Flex Singles

The Flex Singles League is Southern Crescent's newest program and is designed to allow you to squeeze a little bit more tennis into your already busy life. Your Flex Singles Coordinator is Karen Piester and you can reach her by email.

Registration for this fun league is open now and will close on February 27th. The season's schedule will be posted no later than March 1 and play can begin immediately thereafter. The registration fee for this season will be only $10.00 plus a $3.00 TennisLink fee. All flight winners will receive awards.

To register, go to http://national.usta.com, select "Create a Team Online" and follow the prompts. Select the 2010 Southern Crescent Flex Singles league and be sure to include your home facility in your team name. Also be sure that your USTA membership information is correct (phone and email) so that your opponents can contact you.

The rules for this league are posted below. If you have questions, shoot Karen an email and she'll respond as quickly as she can.

Sign up now! This is a fun league that will not affect your USTA rating and will get you ready for the upcoming winter USTA season.

USTA SOUTHERN CRESCENT SINGLES FLEX LEAGUE

Southern Crescent League USTA Flex Leagues

The Southern Crescent Singles Flex Tennis League offers players a new way to enjoy organized competition without the commitment to a specific schedule or team.

Weekly match play is arranged by you and your opponent based on your availability.

The easy round robin format provides convenient competition for your tennis life based on individual skill level.

Three leagues will be offered: men, weekday women, and business women.

Players may elect to play at more than one level.

Schedules will be made available to players at least one week prior to the start of the season and will include 5-8 matches.

Flex league matches DO NOT affect your USTA rating.

Rules and Guidelines

Players must be age 19 or over in this calendar year and willing to play the league within the defined five county area. The five counties include Clayton, Coweta, Fayette, Henry, and Spalding. Adding flexibility to location of match and day/time of match gives players additional possibilities to schedule their tennis. For instance, a player may choose a facility for one match that is closer to work and choose a facility closer to home for the next match.

USTA membership that is current through the end of the flex season is required.

Rules of Tennis and The Code for unofficiated matches apply.

Players with current NTRP Ratings in Tennis Link must use that rating. A player must register at or above his or her NTRP level as determined on the day the player registers. If a player's rating changes before the player registers for the flex league, then the player must register according to the updated rating. However, if subsequent to a player's registration his or her rating changes, that player may remain at the level at which he or she registered for the duration of that season. Players without ratings must self-rate according to the NTRP guidelines

This league does not accept NTRP related grievances. Players are expected to exercise the highest level of integrity while competing in this program.

Scoring format is best 2 of 3 sets with a 10-point match tiebreaker played in lieu of a third set and scored as 1-0. If both players agree, the third set may be played out, but will be scored as 1-0.

The Southern Crescent Singles Flex League matches are scheduled with a 'play by' date and players should try to schedule and play matches by that date. ALL matches must be completed and scores posted by the last day of the season.

The home player is responsible for initial contact to schedule the match. This does not preclude the visiting team from making contact first.

The date, time and location of the match must be agreed upon by both players. Within 24 hours of the agreed match time, the player unable to play will default the match unless the player receiving the default prefers to reschedule the match. When booking courts, be sure to have working lights, if necessary, and a starting time that allows a match to be completed before a facility closes.

Defaults can greatly impact standings in many ways but are sometimes unavoidable. Defaults will be scored as a 6-0, 6-0 win for player receiving the default. Players with excessive defaults will be monitored for future seasons of the flex league.

Southern Crescent emphasizes playing the match whenever possible. This is why we actually give the whole season to play all of the scheduled matches, although it is preferable to play the match by the ‘play by’ date. However, things happen and sometimes opponents seem to be unreachable or unavailable. Keep a “log” of emails or phone calls made in case a match doesn’t get played. If one player attempts contact and the other player does not, the league coordinator will likely give the player who made the attempt to play the default over the player who did not. There is also an option to record a double default where the match did not get played and neither player attempted adequate contacts. In round robin play, we score withdrawing players as 6-0,6-0 wins for all other players in flight since some may have already played the player and others have not. This rule attempts to give credit to players who have already played a withdrawing player without penalizing those players who did not play the withdrawing player.

A player with extenuating circumstances may withdraw from the league (season-ending injury, etc.). In the event that a player must withdraw from the league prior to completing the schedule, they should notify their opponents.

If a match is rained out, it should be rescheduled and completed as soon as possible.

If a player does not arrive within 15 minutes of the scheduled time, that player will default the match unless the opponent agrees to extend the time or reschedule the match.

If court fees are not waived at the home facility, the home player will be responsible.

Player listed as “home' should provide the balls and reserve the courts for their home matches. The winner does not keep the other player's balls as in the ALTA League.

New balls must be provided by the home court player if there has been more than a two day break in play.

No refunds will be issued once the schedules have been posted.

Awards will be given to flight winners and local champions.

In the event of a tie, head to head competition will determine the winner followed % of sets won and then % of games won

Warm Up

Players may have up to a maximum of 15 minutes prior to the start of a match as a warm up. Remember, the warm up is not a time to practice "winners", return of serves, etc. Players should make a good faith effort to hit balls back as close as possible to their opponent.

Rest Periods and Breaks

In an effort to ensure matches progress within a reasonable time frame, the following standard USTA rules will be in force:

· Players are allowed a maximum of 25 seconds between points.

· Players are allowed a maximum of one minute and thirty seconds when changing sides of the court.

