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ITF sets new age groups, NMITA follows
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Posted on Feb 21 2006
The International Tennis Federation has made a change in its youth age group categories, according to Northern Mariana Islands Tennis Association official Jeff Race.
Race announced during the awards ceremony of the 2006 Coconut Classic Tennis Tournament on Monday that the ITF has implemented new age divisions that NMITA will abide by.
Race informed all players and officials in attendance that the ITF has decided to scrap the 14-and-under category and instead, replace it with a 13-and-under division. The 18-and-under division remains the same.
With the adjustments, Race said that instead of continuing with competitions in the 10-and-under division, NMITA will move all 10-year-olds to the 13-and-under competition and will create a nine-and-under category.
“That’s so that we can have a lot of players in the 13-and-under since the 14-year-olds will move to the 18-and-under,” Race told his audience.
Race added that with the changes, players must reset their goals for the year and continue to pursue improvement in their game, citing that 14-year-old Ji Hoon Heo, who is currently ranked No. 2 in the Pacific region, will not get the opportunity to push his ranking to No. 1 as he will now have to compete in the 18-and-under division.
Heo earned his ranking courtesy of his impressive finish at the Oceania Junior Tennis Championships last summer in Fiji.
Heo, however, already has experience playing older players as he competed and won the 18-and-under category in the Coconut Classic, and late last year won a men’s open singles title.
Race said the Oceania Tennis Federation, which NMITA is a member of, is also abiding by the new changes.
“Who knows, two years from now when everybody has adjusted, no one will probably remember that there even was a 14-and-under,” he said jokingly.
Meanwhile, newly crowned champions of the Coconut Classic include Mayuko Arriola in the women’s singles, Sonny Decena in the men’s singles, Benjie Decena in the boys’ 14-and-under singles, Thea Minor in the boys’ 10-and-under singles, Melody Johnson in the girls’ 10-and-under singles, and Vivian Lee in the girls’ 14-and-under singles. The mixed up doubles crown was awarded to Lee and Minor.
