Congratulations to the Men’s 4.0 USTA Adult 18 & Over Wash Park Orange team who participated in Sectionals in Salt Lake City, Utah on August 9-11.  

Words from team captain Greg Hamilton:

 We ended up 1-2 with a win over Idaho & a really close loss to Nevada on Friday, and then a blow out by Utah (likely winners of nationals again) on Saturday.  We had a couple guys that wanted to play singles against Utah, but the doubles lines were all drawn out of a hat by the USTA official.  We figured we'd have some fun with it since we were out of contention and the Utah team was very good (example: their D1 team had been partners in highschool and won a 6a state championship in 2018).

Aside from tennis, we had a big airbnb with a ping pong table, pool, driveway/parking lot big enough for us to play pickleball on, and a nice lounge area with a grill.  So, we made the best of the weekend with a lot of intra-team competition.  The team is a  really fun group of guys, and we've been lucky to have had such success on court - several of us having moved up together from 3.0 and another group joining in and moving up with us at 3.5.  It'll be interesting to see what happens at the end of the year with bump ups - 4.5 would be a totally different animal! 

Team members:  Matt Whitmer, Jake Hugenberg, Tim Fitz, Chris McCarthy, Brandon Kalusa, Greg Hamilton, Jack Stanley, Chad Whitmer, Lionel Pomerantz, Ryan MacDowell, Tyler Hagnauer, Justin Weigle.

The primary goal of the National Tennis Rating Program (NTRP) is to help all tennis players enjoy the game by providing a method of classifying skill levels for more compatible matches, group lessons, league play, tournaments and other programs.

The National Tennis Rating Program (NTRP) is the official system for determining the levels of competition for USTA League.

NTRP ratings for all players throughout the country are produced by USTA National using a computer program.

https://ustacolorado.com/adults/ntrp-overview/

Sign into TennisLink to find your 2021 Year End Rating.

https://activesupport.secure.force.com/usta/articles/en_US/Article/Find-NTRP-Rating-Info

This is an excerpt from Colorado USTA's November 28, 2018 League Alert.

Coman tiebreak procedure changes to standard tiebreak

The Coman tiebreak procedure will no longer be used for any league matches in Colorado. Instead, all set tiebreaks and match tiebreaks in local leagues and district championship matches will be played using the standard tiebreak (play 6 points on a side and then switch sides).

This is an excerpt from Colorado USTA's November 28, 2018 League Alert.

Denver-Metro NTRP Days of Play

In the last two decades, USTA Colorado has maintained a consistent approach to scheduling and organizing league tennis, specifically, days of the week NTRP divisions are scheduled to play.

In 2018 USTA Colorado’s steadily growing league program achieved its highest level of player participation in its history. The organization’s continuous growth puts Denver on course to lead the nation in league participation by area. Our increase in player participation necessitates some changes in order to meet the needs of players and facilities.

The changes benefit players and facilities in several ways:

• Balance the number of league matches played per night.
• Reduce the number of staggered league matches
• Have more courts available for league match reschedules, lessons and facility programming.
• Facilitate opportunity for league growth.

2019 DENVER-METRO CHANGES IN RED
LEAGUE (All matches at 6pm)	MON	TUES	WED	THURS
USTA ADULT 18 & OVER Season: Apr 22-June 6	W 3.0 M 3.0	W 4.0 & 4.5 M 3.5	W 2.5 & 5.0+ M 4.0	W 3.5 M 4.5 & 5.0+
USTA ADULT 40 & OVER Season: June 10-July 25	W 4.0 M 4.0 & 4.5+	W 3.0 & 4.5+ M 3.0	W 2.5 M 3.5	W 3.5
CTA TWILIGHT Season: July 29-Sept 12	W 3.5, 4.5 M 3.0	M 3.5, 4.0 & 4.5+ W 5.0+	W 3.0	W 2.5 & 4.0

 

Did you get moved up or moved down? Official NTRP ratings for 2019 have been available on TennisLink since Nov 29, 2018.

Make sure to confirm your 2019 NTRP rating before you commit to a team!

• Remember, you can play up half a level, but you can't play down at any level.   
  
• You might have to find a new team! 
  
• NOTE TO CAPTAINS... double check your team members' ratings!

Not Happy With Your Rating?

For whatever reason, if you don't agree with your NTRP Rating, there IS an appeals process.  And, you can appeal to either get moved up or moved down from whatever your current published rating is. 

