are new to USTA tennis leagues, you should review the NTRP General and Specific Characteristics of Various Playing Levels in order to determine your level of play. SATA leagues begin at 2.5 for women and 3.0 for men. Even though you may be new to tennis, take into consideration your general athleticism when determining your level of play. Georgia State Championships This list contains the Georgia state championship dates and locations that will take place towards the end of the league year. 3. Rules SATA Rules The Local League Rules for SATA are updated annually. These are rules that are not dictated by USTA National or the USTA Southern Section, or USTA Georgia, but that have been adopted to facilitate our local play. These are rules such as how rain-outs are made up, which teams advance to state competition, the boundaries of our area, etc. Georgia, Southern, Natl Regulations All USTA play is governed by National regulations, Sectional regulations, and State regulations. This link provides links to the Georgia State Regulations, the Southern Section Regulations, and USTA National Regulations. A section can supplement but not override National Rules. A state can supplement but not override Sectional Rules. A CTA (community tennis association, like the Savannah Area Tennis Association) can supplement but not override State Rules. Page 4 of 19
Friend At Court / The Code Friend at Court is the USTA Handbook for Tennis rules and regulations (how the game is played and officiated). The Code, which is contained within Friend at Court, is the Players Guide for un-officiated matches, and all league play is un-officiated. The Code is a summary of procedures and unwritten rules that custom and tradition dictate all players should follow. A basic principle of The Code is courtesy, and all league tennis players should be familiar with The Code. Clarification of Rain-out Rules This document provides details about substitutions and forfeits in line-ups due to a rain-out situation. Grievance Information 1. Grievance Procedure steps to follow in filing a grievance 2. Grievance Form the official form to use for filing a grievance 3. Grievance Appeal Form the official form to use to appeal a grievance. 4. (Current Grievance Committee Members are listed at the end of SATA s local rules.) SATA League Management Policy This document formalizes a policy framework from which the SATA board may efficiently and effectively conduct business. The main interests to the captain or player are: 1. How Entry Fees for the Georgia State Tournament are paid for qualifying teams. 2. SATA s league refund policy. Additional Resources are listed under the Resources Menu in the left-hand column of the SATA website, under League Standings. At the top of the Resources menu is a link (or links) to the most current published NTRP ratings. The Early Start Ratings are published near the beginning of August and apply to all fall leagues and any winter leagues that begin before the year-end ratings are published. The year-end ratings are published near the beginning of December, and apply to all leagues that open after that date through the end of the championship year. A list of the 4.0 Low Eligible players in also available under the Resources menu. Page 5 of 19
TennisLink (you can access this site at www.savannahtennis.com) or go directly to http://tennislink.usta.com/leagues Despite being a little confusing at first (just like any software program), TennisLink will become the easiest online tool to use! TennisLink allows captains (and players for certain information) to do the following: Create a team online for any league with SATA and/or register a player for a team. View your match schedules and captain contact information. Report your scores online. View your current standings (right after you input a team match) and view statistics and results for your team as well as other teams. New Team Management Tool (similar to Netcord and TennisPoint free to use with your USTA registration). Page 6 of 19
Logging into TennisLink -You must create an account in order to utilize TennisLink. If you don t create an account, you will only be able to view 25% of what you would see if you were logged in. (orange arrow) You will need your USTA #, date of birth, and zip code to create the account. -If you have a USTA account already, simply log in each time you get to the TennisLink web site. (yellow arrow) You can also check the keep me logged in box, so you don t have to log in every time you get on TennisLink. Page 7 of 19
Welcome Page (once logged in) My Teams includes all the teams you are currently registered on (red arrow) Register for a Team allows you to register for a team using your USTA # and team # your captain created (yellow arrow) Online Team Creation allows you to create a team for any league that is currently in registration (black arrow) Record a Score allows a captain (or acting captain) to input scores (need match # from match schedule) (green arrow) Team Management new team management tool similar to Netcord/TennisPoint. (orange arrow) Page 8 of 19
Creating a Team (Online Team Creation) Under the Quick Links section, as show on the previous page, click on Online Team Creation to register a new team. Choose the following: Flight Once you have selected your league, choose the flight (3.0, 3.5, 7.0, etc.) Team Name Give your team a name. You should include the facilities initials and the captain s last name, for example: BP-Jones. Home Courts Facility Initials USTA/Tennislink Code Bacon Park BP 920952567 Daffin Park DP 922079847 Georgetown GT 922430769 Page 9 of 19
