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faq's...
Below are some frequently asked questions. If you do not find what you are looking for, please complete the help form to the left and we will endeavour to answer all your questions.
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Playing Competitively
The competitive structure can seem to be very complicated. In terms of which events to enter, your coach should be able to advise you. Local tournament information and entry forms are posted on the Devon website usually in September and March (www.devon.totaltennis.net) and all sanctioned tournaments can be found on the LTA website www.lta.org.uk/GetOnCourt/Tournaments
Mini Tennis Circuits
These are designed for the young novice player just starting to play competitively. Players do not need to have a rating or be LTA members. The circuits vary slightly each season as we attempt to cater for demand. In general there is a green ball circuit and a yellow ball circuit, entries limited by age with a Masters final at the end of each season. We also run a 13 & Under circuit for the older novice player.
Matchplays and Tournaments
There is a programme of matchplay events in both the winter and summer throughout Cornwall, Devon and Somerset . These are co-ordinated by the County but run locally by clubs. Though these are for rated players they are designed to give competitive opportunities to the first 3 ratings divisions (10s 9s and 8s), those first starting out, club players or improvers.
Running alongside these are the Ariel Winter Indoor County Matchplays. These are age group events and in some cases act as qualifiers for the next level of competition, the Ariel Winter Indoor Series.
Some of the Club Matchplays now act as qualifiers for selected Ariel Winter County Indoor events and some of those are qualifiers for the next level, the Ariel Indoor Series.
Venues
There are no real rules regarding choosing venues except that certain LTA events require a performance surface such as indoor acrylic. On a County level events are held where there is court space and/or an organiser/referee.
Officials
Referees at LTA sanctioned events are qualified and members of ABTO (Association of British Tennis Officials).
Umpires
Though it would be preferable to have umpires at finals unfortunately it is not really practicable. Not only is there a cost implication, but there quite simply are not enough qualified umpires out there. Any one want to volunteer?
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Representing the County - Inter County Cups / County Training
Cups
There are annual Inter County Cups in the following age categories:
Event Composition of Teams Duration Located Time of Year
10 & Under 3 boys / 3 girls 2 days South West area May /June
12 & Under 3 boys / 3 girls 2 days South West area May /June
14 & Under 4 boys / 4 girls 3 days Anywhere in GB 1st w/e May
18 & Under 6 boys /6 girls 3 days Anywhere in GB February
At 14 & Under and 18 & Under, counties are organised in ranked groups of 4 or 5. The winners of each group are promoted to the next, the losers are demoted.
County Training
The County has always felt that County Training should not have any impact or influence on a player’s individual programme with their own coach, rather, it should be seen as an additional benefit in that it gives players the opportunity to train with others of a similar standard. HIstorically then, County Training was designed to prepare teams for the County Cups working on tactics and doubles pairings/play. In the period leading up to a Cup a squad of players attended 3 to 4 training sessions from which the eventual team was selected.
Obviously, as the Inter County Cup teams are so small, only a handful of players could be offered the opportunity to be involved at County level.
From September 2006 the County will be implementing a new strategy, the Devon Junior County Player Plan. The plan is quite straightforward and has been designed to meet the following goals:
Open the door to more players
Create a county player pathway
Simplify the selection process
Better prepare our County Cup teams
In order to offer far more opportunities for juniors to become part of County Tennis, we will be looking to invite up to a maximum of 48 10/U players into a special ‘one2watch’ programme. This forms the first tier of our new structure and will enable us to identify and encourage budding new talent. Then at 12/U, 14/U and 18/U we will select up to 32 players (ideally 16 boys and 16 girls) in each age group to form County Squads. The emphasis in these squads will be on doubles competitive play rather than training which should be provided by players’ individual programmes.
The County Player Plan for these players will be made up of the following elements:
· 4 x County Squad Doubles Ranking events
· 1 x County Squad Friendly Match
· 2 – 3 County Cup Teambuilding Sessions
· 1 x per age group National Inter County Cup Competition
· Devon Junior County Closed Championships
The Doubles Ranking events will focus on doubles matchplay in preparation for the Inter County Cup Competitions where doubles plays a crucial part. From these competitive sessions we will be looking to give each player a County doubles ranking which will form part of our County Cup team selection process.
