Adult 2024 Tournaments

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 IMPORTANT TOURNAMENT NOTICE

In efforts to ensure all players (at all levels) get to enjoy tournament action; BreakPoint is introducing a "tournament code of conduct“ for umpires, coaches & players to follow. 

Policy  1 - if a player signs up for a lower level tournament that is inferior to their actual skill (ie. an NTRP 3.5 player signs up for an advanced-beginner NTRP 2.0-2.5 tournament); and is beating a player(s) significantly (ie. the weaker player in the proper division is getting 1pt/ max 2pts per game and is obviously mismatched); the umpire will pause play immediately after the 4th completed game and call players to the net. 

This pause will only occur if A, B and C occur:
A - there is a significant skill gap between the on-court player(s).
B - the higher level player is relenting a significant "1-sided victory" with obvious mismatch of talent and is not showing signs of dropping their level of play.
C - the higher level (in wrong division) player has been identified by the umpire as a player having a "higher NTRP value" that does not fit into the level of of that specific tournament. 

Policy 2 - During the pause, the umpire will issue a "play nice“ card to the superior player(s) in the wrong division. All players will be supported with positive vibes & the BreakPoint umpire will explain to the higher skilled player their interpretation of why they are identified with the interpreted superior NTRP number value.  (ie. NTRP identifies players effectively using spin on their forehand as having minimum 3.5)

The umpire will assist the superior player in how to "play nice“. Some examples of "play nice“ may be to not use a full motion serve (instead use a "check mark" or backscratcher serve) or not hit with significant speed & start utilizing arched shots without spin.  We want the high skilled player in the wrong division to still enjoy the tournament. The assumption is that the player is not vindictive, rather they just got the wrong division at registration & didn’t recognize the gap in level during warmup and first 4 games. 

The remainder of the match is played with guidance of the umpire and the final score is submitted "as is".  Nobody is removed from the tournament. And the higher level player can still win the tournament. It may be that their next match is against another superior player in the wrong lower level…so they can go "all out“. 

Policy 3 - An official "BreakPoint sanctioned“ NTRP number is issued to the superior player at the end of the tournament; this player is now limited to this level or higher in future "BreakPoint" sanctioned tournaments. (ie.  a 3.5 player "issue“ may limit them to a tournament that includes 3.5 or higher…for instance a tournament that is 3.0- 3.5 or 3.0- 4.0 is completely acceptable). Players are welcome to play above their respective level without concern. 

Final notes:
Tennis has a long tradition of being "gentlemanly & ladielike"; and in many cases players that recognize a large gap in skill level will modify their strokes automatically.  Many players recognize this in warmup.  This is the tradition of the sport. 

There are times when it is acceptable for players to "punish“ an opponent even when there is a large gap in skill.  Generally speaking this is limited to open level tournaments (5.0 and above).