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Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Decision on Clays


The decision has been made, and the USTA Boys 16s & 18s Clay Court Championships will be in Delray Beach Florida. Ivan Baron, who has been the director of the boys and girls 12s spring championships (on clay), will be the tournament director.

I have no more details other than what was contained in the email I just received from Lew Brewer, informing me of the Youth Competition and Training Committee's decision.

The Committee felt that it was very important to keep the two age groups together. We received some excellent proposals from around the country but the proposal from Ivan was deemed the best option for our players. Ivan is a proven tournament director and I am sure he will do a great job on these events.
As of now, there is nothing on the TennisLink site, but I assume the information will be posted there soon.

91 comments:

Anonymous said...

damn it.
f***ing florida gets all the tournaments

why couldnt they just keep it in the mid atlantic??

Anonymous said...

It will de 115 degrees bring it to the north or the midwest

Anonymous said...

another horrible decision by the usta. what is the point of even playing tennis in any state but fla. or ca. why doesn't the usta just flat out say that we are going to put all of our eggs in the fla/ca academy system, if you want your kid to be good move here or play a different sport.

Anonymous said...

BAD DECISION

typical usta.

Anonymous said...

haha i had already booked a hotel in rockville

Anonymous said...

Bad decision ! We might as well just skip the whole
thing . Florida !!!!! the rich get richer .

Anonymous said...

I can think of a few reasons why to have it in Florida is going to be good for people.First there will be less expensive hotels near by. Second it will be easy and less expensive for people to fly in to florida in the summer.I think if you check out the weather it will be no worse than it was in DC last year. And looking for practice courts are all around.

Anonymous said...

Another freakin' Florida tournament. Why couldn't they keep it in Rockville, MD with a new tournment director? Or at Forest Hills or somewhere in Long Island? Summer in FL?

Anonymous said...

In addition, does the USTA realize how expensive it can be to fly into S. Florida?

Anonymous said...

this is very disappointing.

Anonymous said...

is the tournament still going to have atp wild cards? I doubt legg mason now, but will there be any?
b/c if not i'm not playing

Anonymous said...

f**k florida man.

but thanks colette for letting us know. you're always ahead of the game =)

Anonymous said...

GREAT DECISION, Great summer conditions,not so expensive to stay , close to new USTA head office (Boca Raton)I think coaches from USTA start looking for potential pro-players.

Anonymous said...

wowww... junior comp. committee got it alll wrong on this one.

Anonymous said...

this is ridiculous. honestly, how many people are happy with this decision?
(except for the people who live in florida obviously)

Anonymous said...

we NEED jeff back.
i know thats not going to happen but come on........ i'm sick of playing in florida so much.

Anonymous said...

there aren't enough clay courts in the midwest or NY to hold the Clays

Anonymous said...

COME ON.
FLORIDA AGAIN?

its bad enough that thats where all the good academies are.. but to have ANOTHER big tourney like this there?

this blows.. and honestly its not at all fair to teh 3049587435 other players that are actually good and DONT live in florida. i mean come on give us a break.
seriously.

Anonymous said...

Ivan Baron is the TD of the ATP Delray Tournament. He is the new TD of the Clays. I bet you he will have a WC into the Delray PRO Tournament.

HOTELS and AIRFARE are REAL CHEAP in the summer in FLORIDA.

It is just as hot in Rockville as in Fl --the humidity in Rockville is worse

Anonymous said...

I would just like to know why they had to change the location of the tournament at all anyway?
i mean i think i can speak for a lot of us when i say we were happy with rockville.

Anonymous said...

but the clays BELONG in rockville.

Anonymous said...

I just hope Lew Brewer is ready for all the complaint emails that he will be no doubt recieving over the next couple of days.

it shouldnt be up to the USTA to make this decision.
these kind of decisions should be made by the players and their parents.. after all THEY are the ones who really matter when it comes to these tourneys

Anonymous said...

Ivan Baron, the new Clay Court TD-- played as a junior and was top 5 in the nation. I think one year he was # 1 in the nation. He also runs the Pro Delray Beach Tournament.

