NationStates Tennis Tour Discussion Thread

[Ceni]

Sorry for the double post, but I have some new information.

The San Salvador Open hosted by San José Guayabal will take over the slot previously held by the NSI Open, and signups will go up ASAP.

[Electrum]

The Electrum Slam is complete!

Rankings (on the OP of this thread) have been updated post-Electrum Slam. Points earned in this Electrum Slam will last a full year.

[Britonisea]

And Britonisea's comeback starts here.

Yay to Leo and Elizabeth!

[Ceni]

Just as a quick reminder, Olympic tennis tournaments will not count towards NSTT rankings.

[Britonisea]

Right, I would like to ask a few questions;

1. What's the difference between YTD points and total points? And why is there such a difference between the two?
2. Can I host an event in 2017, please? Preferably in June-July. Don't really care what court type it is.
3. Are the rankings from this year going to come over to 2017? It's been an abysmal year for Team BRI. (Top in singles is 67th, I believe)
4. How come relatively new players shoot up the rankings? Even if they do "well," surely, it isn't enough to even come close to being top 30?

[Ceni]

Right, I would like to ask a few questions;

1. What's the difference between YTD points and total points? And why is there such a difference between the two?

YTD points = Year to Date points - what they've earned so far in the calendar year. Total points are the sum of the points over the past 52 weeks rolling ranking, so it would include last year's TOCAO and the Astyrian stuff plus World Tour Finals from last year (which YTD does not). The YTD points really don't matter in the end - as the final ranking before the Tour Finals should be equal to the total points for purposes of qualification, but it's really to show people how they're doing on qualifying for the Tour Finals.

2. Can I host an event in 2017, please? Preferably in June-July. Don't really care what court type it is.

Sure, I'll see where I can fit you in when I do next year's schedule. Would it be the Brittanual Britonisea again?

3. Are the rankings from this year going to come over to 2017? It's been an abysmal year for Team BRI. (Top in singles is 67th, I believe)

Those rankings are not official yet - considering the ITT hasn't been conducted yet, nor points granted. If your guy has a 100 or 200 point ITT, that rank can go up to back in the top 50. And the ranking is a 52-week rolling ranking, so yes.

4. How come relatively new players shoot up the rankings? Even if they do "well," surely, it isn't enough to even come close to being top 30?

I mean, if the nations do RP well and have a series of good results, they can shoot up the rankings - like Ethane, whose players reached finals at Tier 1 events, which gets you a bunch of points. I would say consistent RPing can get your guys back in the ranks. But there's no bias in the rankings - they're totally objective, based on how the players have done. There's no secret bonus for players I like or negatives for those I dislike, if that's what you're hinting at.

[Ceni]

Since we have a large signup number of New Oxford, I'm going to raise the status for that to a Tier 1 Mandatory, and also raise the Handon Open to a Tier 1 event due to its seeming popularity.

[Krytenia]

Rather belated announcement, but signups for the year's final Grand Slam are now open.

[Neu Engollon]

Thanks again to Schottia for hosting the Handon Open. Congrats to Ceni for the doubles win and commiserations to Schottia's Krumins in the singles final and to my other opponents along the way. Good luck to everyone in the upcoming AOpen.

[Britonisea]

I think I'll start all over again in 2017 - but try to get Elizabeth Quehall/ Leo Garry in to the World Tour Finals.

[Kannap]

Sorry for not hosting the Kannapian International Tennis Open this year, I was busy when I was supposed to and couldn't do it. Though I suppose a break was nice. I do look forward to bringing it back in 2017 though.

[Krytenia]

That's Grand Slam number four of the season wrapped up. Congratulations to our winners!

[Neu Engollon]

Congrats to the winners, Ceni and House of Judah, and the finalists! Thanks to Krytenia for hosting.

[House of Judah]

Congrats to the winners, Ceni and Judea, and the finalists! Thanks to Krytenia for hosting.

Thank you.

And thank you Krytenia for hosting.

[Ceni]

That's Grand Slam number four of the season wrapped up. Congratulations to our winners!

And let the race to the finals kick off! Don't forget to sign up for The Mercedini Open!

Congrats to the winners, Ceni and Judea, and the finalists! Thanks to Krytenia for hosting.

