Juniors Eligibility

Atlantic Tennis Alliance: Playing Regulations

Updated:  February, 2011

Overview

This circuit is designed to provide increased competitive opportunities for players from the Atlantic Region as well as offer a more reasonable method of qualifying for Junior Nationals.

Outdoor Circuit Make-Up

The summer segment is made up of five legs, with 4Circuit events and the Outdoor Atlantics.  The 4 Circuit events will be 3 star events for Rogers Rankings purposes and there will be one held in each province.  The Outdoor Atlantics will be a 5 star event for Rogers Rankings purposes and held in a determined rotation from province to province.  (current rotation is the following:  NB-NS-PEI-NL) 

Outdoor Circuit Events

Each Circuit Event will consist of Under 10/12/14/16/18 categories for both females and males (the under 10 category may combine boys & girls depending on the numbers).  The events will be open to all players, with no restrictions on draw sizes.  There will be a main event as well as a first round loser consolation event for all standard draws.  If time constraints exist due to weather, the Tournament Director may change scoring formats and/or draw formats.  The events will be held over three days, depending on the draw sizes and the number of courts available.  PLAYERS MUST PLAY IN AT LEAST ONE CIRCUIT EVENT TO QUALIFY TO PLAY IN THE OUTDOOR ATLANTICS.

Outdoor Circuit Formats

1.  Singles only.

2.  Standard draws with first round consolation.  Round robin draws may be used for smaller divisions.  3rd Place matches will be played in all standard draws.

3.  Normal match format with best 2 of 3 sets with regular scoring.

4.  Consolation matches will be pro-sets to 8.

5.  Current Rogers Rankings will be used for seeding purposes.

Round robin tie-break procedure:

1.  If 2 players are tied after round robin play, the match played between the tied players determines placement.

2.  If 3 or more are tied after round robin play, the following tie-breaking procedure will be followed in order until placements are determined:

              a)  player with best % sets won/loss record

                            if 2 or more remain tied, then;

              b)  player with best % games won/loss record

                            if 2 remain tied, then;

                            c)  match result between the 2 remaining players determines position

                            if 3 remain tied, then;

                            d)  tournament director draws name

Note:  If for some reason, 10 point tie-breakers are used for 3rd set play, these will count as a set in a) above but would not be included in b) above.

Outdoor Atlantics

The Outdoor Atlantics will consist of Under 10/12/14/16/18 categories for both females and males (the under 10 category may combine boys & girls depending on the numbers).  The Outdoor Atlantics is open to any player who meets the eligibility/residency requirements and has played the required 1 circuit event and is a member in goodstanding of their respective provincial tennis associationand there is no restriction on draw sizes.  The Under 16 & Under 18 divisions will play a standard draw with a full feed-in consolation to the semis.  The Under 12 & Under 14 divisions will play a compass format with round robin pool play to be determined by the number of players in each division.  The Under 10 division will play either a compass format or round robin as determined by the number of players.  Events with smaller numbers may use a round robin format as determined by the tournament director.  Under 14 & Under 18 doubles will be offered for both males and females and will be a standard elimination draw with no consolation play.

Outdoor Atlantics Format

1.  Singles and doubles.

2.  Standard draws for the u16 & u18.  Round robin format may be used for small draws.  3rd Place matches will be played for all standard draws.

3.  Compass format for the u12 & u14.

4.  U10 format will be compass/round robin format and be based on numbers.

5.  Normal match format with best 2 of 3 sets with regular scoring for all main draw singles matches. 

6.  Players in the u10, u12 or u14 can play in only one singles division (please be aware that with the compass/round robin format, players will still play a significant number of matches in the one age group and will also be able to play in the doubles)

7.  Players in the u16 can play in two singles divisions.

8.  Full feed-in consolation for the u16 & u18 with pro-set matches to 8.

9.  Doubles will be u14 & u18 divisions with standard draw and no consolation using no-ad scoring and 10 point super-tiebreaker for 3rd sets.

9. Current Rogers Rankings will be used for seeding purposes.

Round-robin tie-break procedure:See details above.

Wildcards to Atlantics

Wildcards to Atlantics may be issued under extenuating circumstances where a player was unable to meet the requirement of playing 1 circuit event.  An application for a wildcard must be submitted in writing prior to the registration deadline for the Atlantics.

