Join A Team Now

How to Join a Tennis Team:
The Aiken Area Tennis League is a division of
the USTA (United States Tennis Association).
Basically, to participate in league tennis, you just
need to do four things:

1.        Determine your tennis ability rating
2.        Become a member of USTA
3.        Find a team to join
4.        Sign up for the team online

Here's how:

1. Determine your tennis ability rating:
You will need an National Tennis Rating Program (NTRP) rating to fairly play against players of
similar ability. Players with equal ratings participate in the same "flights."  If you have played
USTA league tennis in any state within the last 5 years, you already have an NTRP rating
assigned by USTA.  (To see how to appeal your NTRP Rating, click here.)  If you have not played
within the last 5 years (or not played at all), you may self-rate when you sign up for your team. To
accurately self-rate, match your tennis abilities to the NTRP general characteristics, which the
USTA has established, or contact a tennis pro at one of the local tennis facilities to evaluate you.
Please self-rate honestly; self-rating yourself too low can have serious consequences to you,
your Captain, and others on your team, including but not limited to disqualification, voiding of
team matches, suspension from league play, or other league sanctions. Click here for some
advice on self-rating. For an explanation on how USTA annually updates NTRP ratings based
on previous season performance, please click here.

2. Become a member of USTA:
You gotta be a USTA member to be assigned a membership number.  You
can obtain an annual single membership or family membership. Your AATL
dues will be included in the fee paid when you register.  To join USTA,
click here  and fill in the form (this is where you'll state yourNTRP ability
rating). The cost for each League may vary.  Have a credit card ready to pay the fee.  Keep a
record of the member number USTA assigns to you.
  • For info on how to register as a Junior (kids - age 17 and under) click here.

  • You may register as an Adult, if you have reached the age of 18 prior to or during the
    calendar year in which you play your first adult local league match.  

  • You may register as a Senior, if you become 50 prior to or during the calendar year in
    which you play your first senior local league match. Seniors may register as Adults too.

  • You may register as a SUPER Senior, if you become 60 prior to or during the calendar
    year in which you play your first senior local league match. Seniors may register as Adults
    too.
3. Find a team to join:
Every season, each team Captain has a new Team Number assigned by USTA.  Teams are
formed by Captains in "flights" according to NTRP ratings (for example, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, etc.).
Contact the pro of a tennis facility (to see a list of Aiken-area pros, click here) or the AATL
League Coordinator to put you in contact with team Captains that need players at your NTRP
level.  (Hint: you can look up currently formed teams in the "AATL Team Information" table on
our Home Page, or post a request on our "Want-Ad" page.)  If there are no Captains or no room
on an existing team, build your own team - the form used in Step 4, below, is the same!   (Click
here for a guide on "How To Be A Team Captain.") Often volunteering to be a Captain can
qualify for you for free league registration (see the "Be A Captain" page).

4. Sign up for the team online:
Once you have a USTA member number and a team number, you're
ready to register for the team online through TennisLink, the USTA
online database for League Tennis.  You'll have to pay a registration
fee ($13-$28, [depending on the league] plus a $3 TennisLink fee), so
have your credit card handy.  These team registration fees also are
intended to cover any league-play court fees at USTA member-facilities.

That's all there is to it - You're on a team!
After the initial sign-up deadline, the AATL League Coordinator will finalize a match schedule for
all teams. Even if you didn't make the initial sign-up deadline, you can still join an existing team
(if there's room) before the team's second-to-last regular season match.  You can find team
rosters, Captains, schedules, and match results by clicking in the "AATL Team Information"
table on our AATL home page.  Your team Captain will announce practice schedules, make
partner and match assignments, and record scores.  Be sure to let the Captain know when
you're available for matches - don't make him/her do all the work of communicating.  Definitely
show your appreciation for their service and consider being a Captain yourself.

                   Good luck and HAVE FUN!
Any team members
from outside of SC
must be  approved by
the Local League
Coordinator before they
sign up in TennisLink
(see AATL Rules for the
form to use).

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