Divisions
Selection
Schedule
Rotation
Scoring
Winning the Session
Similar to a school year, a CATS year begins September 1 and runs through August 31 of the following year, with three separate sessions. The Fall Session runs from September through mid-January; the Winter/Spring Session runs from late January through May; the Summer Session runs June through August.
CATS memberships run from September 1 through August 31 of the following year. A League Player membership is required to play on a team. Members may take part in all three sessions, or just one or two, depending on their availability.
Divisions
CATS’ members are divided into three groups by skill levels — Flights 1, 2 and 3 — so players of most skill levels can find a fit. Each division has a Coordinator who coordinates the division draft, handles any problems within the division, and represents the division on the Board of Directors.
To determine which level fits you best, consider your skill level in light of the following broad guidelines. Keep in mind that a numeric system can not measure factors such as a player’s size, strength, speed, aggressiveness, use of slice and spin, so there is overlap between the divisions. Members may change divisions over time as their skill levels change.
Flight 3, 2.5–3.0 – This is CATS’ entry level. If you are relatively new to tennis, and you have learned ground strokes and volleys, and you can put the ball into play by serving (most of the time), then this is your level. If you have played previously at the 3.0 level, but you are rusty or you do not want the pressure of fast, aggressive play, this might be the right level for you.
Flight 2, 3.0–3.5 – If you are a solid 3.0 who can volley well, run and play aggressively, or you are a solid 3.5 on a good day but you sometimes lack control, this might be the right level for you. If you are one of the newly minted 3.5’s in your USTA league or you perform below the top level players in 3.5 level tournaments, then this might be the right level for you.
Flight 1, 3.5–4.0 – If you are an aggressive 3.5, you play multiple times per week or you are at the top level of the players in local 3.5 USTA leagues or local tournaments, this is the right level for you, as well as all 4.0 players.
Still not sure where you fit? Come to the annual tryout or talk to one of the Coordinators about your experience and they will help you find a place to start.
Teams
All flights are comprised of four teams. Usually, each team has six players, including the captain.
Selection
Each division holds a separate draft night to organize the players into teams for the upcoming session. The division coordinator compiles a list of current players who want to play in the next session and adds any new members to the list. At the draft, the captains take turns selecting players from the list.
Schedule
After the draft, each captain contacts his or her team members to ask for any dates they know they will be unavailable for play in order to plan the schedule for the session. Three team members are scheduled to play each night. Players will be scheduled to play approximately half the nights during a session; each team member will be given an equal number of nights to play.
Rotation
Players warm up from 9–9:15 PM. In Flights 1 and 2, all four starting players may take a maximum of six practice serves simultaneously at 9:15. In Flight 3, players generally play the first serve in, instead of practicing serves. However, if both captains agree, all players may take practice serves.
Racquet spin will be done at 9:10. The winner of the spin decides to receive or to serve. The other team may select the side of their choice. The serving team must select their two starting players first for the first and second rotations. Players rotate after every four games.
Scoring
The winning team is decided by the total number of games won in two hours. No sets are played. Scoring used is the “No-Ad(vantage) system in which the first team to four points wins the game. At 40-40, if the server is a man, he serves to the man on the receiving team; if the server is a woman, she serves to the woman on the receiving team. If the two receiving players are the same gender, they decide which of them will receive the serve. At 11 PM, play stops once the game is progress is completed.
A team may win a match by one regular game (for example, 20-19) or by a tie-breaker. If teams are tied anytime between 10:55 and 11 PM, a 12-point tie-breaker must be played. The first team to seven points by a minimum of two points wins the match.
Winning the Session
Standings within each division are kept week by week. At the end of a session, the first place team in each division wins, and each member of the winning team may select a prize from the list. If two teams are tied, then either the head-to-head record or the percentage of games won will be the determining factor.
Updated January 2022
