Does your team enforce ****iness penalties?

[ABtennis]

We had a scenario this weekend that caused confusion. Our mixed team was playing a home match. Both teams were tied for 2nd in the division, so the match could have playoff implications. The entire other team showed up about 6 minutes late from the start time. It's a little confusing because our team actually has 2 different home courts. Their team went to the other court. Nonetheless, this was communicated to the opposing captain beforehand.

In our region, the penalty for 5-10 minutes late is loss of 2 games and racquet flip. 10 minutes results in a default. Our team debated whether we should enforce this. I voted that we should. Opinions varied including someone who voted against it because it would further motivate the opponents. ???

Anyway, or captain made the final call and she voted against any penalties. I think she mainly didn't want any conflict. I'm wondering how many teams enforce these late arrival penalties.

 

[cll30]

I co-captain a league team and I would not impose a penalty if our opponents were 6 minutes late. At 10 minutes and beyond I would think about it, and it would depend on whether there were any extenuating circumstances. At some point it's really a matter of respect, and being significantly late for a match without a very good excuse is not only disrespectful to one's opponents but to the game of tennis itself. If we were really pressed for court time I would probably be a little stricter, but we generally finish our matches on time.

 

[mikeler]

I played in a doubles league once were the rule was 15 minutes late and it was a default. One guy who gets off work right when the match is supposed to start gets there at 7:15 according to some watches or 7:16 according to others. The other captain defaulted that line. That was absurd I thought.

 

[Angle Queen]

For the first time, this season I enforced a ****iness penalty. Kind of a Perfect Storm that led me to that decision but I have no regrets. Before and since, I have "worked" with opposing captains (including the one I penalized) when specific occasions arose and they took the time/effort to notify me or ask for leniency beforehand (even if it was just in the minutes while we're all standing around waiting to begin).

This situation was decidedly blatant. Only half of the opposing players arrived on-time and they diligently tried to contact their captain on the phone prior to the league-established start time. Captain strolled in, still in flip-flops at the 7-min mark. #1 Doubles didn't show until 13-minutes past. None of them offered any excuse (because, we decided, they had none)....and we assessed penalties on two of the three lines. Thank you, Friend of the Court...print version, for tellin' it like it is.

Their captain went off with a foul-mouthed tirade but we'd decided as a team how to handle the situation and were not to be swayed.

That captain did apologize later during the actual match and signed off on the scorecard....before officially disputing the match a day later. LCs firmly agreed with our decision and added that they were "glad to see someone step up (and deal with the situation)" -- that many complain about but do nothing even though the rules are in their corner.

You can bet the entire league knows of what happened...and you guessed it, every subsequent match of the season transpired...on-time. Go figure.

My name might be mud around the league...but not with my teammates. And they're the ones I really care about.

 

[NTRPolice]

We dont, but I think we should.

People are just too "casually" late these days and have no respect for time.

Yes, its a "rec league" but that doesnt mean you can just be late.

I've started 20-25 mins late before. Opponents show up 10-15 mins late. Warm up for 10 mins. Begin play almost 30 mins after the supposed "start time". It's not very often that we get everyone on court (when avail; space/rain excluded) 5 mins before time.

The only time both teams are there in full force before the match begins is if the match before is delayed. It's kinda sad...

 

[Cindysphinx]

Personally, I think enforcing lateness penalties in *untimed* matches for minor ****iness (e.g. 6 minutes in OP) is poor form. Sadly, this does lead to chronic ****iness, which is rude and shows a lack of respect.

The situation is completely different with timed matches.

When a match is timed, I enforce lateness penalties, but I round down. If my opponents were six minutes late to a timed match, I would take toss and one game, not two. That said, as captain, I leave the final decision to the players on that court.

We had an interesting time penalty situation the other night.

The match was 9 pm at a new tennis facility none of us had ever been to. My pro warned me that this facility was impossible to find, so I passed the warning to my players. I carpooled with another player and we left a little early, just in case.

It turns out that the facility is in a warehouse district on a busy road. All of the buildings are big squares. The tennis facility is not a bubble or large open area as you might expect. It's just another square warehouse-type building. It is not visible from the street, the sign is small/black/unlit, and the address confounds GPS.

