Junior Tournaments to Resume in New England

Most Recent Junior Tournament Updates

 

September 1, 2020

11:34 am

 

L4 Tournaments

 

Please make sure you understand which L4 tournaments count for sectional only points for the remainder of the year.

 

September 26th - 27th: Sectional Only Points

October 24th - 25th: Sectional Only Points

December 11th - 12th: Sectional Only Points

 

Standings List Update

The USTANE standing list has been expanded to include 67 weeks of results (May 23, 2019 → September 3, 2020) in order to compensate for the extended suspension of play in events that count for USTANE Standing and Ranking. The lists will begin to gradually remove weeks as tournaments are added to the calculations starting on September 3rd, 2020. The process will be complete on Thursday, December 17th and the standing list will include 52 weeks of data. This will provide a player two weeks to review their rankings and yearly point results prior to the new system beginning January 1st. 

 

The chart below describes how the lists will be adjusted for each calculation and publication period. 

 

 

 

New England Travel News

 

August 7, 2020

9:17 am

 

In recent days, both Connecticut and Massachusetts have updated their travel orders. All tournament players who intend to participate in an upcoming tournament must ensure they are following the applicable state travel restrictions in deciding whether or not to enter and attend events, and that orders for MA and CT now include restrictions with respect to RI. In some cases, you may be required to either quarantine for 14 days or submit a negative COVID-19 test result within 72 hours of travel.

 

Connecticut Travel Order

Massachusetts Travel Order

 

We ask that you help us to continue to ensure a safe environment for all players, parents, tournament directors, club staff and USTANE staff. Please continue to wear a mask while at tournaments, social distance, and provide feedback through the tournament survey.

 

We will continue to monitor the situation and make appropriate changes to the tournament calendar should additional restrictions become applicable to other New England states. Tournament Directors have been made aware of these updates and we will continue to work closely with them. 

 

 

July 20, 2020

2:45 pm

 

Safety Measures During Indoor Play

 

We understand there are some concerns with indoor play during this time and we want you to feel confident registering for indoor tournaments in New England. 

 

USTA New England has worked very closely with our Tournament Directors to ensure safety protocols are understood and are being followed at all sanctioned tournaments. 

 

All Tournament Directors have agreed to follow the local and state safety recommendations as well as the USTA Playing Tennis Safely guidelines for players and facilities. We are also requiring their safety protocols be listed on each tournament home page.

 

If you have any questions regarding the safety protocols at a tournament, please contact the Tournament Director (contact information is on the tournament homepage) and they are happy to walk through the procedures in place.

 

As always, please feel free to contact the USTA New England Player Development Director, Shawna Fors with any questions or concerns as well at shawna.fors@newengland.usta.com.

 

Travel Restrictions 

 

Tournament Directors are expected and have agreed to follow federal, state and local government regulations, restrictions and advisories to ensure a safe environment for all players and spectators. This includes travel restrictions issued by the state in which the tournament is held. 

 

Accordingly, each Tournament Director reserves the right to ensure that all players and spectators comply with any applicable travel restrictions set forth by the country, state or municipality in which the tournament is held, and which may require, among other things, certain players and spectators to self-quarantine or submit documentation of a recent negative COVID-19 test prior to participating in or attending the tournament, or, in cases in which self-quarantining or submitting documentation of a recent negative COVID-19 test is not possible, not participate in or attend the tournament. 

 

 

Junior Tournaments are Back

 

The time has come to get back into junior tournament play, so let's get the competitive juices flowing. Outlined below is everything you need to know about the return to junior tournament play in New England. 

 

Throughout this unprecedented suspension of play, and in support of the 2021 unification of the Junior Competitive Structure, all 17 Sections have worked collaboratively to align and assure a fair and balanced return to play. In addition, New England put together a return to tournament play task force that meets regularly to discuss a safe return to competition for all players. Furthermore, we've consulted with the New England player development committee chairs, tournament directors, and officials.

 

NOTE: The information below is subject to change. This is a fluid situation, one we will try our best to continue to navigate. 

 

General Tournament Return

• Level 7, 6, and 5 events permitted to start on June 29th

• Level 3 and 4 events permitted to start on July 25th

 

Important Notes

• Players will be asked to follow guidelines outlined by each facility based on their local and state government. All Tournament Homepages will be updated accordingly.

• Tournament directors are able to cap events if they deem necessary. If an entry limit is imposed, you will see that posted to the Tournament Homepage.

• The remainder of the 2020 calendar is a work in progress and you may see changes as we work through the schedule.

• Players will also be required to sign a liability waiver upon registration. The waiver will also be uploaded to TennisLink. 

 

Junior Sectionals

In support of the 2021 unification, all sections have agreed to host only one Level 3 event in 2020. New England, along with many other sections, hosted their first and only L3 singles and doubles event of the year in January of 2020. With that being said, The New England BG 12-18 Junior Sectionals event for 2020 is canceled. We will continue to evaluate high level events for the remainder of 2020 and add where appropriate. 

 

L3 Doubles August

This event will be canceled. We will potentially add a L3 mixed doubles event in the last quarter of the year. 

 

L4 Event Calendar

Level 4 events are permitted to begin July 25th. We've diligently worked with Tournament Directors to schedule 8 Level 4 singles events for the remainder of 2020. It's a packed calendar but our hope is to offer as many opportunities as possible.

 

Note: We anticipate the postponed March 13th tournament to take place the weekend of August 1st. For tournament procedures (draw size, qualifier information, etc.), please visit the tournament homepages.

 

Youth Progression

Youth Progression green ball events are permitted to begin on June 29th. Orange ball events will be permitted to begin July 13th. 

 

Youth Progression at Home

While some tournaments remain on hold, USTA New England will continue to award players Youth Progression stars for activities completed from their own homes through July 2020. Click here for more information.

 

Unfreeze of Ranking

We will resume publishing the USTANE standing list on Thursday, July 2nd. The intent is to add additional weeks to a player ranking such that a player maintains 12 months of data reflected in each published list. As more weeks of play are able to happen, we will gradually adjust the amount of weeks added to the data so that by the end of 2020 we are back to calculating only 52 weeks of data when publishing standings. 

 

The calculation for rankings, in line with other sections and the NSL (National Standing List), is as follows:

 

• Normally, tournaments included in the standings go back 12 months. We will add 16 weeks to the 7/2 standing list in order to “start where we left off”.

• As weeks pass, on a schedule to be published, we will reduce the “lookback” 1 week at a time to eventually return to twelve months. 

• Important: The 7/2 list will also remove the Temporary Bonus Points. The return to play will be off the new point tables.

• Once the standings are back to a twelve month window, please note that there will be a gap equal to the time missed due to the coronavirus - this gap will cease to exist in July of 2021.

 

National Hard Court Endorsement

As announced June 15, The BG 16s & 18s National Hard Court Championships will be held in August. Draw sizes will be 128 per division, and only one age division will run per site. The selection process has been updated to reflect the reduced draw sizes and is visible on the “selection process” tab for each event on the Tournament Homepage. The BG 12s & 14s events have been canceled. 

The frozen standing list from March 13 will be converted into our Section endorsement list for Hard Court Selections. The endorsement lists will be run prior to the entry deadline using the same data as the March 13 list and only removing players who have aged out.

 

College Exposure Opportunities

We understand there has been missed opportunity for exposure to college coaches during this downtime. Please see below for two upcoming opportunities to consider. The office is currently evaluating potential showcase opportunities for all players throughout the remainder of the year. 

 

Tim Donovan Virtual College Showcase

Guilford College Showcase