Redfield ALTA/USTA Guidelines

Foreword
The Redfield Swim and Tennis Club is proud to support junior and adult teams for ALTA and USTA league play.  This provides the members of the Club to improve their playing skills, engage in competitive play and to promote community spirit and a love of the game.

The RSTC Board has defined the following rules and guidelines for ALTA and USTA league play.  The purpose of establishing guidelines for Redfield ALTA and USTA teams is to formalize the recommended manner in which teams should be established and managed to best accomplish the objectives described above.  These guidelines are just that – guidelines.  While the RSTC Board reserves the right to establish and enforce rules that best support the well-being of the Club and its members, it recognizes that the development of rigid rules would prohibit the flexibility often required to establish and manage ALTA and USTA teams.  Therefore, these guidelines should act as the recommended policy for Redfield ALTA and USTA teams and should be followed unless extenuating circumstances exist.  Any such circumstances should be discussed with the Tennis Chairman for approval.

Rules
There are some rules for which there is no exception without specific vote of the RSTC board.  These include:

• Non-members pay a $50 fee prior to the start of each ALTA and USTA season.  It is the captain’s responsibility to collect this fee.
• Non-members may not be a resident of the Redfield sub-division.
• Non-members may use the Redfield courts only for coaching and scheduled ALTA/USTA matches.
• Non-members receive no other club privileges.
• A team must be comprised of at least 75% RSTC members.
• Non-members playing on junior ALTA/USTA teams are exempt from paying any fees.

Guidelines

Establishing a Team

Number of players on a team
The appropriate number of players needed to support a team can vary tremendously. The number of players on a team must satisfy ALTA and USTA requirements for minimum players to establish a roster and be sufficient to ensure that the team is not found in violation of excessive defaults.
(ALTA Rule V, D).

Any member in good standing with RSTC can join any team.  Any RSTC member who requests to join the team must be placed on the roster provided they are a paid member of ALTA and/or USTA.

Team Member Responsibilities

• ALTA and USTA are competitive leagues with scheduled match play.  Any member who desires to join a team should make every effort to be a “committed” member of that team.  A committed member is available to attend 50% of the matches.  This commitment provides the captain with the maximum flexibility in establishing partnerships and fielding appropriate line-ups.  Those members who are unable to commit to these time requirements are still welcome to join any team.
• Members should honestly assess their skill level and position themselves on an appropriate team.  Match play is most fun for everyone when players and opponents are evenly matched and either partnership is capable of emerging as the winner.
• The skill level of the player should be consistent with the level of ALTA or USTA tennis for which their team is assigned.  Having a player over or under their skill level for the ALTA/USTA level is not appropriate.  When a member contacts a captain to join a team, the captain should inquire about the member’s previous experience and should help them determine the most appropriate Redfield team for them to join.
• In the event of an unknown skill level, the member should be placed in the lowest level Redfield team.  Should they prove over qualified for this level, they can then be moved to the next level team the following season without impacting any team’s rating.

Non-members on a team
Non-members should only be placed on a roster when a team feels there are not enough members to establish a team.  The following guidelines exist regarding non-members:

• Non-members should not be placed on a team when there are sufficient members to establish a team.
• A poll should be taken by the captain of the team prior to adding a non-member to the roster to determine if the team members believe a non-member position is needed on the team.  Seventy-five percent of the team members should agree for a non-member to be added.
• Non-members may play three consecutive seasons unless specifically excepted by the Board of Directors.

Captaining a Team

Selecting a Captain
All members of a team are expected to take their turn and captain the team.  The following guidelines exist concerning selection of a captain:

• The co-captain from the previous season should assume the captain’s position for the current season.  The co-captain position prepares the team member to captain the team by familiarizing them with ALTA/USTA procedures and the make-up of the team.
• The selection of the current season’s co-captain should occur at the end of the previous season by one of the following methods:

1. A member volunteers to be co-captain.
2. Draw a name from a list of the team’s roster.  Everyone on the roster should be included in the drawing with the exception of the current and two previous captains.
3. Alphabetical rotation.

• Prior to submitting a roster, the captain should speak to each team member to determine their desire to continue on the team.  This should keep rosters from becoming artificially large with members who are registered, but who do not intend to play during the season.
• At the end of a season the captain, in his/her last official act in office, is responsible for ensuring that a captain and co-captain have been named and that the new captain receives the registration packet in a timely manner in order to submit a roster for the upcoming season.

Determining lineups
ALTA/USTA are competitive leagues and team members desire to field a competitive team and to win a spot in the Playoffs.  While the captain is in charge of determining the weekly lineups, he/she should consider the following recommendations when establishing this lineup.

• A competitive lineup should be fielded.
• ALTA recommends the strategy of playing the strongest players available at positions 1, 2 and 3 and rotating players in positions 4 and 5.
• After the forth match, captains can assess the point standings and determine a course of action for the remaining matches, i.e. continuing with the same line-up strategy or providing more match time for team members.
• While consideration should be given to allowing every committed team members some playing time, there is no requirement to play team members a certain percentage of times.

Communication of Guidelines
The RSTC Tennis Chairman shall distribute a copy of these guidelines to each captain prior to the start of each season.

Additions and/or Modification of Guidelines
Modification of these guidelines requires a majority vote of the RSTC Board with the Tennis Chairman responsible for maintaining the currently approved version.  Any board member may move for additions or modifications to these guidelines.