One player from each team became hopelessly lost. Our lady arrived at 9:15. The opponent arrived at 9:23. By rule, we should have won the court by default because the opponents didn't arrive within the 15 minute default period. Our ladies decided to waive the default and instead took a 2-game penalty.

I think that is fair, even though the opponent had an awfully good reason for being late. Taking game penalties is one thing. Declaring defaults and refusing to play entirely is, I think, something that should be done very rarely because the whole point of this is to play tennis.

 

[Joeyg]

Personally, I think enforcing lateness penalties in *untimed* matches for minor ****iness (e.g. 6 minutes in OP) is poor form. Sadly, this does lead to chronic ****iness, which is rude and shows a lack of respect.

The situation is completely different with timed matches.

When a match is timed, I enforce lateness penalties, but I round down. If my opponents were six minutes late to a timed match, I would take toss and one game, not two. That said, as captain, I leave the final decision to the players on that court.

We had an interesting time penalty situation the other night.

The match was 9 pm at a new tennis facility none of us had ever been to. My pro warned me that this facility was impossible to find, so I passed the warning to my players. I carpooled with another player and we left a little early, just in case.

It turns out that the facility is in a warehouse district on a busy road. All of the buildings are big squares. The tennis facility is not a bubble or large open area as you might expect. It's just another square warehouse-type building. It is not visible from the street, the sign is small/black/unlit, and the address confounds GPS.

One player from each team became hopelessly lost. Our lady arrived at 9:15. The opponent arrived at 9:23. By rule, we should have won the court by default because the opponents didn't arrive within the 15 minute default period. Our ladies decided to waive the default and instead took a 2-game penalty.

I think that is fair, even though the opponent had an awfully good reason for being late. Taking game penalties is one thing. Declaring defaults and refusing to play entirely is, I think, something that should be done very rarely because the whole point of this is to play tennis.

Sorry, but "poor form" to enforce the rules? I think that if more people did this, the situation wold take care of itself, eventually.

 

[Cindysphinx]

Sorry, but "poor form" to enforce the rules? I think that if more people did this, the situation wold take care of itself, eventually.

Be careful there, Joey. There are folks here at TT who will rip you a new one if you even suggest enforcing a time penalty that you are entitled to by rule -- even if your teammates take a vote and decide to take the penalties.

Still, I like to be lenient. One reason is there is no good solution if we say the opponent arrived at six minutes and the opponent claims it was 4 minutes. If you round down on the penalties, you can avoid starting your match with a huge dust-up over a couple of minutes. You can't play a match if you can't agree on the score before the first ball is struck, and no grievance committee can possibly help you resolve it.

 

[Turbo-87]

I couldn't care less about penalty enforcement. As long as I get to play the match, I am good. I don't need any free points nor do I want any.

 

[rabidturtle]

Total bush league move

We had a scenario this weekend that caused confusion. Our mixed team was playing a home match. Both teams were tied for 2nd in the division, so the match could have playoff implications. The entire other team showed up about 6 minutes late from the start time. It's a little confusing because our team actually has 2 different home courts. Their team went to the other court. Nonetheless, this was communicated to the opposing captain beforehand.

In our region, the penalty for 5-10 minutes late is loss of 2 games and racquet flip. 10 minutes results in a default. Our team debated whether we should enforce this. I voted that we should. Opinions varied including someone who voted against it because it would further motivate the opponents. ???

Anyway, or captain made the final call and she voted against any penalties. I think she mainly didn't want any conflict. I'm wondering how many teams enforce these late arrival penalties.

Lol, I'm a member of the opposing team.

We're filing a grievance against your team for not showing up at your home court and apply the 10 minute rule against you. Your home court is the one posted on the tennis link website and your captain never informed our captain about having multiple home courts (ie he rescheduled the match without consent of the opposing team).

I arrived at the AV tennis courts 45 minutes early because of construction on 520. The front desk receptionist said the courts were double booked 10 minutes before the match started. This is where the chaos began. If it wasn't for scrambling from the proper home facility to the random tennis facility we would have swept your team.

Total bush league on your captains part.

But I have nothing left to prove at 8.0

 

[ABtennis]

Lol, I'm a member of the opposing team.

We're filing a grievance against your team for not showing up at your home court and apply the 10 minute rule against you. Your home court is the one posted on the tennis link website and your captain never informed our captain about having multiple home courts (ie he rescheduled the match without consent of the opposing team).

