The Calcutta is a Labor Day weekend, mixed-doubles tennis tournament, which has been played in The Branches for the last 15 years. Sixteen teams, consisting of two women and two men, battle it out over Saturday and Sunday to crown the champions.
How are the teams chosen?
Participants are put into four different groups (A, B, C, D) based on experience and skill level. Players are randomly drawn from each group to form the teams – to ensure an even playing field, each team consists of a player from each group. For example, teams can be made up of one of the following mixes of players:
- A – Man, B -Woman, C – Woman, D – Man
- A – Woman, B – Man, C – Man, D – Woman
The drawing is done live at the Friday night kickoff party. Teams then huddle together to come up with a team name before the bidding and betting begins!
How does the bidding work?
After all teams are drawn and team names are decided, the bidding starts. You are bidding to ‘own’ the team. If the team you own does well, you get paid!
Payouts are distributed as follows as a % of the total amount collected:
The 1st Place Team Owner will receive 40%
The 2nd Place Team Owner will receive 25%
The 3rd Place Team Owner will receive 15%
The 4th Place Team Owner will receive 10%
The Consolation Team Owner will receive 10%
The bidding on each team starts at $10 and will increase in $5 increments until the team is purchased by the highest bidder who then becomes that team’s owner. Teams in the past have gone anywhere from $50 to $450 depending on the team’s perceived skill level, bidding party’s intoxication level, or just plain foolishness.
The team that is purchased has the right to immediately buy 50% of themselves from the team owner to have a stake in their own performance. For example, if Team A is purchased for $200 Scott, the members of Team A can pay Scott $100 and they will then own half the team and partake in 50% of any winnings. It is generally assumed the team will buy 50% although it is not required. The decision by the team to buy 50% MUST happen at the Kickoff Party and money must be paid THAT NIGHT, otherwise the opportunity to purchase the team is forfeited. You can, and should, bid on your own team to ensure you own 100%. Regardless of what the team decides, the single owner of the team (Scott in this example) is responsible for paying the tournament treasurer the full amount bid at the Kickoff Party.
Is It Possible To Own An Interest In More Than One Tennis Team?
Yes, frequently, several people pool their cash and are then able to bid high enough to purchase more than one team. However, only one person from the pool will be permitted to participate in the bidding and that spokesman is responsible for paying the tournament treasurer the amount bid on each of their teams and then collects from the individual members the amount of the contribution.
Remember, it’s only money, and the more people you partner with, the more cash you can throw around without regard. Keep in mind that if you are bidding with two other people (for example) and you win a team for $200, that is generally only $33 per partner for the bidding team. ($200 divided by 2 assuming the team purchases 50% = $100. Divide that $100 by the 3 partners and boom! $33 a person)
After all the bidding is completed, we will randomly draw the teams to form the bracket, starting times are assigned, and away we go.
I thought this was a tennis tournament? Do we play tennis ever?
It’s all about the tennis, and if history serves us well, there will be some great matches and killer points. Lots of ‘ooohhs’ and ‘ahhhhs’ from the crowd, tears of joy, minor injuries and a rare championship match funnel.
Each match consists of both pairs on a team paying an 11 game, no-ad set. An 11 game set means that each pair will play a TOTAL of 11 games. The COMBINED scores of the two matches will determine the winner. For example, if the A/B match ends at 7-4 and the C/D match ends at 5-6, the final score is 12-10 (the sum of the two game scores).
In the event of a tie, both pairs on a team will play a standard tiebreaker (first to 7, win by 2). The COMBINED scores of the two tiebreakers will determine the winner. If we are still tied after that, another tiebreaker is played until we have a winner.
No-ad scoring means that the first team to win four points in a game wins the game. At a point within a game were the score is 40/40 or deuce, the team to win the NEXT point wins that particular game. When at deuce the team that is to receive the serve, has the option of electing which team member will receive the serve. It is a little bit different than traditional scoring, but it makes the games go faster and permits us to play more rounds during the day and finish the entire tournament in two days (assuming good weather). Plus, it adds a heightened level of drama and pressure that the fans enjoy.
The consolation finals and the 3rd/4th place matches will play 22 total games each and the championship match with play 33 total games each.
How does the tournament bracket work?
All teams are guaranteed to play at least 2 matches.
A team eliminated in the first round is eligible to continue competing in the consolation round. A team eliminated in the second round in either the main draw or the consolation draw is then out of the tournament. Winning teams in both the main draw and the consolation draw will continue playing until a first, second, third and fourth place winner is determined in the main draw and a consolation winner is determined. Third and fourth place winners will be determined by a play-off between the two teams who lost in the semi-final round of the main draw.
When Will My Team Play?
The playing times for each team will be available at the Kickoff Party. The teams and playing times will be emailed and posted on the website for those that are unable to attend the party.
- All teams will play their first match on Saturday at either 9am, 10am, 11am or noon.
- Teams will play their second round at either 1pm, 2pm, 3pm or 4pm on Saturday.
- Teams that win in the 2nd round will play again at either 5pm or 6pm on Saturday.
- Winners of the 5pm & 6pm games in the consolation bracket will play for the consolation winner at 1pm on Sunday.
- The losers of the 5pm & 6pm games in the winner’s bracket will play for 3rd and 4th place at 1pm on Sunday.
- The winners of the 5pm & 6pm games in the winner’s bracket will play for 1st and 2nd place at 2:30pm on Sunday.
The times have been scheduled so that the tournament will be able to finish on Sunday afternoon. If someone misses a scheduled round, it will be necessary to forfeit that round and advance the team that showed up to the next round. A team must wait 15 minutes before they are entitled to a forfeit. In the event of rain, the Tournament committee will rearrange the times for each round. It will be the responsibility of each team to keep posted on when they are scheduled to play.
What Happens If a Player Is Injured During Match Play?
If a player is injured during match play and cannot finish the match, he/she will retire and all points accumulated on that court will stand. No points will be given for games not played. The teammates of the injured player on the adjacent court will also stop play and points will be totaled for both teams on the two affected courts. No substitutions will be made for the injured player, as bets have already been made based on the original players. If the injury occurs during the first round, a bye will be established for the opponents of the injured player. The team with the bye will advance to the next round with all eleven points, as in a forfeited match. Points will be totaled for the whole team at the end of that round. Play and rotations will continue as usual for the next round.