The selection process for squads and teams is as follows:
1. Winter County squads selected on LTA Rating/Rankings directly after the Junior County Closed Championships
2. County squad doubles ranking sessions – players’ results correlated to give Devon County doubles ranking
3. County Cup Teams selected based on LTA singles rating/Rankings & Devon County doubles rankings
Selection for County Cup Teams
Historically players were nominated by coaches and brought together to play off in front of County Coaches, much like football or hockey trials. A ‘do or die’ situation which for an individual sport like tennis, may not necessarily be a true reflection of a player’s ability.
We hope our Devon Junior County Player Plan as explained under 'County Training' will make the whole process more open and accessble.
However, the advice to parents would still be to get out there competing at whatever level your child is comfortable with. Remember, there are opportunities to compete at club level in the National Junior Club League and the Road to Wimbledon as well as at school in the Nestlé Schools Tennis leagues (year 8 and10) and in Mini Tennis events at primary schools. The NJCL and Nestlé are team competitions. So if your club or school does not take part, maybe some encouragement from you could persuade them!
Venues
County Training and County events are normally held at the indoor County Centres – East Devon Tennis Centre, South Devon Tennis Centre, Tarka Tennis Centre and Exeter Tennis Centre. This ensures that sessions are not at the mercy of the weather and also these are centres at which the County has been able to negotiate favourable court hire rates. The County has to pay for courts and coaches.
Tennis Camps in the holidays
Most of the venues above as well as many clubs put on tennis camps and courses during the holidays. However as the summer is the prime competition period with many local events to choose from, the County would encourage players to gain valuable experience through competing.
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Ratings
Ratings need to be viewed as a tool which allows a player to get an idea of their ability compared to other players. It is a means to an end and not the end in itself. Players under 10 cannot be rated however this rule is being amended and at the moment, players who turn 10 in 2006 can apply for an LTA membership and from October 2005 and will be given a 10.2 rating to enable them to enter events prior to Christmas. It currently costs £3 to get an LTA player membership and thereby a rating. In order to enter most events you need to be a member of the LTA and have a rating. To improve a rating for those rated 10.1 or 10.2 a player needs to record 4 singles wins against a player with any rating at all. Simply record your 4 wins on a result card and send it in to the LTA Ratings Department (address on the card). Once you reach a rating of 9.2 you need to be consistently beating players of the same or higher rating in order for your rating to go up. Junior ratings cannot go down.
The organisers of official LTA tournaments (the ones published on the LTA website tournament page) automatically send in results. Outside of this you can submit results on a national ratings score card.
The change in the LTA’s philosophy towards Long Term Player Development and the recently revised rating system has not yet completely been reflected in the competition structure where acceptance into events is still in many cases determined by rating. The whole situation is under review at the moment.
For more information click here.
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Rankings
Players progressing through the competitive structure will now also be ranked and will earn ranking points through their results in certain events. Rankings operate in the 18U, 16U, 14U and 12U age groups. The LTA decided to introduce a Ranking System so that players can measure their success on a tournament by tournament basis. The Ranking system is based on tournament performance irrespective of opponent. Rankings also allow equally rated players to see who ' s performing best within their band. LTA Ranking is based on a player’s best 6 tournament performances over a rolling 12 month period. Competitions are graded with grade 1 being the highest.
More information on ratings and rankings click here.
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Lack of Girls in Tennis
This is a national problem and is very hard to solve. Many strategies have been tried in the past and are being tried currently. It has been the subject of many a student’s thesis but no-one has come up with the magic solution. Suffice to say it is always on the agenda and we are still trying.
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The County’s Role
The County’s role is to create a good environment and provide opportunities outside those that can be provided at club level. For example:
• Grants to clubs to assist with facility development
• Over £2.25 million LTA investment in covered courts secured by Devon LTA in the last 3 years
• Grants to clubs and coaches to assist with coaching programmes
• County team of Performance Coaches providing County trips, clay court camps, County Cup training, age group tennis camps etc.
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