I arrived at the AV tennis courts 45 minutes early because of construction on 520. The front desk receptionist said the courts were double booked 10 minutes before the match started. This is where the chaos began. If it wasn't for scrambling from the proper home facility to the random tennis facility we would have swept your team.

Total bush league on your captains part.

But I have nothing left to prove at 8.0

Lol, and there you have an example of the sportsmanship you'll find from certain teams. Congrats on your mixed national championship, but noone gives a flying F&^k. Winning a mixed championship is akin to a gold medal at the Special Olympics. It represents your ability to sandbag the system the best.

So you had trouble getting to the facility. The fact is your team arrived late, we were generous not enforcing a time penalty, we gave you a full 15 minute warmup, and your team still LOST. What's the rational thing to do? File a grievance of course.

And by the way, a representative from the group who runs the facility spoke directly to your captain on the phone and told her exactly where to go. He even told her to make sure to not go to the other facility. You might ask your captain about that, although the memory starts to go at her age.

If you have nothing to prove at 8.0, go dominate 9.0. Be ready to file lots of grievances. I know it sucks to lose to a team, with members that didn't know each other when the season started, is full of recreational hacks, and doesn't even practice. Yet we still sent your asses home as losers.


Best of Luck with the Grievance.

 

[Cindysphinx]

Ooooh, can you feel the testosterone? I know I can!

This is gonna be good!

 

[rabidturtle]

Lol, and there you have an example of the sportsmanship you'll find from certain teams. Congrats on your mixed national championship, but noone gives a flying F&^k. Winning a mixed championship is akin to a gold medal at the Special Olympics. It represents your ability to sandbag the system the best.

So you had trouble getting to the facility. The fact is your team arrived late, we were generous not enforcing a time penalty, we gave you a full 15 minute warmup, and your team still LOST. What's the rational thing to do? File a grievance of course.

And by the way, a representative from the group who runs the facility spoke directly to your captain on the phone and told her exactly where to go. He even told her to make sure to not go to the other facility. You might ask your captain about that, although the memory starts to go at her age.

If you have nothing to prove at 8.0, go dominate 9.0. Be ready to file lots of grievances. I know it sucks to lose to a team, with members that didn't know each other when the season started, is full of recreational hacks, and doesn't even practice. Yet we still sent your asses home as losers.


Best of Luck with the Grievance.

Is winning a 4.0 nationals like winning Gold at the London 2012 Olympics or winning the 2012 US Open?

Regards from Tucson

 

[mikeler]

Is winning a 4.0 nationals like winning Gold at the London 2012 Olympics or winning the 2012 US Open?

Regards from Tucson

What region are you from? My club 4.5 team is out there now.

 

[Fuji]

Is winning a 4.0 nationals like winning Gold at the London 2012 Olympics or winning the 2012 US Open?

Regards from Tucson

So since you won 4.0, did that mean an automatic bump up to 4.5? My country doesn't do USTA, so I'm unfamiliar with the systems rulings. Thanks!

-Fuji

 

[TimothyO]

Here in Atlanta start times are getting rediculous for ALTA which is especially bad for my wife's Sunday matches. People arrive so late and have such long warm ups that a 1:00 start time becomes 1:30 or even 1:45. The poor fifth line gets hosed as preceding lines dither.

 

[spot]

ALTA definitely seems to be getting worse as far as lateness goes. I know that many people don't bother trying to get to the courts on time since there is no penalty unless you are 20 minutes late. THen by rule the line can be defaulted, and if that happens then all lines below that get defaulted as well. For our team we give an extra 10 minutes past that. But I don't think its reasonable to make my teammates wait more than that to play a match.

ALTA is actually pretty interesting in trying to prevent the other team from accepting a default at line 1. If a team defaults all 5 lines in a single week then they are considered defaulted out for the season and not only are they not allowed to finish the season but all points they have earned to that point are erased as well. So teams actually get no benefit at all from causing a team to default line 1- they don't get any points from it.

 

[Mauvaise]

Ooooh, can you feel the testosterone? I know I can!

This is gonna be good!