They have a million clay courts within 15 minutes.

The city loves pro and junior tennis.

Anonymous said...

bad move usta.

BAD MOVE

Anonymous said...

in answer to that persons question about playing tennis in a state other than florida or california--- there is no point.

seriously look at the stats. even if you started playing tennis in a different state, by the time the really good ones got REALLY good they had already moved to fla or cali.

thats just how it is. it shouldnt be like that but thats how it is
and you can say that not EVERYONE is like that but the fact of the matter is that that is the case with MOST good players.


i wanted the clays to stay in rockville too though.
it was a nice change

Anonymous said...

they should NOT have waited this long to let us know that they were moving the tournament so far from its normal location. many of us had already begun making arrangements in rockville.

Anonymous said...

NOT FLORIDA.
PLEASE ANYWHEREEEEEEEEEEEEEE but FLORIDA.

especially delray beach? what?come on

Anonymous said...

i am so sick of the USTA and their horrible decision making.& the fact that they don't listen to any of the players and their parents. I mean honestly, they SAY that this is what is 'best' for the players and the families but obviously not because if they had just listened in the first place they would know that the majority of us wanted the tournament to stay in the same area.

JUST ridiculous. especially considering the fact that i KNOW the volume of emails they recived pleading them to keep the tournament there.

Anonymous said...

DELRAY BEACH??? so typical. so predictable.

i mean at least rockville was SOMETHING different.

I liked playing in a different enviornment for once.
now its back to the whole florida scene

Anonymous said...

hotels in maryland are no more expensive than it will be in south florida in JULY.
seriously, good luck trying to find a hotel right now.

Anonymous said...

i want compensation from the USTA i had already bought plane tickets for rockville.

Anonymous said...

WRONG WRONG WRONG. ONCE AGAIN THEY GOT IT ALLLLLLL WRONG.

weren't they listening to us? OBVIOUSLY NOT

Anonymous said...

thats weird considering how we all said that we wanted it to stay in rockville? obviously the usta doesnt give a sh** about what the players and their families think.

Anonymous said...

um yeah
i hate this.

Anonymous said...

WHO EVEN WANTS IT IN FLORIDA??????

rockville, maryland is where its at. the clays USED to be my favorite tourney.

Anonymous said...

well i hope the usta is happy about this decision. because i think they're the only ones.

DELRAY BEACH???
why????

Anonymous said...

hahaha another tournament in florida?

Anonymous said...

i am so SICK of playing in florida.

Anonymous said...

why does florida get all the tourneys??
it was cool having a supernational so close to my hometown.

Anonymous said...

even with all things considered.. having the clays in rockville will always be a MILLION times better than having it in delray beach. screw florida.. i'm soo sick of this

Anonymous said...

florida= tennis
basically.

thats why they moved the tournament there. i mean honestly how many of us can say that we're actually surprised by this decision? I for one saw this coming right when i heard about jeff's resignation.

Anonymous said...

ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND.

nuff said.

Anonymous said...

bad decision.
that is all i have to say.

Anonymous said...

aww too bad. i'm going to miss having it in rockville.

Anonymous said...

The Clay Courts DO NOT belong to Rockville. The 18's have only been there for 3yrs.

Quit complaining about Florida getting them. The list of others who applied for them and could meet the requirements was VERY short. I'm not with USTA Florida, but decide after the tournament if you still hate it. There will be less/equal humidity down there than in Louisville or Rockville.

Anonymous said...

Did the same person write all these posts? Seriously. To the person who bought your plane ticket...stupid.
To the person who booked their hotel rooms...cancel it.
Stop whining. If you don't like it, don't play. Find someone to run the tournament then. Jeff did a great job, but his gig is up. Done said.

Anonymous said...

but the delray international pro tournament is in january.. thats stupid. the whole legg mason deal was perfect
it was a tight tournament and i really liked playing in dc

Anonymous said...

whose going to fl?
gonna miss the clays

Anonymous said...

jeff szekely > ivan baron

no offense i mean i KNOW ivan is a great TD too but man.. i dont know i just can't picture anyone else running the clays.

