General Information for Districts

Championship Structure

  • The format for most teams will consist of a flighted round robin; each team will compete against all other teams included in the specific flight. If there are multiple flights, the winning team from each flight will advance to a single-elimination bracket (i.e. Final Rounds).
  • In most instances, teams will be divided into flights consisting of 4 teams. There may be occasions when different flight sizes are used.
  • In divisions that have very few teams and/or flights statewide for the local league, there may be fewer than 4 teams and the format may be single elimination. For example, if there are only two advancing teams from the entire state, the winning teams from each flight may advance to Districts and simply play one match to determine the winner.
  • Schedule requests cannot be accommodated for any reason.
  • Teams should plan on having up to two matches on any of the three days.
  • The format for Districts will follow the format listed on each league page under the league menu.

Match Format

  • Strictly enforced 10-minute warmup before each match. NOTE: There is not a break once the warmup is over.  Play should begin promptly. Warmup may be shortened if necessary due to inclement weather. Warmup courts are usually available at host facilities from 7:00am – 7:30am. All players must exit the courts at 7:30am and report to the tournament desk. Once play starts, any open courts may NOT be used for warmups.
  • Standard format:  The standard format throughout this Championship is best 2 out of 3 sets, regular scoring with a 10-point match tie-break in lieu of the 3rd set.  Should you reach 6-all in the 1st or 2nd set, you will play a tiebreak, first to 7 by 2, using the Standard Tiebreak procedure (Coman is no longer used in Colorado).  Should you split sets, you will play a match tiebreak, first to 10 by 2, also using the Standard Tiebreak procedure. Note: Format may be changed due to weather. See information below.
  • No more than 90 seconds on change overs.  There is no rest period on the changeover after the first game of the 1st or 2nd set.  A 2-minute break is allowed if you split sets.

Match Times

  • District Championships usually take three days to complete with round robin play the first two days and single-elimination final rounds the third day. Teams will have one to two matches per day ranging from 8am until late afternoon or evening.

Eligibility

  • All players participating in District Championship events must have a USTA membership valid through the end of the event. An eligible player will have played and completed a minimum of 2 matches during the league season. If a team is found to have played an ineligible player for a match during Districts, the match will be awarded as a 6-0, 6-0 win for the opposing team. If anyone is found to have misrepresented their identity, a grievance will be filed against the player and/or captain. Misrepresentation of identity carries the possibility of 24 suspension points, which is a mandatory suspension of at least one year.

Sportsmanship

  • NO COACHING IS ALLOWED AT ANY TIME.
  • We expect all players and spectators to abide by The Code of Tennis and display good sportsmanship.

Officials

  • A USTA Certified Official will be on-site.
  • Please note that only players on the court should request assistance.  Spectators should only ask for help if one of the players has requested it.
  • Officials may observe courts from a distance or be on the court as they deem necessary.
  • Officials are not expected to rove or spend time on specific courts.

Wild Cards

  • Wild card teams are randomly drawn when the Championship Committee determines that a wild card team will improve the quality of the event. More Info.

Weather

  • In case of inclement weather, all teams must still report to the tournament desk at their scheduled site and match time, unless instructed otherwise by the USTA Colorado.
  • Email and Text Communications: We may utilize email or texting or both to communicate with captains if the need arises. Please check your email routinely throughout the event if there are weather concerns.
  • If necessary, the Championship Committee may make alternate plans to complete the Tournament on schedule. Such plans may include, but not limited to alternate scoring formats (short sets, pro sets and/or no-ad scoring), rescheduling match times, days and/or locations, postponing event, cancelling event. If short sets need to be used, a USTA National-approved conversion will be used for score entry.

Standings

  • Team standings will be posted at the site, however, TennisLink will be used for official standings.
  • If teams are tied with team wins, the winner will be determined by:
    • Most Individual Wins
    • Head to Head
    • Fewest Sets Lost
    • Fewest Games Lost
    • Head to Head again if 3 teams are tied at first head to head
  • All teams competing at the District Championships must complete the entire round robin. Total Team Defaults (2 out of 3 positions; or 3 out of 5 positions) during Districts will not be tolerated for any reason and will subject all players rostered on the team to penalties up to, and including suspension.
  • Consistent with USTA National Championships, Semi-final rounds at District Championship events will now be seeded. The match ups for the semi-final rounds will be as follows: 1 vs 4 and 2 vs 3. League seeding will only take place at semi-final rounds of District Championships.  In situations where a wild card team advances to the semis (see next bullet point), it is possible that teams from the same flight could play each other again in the semis.
  • Procedure for NTRP levels that have 3 flights:
    In some instances, we have 3 flights within an NTRP level, so we must advance a wild card team into the semi-final round. The flight from which the second place team will come from is determined after all flights in the level have completed the round robin portion of the playoff. The 2nd place team with the best record (most individual wins, then fewest sets lost, then fewest games lost) would receive the wild card.

NTRP

  • NTRP Dynamic Disqualification
    USTA National League Regulations. Dynamic ratings will be calculated for all Adult Division players during local league competition and at every level of championship competition below National Championships to determine if any players have reached the NTRP disqualification criteria stated in the USTA NTRP Computer Rating System Procedures. Players subject to NTRP Dynamic Disqualification will be dynamically disqualified if they reach the disqualification level three times based on all matches except retirements received. An NTRP dynamically disqualified player becomes a benchmark. In accordance with USTA National Regulations, USTA Colorado runs the dynamic calculations and produces ratings throughout the championship. Through the conclusion of the championship event, we will notify and disqualify those players that meet the criteria for NTRP disqualification and reverse scores for matches played by disqualified player.
  • NTRP Grievance
    A player with a valid NTRP Computer (C) rating, or Benchmark (B) rating, or granted an Automatic Appeal (A) rating of a Computer (C) rating is not subject to a NTRP grievance. Any other player is subject to a NTRP grievance. Championship Competition: A NTRP grievance shall be filed in writing with the duly appointed site director, or designee, having jurisdiction. A NTRP grievance shall be handled by the player’s Section League Grievance Committee. The Intermountain Section will adjudicate NTRP grievances after the championship event. See USTA National League Regulations for more information.