I know, right?! Why is there so much drama with men in tennis? :twisted:

 

[Mongolmike]

I dunno... I think these might be women's teams... there are a few references to the captain as being a "she" and a "her". And besides, everyone knows how good men are with directions... no way they'd get lost or go to the wrong facility.

...(although I did sit alone in a multiplex movie theatre for about 15 minutes waiting for an early matinee showing... until an usher came in, asked what I was doing, then informed me that the movie I paid to see had started 10 minutes ago in the next theatre over....)

 

[dcdoorknob]

I think it's interesting how posting those pictures of the national champ trophies is supposed to, I assume, leave me impressed with the rabidturtle person, while it is actually having the exact opposite effect.

Also, if I'm reading things correctly, there wasn't even any late penalty enforced in this case, and the opposing team STILL wants to file a grievance? For what exactly? lol good luck with that.

 

[BHiC]

I think it's interesting how posting those pictures of the national champ trophies is supposed to, I assume, leave me impressed with the rabidturtle person, while it is actually having the exact opposite effect.

Also, if I'm reading things correctly, there wasn't even any late penalty enforced in this case, and the opposing team STILL wants to file a grievance? For what exactly? lol good luck with that.

IKR! :lol:

I also understand this to mean that no penalty was applied, and they played the matches straight up. Rabidturtle's team lost, and somehow would have won if the matches were played at this other facility.

 

[Fusker]

So after a year of gaming the system, sandbagging, and drama, those trophies are all you get? Consider me unimpressed. Glad to find out what I'm missing with USTA leagues.

I can just see those trophies sitting on some guy's mantle to impress the ladies. When she asks what "NTRP 4.0" means, he can then turn on a little Barry White and tell her, "It means I have dependable strokes, including directional control and depth on both forehand and backhand sides on moderate-paced shots. I can use lobs, overheads, approach shots and volleys with some success and occasionally force errors when serving. Rallies may be lost due to impatience. Teamwork in doubles is evident. I'm the best guy you'll meet not rated 4.5"

 

[schmke]

So after a year of gaming the system, sandbagging, and drama, those trophies are all you get? Consider me unimpressed. Glad to find out what I'm missing with USTA leagues.

I can just see those trophies sitting on some guy's mantle to impress the ladies. When she asks what "NTRP 4.0" means, he can then turn on a little Barry White and tell her, "It means I have dependable strokes, including directional control and depth on both forehand and backhand sides on moderate-paced shots. I can use lobs, overheads, approach shots and volleys with some success and occasionally force errors when serving. Rallies may be lost due to impatience. Teamwork in doubles is evident. I'm the best guy you'll meet not rated 4.5"

Well, he's been gaming the system since 2007 when he started as a 3.0 and manages his rating so as to not get bumped up too quickly. He's actually now a 4.5, what he should have been awhile ago, as the system has finally caught up with him. His parents must be proud.

 

[Mauvaise]

... he can then turn on a little Barry White and tell her, "It means I have dependable strokes, including directional control and depth on both forehand and backhand sides on moderate-paced shots. I can use lobs, overheads, approach shots and volleys with some success and occasionally force errors when serving. Rallies may be lost due to impatience. Teamwork in doubles is evident. I'm the best guy you'll meet not rated 4.5"

Is it getting warm in here?

That's hot.

;-)

 

[Turbo-87]

Lol. This thread is further proof to me that tennis has a much higher percentage of strange/uptight people in the player pool when compared to other sports.

 

[Cindysphinx]

So after a year of gaming the system, sandbagging, and drama, those trophies are all you get? Consider me unimpressed. Glad to find out what I'm missing with USTA leagues.

I can just see those trophies sitting on some guy's mantle to impress the ladies. When she asks what "NTRP 4.0" means, he can then turn on a little Barry White and tell her, "It means I have dependable strokes, including directional control and depth on both forehand and backhand sides on moderate-paced shots. I can use lobs, overheads, approach shots and volleys with some success and occasionally force errors when serving. Rallies may be lost due to impatience. Teamwork in doubles is evident. I'm the best guy you'll meet not rated 4.5"

Hey, women have been impressed based on far less than that.

 

[ABtennis]

Well, he's been gaming the system since 2007 when he started as a 3.0 and manages his rating so as to not get bumped up too quickly. He's actually now a 4.5, what he should have been awhile ago, as the system has finally caught up with him. His parents must be proud.

