MCTA - Leagues and Tournaments - Adult Leagues

What is a Tri-Level League? Tri-Level League is a league tennis program that accommodates players at three different NTRP levels on each teamâ€”itâ€™s perfect for friends at different NTRP levels to play together on the same team!

How is this different from USTA, day leagues or club teams? In traditional league programs, all players compete at the rated level of the league. For example, in Womenâ€™s 4.0 leagues, all courts could be filled by 4.0-rated players. In Tri-Level, 3 courts of doubles are played in each matchâ€” one court of 3.0 doubles, one court of 3.5 doubles, and one court of 4.0 doubles.

How do I find a team to join? Consider starting your own team and being a captainâ€” MCTA provides all the training and support you need! If youâ€™re a club member, ask your club pro to help organize a team. MCTA also collects names of players interested in joining league programs and distributes that information to relevant team captains. If you want to place your name on that list, send your name, NTRP rating, and contact information to Holly Utt (hutt@mctatennis.org) Specify your interest in Tri-Level League.

How long is the season? The new Tri-Level League will play its matches beginning November 1 and ending by December 20.

Where are the matches played and at what times? For its inaugural season, court time has been arranged at Potomac Tennis Club. Depending on the number of teams that enter the league, 90-minute matches will be scheduled weekdays from 12:00 noon to 1:30pm or 1:30pm to 3:00pm.

What is the cost? Like all other MCTA League programs, Tri-Level Leagues participants must be USTA members ($35/year with discounted pricing for multi-year memberships); must pay a player registration fee when registering for a team in TennisLink ($18, $10 of which goes to MCTA and the other $8 to Maryland District); and separately, must pay team expenses as determined by the captain (consisting of match costs of $13/player/match, and sometimes other costs such as team practice courts, team uniforms, team session with a tennis pro, etc.)

Are there other costs? Yes, court fees (including ball costs) for the full season schedule of team matches are paid by each team in advance. Captains pay these fees by credit card via the MCTA Shopping Cart, and then get reimbursed by their players. Each team is charged exactly for the number of matches it is scheduled to play. Fees can be paid in full, or MCTA offers an installment plan where 60% of court fees are pre-paid with the remaining 40% payable about one month later. Finally, if a team exhausts its original deposit account (by defaulting numerous courts) it is required to promptly replenish the account to a positive balance.

How do I captain a team? Contact Andrea Gwynn (agwynn@mctatennis.org), Laura Sommers (lsommers@mctatennis.org), or Carol Cohen (ccohen@mctatennis.org) for information and advice. Register your team via the MCTA Shopping Cart by paying your team deposit, and file a signed copy of the MCTA Captainâ€™s Commitment form with Andrea Gwynn. These steps assure you receive a Team Code to use in registering your players in TennisLink.

When is the team registration deadline? Team registration opens September 15^th. That is when you can begin to register ateam via the MCTA Shopping Cart by paying the mandatory team deposit, and when you should file a signed copy of the MCTA Captainâ€™s Commitment form with your coordinator. These steps assure you receive a Team Code to use in registering your players in TennisLink. All teams that have a minimum of 6 playersâ€”2 3.0-rated players, 2 3.5-rated players, and 2 4.0-rated players)â€”registered by October 15^th will be included in the league schedule.

When is the player registration deadline? Players can be added to a team at any time throughout the season by registering via TennisLink.

What is the minimum number of players on a team? The league format is one court of 3.0 doubles, one court of 3.5 doubles, and one court of 4.0 doubles. Hence, you need a minimum of two 3.0-rated players, two 3.5-rated players, and two 4.0-rated players to compete. It is recommended that a team carry 4 players at each rating level (total of 12 players) to account for potential schedule conflicts. Roster maximum size is 18 players.

Is there a restriction on players â€œplaying upâ€ a level? What is it? Why? The Tri-Level League is designed to provide quality competition on each court. The best way to assure an enjoyable, competitive match is to field a qualified doubles team for the level played on each court. Captains are strongly encouraged to recruit enough players at each NTRP level to assure they can meet this objective for every match. Occasionally, it may be necessary to pair a lower-rated player with higher-rated player, but this should be a rare occurrence. In all cases, at least one member of each doubles team must be rated at the level played on the court.

What if a team cannot fill a court with players of the designated rating? Again, by recruiting a variety of players it is expected that captains field a doubles team appropriate to the level of each court. An occasional pairing of a below-level player with a player rated at the level for the court is acceptable. It is not acceptable for a below-level doubles team to play together on a higher-rated court (e.g., two 3.5 players cannot pair together to play on the 4.0-rated court). If a captain cannot meet the minimum criteria for rated players on a court, she must default that court. Where defaults occur, courtesy dictates that the defaulting team captain advise the opposing captain in time to avoid players making an unnecessary trip to Potomac Tennis Club. Generally, such notice should be given not later than 10:00am.

What happens if I default a court? Whenever a team defaults a court, it pays the full cost of that court (as a debit against its initial team deposit) and the deposit account of the team receiving the default is credited in like amount. If a team must default more than one court in a team match, the entire team match is defaulted. As per above, the defaulting team is charged for all 3 courts, and the team receiving the default is credited for its pre-paid cost of the match. The status of each teamâ€™s deposit account is updated weekly and available for review on the MCTA website.

How many teams do you expect to register? We hope the new Tri-Level League will have broad appeal! Given the short timeframe in which the league season will play and the limited number of courts, the maximum number of teams that can be accommodated this year is eight. This would allow the league to play a full round-robin schedule of 7 matchesâ€”roughly one per week.

How can I recruit players? Contact your tennis friends or get your club pro to help you identify interested players. MCTA also collects names of players interested in joining league programs and distributes that information to relevant team captains.

Web Design and Development by Graphixture