Landings LDG 921439744 Savannah Golf Club SGC 919360040 Savannah Yacht Club SYC 922064837 Scott Stell Park SS 2006393368 Southbridge Racquet Club SB 919360036 Wilmington Island Club WIC 921429920 In determining the home facility for your team, please make sure you have the approval of the facility before starting a new team. Home teams need to guarantee a minimum of three lighted courts for night play and two courts for day play. Restroom facilities must be provided and open for the entire length of a match. Your email address is very important on Tennislink. It is our main form of communication with the captains. We use email to send out the captain s letter at the start of each season, to communicate about rules, entry of scores, etc. When you renew your USTA membership each year, make sure that your email address is up to date. You can also update your email address from your tennis page when you are logged into Tennislink. Once you have registered and paid for yourself, your team will be created and you will be given a Team Number. Your players will use that team number to register for your team. ***WARNING!! Do not register a team unless you are sure that you will be able to get enough players. If you think you might have a team or your think you probably will have a team, do not register the team on Tennislink until you have firm commitments from the minimum number of players for a team. If you do not have the minimum number of players by the coordinator s published minimum roster date, typically the day before the captain s meeting, then your team will not be included in the league schedule. A captain can register players (and pay the Tennislink registration fees) or have the individual players register themselves after giving them your team number. Page 10 of 19
How Your Players Register for your Team: Once you have created your team and have a team number, your players can use the Register for a Team button on the USTA league page. They should be logged in, and when they select this option, it will fill in their USTA number for them. Once they pay the Tennislink fees, they will receive a confirmation that they have been registered. Team Eligibility: Age A player must reach the age of 18 by December 31 of the calendar year for the 18&Over leagues; 40, for the 40&Over leagues; 55, for the 55&Over leagues; 65, for the 65&Over leagues. Membership At the start opf the season, all players must have a USTA membership that extends at least throught the end of the local league season. If a player has a current valid USTA membership that expires during your league season, the computer will tell them when they try to register on Tennislink. Players can renew their membership online or by calling 1-800-990-USTA (8782) and paying by credit card. Computer Rating Players must play at their current NTRP level or one level above. Self Rating When new players and players with expired ratings attempt to register for a league, they are asked to self-rate. There are NTRP General and Specific Characteristics of Various Playing Levels, and you can view these on the SATA website at http://www.savannahtennis.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=344&itemid=277. During the self-rate process, you will be asked to complete a questionnaire about your level of play. If you have played High School tennis or College tennis or have been a ranked junior, for example, there will be a minimum level that you will not be allowed to rate below. Be as accurate as possible in completing the questionnaire. A player should complete his own self-rate questionnaire, nd not the captain, since the player can more accurately answer these questions. Page 11 of 19
Team Summary Page Once you have click on a team from the list of My Teams, you will be able to see the following items: See screen shot below. Team Standings/Stats Match Schedule (red arrow) Player Roster (with rating info and contact information for your team) (green arrow) Page 12 of 19
Match Schedule Once you select the tab match schedule, you will be able to do the following: View match schedule (home and away matches) View opponent contact information (for privacy purposes, I have taken away phone # s from this screen shot but phone numbers will appear) View Match ID # (red arrow). You will need each Match ID to report scores Page 13 of 19
Print Blank Scorecards On the previous screen shot, you can select your match ID #. It will bring this screen shot below of the match you selected. You will see a tab at the bottom that says Print Blank Scorecard. (green arrow) Once you do this, it will give you the roster of both your team and your opponents. There will be a print option at the top right screen to print your scorecard. Page 14 of 19
Recording a Score Go back to your My Tennis homepage and select the Record a Score link. To record a score, you will need to have your own individual USTA # and the match ID # (orange arrow) of the match you are reporting. Next steps on next page.. Page 15 of 19
Once you are in the scorecard, you are allowed to start inputting the results. The first thing you will want to do is fill in the date that the match was played. (Please see red arrow.) You will also start inputting the names of the players for each match line. (Every player from each team will be on the drop down menu under each line.) **Very Important: Report the score as the match was won! For example, your team may have won the overall team match but lost a particular line. For those matches, you will always report the score as it was won by your opponents. For example, if you lost your #1 singles match, you would not report the score as 4-6, 4-6. You would report it as 6-4, 6-4, and you are given the choice to select a winner for either the home team or the visitor team. (See green arrows.) So in this example, you would report the score 6-4, 6-4, and select the other team as the winner of the match. Page 16 of 19 You are also asked to give specifics about the completion of the match. (See purple arrow.) If the match was completed, then you would select complete. If the match was started and a player had to quit the match due to injury/sickness, etc, then you would mark it as a retirement (i.e. you would input 6-2, 3-1, and then select retired. ) If a team has to forfeit a match, you would select default. **Very important: If you are marking a default, the only players that should be listed on the roster are the players that won by default. No score needs to be entered for a default. DO NOT mark it as 6-0, 6-0. A double default is when both teams cannot provide a line-up for that match. There is no need to fill out any players for a double default. Once you report the score, the other captain will either confirm the score, or have a chance to dispute the score within 48 hours. Once the match is inputted and both captains confirm, your division standings will be updated immediately when you do a search for your team and/or sub-flight. If the score is disputed, the captain will be notified. ALWAYS have both captains sign each other scorecards (after each team match) to ensure that scores are accurate.