Anonymous said...

How does it benefit the players in Fl or Ca if the event is in their state? Yes, they might not have to fly there, maybe. So what.

Anonymous said...

hahaha seriously get over it.
i'm kind of annoyed by the fact that we have to play another one in florida.. but whatever.
Also,- and I doubt I'm the only one that thinks this, but actually I'm a little more excited about spending july in south florida than suburban DC

Anonymous said...

hahah wow colette I don't think you've ever had THIS many comments on a post

clays are moving to florida-get over it.

Anonymous said...

what tournament do you think they'll give wildcards for?

Anonymous said...

I agree with Austin, look at all of the griping about Florida. If they had limited options look at your section for not either a)submitting a bid or b) having a bid with all the right stuff.

Seriously, don't you think that the decision would be made for the best of everyone and as perviously stated, if you don't like it don't play.

Anonymous said...

Austin,
How does anyone know how many bids there were?

Anonymous said...

hey do you guys know if the dates of the tournament are still going to be the same.. july 15th-21st???
thanks

Anonymous said...

austin,
i played in the clays for the past 3 years and have travelled around the world playing junior tennis. the clays in rockville was one of the best run tournaments on the planet. this is my last year to play in the juniors and i will go to delray, but it won't be the same.

Anonymous said...

The Mid-Atlantic Section should have done something to keep the tournament in Maryland. I blame the Mid-Atlantic Section for the move to Delray.

Anonymous said...

EVERYONE SHOULD SEND AN E-MAIL TO THE MID-ATLANTIC SECTION. THEY SCREWED UP.

Anonymous said...

The reason everyone is upset with this decision is the underlying assumption that bids are not submitted, they are solicited. The USTA goes out and finds places to have tournaments, not the other way around. It's mere speculation, of course, that the USTA wanted to find a location in FLA, but this is defenitely not a popular decision.

Anonymous said...

same dates July 15-21

Anonymous said...

Even though the clays were in Rockville for 3 yrs --- theywere great. They knew how to run a national event.

That said, give Delray a chance.

Anonymous said...

well i'm glad so many people liked having the clays in rockville.. i totally agree-our section definately did not do enough to get it to stay here. I mean everyone says they didnt want it to leave but something tells me there is soo much more they could have done.

Anonymous said...

the mid atlantic section did the best they could-- sooo many people pleaded with the usta junior comp. committee to get them to keep it in rockville & they were supposed to listen.. but obviously not

Anonymous said...

i'm not happy about this decision either.. but i think we should all get over it- i mean seriously what chance is there of having them move the tournament back to rockville now? haha

Anonymous said...

60 comments? wowww. haha colette i LOVE your blog- its addicting!!
keep it up

Anonymous said...

delray BEACH or rockville maryland? Are you guys serious? What are you tripping about rockville is quite the vacation spot I know but what is wrong with beautiful beaches and bomb girls. It has always been riddiculously hot in Rockville and I loved driving a 1/2 hour to my site from the DoubleTree. And for the person who said they like playing somewhere different Kalamazoo is the perfect different place, as long as we keep that tournament it is chill. Give Baron a chance and stop complaining!

Anonymous said...

The tournament will be in Delray probably for the next 2 years, get over it.

Anonymous said...

Bids are requested from all 17 sections. It is up to the section to get the word out. The USTA does not solicit bids, in any way shape or form.

Anonymous said...

I don't think the Mid-Atlantic did sh-- to keep it. They were in the best position to continue to keep the Clays in Rockville.

I am sure Delray put in a good bid.

Anonymous said...

just because the Mid-Atlantic pleaded with junior comp was not going to do it. They needed to be able to continue to run a good event. Shame on the Mid-Atlantic.

Anonymous said...

The boys 16s were in Rockville for at least 9 or 10 years and the 18s were there 3 or 4 years.

Anonymous said...

MID-ATLANTIC IS TO BLAME FOR THIS WHOLE MESS.

