Championship Procedures, Rules and Regulations

• USTA Rules and League Regulations will be enforced during the championship.

• All match lineups must be submitted to the tournament desk by the team captain AT LEAST 30 MINUTES prior to the start of the match. Failure to comply may result in penalties as imposed at the tournament director’s discretion. 

• Captains may pick-up match line-up forms at the tournament desk where the match is scheduled to be played. 

FAILURE TO ATTEND:

If a team gives notice that it will participate but then fails to do so, penalties may be administered with the maximum penalty being disqualification of all of its members who had agreed to participate from all league play for the following year. The Championship Committee named for the event where the violation occurs shall decide upon the penalty. This decision may be appealed to the ITA Section League Grievance Committee.

TEAM NOTICE OF INTENT TO PLAY:

No later than three days after completion of District Championships or local league, each team qualifying to compete in the Section Championship must notify the District League Coordinator that it will or will not participate in the tournament. The District League Coordinator must in turn notify the Section League Coordinator of teams attending Sectional Championship.

MOVE UP SPLIT UP REGULATION 2.06A:

Teams that qualify for a 2025 National Championship are subject to the Move Up, Split Up regulation, please see below. Please see USTA League Regulation 2.06A for complete details, or contact your Sectional League Coordinator on questions relating to compliance or how this regulation may affect your team in 2026. 

2.06A(2): Split-Up - No more than three (3) players who were on the roster of any team that advanced to, or qualified for, any National Championship team the previous year may play together in the same Division, same Age Group and at the same NTRP team level as the National Championship team(s), if their NTRP rating allows. Split-Up requirements only apply to all players other than Self-Rated and ValidComputer Rated Appealed Players players who participated in three (3) or more matches (one default received shall count) and Self-Rated and Valid Computer Rated Appealed players who participated in at least four matches (no default received shall count), for that team during the championship year.

MATCH SCHEDULE/COMMITMENT TO PLAY: 

My team and I understand that this Sectional Championship is scheduled out over three days- Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and my team may have matches on all three days. By coming to a sectional championship my team is committed to playing all scheduled matches regardless of the day or time that they are scheduled.  I understand if my team chooses to leave early and not play all scheduled matches that a grievance may filed against them which may result in suspension from league participation for the captain and/or any team members at fault as determined by the Section League Grievance Committee. This decision may be appealed to the ITA Section League Grievance Appeal Committee

SCORING:

• Best of two tie break sets with a Match Tiebreak (if required) in lieu of a third set.

• The Coman Tiebreak Procedure will be used for the Set and Match Tiebreak. This procedure is the same as traditional Tiebreak, except that ends are changed after the 1st point, then after every four points and at the conclusion of the Tiebreak. The Set tiebreak is the first to 7 by 2 pts. The Match tiebreak is the first to 10 by 2.

• Two minute rest between the 1st and 2nd set and between the 2nd set and 3rd set match tiebreak. 

• Scores must be reported to the tournament desk immediately after the match is completed. When all matches are complete, both Team Captains are to report to the tournament desk to sign the official tournament scorecard. 

CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT SET UP:

• Teams will compete in a non-elimination round-robin format at the 6.0, 7.0, 8.0, & 9.0 levels. 

• The number of teams in each flight will vary depending upon the number of advancing teams per district. Therefore, anticipate a minimum of 3 team matches and a maximum of 5 team matches. 

• The team winning the majority of those individual matches will be awarded one team point.

• The winner of each flight will be determined by team matches won.

• In the event of a tie, the tie will be broken by the first of the following procedures:

1. Individual Matches – Winner of the most individual matches in the entire competition 

2. Head-to-Head – Winner of head-to-head match 

3. Sets – Loser of the fewest number of sets 

4. Games – Loser of the fewest number of games 

5. Games Winning Percentage –Total games won divided by the total games played

6. A method to be determined by the Championships Committee: Procedure to be announced prior to commencement of championship competition OR coin toss.

BALLS:

Penn Championship Extra Duty balls will be provided. Players will NOT be given a new can of balls for 3rd set tiebreak. 

UMPIRES:

There may be certified roving officials present at the site. 

INCLEMENT WEATHER:

The tournament format, number of matches and match length may change due to a team not showing up or circumstances beyond our control such as weather. Rain could cause delays, modifications to the format, and possible cancellation of the tournament. 

In the event of rain, please remain at the tournament site until the tournament staff informs you of the play schedule. In the event of a long rain delay, it will be at the discretion of the Championship Committee to use an alternative-playing format. 

CANCELLATION:

If the championship, or part of the championship is cancelled due to rain or unforeseen circumstances, the championship will NOT be rescheduled. 

CHAMPIONSHIP GRIEVANCES:

General Grievances:

Any grievance alleging a violation during championship competition shall be in writing and delivered to the duly appointed site director or designee prior to whichever occurs first: (a) within 30 minutes of the completion of the involved team’s match or (b) the commencement of the involved team’s next match, whether or not the involved player participates, except for Administrative Grievances (See Reg. 3.03A(2)), Eligibility Grievances (See Reg. 3.03B(3)) and NTRP Grievances (See Reg. 3.03E(3)). USTA League Regulation 3.03C(1)

NTRP Grievances:

USTA Intermountain has chosen the option to adjudicate NTRP Grievances AFTER a championship event. USTA LEAGUE REGULATIONS (3.03E(5), 3.03E(6) and 3.03E(7)

Please note that NTRP Grievances may be filed against a player at any time up to 48 hours after the conclusion of the Sectional Championship of the player’s team, whether or not the player participated. NTRP Grievances will not be accepted at National Championships. NTRP Grievances outside of the above timeline will not be accepted. USTA League Regulation 3.03E(3)

All grievances must be filed in writing within the specified time frames above and can either be emailed to lmurrieta@ita.usta.com or handed to the SLC at your championship event.  In addition, an administration fee of $50 shall be simultaneously sent to the USTA Intermountain Tennis Association in care of the Section League Coordinator. The fee shall be refunded if the grievance is upheld.