The SCTL Committee is excited to announce a trial competition for season 2 in replacement of the upcoming competition on Monday Nights.

 

The trial will include changes to the team composition, match formats, points allocation and season length. The SCTL Committee’s decisions were based on feedback and recommendations from multiple sources, which included the findings of both the National and State Match Play Reviews, feedback from clubs, coaches, current and past players.

 

Unfortunately the statistics and history are against us, with the number of teams dropping by approximately 50% in the last 10 years and by 30% in the past 3 ½ years. It is also reflected with the sheer volume of mixed competitions that have ceased over the past 15yrs in SEQ, with the SCTL the only major inter club organization to have a mixed format apart from a few veterans competitions where their number are at a critical low.

 

The committee has also seen an increase to the number of fill in requests, in particular for female players. As a result, the Committee has made a number of changes over the past few seasons that has slowed this decline including running off season trials to address to some of the key elements.

 

The Committee identified a number of key areas to address which included:-

Ø  Achieving Level based play

Ø  Reversing the trend of declining teams and players

Ø  Tightening of the grading bands through growth

Ø  Graded playing order on the night to allow for more even matches

Ø  Appropriate match length

·       Reduction in the overall time a match takes without reducing the number of sets per person ie anticipated match length of 2 hours

Ø  Appropriate length of season

·       Less time to wait if a player takes time off for other commitments

Ø  Addressing inclusivity & Shortage of female fill in’s

·       Allows clubs with shortages of females to enter teams

·       Less burden on Captains to find female fill ins

Ø  Reduce barriers and be more flexible to appeal to a wider base

Ø  Increase members as a benefit clubs

 

The formats chosen will aim to address the above, along with bringing many other benefits and we ask that you all help improve the competition by embracing the changes, entering as many teams as possible and giving your feedback at the end of the season. The Committee understands that not everyone may be happy with these changes, but we hope that you see they were made with positive intentions, to not only improve and grow the competition, but improve the players experience and enjoyment as well. The only way to achieve accurate data to compare is for everyone to support the changes, so we ask you to encourage your existing teams to participate as well as pushing for new teams to enter.

 

All significant changes are listed below with the rest outlined in the updated Rules.

 

Key Dates –

Ø  Entries Close - Monday 19th July @ 5pm

Ø  Grading Meeting - Tuesday 20th July

Ø  Appeals Close - Wednesday 21st July 5pm

Ø  Draws Published - Friday 23rd July

Ø  Balls Delivered - Thursday and Friday 22nd & 23rd July

Ø  Start Date – Monday 26th July

Ø  Semi Finals 18th Oct and Finals 25th Oct

Ø  Non Playing Dates 20th & 27th Sept

 

Format –

Ø  Teams – 4 players - Gender Neutral (Teams may consist of any number combination of males and females(

Ø  Match format – 6 sets x Doubles - Tiebreak @ 5 all, (second deuce sudden death)

Ø  Set Format

 

	TEAM A		TEAM B
RND 1	1 & 2	vs	1 & 2
	3 & 4	vs	3 & 4
RND 2	1 & 3	vs	1 & 3
	2 & 4	vs	2 & 4
RND 3	1 & 4	vs	1 & 4
	2 & 3	vs	2 & 3

 

Ø  Order of Merit – Players MUST play in order of ratings in their team as listed on the score sheet

Ø  Note: 5 Players can play on the night subject to the order of merit i.e. any player can sit out a round of sets as long as the rest of the team moves up in regards to the order of merit for that round. E.g. if the 2nd ranked player sits out than the 1st player stays as 1, the 3rd player plays in the 2 position, the 4th player plays in the 3 position and the 5th player plays in the 4 position (see rules for more detail). This is to make allowances for players that might be late or need to leave early, as well as accommodating current teams that have more than 4 long term players that wish to play every night.

 

Start Times –

Ø  Play is scheduled to start at 7pm.

Ø  Teams have until 7:15pm to start at least one set and until 7.30pm to start the second before sets can be forfeited (see Rules for more details).

 

Cost –

Ø  Registration Fee - $80 per team (Nonrefundable)

Ø  Match Fee -  $40 per team paid to the venue

 

Court Availability –

Ø  So as to encourage smaller clubs to enter teams beyond their capacity we have negotiated with the larger clubs to offer a 50 -50 split of the match fees, so both clubs benefit. The away team will pay their fees to the venue and the home team will pay their fees back to their home club. This can be on a rotational bases for your teams.

 

Ratings –

Ø  Team or Club captains will need to print the score cards no earlier than the Sunday before the Match to have the latest ratings. Note: the ratings are as follows

Strongest +1, 1, +2, 2, +3, 3, +4, 4, +5, 5, +6, 6, +7 ,7, +8, 8, +9, 9, +10, 10  Weakest

Ø  Ratings will be used to grade the teams

Ø  Ratings will be used for the order of merit for matches

Ø  Fill in’s ratings must be equal to or lesser than the person their filling in for

Ø  Players without a rating must seek permission from the committee to play

Ø  Captains can choose positions if one or more players have the same rating

 

Winner & Points Allocation –

Ø  Overall Winner determined by Sets and then on games if sets are tied

Ø  Most Sets - 10 points ( 5 points each if tied)

Ø  Most Games - 10 points (5 points each if tied)

Ø  Set win – 10 points per set

Ø  Games won in losing set – 1 point per game

Ø  Washout – 0 points (Match is not counted in Points ratio i.e. you get your average)

Ø  Forfeit win – 0 points (Match is not counted in Points ratio i.e. you get your average)

Ø  Forfeit Loss – 0 points (Match COUNTS in Points ratio)

Ø  Ladder Calculation – The Points Ratio (PR - total points divided by total matches played) will determine the ladder position. In the outside chance 2 teams are tied on P than the following will determine the ladder position in order

·       Relative Sets Difference % - (SF / (SF + SA)) x 100

·       Relative Games Difference % - (GF / (GF + GA)) x 100

·       Sets For (SF)

·       Games For (GF)

 

Entry forms can be found here along with link to payment:

 

https://form.jotform.com/201757513516858

 

Please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions qldleagues@tennis.com.au

 

 

Regards

 

Adam Spence

 

 

 

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