The Rocket Cup 2023 runs from June 17th to July 15th.
The following mixed categories are open to all members of the Club:
- Adult Singles
- Adult Doubles
- Junior Singles (under 16)
The recommended minimum age for all the adult categories is 14 years old.
Tournament Values:
The tournament is a tribute to our late Secretary Kevin Keeves, who embodied the values of friendship, dedication and sportsmanship during his many years of service to the Club.
Tournament format:
In all categories, participants are placed into separate groups and play each other in a round-robin fashion at a mutually agreed time. This ensures all players have the opportunity to play in multiple matches throughout the first two weeks of competition. As a rough guide, players should expect to play up to two matches a week for each category they wish to enter.
The top placed players in each group will qualify for the finals week and play for the trophy in knockout matches. The number of wins is the primary criteria for qualification, followed by head-to-head result and percentage of games won in case of ties.
Prizes:
The winners in each category will receive trophies and will be added to the Club’s online Honours Board.
Aside from the benefits and thrill of healthy competition, all participants will receive a new set of tennis balls suitable for tournament play.
Organization:
For any inquiries or further information, please don’t hesitate to contact the tournament organizer at victor@girtontennisclub.uk
Conditions of entry:
All participants need to be members of Girton Tennis Club for the current year to register for the tournament.
Registration:
Please register no later than Sunday 11th of June to secure your spot. Registering early will help us ensure a smooth event, so we encourage you to sign up as soon as possible. Junior players should get their parent or guardian to give their consent to provide contact details for match arrangements.
Match format:
- Adult matches: Single set of tennis (first to win 6 games with a two game difference) with an additional 7 point tie-break if the score reaches 6-all
- Adult Finals: Best of three with final set match tie-break (i.e. third set is played as a 10-point match tie-break when the score is one set all)
- Junior matches: single set match (first to 4 games) with 7-point tie break at 3 games all
- Junior Finals: Best of three sets (first to 4 games) with final set match tie-break (i.e. third set is played as a 10-point match tie-break when the score is one set all)
Sets are played under the usual rules of tennis. The players themselves umpire the matches, making the line calls for their side of the court. For reference, the official rules of tennis can be consulted online:
https://www.lta.org.uk/play/how-to-get-started/rules-scoring/
Arranging matches:
During the round-robin phase, players arrange their own matches within the group.
The schedule and the contact details of all players in the group will be available to all participants within the group ahead of time.
The schedule will indicate for each round the ‘home and away’ players along with a play by date for their match. The designated home side proposes at least two dates for the match to the away side. The away side agrees to one of those dates or offers two alternative dates if neither is feasible. Once the date is agreed, the home side should book a court for the match using the online booking system.
Adult matches in the round-robin phase will usually take between 30-60 minutes. A full booking slot of 90-minutes is recommended to allow for a warm-up on court.
Junior matches in the round-robin phase should take between 20-40 minutes and a booking slot of 60-minutes is recommended to allow for a short warm-up.
Junior supervision:
To help with junior matches, the courts will be supervised at some fixed times during the weeks of the tournament.
Junior players can agree with their opponents to play within these times and just turn up without booking a court. Otherwise they can arrange a different time and book the court in advance – it is recommended that juniors are supervised by their parent/carer when on court.
Delayed matches:
Failure to play a match by the play by date should be notified to the tournament organizer and might result in the match being forfeited. This includes when a suitable date can’t be agreed, no-show by one of the players (lateness by more than 20-minutes is considered a no-show) or interruptions because of unsuitable weather conditions.
Tournament results:
The designated home player for each match submits the result by email to victor@girtontennisclub.uk or via the tournament WhatsApp group, indicating the names of the participants and the result – e.g. “Player1 v Player2, won by Player 2, score 2-6”.
The tournament standings will be updated regularly on the Club’s website.
Spectators and Support:
Even if you’re not participating in the tournament, we invite you to join us as a spectator and cheer for our players. The matches are sure to be entertaining, and enthusiastic support contributes to a great atmosphere.
Match Balls:
The Club will provide one new tube of tennis balls suitable for the competition to all registered players (or team in doubles) free of charge. Each match should be played with the 4 balls from the tube allocated to the ‘Home side’. If both the Home and Away sides have used their sets in previous matches, either set can be used for the match if so agreed by both sides. The competition tube can be collected from committee members during Wednesday team practice (7-8:30pm), Friday’s social evenings at the courts (7:30pm-9pm) or during the Junior supervised slots. Alternatively a time can be arranged with the membership secretary or tournament organizer.
Good luck to all participants and have fun!