Today’s post is about the final “update” to the USTA League Regulations for 2023. This change kicks off a tale of mystery and intrigue. It is a journey that started with me trying to figure out how I missed this particular rules update… and ended with me wondering how in the heck anyone was supposed to know about this change at all.
Let’s start with the preamble to the description of Major Regulation Change #3 from the draft copy of the 2023 USTA League Regulations.
The 2021 COVID-necessitated amendments under 2.03A(4) for eligibility to advance to National Championships were not continued for 2022.
Excerpt from item #3 of “Major Regulation Changes for 2023”, 2023 USTA League Regulations
I checked my copies of the 2021 and 2022 USTA League Regulations and confirmed that there was no mention of Covid-necessitated provisions in that document. That means that these amendments were issued separately. In fact, armed with the phrase “Covid-necessitated,” it was easy enough to find the document.
Since I regularly write about tennis rules and regulations, I believe that I am significantly more sensitive to updates than the general population. Consequently, I was startled to discover that there was a fairly significant change that eluded my detection. While there is a chance that I tuned out of USTA League communication for a while during the height of Covid restrictions, this still raises the question of how these Covid-necessitated amendments were communicated to the playing population.
While it was easy for me to find the Covid-necessitated amendments document on a public-facing USTA web archive, I was unable to find any other source that referenced it other than the 2023 USTA League Regulations. In other words, there is no obvious document that points to the existence of the Covid-necessitated amendments until the announcement that they were suspended.
What Were the 2021 Covid Necessitated Amendments?
For anyone who wants to read through the entire document, there is a link to the complete amendments as the second reference at the end of this post. Essentially, each USTA Section had the option to determine the number of matches required for progression to both the Sectional and National Championships. In fact, the only real constraint placed on the Sections was a cap on the number of matches that were optionally declared to be required.
The net result of this rule is that there was a potential reduction in the number of matches required for teams to advance to Nationals in 2021. Based on the language in the 2023 regulations, these amendments were apparently still in place in 2022 as well.
To account for one downstream effect of advancing teams to Nationals based on limited match play, one clause in the amendments effectively changed the Move-Up/Split-Up rule.
Move-Up/Split-Up – To conform with the reduction in required matches for eligibility to advance to a National Championship:
o 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 players who participated in two (2) or more matches (with no default received) for that team during the championship year.
Excerpt from 2021 USTA League Regulations Covid-Necessitated Championship Requirements and Progression Amendments
Basically, if a team went to Nationals in 2021, this amendment to the Move-Up/Split-Up rule meant the threshold of matches for players subject to the Move-Up/Split-Up rule was significantly reduced in 2022.
This brings us to the full text of the update from the 2023 USTA League Regulations:
The 2021 COVID-necessitated amendments under 2.03A(4) for eligibility to advance to National Championships were not continued for 2022. As a result, the application of Move-Up/Split-Up reverts to the pre-Covid regulation:
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 Valid Computer 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.
Item #3 from “Major Regulation Changes for 2023”, 2023 USTA League Regulations
Put succinctly, this “update” reverts USTA League back to the Regulations that everybody thought we were playing under anyway.
How Did I Miss It?
My working theory is that the amendments escaped my attention because USTA Texas declined the option to change the advancement requirements in our Section. As I alluded to in “An Eligibility Grievance Update (USTA League)” the philosophy in my local Section is to not document or communicate options that do not deviate from the default regulations. That could explain the absence of communication with individual players.
This case demonstrates a potential pitfall with that approach. Based on my reading of the 2021 USTA League Regulations Covid-Necessitated Championship Requirements and Progression Amendments, the reduced number of matches applied for Move-Up/Split-Up whether or not the Section opted to reduce the number of matches for advancement. That probably wasn’t the intent of USTA National when the amendment document was written, but that is what the wording ultimately means.
In any case, I am happy that these Covid-necessitated amendments (that I previously had no idea existed) have been rescinded. Otherwise, I would be a party to an invalid roster that is about to start local league play. Whew.
- 2023 USTA League Regulations, USTA League Resources Web Page, document dated 10/26/2022.
- 2021 USTA League Regulations Covid-Necessitated Championship Requirements and Progression Amendments, undated USTA hosted document, downloaded January 7, 2023.