Anonymous said...

Here are the number of courts needed to host the Clays, 48 for both divisions. 24 courts are needed to host one division. There just aren't many places who can make those accomodations. The Zoo can get away with it because they stretch the tournament out over a span of 10 days as opposed to 8.

I love the post who said they would rather spend time in the middle of July in south Florida than DC, that was a great comment. If you dont your crazy, who wouldnt want to be playing in one of the biggest tournaments in the country on the beach as opposed to the sweltering heat of DC?!? You get knocked out go chill at the beach of a couple days, not the end of the world.

Anonymous said...

dude i'm pissed.

Anonymous said...

guysss guess what?!?!? they're going to move clays back to rockville!!!!


hahahah syke.

Anonymous said...

why dont we just move hard courts to florida too then.

Anonymous said...

Austin
you are definetly not a player of any merit. National players, clear out of the area as soon as they lose. This goes in pro locker rooms also-regardless of the sport. When the players lose they get out of town. You don't go to florida in the summer to go to the beach. You do that in the winter.

Anonymous said...

Austin please,
you don't want to get into a contest about which city has better things to do after a tournament. In that case, louisville, the zoo and many other tournaments would come in way behind Washington, D.C. --The White House, Capitol of the Free World, Supreme Court of the US, The Senate, Smithsonian, just to name a few.

Stop taking cheap shots at Rockville, and worry when and if the tournament will ever get back to louisville,Ky.

Did they make a bid for the 18's? And if they did, how come they didn't get it?

Anonymous said...

Austin,
you also forgot practice courts in addition to the 48 courts needed for matches for the 2 events. Add another 10 -15 courts for practice.Hopefully they aren't too far from the match sites.

Anonymous said...

let's face it. MID-ATLANTIC SCREWED EVERYONE--LET'S JUST MOVE ON --AND SEE WHAT DELRAY CAN DO!!!!

Anonymous said...

stop complaining...the tournament was not that great in rockville...never compare the zoo to clays cause it isnt comparable...and even though i wasnt around that long in my clay court 16's experience (i got defaulted HAHA) stop complaing jesus, o god u have to spend a few day in florida boo hoo, u live a tough life, get over yourselves, and i have been around the world and to much worse cities than rockville and they run the tournaments better in these cities than rockville would ever have been run, flat out every single usta tournament is terrible comared to the rest of the world (except for the zoo, which rocks). But good lord get over it, the real competition is at the zoo ne wayz and nobody really cares that much about clay courts. Florida is fine, just as rockville was.

Anonymous said...

squeak

who really cares what you think.
You will be serving my kid fries from MickeyD's in 15 years.

Anonymous said...

squek,
you are so whiny and annoying. You travel around to ITF's and tournaments when you cant even win here. Your chance at a decent scholarship are slim to none and you wont even pass because you never went to school. Hope you have fun reading this on your sidekick.

Anonymous said...

hahaha wowww that was mean! but seriously i agree.. people DO care about clays... if they didn't do you really think that there would be like 85 comments on this ONE post about it?
love the clays, lovED Rockville.

Anonymous said...

The USTA makes decisions based on their own agenda not on what players and parents want. Too bad, I loved the Clays in Rockville. The trip to FL will cost another #1000 on the endless junior tenis budget that makes this sport for the rich. The USTA wants to broaden the sport but continues to hamper their own cause by making it more expensive for most people.

Anonymous said...

Colette,
you should add the Clay Courts to your "Categories" list since it is the most prolific discusion ever on your website!!!

Colette Lewis said...

Good idea. I will.

Anonymous said...

thanks, Collete

Anonymous said...

stop bashing juniors on here, its ridiculous, you guys dont know what ppl do every day to try to make the best of there abilities

Anonymous said...

I don't think on this particular topic "clay courts" anyone in the 90 comments were bashing any juniors. I think most of the discusions were about where the clay courts took place. And how good or not so good Rockville was or wasn't.
The comments about squeak were made by other players who know about what it takes and how hard it is to be a player.