Ironically, his parents could probably care less. It is just his ego and teammates that are proud. I guess it's perfectly reasonable to assume a person could have a 56-2 career record in USTA including several playoff experiences, and be properly rated. It's also reasonable to assume a player could be a computer rated 3.5 and be winning matches at both 4.5 and open level singles tournaments, just as our 2 time champ did.

Just for the hell of it, I think I'll go play basketball against my kid's kindergarten class. It'll really stroke my ego when I shut out those little punks.

 

[NTRPolice]

High level sandbagging is definitely a problem. I'm a low level "sandbagger" but honestly I just got in at 3.0 (legit) and improved faster than the computer allows. That really doesnt happen at high levels... because someone doesnt self-rate 3.5 then all of a sudden improves to 5.0.

As far as being on topic...

One of the reasons why you should enforce time penalties is because it delays other peoples matches.

As I said in my first post, starting 20 or 25 mins late is quite common here.

People show up 5-10 mins late, take 10-15 min warmups, sit down, talk story, begin play 30 mins after original start time.

I'm definitely not one of those people who are for 100% being a hardass about the rules, but being ****y does cause delay... for people who showed up on time, or even early, for their start time.

Nothing like showing up 20 mins early for your match... then finding out that the match you're watching is still in the first set and they have 2 more lines to get on before all of your lines can get on a court. It's quite common for a captain to ask if anyone has to be on first (if they're pressed for time) and we'll play those lines first.

I've played a match delayed by 1.5 hours before... no joke. I got there 20 mins early for my 1030 start time, the 700 wasnt even finished yet.

 

[schmke]

Ironically, his parents could probably care less. It is just his ego and teammates that are proud. I guess it's perfectly reasonable to assume a person could have a 56-2 career record in USTA including several playoff experiences, and be properly rated. It's also reasonable to assume a player could be a computer rated 3.5 and be winning matches at both 4.5 and open level singles tournaments, just as our 2 time champ did.

Just for the hell of it, I think I'll go play basketball against my kid's kindergarten class. It'll really stroke my ego when I shut out those little punks.

Unfortunately, the way the NTRP works, it is virtually impossible to move up more than a level each year unless you play up. So, if a player starts low (3.0) and wins all their matches but keeps them close enough to not be DQ'd, they'll only be moved up to 3.5 the next year. At that point, they are a 3.5C and if they only play 3.5, again, at most they'll be moved up to 4.0 the next year. If someone simply has the patience to play down to the competition that first year, they are set to be a ringer for several years.

 

[rabidturtle]

To address the original topic of enforcing time penalties. If the match has post season stakes, then I'm all for it (except for extenuating circumstances ie. natural disaster, 50 car pile up on the freeway, etc). I've been on both ends of receiving/giving penalties and understand that teams across the nation invest lots of time and money in order to practice, play matches, and travel.

Before you all get your pitchforks and torches...
For the situation with ABtennis:

1) The captain of the opposing never communicated with my teams captain to confirm the location of the match or the time.

2) My captain took the initiative to contact the opposing captain via email, and received a response to confirm the time

3) The location of the home courts for ABtennis's team is in the title of the team, and posted on their tennis link team page. (The second "home court" location was never available on tennislink, a USTA website, the webpage for the tennis shop affiliated with the team, or on the webpage of the facility)

Look for yourself:
Tennis link webpage

Captain's Letter for Mixed

Tennis Store Affiliated with Team

Can you find the alternative "home court" address?

Obviously the match will stand, you guys WON. "All point's played in good faith will stand." The grievance/complaint will be filed against your captain for lack of communication. As stated in the captains letter for our league "It is the responsibility of the HOME captain to confirm the location and time, and COMMUNICATE this information to the visiting team captain." This never happened, no email, no phone call, nothing.

Your captain deliberately withheld information of the location of the match. THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.

@mikeler I think we're practicing tomorrow, look for the aeropro.

@Fuji Winning at 4.0 doesn't automatically bump you up to 4.5. It depends on your dynamic rating, the score, and dynamic rating of your opponents. Some people on my team remained at 4.0, I got bumped to 4.5, and at least one player of the winning team gets double bumped. They have visual spotters at nationals that rate players during matches.