Team Standings This is an example of how the standings would look after a local league season is completed. As you can see, the most important factor for determining placement in your division is your number of team wins. If you win a match 5-0, 4-1, or 3-2, you are awarded 1 team point. If you lose the team match you, you receive 0. In the case of a tie, the next determining factor is individual matches won, then sets lost. This is why it is very important to ensure that scores are correct. Sometimes 1 st and 2 nd place teams are determined by sets lost or games lost. In this case, you see there is a 3- way tie for 3 rd place, but the 3 rd place team was determined by individual matches won, which was 21 individuals wins to 14 and 13 for the other teams. Page 17 of 19
Important Captain Tips and Frequently Asked Questions Be sure to thoroughly read through and be well-versed with USTA SATA local rules and regulations. If you have a question or issue, do not be afraid to call your league coordinator or your level commissioner. For the 18&Over adult women, there is an individual assigned for the 2.5, 3.0, and 3.5 levels. Each different league has a league coordinator who handles the league registrations, schedules, and who oversees any issues of play throughout the season. The local league coordinator (LLC) oversees all the leagues, and will be helping to coordinate team entries to the state tournament, for example. They are here to help you! If you are a new captain, they will be your new best friend, but remember, they are all volunteers! Assign a co-captain for your team! This is not necessary, but is recommended. This will help for when you are out-of-town unexpectedly and can have someone take over for a team match. When a person registers for a team in Tennislink, he is asked whether he is the captain. The 1 st person to do so for a team, is assigned as the captain; the 2 nd person to do so for a team, is assigned as the co-captain. If you have not assigned a co-captain to your team or need to make other changes to who is the the captain of a team, contact your league coordinator, as he/she will be able to make that change for you. If you have a nonplaying person, not on the team, who would like to serve as a co-captain (such as a coach, for example), your coordinator can add them to your team, if you give the coordinator the person s USTA number. The home captain should always contact the away captain a minimum of 48 hours before a scheduled match to confirm the availability of courts, and to discuss order of play (if there are more slots than available courts), surfaces (if your facility has multiple surfaces), possible defaults, and driving directions, if necessary. If the away captain has not heard from the home captain, the away captain should try to make contact with the home captain. Sometimes we assume that no communication means everything is hunky-dory, and frequently that turns out not to be the case. Have your players arrive early for your matches. If a match is scheduled for 9:00 a.m., the captains should already have exchanged line-ups by this time, and players should be on their respective courts ready to begin warming up with their opponents by this time. Any extra warm-up time for players needs to be done prior to this time. Warm-ups with your opponents are 10-minutes in lengths, and match play should then begin immediately. When a player is not on the court ready to play within 15minutes, that team is in default. The opposing captain may opt to allow the players to play and not take the default, because perhaps all the players would rather play. The opposing captain should, however, take the default if the missing player is late enough that it would cause the match to go into someone else s court reservation. Home players need to provide an unopened can of balls that are appropriate for the playing surface for the match. Balls for hard courts are labeled Extra Duty ; ball for clay courts are Regular Duty. Page 18 of 19
GLOSSARY OF TENNIS TERMS Page 19 of 19