Fixtures Frequently Asked Questions

How do I find out which team I am in?

You will be notified as soon as possible after the grading and draw have been done. If we have a valid e-mail address for you, you will be sent a copy of the Teams List and first match details by e-mail. As soon as the complete Draw is available, everybody will be sent a Teams List & Draw and other important information by post. Teams Lists and Draws will also be posted on the notice boards under the Clubhouse.

When will I receive this information?

The timeline is very tight. We have 6 competitions starting in a 7-day period with the first of these competitions commencing just 13 days after the first entry deadline. After entries close for each competition, the entries have to be processed, the teams formed and the final grading & draw has to be done. It is likely that you will get only about 1 week's notice (but it could be even less than 1 week for some competitions). So it's important for the players who receive e-mail notification to contact the other players in their team to work out who is playing the first match.

How do I find out about the competition rules?

You will be sent a Rules Summary by mail along with the Teams List & Draw. The Rules Summary should be kept in your tennis bag for quick reference during matches.

Can I pull out mid-season?

Players nominating for Fixtures are making a commitment to play competition Tennis for the UQ Tennis Club for the entire season. Players who pull out mid-season, or forget to turn up for matches when rostered to play, don't just miss out on a game themselves. They let down their own team members & the UQ Tennis Club and deprive their opponents of their fair share of matches.

Who decides the grades?

Some of the competitions are Brisbane-wide Fixtures run by the Brisbane Night Tennis Association (BNTA). For these competitions, the Club's Selection Committee forms the teams and recommends grades based on the previous season's grade standards. The team registrations are then lodged with the BNTA which decide the grades and do the draw. Grade standards can vary markedly from season to season depending on the number of teams. Obviously, not all teams will end up in the grade nominated by the Club. The remaining two competitions are internal Fixtures for which the Club Selection Committee forms the teams, decides the grades and does the draw.

What if I think I should be in a higher grade?

It is very difficult to move players once teams have been finalized as a player cannot be moved up to a higher grade team without somebody from that team being demoted. If you are a new player, you have been given a rating on the basis of your grading session. Where the Club has access to the match result cards, individual results are monitored throughout the season and ratings reassessed at the end of the season. If you think you should be in a higher grade, prove it on the court.

How do we get the balls?

Along with the information about teams and draws, teams will be given a number of times to collect their season's supply of balls from the Clubhouse. The balls must be collected during the nominated periods as these are the only times that the Clubhouse will be open and somebody present to supply the balls. The season's supply of result cards will also be supplied with the balls. The team has to provide a can of three new balls for each away match. Team captains have to ensure that somebody in the team has a set of balls for each away match and a result card for home matches.

Do I play every week?

No. Teams are not formed with the bare minimum of players (e.g. a team in the BNTA Wednesday Threes competition will have 4 players and teams in Pairs competitions will have 3 players). The team captain has to ensure that all players get their fair share of matches. Most teams do this by organising a roster.

Are all matches played at UQ?

Only for the two internal Fixtures (UQTC Monday & UQTC Thursday). As the other Fixtures are Brisbane competitions, half the matches in these competitions are played on the team's home court at UQ but the other half are played on the opponents' home courts which could be anywhere in Brisbane. Because there are so many UQ teams, it would be unusual for a team to be in a grade in which there were not a few other UQ teams.

Who books our Fixture courts?

All courts for the season are booked by the Club. Courts for finals are booked by the competition organising body.

How do I know where I am playing?

You will be supplied with a Draw which lists all the matches and venues for the season. Copies of all Draws are displayed on the notice boards under the Clubhouse. They can also be viewed or downloaded from the relevant organization's Website.

What happens if several players can't play?

To avoid forfeits, all competitions have pretty liberal rules regarding fill-in players. Teams can borrow players from other teams in the same competition and use non-registered players of a suitable standard as emergency fill-ins. With the next newsletter, you will receive a complete listing of every UQ team. This is a great resource for finding fill-in players. Check the particular competition rules as emergency registration fees apply in some cases and there are restrictions on the number of fill-ins that can be used in a match and the number of times a registered player can play in another team or a non-registered player can fill-in as an emergency without having to register. Teams are responsible for finding fill-in players. This is a team responsibility and it should not be left to the captain to look for fill-ins all the time.

What does the team captain have to do?

One person in each team will be appointed as team captain. The team captain is the contact person for the team and his/her phone numbers will be listed in the Draw. The team captain is responsible for making sure that a team is organized each week. Many teams draw up a roster for the season. The captain also has to make sure that the team members playing each week have a result card (home matches) or can of balls (away matches). The team captain has to nominate an 'acting' captain if he/she isn't playing. The captain is responsible for filling in the names on the result card and making sure that the scores are recorded correctly. The captain is responsible for lodging the result when the team wins. At the end of the season, the captain is responsible for finding out if the team is in the finals.

Do I have to pay anything each time I play a Fixture match?

No. All court hire and ball costs for the season are covered by the Fixtures Fee.

Can we use our home court for practice if we have a bye?

Only if it is a home bye. Two teams share a home court. The Draw is constructed so that when one team has a home match, the other team has an away match. If a team has a home bye, it can use its home court for practice. If a team has an away bye, the other team has a match on the court.

Do I get a Club Membership Card?

You will receive a Membership Card that is needed to access Pro Shop discounts and your free court and social tennis entitlements. Because of the amount of work involved in organising the Fixture teams, there will be a delay in issuing Club Membership Cards.

Do I book courts through the Club?

No. The Tennis Centre is run by UQ Sport. All court bookings are done through the UQ Tennis Centre (Ph 3365 6933) or online. Courts can be booked up to a week in advance.

Who runs the Club?

The Club is run by a Management Committee elected by the members at an annual general meeting. The Club's activities are run by a small group of voluntary workers drawn mainly from the Management Committee. The people running the BNTA are also all voluntary workers.