@schmke I work very hard at improving my tennis game. I cross train, practice drills, play practice matches, play tournaments, review video, keep stats on matches, and watch college and professional tennis.

@ABTennis I don't trash talk you or your teammates, you should be more respectful, our tennis community is very small

As for the trophies, they're very good at collecting dust and creating fires when left in the sun. I value the experience, teammates, and friends that I've made by playing USTA and Tennis On Campus.

 

[ABtennis]

To address the original topic of enforcing time penalties. If the match has post season stakes, then I'm all for it (except for extenuating circumstances ie. natural disaster, 50 car pile up on the freeway, etc). I've been on both ends of receiving/giving penalties and understand that teams across the nation invest lots of time and money in order to practice, play matches, and travel.

Before you all get your pitchforks and torches...
For the situation with ABtennis:

1) The captain of the opposing never communicated with my teams captain to confirm the location of the match or the time.

2) My captain took the initiative to contact the opposing captain via email, and received a response to confirm the time

3) The location of the home courts for ABtennis's team is in the title of the team, and posted on their tennis link team page. (The second "home court" location was never available on tennislink, a USTA website, the webpage for the tennis shop affiliated with the team, or on the webpage of the facility)

Look for yourself:
Tennis link webpage

Captain's Letter for Mixed

Tennis Store Affiliated with Team

Can you find the alternative "home court" address?

Obviously the match will stand, you guys WON. "All point's played in good faith will stand." The grievance/complaint will be filed against your captain for lack of communication. As stated in the captains letter for our league "It is the responsibility of the HOME captain to confirm the location and time, and COMMUNICATE this information to the visiting team captain." This never happened, no email, no phone call, nothing.

Your captain deliberately withheld information of the location of the match. THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.

@mikeler I think we're practicing tomorrow, look for the aeropro.

@Fuji Winning at 4.0 doesn't automatically bump you up to 4.5. It depends on your dynamic rating, the score, and dynamic rating of your opponents. Some people on my team remained at 4.0, I got bumped to 4.5, and at least one player of the winning team gets double bumped. They have visual spotters at nationals that rate players during matches.

@schmke I work very hard at improving my tennis game. I cross train, practice drills, play practice matches, play tournaments, review video, keep stats on matches, and watch college and professional tennis.

@ABTennis I don't trash talk you or your teammates, you should be more respectful, our tennis community is very small

As for the trophies, they're very good at collecting dust and creating fires when left in the sun. I value the experience, teammates, and friends that I've made by playing USTA and Tennis On Campus.

Fair enough. I agree the situation was somewhat confusing. What swayed my decision was a representative from the tennis store, that organizes our teams, told me he spoke directly with your captain on the phone, and explained exactly where to go. Sorry, but I believe him.

As far as not trash talking teammates---
"If it wasn't for scrambling from the proper home facility to the random tennis facility we would have swept your team. "

Maybe that's not trash talk, but it's close. Yes there was confusion, and you had to commute from the "proper" tennis facility an entire 8 minutes to the "random" tennis facility. That's no reason to discredit our win. Both facilities contain standard regulation indoor tennis courts.

And I don't feel I trashed anyone on your team other than questioning your captain's memory.

"Your captain deliberately withheld information of the location of the match. THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE."
This is a ridiculous statement. If you knew our captain, you'd know this is all recreation for her. None of this was done deliberately. As a matter of fact, she made the decision not to penalize your team, so accusing her of some deceitful act is a low blow.

It's in the past now, and lessons should be learned. Perhaps communication could have been better between the captains. Let's chalk it up as experience. By the way, introducing specific names and teams probably isn't a good idea as we've discovered in the past.

Good luck this week.

 

[schmke]

@schmke I work very hard at improving my tennis game. I cross train, practice drills, play practice matches, play tournaments, review video, keep stats on matches, and watch college and professional tennis.

I'm sure you do work at your game, I never suggested otherwise. And apologies for the personal comment, that was out of line.

However, I still contend that your situation is an example of how the system can be gamed or at least taken advantage of. Because (IMHO) one can self rate too low and then, through practice like you mention, improve faster than the system can account for, they can continually be rated lower (again, IMHO) than they should be resulting in a situation where perception is that they are sandbagging. This perception in your case is supported by the 56-2 record ABtennis mentioned earlier.

