Posts tagged tournament officials

How ITF Junior Tournaments Work

6
7 months ago
in ,

Just when I thought I had the USTA tournament thing finally figured out, my kid decided he wanted to try playing some ITF events.  And, after reading the current ITF Junior Regulations and searching all over the Web for information and coming up pretty much empty-handed, I started asking questions of those with way more knowledge than I have so I could understand how the ITF process works.  Here’s what I’ve learned so far about ITF events held in the US:

  • You must be between the ages of 13-18 to play in an ITF Junior tournament. You may enter a tournament starting at age 12 years 11 months, however.  Unlike USTA which uses the player’s birth month to determine age and eligibility, the ITF uses the calendar year.  For the 2012 ITF season, More >

Parent Advocacy Revisited

7
10 months ago
in ,

I mentioned on our Facebook page a while back that I had spoken with Tim Russell, Chair of the USTA’s Junior Competition Committee, and that he shared some useful information with me.  Two of the specific issues I addressed with him had to do with cheating in junior tournaments and the non-uniformity of junior tournament officials in terms of enforcing the rules.  After speaking with Tim for almost an hour, I realized that it all comes down to, once again, parents being advocates for their children.

Tim Russell says that the USTA believes in “fair play.”  Juniors are allowed to continue entering tournaments until point penalties keep them out.  In order for a player to be penalized for cheating, the officials on duty must write him or her More >

Time Off for Bad Behavior

0
1 year ago
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School isn’t the only place – the Junior Tennis World will give you time off for bad behavior, too!  And, yes, I do speak from personal experience.

I haven’t really addressed the whole area of conduct and suspension points on ParentingAces yet, so I figure now is as good a time as any given that my kid just avoided a very close call with a 3-month tournament suspension.  I suspect there are junior tennis players who will get through their entire tournament career without ever receiving a code violation or suspension point, but my kid isn’t one of them.

Let me advise you once again that if you and your child have NOT yet read the USTA publication FRIEND AT COURT, do so immediately!  It is crucial that you and your child are both familiar More >

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