2009 USTA League Southern Section Championships

Birmingham, Alabama

July 25-August 2, 2009

Tournament Information

USTA League Tennis Champion teams from the nine States in the Southern Section will be invited to compete in the 2009 USTA League Tennis Southern Sectional Championships to be held July 25 through August 2, 2009. The first half of the tournament will host adult men and women 2.5, 3.0, 3.5 and senior men and women 4.0-4.5. Team registration will begin on Fri. July 24 at 4:30pm with the captains meeting at 6:00pm. Tournament matches will begin on Sat. July 25 with finals on Tues. July 28th!

The second half of the tournament will host adult men and women 4.0, 4.5, 5.0, Open and senior men and women 2.5, 3.0, 3.5.  Team registration will begin at 4:30pm on Wed. July 29 and the captains meeting will follow at 6:00 pm.  Match play will begin on Thurs. July 30th with the finals on Sunday Aug. 2, 2009.

Hotel Reservations

The Wynfrey Hotel is the Official host hotel, tournament headquarters and location for team registration, captain’s meeting and player party. Players must book hotel reservations here in order to receive discounts and USTA Southern Section player room rates:

Teams that book rooms at Wynfrey Hotel have a chance to win a U.S. Open package for two. Click to get information on entering this fantastic package. To be eligible your team must have a minimum of nine room nights (example 3 rooms for 3 nights).

Tournament Headquarters Hotel

Wynfrey Hotel

1000 Riverchase Galleria

Birmingham, AL 35244

Click to get discount and USTA Southern Section player rate

Additional Hotels

Holiday Inn Express  Inverness

156 Resource Center Pkwy

Birmingham, AL 35242

Marriott Towneplace Suites

500 Wildwood Circle

Birmingham, AL 35209

Tournament Tennis Centers

Tournament Site Desks

All captains are asked to turn in their lineups at least 30 minutes prior to the scheduled match time with all team members present and ready to play. The USTA Point Penalty System will be in effect with lateness penalties imposed.  A fifteen-minute default time will be strictly enforced.

Tournament Results

Team and Individual scores and standings will be posted at the tournament headquarters each day.  Results will be entered into Tennis Link throughout each day and can be viewed on the Sectional Championships website at www.southernleaguetennis.com

Practice Courts

Available on a first-come-first-serve basis.  A Player Guide with map/directions to practice sites and availability will be distributed at Registration.

Awards

Awards will be presented to champions and finalists.

OFFICIAL BALL

PENN will be the official ball.

Court Surfaces

Initial schedule: (In the event of inclement weather, court surfaces may change based on availability.)

All adult levels Outdoor Hard Courts

All senior levels Outdoor Clay Courts

2009 USTA League Southern Section Championships Cancellation Policy

Should inclement weather or other circumstances prevent the completion of a Sectional Championship the Tournament Committee will determine whether the matches played at the point of cancellation will be used to determine round robin group winners and a champion and finalist in each of the levels.

If the Tournament Committee determines that there was a lack of "equal opportunity" for all teams in the level due to the schedule of play, the Tournament Committee will place all teams in a drawing to determine the champion and finalist in each level. (For instance, in a five team round robin, one team may be in first place at the time of cancellation with two matches played, while other teams in the round robin have fewer matches played.  This example would not provide "equal opportunity" for all teams in the round robin and would not be used to determine the round robin group winner).  If any team in a round robin flight is mathematically out of contention at the time of championship cancellation it will be excluded from the drawing.

The Tournament Committee has reserved courts for a rain date on Wed. July 29 and Mon. August 3rd. Initial travel plans should not be based on this date, as the Tournament Committee would shorten format, play at night, etc. first.