Is any of this illegal? No, just a perfect storm of self rating too low and a system where it is virtually impossible to be moved up more than one level in a year.

 

[Cindysphinx]

What? This thread is going to end with ABtennis being gracious and mature?

I hate it when that happens.

 

[Sumo]

What? This thread is going to end with ABtennis being gracious and mature?

I hate it when that happens.

All things considered, I'd say they both are.....maybe it's because it's in the Adult forum.

 

[Roforot]

All things considered, I'd say they both are.....maybe it's because it's in the Adult forum.

Or it's because they're not Women?












....jk

 

[mikeler]

@rabidturtle: I hear you met a few guys on our team yesterday. I don't play leagues anymore just because the time/location is inconvenient for me.

 

[rabidturtle]

@rabidturtle: I hear you met a few guys on our team yesterday. I don't play leagues anymore just because the time/location is inconvenient for me.

Yeah, we got to play a practice match the day before the tourney started. Very nice guys.

I was surprised to hear that most of the league matches in Florida are played on clay. In PNW we only have hard courts, it must be a huge transition from clay to hard.

 

[mikeler]

Yeah, we got to play a practice match the day before the tourney started. Very nice guys.

I was surprised to hear that most of the league matches in Florida are played on clay. In PNW we only have hard courts, it must be a huge transition from clay to hard.

We have mostly hard court facilities here too but our club has 12 clay courts and 5 hard courts. I don't think it is a huge disadvantage for our team because our clay courts are very fast compared to most others in the area. I'm not on the team this year but I may consider it next year when the new 40+ leagues start since I'll unfortunately be eligible next season. Good luck out there!

 

[michael_1265]

For the first time, this season I enforced a ****iness penalty. Kind of a Perfect Storm that led me to that decision but I have no regrets. Before and since, I have "worked" with opposing captains (including the one I penalized) when specific occasions arose and they took the time/effort to notify me or ask for leniency beforehand (even if it was just in the minutes while we're all standing around waiting to begin).

This situation was decidedly blatant. Only half of the opposing players arrived on-time and they diligently tried to contact their captain on the phone prior to the league-established start time. Captain strolled in, still in flip-flops at the 7-min mark. #1 Doubles didn't show until 13-minutes past. None of them offered any excuse (because, we decided, they had none)....and we assessed penalties on two of the three lines. Thank you, Friend of the Court...print version, for tellin' it like it is.

Their captain went off with a foul-mouthed tirade but we'd decided as a team how to handle the situation and were not to be swayed.

That captain did apologize later during the actual match and signed off on the scorecard....before officially disputing the match a day later. LCs firmly agreed with our decision and added that they were "glad to see someone step up (and deal with the situation)" -- that many complain about but do nothing even though the rules are in their corner.

You can bet the entire league knows of what happened...and you guessed it, every subsequent match of the season transpired...on-time. Go figure.

My name might be mud around the league...but not with my teammates. And they're the ones I really care about.

I heard this exact story from my mixed partner yesterday, the moral of the story being "Don't mess with [Angle Queen]". I think that this enforcement may be a long-term benefit to you.

 

[NTRPolice]

This past weekend our match was delayed over 2 hours. It wasnt all due to ****iness, but mostly due to limited facilities.

I couldnt help but wonder how hard it must be for a pro who has to wait because a match is going on longer than expected.

Could you imagine being in the USO mixed doubles final and being delayed because of the mens singles round of 64 is playing on your court and taking more time than expected? Gzus... that's a lot of mental anguish lol.



Our start time was 2pm. We got on at about 4:30 pm. We finished a little after 5 pm. I dont want to disrespect our opponents, but I felt like that was a waste of time even though I did want to play since we waited that long for a court. That 2+ hour wait for a short ~30 min match that was not even decisive. It almost felt like waiting over 2 hours for a "default". I wish their line was a lot stronger so at least it would have been fun and exciting.

 

[Cindysphinx]

Yeah, see. Playing in a league with timed matches (like I do) stinks, but at least you know you will get on the court when you are supposed to. You don't have to wait for a court, and you certainly don't have to wait for ****y opponents more than 15 minutes.

You also know that you are entitled to play/practice with any leftover time if you finish early.