Just went through the 2016 regulations. Looks like very few changes. One thing that seems way overdue is the elimination of 2.5 men and 2.5 mixed at nationals.
Having seen men that are computer rated 2.5 players they should not be advancing to anything.
In terms of your comment about their level of play, to play devil's advocate one could argue the exact same thing about 3.0 - 5.5 levels also
Let's face it, at the rec level none of us are setting the tennis world on fire. We're all at varying degrees of crapiness.
Completely agree. However if you're a male who has the ability to walk and swing a racket you are a minimum 3.0 player. A true 2.5 male player is lucky if they don't hit every shot over the fence, let alone in the court. Whereas a 3.0 has at least a 50/50 chance of getting the average weak shot back in play.
More likely that not it's because there's just not a significant enough pool of 2.5 men to make this worthwhile.
In terms of your comment about their level of play, to play devil's advocate one could argue the exact same thing about 3.0 - 5.5 levels also
Let's face it, at the rec level none of us are setting the tennis world on fire. We're all at varying degrees of crapiness.
Depends on the 2.5 players in question.Do 2.5 players even know the rules?
I've seen quite a few former high school players sign up at 2.5 "because I haven't played in 10 years". They do know the rules - except the part about self-rating fairly. Eliminating nationals at 2.5 might help curb some of that behavior.
Indeed there are 2.5 teams. Not so many for men - maybe a handful. More for women - about 20 or so.Are there even 2.5 teams in NorCal? I do not recall if the team competitions even go that low. 3.0 IIRC is the lowest.
Indeed there are 2.5 teams. Not so many for men - maybe a handful. More for women - about 20 or so.
No Men's 2.5, but 85 Women's 2.5.I didn't know there was a 2.5. I looked it up and the Caribbean won 2.5 mens. They have historically dominated low levels. Texas didn't even have a 2.5 team. I would think a section as big as ours would.
Here are some stats for 2.5s for you.
2014 year-end 2.5C - 11.7K
2015 year-end 2.5C - 12.7K
2015 18+ 2.5 teams - Over 1,300
Sections with fewest 18+ 2.5 teams:
Northern - 4
Hawaii - 7
SoCal - 8
Sections with the most 2.5 teams:
Southern - 545
******* - 133
Intermountain - 130
Completely agree, but how is that any different from wanting to sandbag at 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, etc... ?No disrespect meant at all, but I don't get why anyone would want to sandbag and try to play in 2.5 nationals. If you really aren't a beginner, what joy is there in saying you are the best beginner in the nation?