Players who meet one of the following criteria MAY be considered for a wildcard:

                They are a member of a Tennis Canada touring team
                They have a top ten National ranking
                They have a top twelve result in the Junior Nationals in the calendar year

Outdoor Nationals Qualification 

ATA currently has 3 spots for males and 3 spots for females in each of the Outdoor National Championships.

The top 3 finishers at the Outdoor Atlantics automatically receive spots for Outdoor Nationals.Thus, for events with standard draws, the finals will determine the top 2 spots and the 3rd place match will determine the final spot. For events using a flight format, the results of Flight 1 playoffs will determine the spot allocation.  For events using a round robin format, the top 3 finishers at the conclusion of play (after any ties are broken) will determine the spot allocation.  If any of the top 3 finishers decline their earned spot, the 4th place finisher will be offered the open spot for Nationals.  If spots still remain available, the “ATA Nationals Selection Committee” may consider alternate players for these spots.  The committee will consist of the ATA Senior Director and the 4 Provincial Executive Directors and they will consider options as presented by the ATA Senior Director and rule on any issues relating to Wildcards and Invitations.

Outdoor Nationals Invitations

If, after all players that officially qualified, spots still remain available for Nationals, the ATA Nationals Selection Committee will consider offering invitations to other players in the following order:

1.  Invite players who finished below the 4th position, in order, 5th-6th-7th-etc. to an acceptable level as agreed upon by the committee.

2.  Invite players who were unable to participate in the Atlantics due to injury.

3.  Invite a player who might deserve a position as agreed upon by the committee.

In the event that a player qualifies in more than one age division, he/she has the right to attend both Nationals if he/she so chooses.  If they return an earned spot in one of the age groups, then it would then be offered to the 4th place finisher and then if still available, allocated by the invitation process as above.

In the event that a player only plays in and qualifies for an older age class, he/she would qualify for Nationals for the age group that he/she plays in.  This does not automatically qualify them for their principal age, however, if spots in the younger age groups are available, one may be allocated to them by the invitation process as above.

Outdoor Nationals Wildcards

On rare occasions, a player may be considered for a wildcard into the Nationals without having to play Atlantics.   This would only be due to extreme extenuating circumstances such as a well documented injury prior to Atlantics which prevents the player from being able to participate. 

Again, players who meet one of the following criteria MAY be considered for a wildcard:

                They are a member of a Tennis Canada touring team
                They have a top ten National ranking
                They have a top twelve result in the Junior Nationals in the calendar year

A formal written application for a Nationals wildcard must be presented to the ATA Nationals Selection Committee prior to the Atlantics for consideration and a decision on whether or not to grant the wildcard application must be made prior to the start of play at the Atlantics.  If a decision is made to grant the wildcard, this must be publicly announced to all participants prior to the start of Atlantics informing all players that a spot for Nationals has been granted and there is one less spot available

For reference purposes, the “2011 Rules of the Court” as published by Tennis Canada, will be referred to when dealing with any other issues related to the rules of tennis, the code of conduct, and guidelines for non-officiated matches not addressed above.

http://www.lovemeansnothing.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/files/coaches_officials/pdfs/rules_and_regulations/rules_of_the_court/Rules%20of%20the%20Court%202011.pdf

Tournament Entry Fee Policies

1.       All entries should be paid prior to play at all ATA events.  In the event payment is not made,   ATA reserves the right to prohibit entry to any and/or all future events including Circuits, Camps, Nationals until outstanding payment is made.

2.       Players who register and pay for a tournament but who do not give adequate notice of withdrawal (before the draw is made), will have their entry fee kept by ATA.

3.       Players who register but have not paid and who do not give adequate notice of withdrawal (before the draw) will be sought for compensation in the amount of the Entry Fee.

4.       PTA’s(Tennis NB, Tennis PEI, Tennis NL and Tennis NS) reserve the right to prevent participation in a PTA event if ATA entry policy is not met by their members/players.   For example, a player owing entry fees to the ATA may be unable to play a PEI event until ATA’s fee is paid.

Cancelled Tournament Policy

ATA will make necessary reasonable precautions to prevent a cancellation of an event.  

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