Tournament Update for Clubs July 2021

We have been working hard with the Regions to standardise the delivery and experience of events for our competitive players, which has been progressing nicely. The next step in this process is a more formal sanctioning process. This more formal sanctioning process will ensure the continued high-level delivery of tournaments across New Zealand, and that our tournaments are conducted in a safe environment.

As announced by Julie Paterson earlier this year (details can be found here), keeping our participants safe in tennis by playing our part in following the Participant Protection Policy, is a significant part of our work moving forward. Our tournament specific role in this is to ensure that all event organisers have a valid Tennis NZ Police Vet as part of the greater Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults. This means that all event organisers will be asked to complete a police vet form as part of the sanctioning process if they do not currently have one as a programme registered coach.

Changes to Sanctioned Tournaments from August 2021

• All events wishing to have results published within MatchHub, and soon to be World Tennis Number, must have completed the application process and be confirmed as a sanctioned event
  • This includes graded events, box leagues, Rep fixtures/team events and other competitive match play opportunities
  • Tennis NZ Seniors events do not need to complete an application
  • Club Championships by affiliated clubs do not need to complete an application
• Tournament Planner files will be created by Tennis NZ and sent via email to the tournament organiser for publishing
• Tournament Organisers must have a valid Tennis NZ Police Vet, completed by Tennis NZ within the previous 3 years (completed by Tennis NZ free of charge)

The Tournament Application Guide can be found HERE. This guide includes the Tournament Sanctioning Agreement and explains the sanctioning application process.

Tournament Calendar

A full tournament calendar can be found online at: tennis.kiwi/compete/event-calendar

When applying for an event, please check the current tournament calendar to ensure your proposed event does not clash with similar events in the same Region.

As a goal, please consider the following:

• Junior Masters Tier 3 events should not clash with Tier 2 events in the same Region
• Kiwi Money Tournaments should not clash with Tier 1 or Tier 2 events in any Region
• Graded events should not clash with Junior Masters Tier 3 events in the same Region

Officials and NZTUA

The New Zealand Tennis Umpires Association is responsible for the appointment of Officials to all sanctioned events. Depending on the level of tournament, each event requires at a minimum 1 Referee.

Tennis NZ is working with NZTUA to create a new role for lower-level tournaments (e.g. Graded events), which will look to educate the tournament organiser to a level where they are empowered to maintain the Code of Behaviour. This will reduce the cost of these smaller tournaments as an additional Official will no longer be required.

Once your event has been approved for sanctioning, NZTUA will reach out to discuss options with the tournament organiser.

Next Steps

Tennis NZ is currently building the calendar for the remainder of 2021 and into May 2022. If your event falls within this time frame, please:

• Review the above Application Guide and read through the Tournament Agreement
• Follow the link in the guide to start the online application process
• Ask all Tournament Organisers to complete the Tennis NZ Police Vetting form here – you may also want to get a jump start with other members of your organisation
• Reach out to me if you have any queries via return email: blake@tennis.kiwi