Thanks, although I probably didn't deserve to win because I only had one RP in

[Ceni]

With it almost being December, the bidding period for the World Tour Finals is now open.

Any nation may bid, and bids must specify not only the NS Sport norms of scorination and OOC experience, but also the venue and the court type (it can be short).

[Kannap]

Official Host Bid for the NSTT World Tour Finals


The mountains are alive

Bergsstad, Kannap
Bergsstad is a large city nestled in the mountains of southern Kannap. The local mountains are beautiful this time of year, and any time of year, as displayed by the large tourism industry within the city and the surrounding area.

Venue: Elevation Tennis Stadium


The Elevation Tennis Stadium was the host stadium for the 2015 ATP World Tour Finals and would again be the host for the 2016 NSTT World Tour Finals. The stadium was first built between 1990-1994 and doors were opened to the public in 1994. The stadium saw a major renovation in 2014-2015 which updated most of the complex and increased spectator seating from 15,000 to 25,000. Earlier this year, the single court was modified from a grass surface to a clay surface.

Security
In the past, Kannapian soldiers have been posted at all entrances to the stadiums that have hosted international events. However, the new president of Kannap has decided that such a large presence of security is not necessary. Instead, one police officer will be posted at every entrance of the stadium and a security operations center will be set up onsite that will act as the headquarters for security and will have five police officers and five Kannapian soldiers stationed there at all times.

Schedule
The current scheduled length of the event will be ten days of competition and one day of break. One round of the singles and doubles competition will take place each day, lasting eight days. The semifinals and finals will add an additional two days.

The planned dates for the event: December 21st - December 30th with a day of no competition on December 25th, in observance of the Kannapian holiday December Day.

Housing
Athletes will be housed in a small mansion near the stadium.

Spectators can purchase rooms for any of the hotels in Bergsstad from the Kannapian National Tennis Association. The KNTA has secured all the rooms in all area hotels for the duration of the event to ensure that space will be available for spectators up to the 25,000 occupancy limit of the stadium.

Transportation
Bergsstad Regional Transportation will provide free bus and subway transportation for all spectators for the duration of the event.

Athletes will be granted personal transportation by way of a personal shuttle between their mansion and the stadium.

OOC Information
Experience: Kannap has hosted four Kannapian Internatonal Tennis Opens, three of which were ATP sanctioned events. The Second Kannapian International Tennis Open was the first tennis competition that contributed to ATP rankings when the ATP was newly formed. Kannap hosted the 2015 ATP World Tour Finals, which was the last competition that occurred under the name of the Association of Tennis Professionals before the organization became the NSTT. Kannap also hosted the Kannap March Invitational, a one time event in March 2014.

Scorination: All scorinating will be done using Xkoranate 0.3.3., of which I am very familiar.

Format: The competition will be a round robin format for both singles and doubles. The top 8 singles and top 8 doubles athletes in the rankings will compete. One round of the round robin for each competition, singles and doubles, will be scorinated each day for eight days. Singles and doubles semifinals will be scorinated on the ninth day of competition and singles and doubles finals will be scorinated on the tenth day of competition.

[Mercedini]

About Zoloroni
Zoloroni is the capital and largest city in Mercedini known for it's large skyscrapers and extensive public transport network. It is located in the south-east of the nation and is close to the coast looking into Dovani Peninsula. Culturally, Zoloroni has a large food and shopping culture with many of the multiverse's biggest retail business converging onto Mercedini to sell their products. On the topic of food, Mercedini is packed with family restaurants and franchises who all sell top quality dishes. Mercedinian cuisine is based largely on Italian cuisine, with visitors getting to choose from an extensive range of pasta and risotto dishes aswell as pizzas and stuffed flatbreads perfect for carnivores and vegetarians alike! There's something for everyone in Mercedini!

cubeMRC

The cubeMRC is a recent addition to the skylines of Zoloroni and was built as a LoveZoloroni renovation plan to update all dilapidated areas of Mercedini. The cubeMRC has a capacity of 21,000 and consists of outside LED screens which can change colour to suit the occasion. As for changing and waiting rooms, they have been provided by the cubeMRC and can be used when needed. Training Courts will be a short drive away as they will be located in the Cortex Centre, the host venue for the Mercedinian Open. While the cubeMRC is not technically located in Zoloroni Sports City, stadiums and attractions are only a short trip away, leaving no player or spectator bored.

