Riverside Tournament FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get involved in the Riverside Tournament?
- There are 3 ways of getting involved
- Nominate to play, to enjoy an afternoon of socially competitive tennis
- Accept if invited to captain a team, and get involved in organising and inspiring your team
- Just come down and spectate, and enjoy the social side of the day
How are players organised into teams?
- The organisers and captains take great care to ensure teams are as equal as possible, yet players are allocated randomly
- The important elements are to 1) determine an equal spread of playing talent, 2) get an equal gender balance, 3) give priority to those that signed-up earlier (subject to steps 1 and 2), if a surplus of members have nominated, then 4) allocate players randomly into teams
- Ideally, teams are organised and announced a week prior to the event
What happens if more than 24 members want to play?
- Some members will miss out on playing
- Sign-up early if you want to maximise your chances of playing
- Those who sign-up later than other players of a similar playing level are at risk of missing out
- Members who miss out will be invited to be on the reserves list
- If you miss out on playing, you will have priority for the next Riverside Tournament
Can I choose what colour team I’m in?
- No, colours and teams are allocated randomly
How can you ensure that each set is evenly-matched?
- We can’t ensure each set is evenly-matched, but we can make a brave attempt at it
- We combine our assessment of each player’s current tennis skill with a unique matching algorithm (patent possibly pending, perhaps)
What happens in a set if the score is 4-all?
- The set is over
- Congratulate your partner and your opponents and let the organisers know the score was 4-all
What happens if the set gets to 6-0?
- Keep playing, there are 2 more games to be played
I’m super-competitive at tennis and get angry if I lose a point. How do I win this competition?
- Perhaps this event is not for you
I’m left-handed and feel discriminated against. People like you call one side of the court the forehand side, and it’s not! It’s the backhand side. Why do you get things so wrong?
- I know what you mean, I hit more forehands when I play on the backhand side
- Mostly I feel lost on the court anyway
- Perhaps I should play left-handed
I’ve only recently joined the club. Am I able to play in the Riverside Tournament?
- Of course
I don’t have a green top. What will I do if I’m placed in the green team?
- Chat with your team and decide how your team will present themselves on the day
- Perhaps you can use the Green Team WhatsApp group to chat
How did you know the Riverside Tournament would work as a tennis event?
- The organisers ran a series of test events with different groups of 8 members split into 2 teams and playing 4 evenly-matched sets
- We incorporated the feedback and learnings from those test events into organising the Riverside Tournament
- The first Riverside Tournament was well received by players
- Come and join in and see for yourself how it works
Comparison with American Tournament
With many members previously playing in the American Tournament, it might make sense to look at the similarity and differences with the new Riverside Tournament.
- Let’s start with the similarity. They are both a way for members to play an afternoon of socially competitive tennis in an organised way
- The American Tournament (AT) involves 20 players whereas the Riverside Tournament (RT) has 24 players
- AT has sets of mixed doubles; RT has sets of doubles
- AT has equal numbers of men and women, and doesn’t work as well without it; RT welcomes equal numbers, but doesn’t require it
- AT is an event for individuals; RT is an event for teams (and individuals)
- AT sets are 7 games; RT sets are 8 games
- RT matches are all scheduled prior to the day; AT determines each match after the result of the previous round of matches
- AT has 5 rounds (typically) with players on-court for each round; RT has 7 rounds, with each player playing 5 sets and having 2 byes (for extra socialising)
- RT players will play 5 sets with 5 different partners; AT players invariably have the same partner for some of their sets
- RT players will play against 8 different opponents, including playing 2 opponents twice; AT players invariably play against several of the same opponents through the day
- RT aims for each doubles pair in a match to be of a similar standard; AT doesn’t have this aim
- AT prefers to have matches involving 2 men and 2 women; RT can have matches involving 2 women and 2 men, 3 women and 1 man, 3 men and 1 women, or 4 players of the same sex
- AT is disrupted by no-shows or players opting-out late; RT is disrupted by no-shows or players opting-out late