USTA Seniors (formerly Indiana Masters)
USTA Seniors is a winter senior doubles league for players 50+ years old. For information please contact Sue Harris, Early Start League/ESL coordinator, for information at leagues@centralindianatennis.com and 317/846-4581.
See the bottom of the page for a message from Helen, our founder.
We play women's and men's Combo and registering teams and players via TennisLink. Combo means the divisons are 6.5, 7.5 and 8.5. That means a team can have a mix of levels of play, but the team cannot be more than their division (so a 6.5 team could have a 3.0 player and a 3.5 player).
We also have senior mixed doubles available.
The cost to register for any team is $12 per play. The player needs to get his/her team number from the captain. Each player then pays $11 every time they play a match.
PLAYER ELIGIBILITY
*players who are 50 or more years old
*players who will be 50 in 2007 may register now, but play January 1,
2007
*players rated 2.5-4.5
DIVISIONS (each division fields three teams per match)
*men's doubles (play Sundays only)
*women's doubles (play Sundays and Tuesdays, depending upon the team
preference)
*mixed doubles (play Sundays only)
FORMAT
*men's and women's doubles are 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, and 4.5 (no player may
exceed the limit of that division)
*mixed doubles is 6.0, 7.0 and 8.0 (no team may exceed the limit of that
division)
*Combo Leagues have been discontinued. Indiana Masters will be part of
the CITA Early Start Adult Leagues. Early Start Leagues are the same
format as the summer USTA Adult Leagues, but the competitive play can
begin in the fall of 2006 and end before the spring 2007. If a team plays
in the Indiana Masters 2006-2007 season and wins the division and then
plays in the 2007 USTA Adult League in the summer and wins, that team
must chose if they play in the play-offs as an Indiana Masters team or
a USTA Adult League summer team. If the team plays as a USTA Adult League
team, then the second place Indiana Masters team is eligible to play
in the 2007 CITA USTA Adult League play-offs.
PLAYING TIMES
*play begins in mid to late September and ends late March
*no matches will be scheduled on Colts' home games unless the team agrees
to play on those dates
*matches are 2 hours long and will be in the afternoons
PLAYING SITES
Last year teams from these clubs played: IRC, CRC, Five Seasons, Muncie,
Southside. In the past Anderson, ITC and Healthplex have had teams
REGISTRATION
*CAPTAINS email Helen Petersen at
hmoserpetersen@insightbb.com by August 7 to register a team. She will then email the captain the team registration number and the TennisLink instructions. Each team must then have at least six players registered by September 1 in order to play. The team rosters and playing schedules will then be available through Tennis Link by September 10.
COST
$25 per player and $11 per match (includes court rental and balls)
(all matches are played indoors)
This player registration is an increase. Here is a breakdown of how that
money is spent. Remember, USTA Adult League teams pay a team registraton
fee. Many times the captain pays the fee and never tells the team. Indiana
Masters does NOT require a team registration fee. Having Indiana Masters
use Tennis Link costs about $10. USTA, USTA/Midwest Section and CITA
must all cover their labor costs for maintaining the program. From the
remaining $15 comes the cost of championship banners, champion player
awards, captains' gifts, office supplies, some mailings, and a coordinator's
fee. The Indiana Masters' season is also much longer than the USTA Adult
Leagues. The added length affects the cost.
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Hello, Indiana Masters captains and former captains!
In 1990 I founded the Phoenix Challenge/Love 50, then changed to Indiana Masters, and now called ESL Senior Division. Back then that was the only adult winter league, let alone senior league. USA Team Tennis (junior inter-club league) was also non-existent. After ESL was formed Sheila Schildbach, Sue Harris and the CITA League Committee were gracious enough to grandfather me in as the senior coordinator for ESL. Last year was a challenge for both Sue and me to get courts for adult ESL and senior ESL. Players were also confused because some fees and rules for seniors had also been grandfathered in. To eliminate court allocation issues and to create a more player-friendly league, I am relinquishing my duties as coordinator of senior ESL. Sue Harris will coordinate all divisions of ESL (Early Start Leagues).
Some of you were the first captains and continued to work with me to provide competitive tennis for central Indiana seniors. I appreciate your taking a chance on me and the PC/Love 50 20 years ago. It worked! I saw many happy senior faces as they competed locally and in national tournaments in Phoenix, Santa Barbara, Palm Springs and Las Vegas. Thanks for the run! It was long enough that I finally qualified to play in it myself.
Keep proving that seniors got guts and want glory!
Appreciatively,
Helen Moser Petersen
Coordinator
ESL Senior Division
(formerly Indiana Masters)
(formerly Phoenix Challenge/Love 50
hmoserpetersen@comcast.net
