Issue of draw size for Men’s Nationals

The February APTA Paddle Newsletter discussed the issue of handling the large draws:

“As the Men’s Doubles grows, the APTA is faced with the problem of the strain of the tournament on the host club, particularly in that the tourney is held over two weekends. Of concern also is that players from out of town who are defeated on the first weekend must return the following weekend to see the semi-finals and finals. There is also the distinct possibility of having to have a larger draw than 128 teams. Accordingly, the 3 following alternatives are being considered:

1. Confine the tournament to one weekend by having competition begin on Friday, and have a maximum draw of 128 teams. If necessary, hold regional qualifying rounds on the prior weekend to maintain a final draw of 128 teams.

2. Hold regional tournaments for places in a final draw of 64 teams and hold the
64 team tournaments on a single, 2-day weekend.

3. Maintain the current 3-day schedule on two weekends and hold the draw to a maximum of 128 teams and accept entries in order received. In the event of a larger draw than 128 teams, hold qualifying rounds the previous weekend.

The executive committee is interested in comments concerning the above 3 alternatives.”

The decision was subsequently made to adopt alternative one for both the Men’s and Mixed.

Source: The APTA Paddle Newsletter, Vol. 2 No. 2