Visit these pages to learn more about the Ratings Appeal process...

CTA Appeal a Rating

USTA Appeal a Rating

Reserving a team's spot happens months before any play actually begins.

To help you plan/prepare, here's a rough idea of when you can expect WPTC registration to happen. The actual dates will vary from year to year.

Late January through mid-February
WPTC Registration for leagues starting play in the Spring, including...

• Trio
• USTA Mixed 18+
• USTA Adult 18+

Mid-March through mid-April
WPTC Registration for leagues starting play in early Summer, including...

• USTA Adult 40+
• CTA Adult 18-39
• CTA Women's 2.5
• USTA Mixed 40+

Mid-May through mid-June
WPTC Registration for leagues starting play in late Summer, including...

• CTA Twilight
• ITA Mixed Doubles 

There's quite a bit of responsibility that goes into being a team captain. Some aspects of the job are harder to handle than others. Here are some things you can do to make your captain's job easier.  

Juggling Frogs

Undeniably, the most annoying situation for a captain, albeit out of anyone's control, is the weather!  Keeping track of rescheduled matches due to rain-outs is like juggling frogs.  It's a lot to keep track of, and there's a high probability of something getting dropped. 

In the most likely event that you end up having to play a rescheduled match, do your captain a favor and 

1. Keep them updated on the agreed upon rescheduled match, including: date, time, and location.
   
   
2. Write everything down to share with them promptly after the match is complete, including: 
   
   1. Your opponents' first and last names
   2. Who won and/or lost
   3. What the score was

Herding Cats 

Keeping track of 8-12 (or more) players' availability, making sure everyone gets equal playing time, planning a winning line-up, coordinating the home team post-match hospitality, among other things, is plenty enough work for a team captain (aka Chief Cat Herder).  There are, however, things team members can do to make a captain's job a little easier.

Start Being a Team Player Early in the Season

1. Pay your current year WPTC membership dues.  
   WPTC captains are required to confirm that everyone on their team is a current WPTC member before they give out the team number to players to register for the team on TennisLink. Typically, captains don't enjoy hounding players to take care of this mandated requirement. So do your part, and don't be THAT person.
   
   
2. Make sure to pay your USTA membership through the season.
   You won't be able to register in TennisLink without a current USTA membership.
   
   
3. Get out and practice...even in the winter months!
   There are lots of indoor tournaments and don't forget about WPTC Indoor Socials!
   
   
4. Promptly respond to their communications regarding team commitments and schedule availability.

The Little Things During the Season

Remember, they have 8-12 players to keep track of, so even the small things can quickly add up to a pain in the neck. Here are some little things you can do during the season that go a long way in making your captain's job easier.

1. If you can't play when scheduled, find your own sub and let your captain know who's playing for you.
   
   
2. Arrive on-time, preferably early, to all matches.  
   
   
3. After your match is over, make sure to write down the first & last names of your opponents, the score and who won.
   
   
4. During home matches the whole team plays host, so pitch in with...
   
   • hospitality setup and cleanup
   • offering the opposing team a beverage and a snack

Remember, many hands make light work. 

Be a Team Player ON and OFF the Court

Team captains are volunteers, and volunteers who are appreciated are more likely to keep volunteering. Team captains notice the real team players and they appreciate it immensely when you do your part to make their jobs easier.

Oh, and if you've got a really great captain, it never hurts for the team to chip in on a captain's thank you gift at the end of the season!

The 2017 year-end NTRP Ratings have been calculated and posted, and are in effect for the 2018 Calendar year, for both league and tournament play!

Know Your Current NTRP Rating...Before You Commit!

At the end of each calendar year, USTA recalculates the NTRP ratings of all players based on a variety of factors.  This means that players may get bumped up, down or stay at the same rating.

Do everyone a favor, make sure you know your current year-end rating before committing to a 2018 league team. 

• Remember, you can play up half a level, but you can't play down at any level.  
  
• You might have to find a new team!
  
• NOTE TO CAPTAINS... double check your team members' ratings!

Lookup a Player's NTRP Rating

Not Happy With Your Rating?

For whatever reason, if you don't agree with your NTRP Rating, there IS an appeals process.  And, you can appeal to either get moved up or moved down from whatever your current published rating is. 

Visit these pages to learn more about the Ratings Appeal process...

CTA Appeal a Rating

USTA Appeal a Rating