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Bob in Spain


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Running an ITF Tournament
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Just wondering if anyone here has actual experience and being a Tournament Organiser for an ITF event or at least as been close enough to be able to answer a whole host of questions that I have compiled.

The reason for the questions is that some Spanish friends of mine are developing a new sports resort and have asked me for ideas.  One of my 'brainwaves' is to install tennis courts and to run Futures events at certain times of the year.

The resort itself is already operational and they are adding new sports facilities all the time. They have investors willing to stump up the cash. My job is to convince them of the viability of tennis.  They are more focused on football, basketball and even cricket. Playing a few futures tournaments would help with the finances.

The majority of the questions I have are based around the dividing line in the sharing of responsibilities between the tournament organiser and the ITF. Basically, who is responsible for what.

 

Here is my first draft of questions. Any advice/answers would be appreciated.

 

  • Do players pay an entry fee for the tournament
  • How much is that fee
  • Is that paid to the tournament organiser or the ITF
  • Does the organiser run the tournament with the approval of ITF or does ITF run the tournament
  • Who is responsible for paying umpires and providing equipment (tennis balls) etc
  • Who oversees the entry process and who chooses the WCs etc
  • Who does the tournament scheduling
  • What are the service provisions required of the organiser racket stringers, physios etc
  • Is it obligatory to have an indoor backup facility in case of inclement weather
  • Is there a minimum number of courts required as compared to entry numbers
  • Do you have to have a certain number of courts left free for practice/warm up
  • Who provides the technical equipment to facilitate online live scoring
  • Who pays the prize money organisers or ITF (I assume ITF)

I have no doubt I will think of more.

 



-- Edited by Shhh on Sunday 4th of June 2023 01:25:11 PM

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Bob in Spain


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Running and ITF Tournament
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Oops. Can a Thread title be edited LOL.

'an' not 'and'.

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the addict


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Bob, the answers to a lot of these questions can be found in the ITF rulebook, which can be downloaded here



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Bob in Spain


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the addict wrote:

Bob, the answers to a lot of these questions can be found in the ITF rulebook, which can be downloaded here

Thanks.  Just looked at the numbers.  Not sure they have helped my 'financial viability' argument LOL

For a 64 person qualies and 32 person MD (8 being qualifiers) that is 88 players. I am going to assume that the doubles players will also play singles.

88 * 36 euros = 3,168 euros

Yet the tournament organiser is liable for the prize money - 13,500 euros ?  Not to mention paying umpires, officials and purchase of equipment.

I think that maybe I am missing something here.



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Elegant Point


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Are they wedded to the idea of ITF? No fan of UTR, but what about the Pro Tour? Great prize money tournaments for those trying to self fund going pro

www.universaltennis.com/pages/pro-tennis

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Bob in Spain


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Elegant Point wrote:

Are they wedded to the idea of ITF? No fan of UTR, but what about the Pro Tour? Great prize money tournaments for those trying to self fund going pro

www.universaltennis.com/pages/pro-tennis

Thanks.  Very interesting.  From what I read here (FAQs) in this case Entry fees are paid to UT and they pay the prize money.  Will look into this further.



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PaulM


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Bob in Spain wrote:
the addict wrote:

Bob, the answers to a lot of these questions can be found in the ITF rulebook, which can be downloaded here

Thanks.  Just looked at the numbers.  Not sure they have helped my 'financial viability' argument LOL

For a 64 person qualies and 32 person MD (8 being qualifiers) that is 88 players. I am going to assume that the doubles players will also play singles.

88 * 36 euros = 3,168 euros

Yet the tournament organiser is liable for the prize money - 13,500 euros ?  Not to mention paying umpires, officials and purchase of equipment.

I think that maybe I am missing something here.

 

I don't know the ins and outs but if that's the case re prize money, as a resort based tournament, wouldn't they also get the room, food, drink expenditure of those 88 players plus coaches? Are they expected to provide room and board for officials for free? I think at UK events the LTA cover those expenses (but someone will correct as that may well be wrong). Presumably there may be some negotiations with the national tennis federation as well on cost sharing?