The court will be a hard indoor court with a small layer of acrylic used for a small amount of cushioning as well as allowing markings to be more durable and easily seen

Schedule

The NSTT Tour Finals will consist of two groups of four players (for both singles and doubles) and will be a round robin format. All players ranked in the Top 8 in both singles and doubles by the end of the year will compete. Each player will play everyone else in their group only once, with the top two advancing to play in the semi-finals. Each Match Day will be split up into two sections, the first for those players who are situated in Group A and the second for those situated in Group B. This means there will be four matches played every day until the final, where there will be two matches played.

December 19: Match Day 1 Group A (Singles & Doubles)
December 20: Match Day 1 Group B (Singles & Doubles)
December 21: Match Day 2 Group A (Singles & Doubles)
December 22: Match Day 2 Group B (Singles & Doubles)
December 23: Match Day 3 Group A (Singles & Doubles)
December 24: Match Day 3 Group B (Singles & Doubles)
December 25: BREAK
December 26: Semi-Finals (Singles & Doubles)
December 27: Finals (Singles & Doubles)

OOC Information

Experience & Scorination: As a relatively new nation, experience is rather limited. Although, Mercedini has hosted the Mercedinian Open which shows the capability to host a tennis event. Mercedini has also hosted the WorldVision Song Contest, which shows the I can host a large competition and put the time in to produce a successful event
For scorination, xkorinate 0.3.3 will be used, which I have recent experience of.

[Neu Engollon]

I'd like to know more from both host bidders about what host bids they will reward themselves. I think we're running into serious host bonus issues and would like to know how that will be handled, along with specifics about what system they use to award host and RP bonus to NSTT participants.

[Ceni]

I'd like to know more from both host bidders about what host bids they will reward themselves. I think we're running into serious host bonus issues and would like to know how that will be handled, along with specifics about what system they use to award host and RP bonus to NSTT participants.

I would think that this shouldn't be an issue with the NSTT Finals, considering that both Kannap's and Mercedini's players are mathematically eliminated from participating.

[Mercedini]

I'd like to know more from both host bidders about what host bids they will reward themselves. I think we're running into serious host bonus issues and would like to know how that will be handled, along with specifics about what system they use to award host and RP bonus to NSTT participants.

I just put what the scorinator gives me, no matter if I win or lose. It's as simple as that

In the Mercedinian Open I didn't give myself any host bonus, I simply copied and pasted the scorinator's results. Also, and to parrot Ceni's point, my highest singles player is in the high-30s while my highest doubles pairing are in the low-20s, so there is no chance for me making it into the tour finals this time around.

[Kannap]

I'd like to know more from both host bidders about what host bids they will reward themselves. I think we're running into serious host bonus issues and would like to know how that will be handled, along with specifics about what system they use to award host and RP bonus to NSTT participants.

Normally while hosting, I just don't reward my own athletes bonuses in competitions. That doesn't apply this time around though, as Ceni has already stated, since Kannapian athletes will not be competing in the NSTT finals.

As for how I tend to handle RP bonuses, I read everybody's RP posts and then provide a 1-5 point bonus to their athlete in that day's scorination based on the quality of the post. RP bonus is accumulative for all RP by a nation that day and not points-per-post.

[Ceni]

The bidding period will end around 36 hours from now so get in those last-minute bids!

[Neu Engollon]

I just put what the scorinator gives me, no matter if I win or lose. It's as simple as that

I should hope so. If you were to give any bonus at all to any player including yourself, it should be dropped in pre-scorination.
But you knew that, right?

As for how I tend to handle RP bonuses, I read everybody's RP posts and then provide a 1-5 point bonus to their athlete in that day's scorination based on the quality of the post. RP bonus is accumulative for all RP by a nation that day and not points-per-post.

This was helpful. Thank you.

[Ceni]

The bidding period is now (more than) over, and you have two options:

Kannap
Mercedini

Voting lasts until the field for the finals is set (most likely the end of the tournament next week). Any person who has participated in a NSTT tournament this year may vote. Votes can be sent to Acavira