· Players are allowed a one time 3 minute injury suspension

· Play shall never be suspended, delayed or interfered with for the purpose of enabling a player to recover his strength, breath, or physical condition.

Cell Phone/Beepers

No cell phones or beepers are allowed on court. The first time your cell phone rings during a point, your opponent has the option of replaying the point. Each subsequent time your phone rings during play, your opponent is awarded the point.

Defaults and No Shows

Defaults

A player that receives 3 unexcused defaults will be suspended from the league.

No Shows

A player is considered a "No Show" if they are more than 15 minutes late to a match.

The waiting player has these options:

1. Wait for the opponent. We consider this the best option if the player is not excessively late. Traffic and other considerations should be taken into account. If a player agrees to wait and play the match, the match will stand as played. If players agree to reschedule the match for a later time, the match must be played.

2. Record the match as a default.

The Southern Crescent Singles Flex League is about playing tennis. We want matches determined on the court whenever possible. To avoid misunderstandings that can lead to unnecessary no shows, you should:

· Keep your cell phone with you and turned on

· Have your opponents contact numbers on hand

· Designate a meeting place at the facility. (many times both players are at the facility just in different locations)

· Call your opponent immediately if running late and provide a time frame you will arrive as long as it is not excessive beyond the 15 minute rule.

Incomplete and Retired Matches

Matches that were in progress but not completed are reported as a "Retired" match. A player that cannot complete the match will take the loss.

When reporting scores, report the score exactly as it was at the time the match was stopped. Circumstances that warrant a Retirement are:

Cannot continue due to injury or illness
Leaves due to personal reasons
Failed to reserve enough court time to complete the match
Failed to provide a court with working lights during evening play
Player refuses to complete a match due to a disagreement

The "retired" player will lose the match, but will receive points for all games completed prior to stopping play. The opposing player receives the win.

A Sporting Solution: Provided there is ample time, the opponent of the retired player has the option of continuing the match at a later date if they elect to. This is done at their sole discretion. If the match is resumed, we recommend that the retiring player travel to the opponent's home court to complete the match as compensation for the inconvenience.

Inclement Weather

Prior to start of match

A match is never assumed to be canceled due to rain. Players must verbally contact each other to cancel a match. DO NOT cancel matches via email.

If a match must be canceled due to rain, players should make every attempt to reschedule the match using the following week, if necessary.

During Match Play

In the event of rain, matches will stand as played. Players should wait at the courts for 30 minutes to determine if the courts will be playable again within the half hour. If continuing play is not possible, players will need to reschedule the match for completion. Matches must be resumed by the original players at the exact set, game and point as they stood when play was halted. New balls must be provided by the home player, when resuming a match in the 3rd set, or with more than 2 days between the start of the original match.

Spectators

The League welcomes spectators to attend matches and cheer on their family and friends. However, to ensure a positive match experience for all players, spectators must:

· Remain outside of the court area while the match is in progress.

· Not cause distractions or delay of play.

· Not intervene on behalf of a player i.e. making line calls etc.

Spectators that are disruptive in any way may be asked to leave by the opposing player. Failure to leave the court area is grounds for a default.

Coaching

If a player has a spectator attend a match they may not speak to them or make gestures about how the match should be played anytime during the match, including breaks. If any attending party speaks to a player it must be able to be heard by both players or it may be assumed to be coaching.

If a player suspects that coaching is occurring, they may request the attending party to leave the visual site of the court. Failure to leave the court area is grounds for a default.

Code of Conduct

Good sportsmanship begins with treating opponents with respect. The tone of the match is set from the first call to an opponent, to the last handshake over the net.

Because matches are played without an official, players are on the honor system and must conduct themselves in a sportsmanlike manner both on and off the court. This includes:

Responding timely to phone calls/emails from opponents related to match scheduling
Playing matches on time and reporting scores accurately within the given time periods
Notifying opponents in advance when a match cannot be played for any reason
Arriving on time for matches
Understanding the rules and applying them fairly and honestly
Refraining from the use of profanity

Three Strike Conduct Policy

We are committed to providing quality opponents that follow the rules and produce a positive overall match experience. All players are subject to our Three Strike Conduct Policy so that we may quickly remove disruptive and/or unsportsmanlike players. Unsportsmanlike conduct includes:

· Being non-responsive to opponent's phone calls and or emails

· Difficulty in scheduling

· Repeated bad line calls

· Excessive questioning of line calls

· Rude or argumentative behavior

· Being verbally abusive towards an opponent

To accomplish this, we ask that unsportsmanlike behavior be reported to the league coordinator as soon as possible. Each valid complaint is logged into a player's conduct file and begins the Three Strike process:

· 1st Complaint - Complaint is recorded

· 2nd Complaint - Player is contacted by phone and given a verbal warning

· 3rd Complaint - Player is suspended from the league for one year.

Conduct Requiring Immediate League Suspension

· Falsifying scores which includes:

o Fabricating or changing match scores

o Reporting matches that were not played

· Physical abuse

· *Verbally threatening to use physical abuse

* Players subjected to threatening verbal abuse should issue a warning to their opponent stating they are violating the Code of Conduct and request that the behavior stop. If further abuse occurs, the player should leave the match and report the violation to the league office immediately.

If during the course of our investigation we determine a complaint to be valid, the offending player will not only lose the match but will be subject to immediate suspension from the league.

Note: Players suspended from league play will not receive a refund or credit for the season