-- Edited by PaulM on Sunday 4th of June 2023 07:25:25 PM

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Bob in Spain


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PaulM wrote:
Bob in Spain wrote:
the addict wrote:

Bob, the answers to a lot of these questions can be found in the ITF rulebook, which can be downloaded here

Thanks.  Just looked at the numbers.  Not sure they have helped my 'financial viability' argument LOL

For a 64 person qualies and 32 person MD (8 being qualifiers) that is 88 players. I am going to assume that the doubles players will also play singles.

88 * 36 euros = 3,168 euros

Yet the tournament organiser is liable for the prize money - 13,500 euros ?  Not to mention paying umpires, officials and purchase of equipment.

I think that maybe I am missing something here.

 

I don't know the ins and outs but if that's the case re prize money, as a resort based tournament, wouldn't they also get the room, food, drink expenditure of those 88 players plus coaches? Are they expected to provide room and board for officials for free? I think at UK events the LTA cover those expenses (but someone will correct as that may well be wrong). Presumably there may be some negotiations with the national tennis federation as well on cost sharing?



-- Edited by PaulM on Sunday 4th of June 2023 07:25:25 PM

Thanks Paul.  Yes, the resort will get board and lodging income as well, but from my fairly rudimentary calculations it would also require some support from the tennis federation in order to help with the finances.

I guess I will have to contact the Spanish federation and see what they do for other events. I am sure it is different in each country.

Does anyone have any idea what players pay for board and lodging in places like Sharm or Antalya ?  Just a guide.



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Lambda


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I suggest looking at the 2023 ITF Tournament Organisational Requirements handbook . Nearly everything you need to know should be in there. It has a lot more information about running a tournament than the rulebook.

-- Edited by Lambda on Sunday 4th of June 2023 08:51:04 PM

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Madadman


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Really dont know the answers to most of these. However I believe some of the resort tournaments also run a WC tournament the week before. So I guess it probably starts on a Tuesday or Wednesday and runs to the Saturday Winner gets a WC. Players then have tennis in they get knocked out and its another tournament that you can charge an entry fee for. Plus probably little to no prize money to pay out. Just a WC.

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Bob in Spain


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Madadman wrote:

Really dont know the answers to most of these. However I believe some of the resort tournaments also run a WC tournament the week before. So I guess it probably starts on a Tuesday or Wednesday and runs to the Saturday Winner gets a WC. Players then have tennis in they get knocked out and its another tournament that you can charge an entry fee for. Plus probably little to no prize money to pay out. Just a WC.

Thanks.  That-s certainly something I had in mind.  I saw that in action in Portugal a few years ago and thought it was a good idea. Players paid 30 euros to enter with one MDWC as the prize. Matches were 1 long set (TB 8-8) and good competitive practice for the players as well.

That was the week of 'Minibusgate'.  One of the reasons I asked about number of courts is that Faro ran a 128 player qualifying but had only 6 match courts. They were ferrying players to and from Valle do Lobo to be able to complete the matches and were charging players for the transport as well - hence Minibusgate.



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Bob in Spain


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Lambda wrote:

I suggest looking at the 2023 ITF Tournament Organisational Requirements handbook . Nearly everything you need to know should be in there. It has a lot more information about running a tournament than the rulebook.

-- Edited by Lambda on Sunday 4th of June 2023 08:51:04 PM

Another excellent link.  Thanks.



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paulisi


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Most tournaments are subsidised by the federation or sponsors and are thus loss making.

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emmsie69


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I would also assume that some of the players stay and coach at the resort too.

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Bob in Spain


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I have been doing some background on costs of accommodation - courtesy of Marcus Willis.

The rates that I have available at this resort would be cheaper than Sharm or Antalya. I think it is now a question of what financial support the Spanish Federation will offer as I suspect that Paulisi is correct in saying that without that support, the tournament would run at a loss even when accommodation profits are taken into consideration.

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