​Dear Members,

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We are pleased to share with members the updated KCTC league structure for the 2025/2026 season at Kilfeacle Community Tennis Club.

 

These changes reflect our ongoing commitment to a fair, inclusive, and engaging tennis environment for all players. The league season will run across four cycles for 5 weeks per cycle.

• September–October

• November–December

• January–February

• March–April

 

KCTC leagues will now include a variety of mixed and doubles leagues. To support members with different weekly availability, league nights will rotate throughout the year. Each league cycle features different grade combinations each league to ensure varied pairings and opponents. Some leagues will span a wide range of grades (e.g. Grades 2–4), while others will focus on narrower brackets (e.g. Grade 4). Members are encouraged to enter up to two doubles and two mixed leagues each year.​

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​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Priority for Internal Members & Play-Up Opportunities

To better support the growth and progression of KCTC members, this season’s league structure has been refined to prioritise internal players. League places will be offered to KCTC members first, with entry opened to external players only once all internal candidates have been considered.

 

KCTC members are encouraged to consider applying to "play-up" an additional second league night at a grade above their current level, especially if they’ve already earned points at their own or a higher grade on the TI Nation Tour. This is a great way to challenge yourself, build confidence, and gain experience in a more competitive setting.

 

To help keep all grades well-supported, players expressing interest in playing up are required to enter and play in their current grade’s league as well. For example, a Grade 4 player that is interested in playing up to the Grade 3 League should be entered in the Grade 4/5 League. This helps ensure all groups remain vibrant and sustainable for everyone involved.

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If you would like to be considered for an additional league night by playing up, please enter your own grade only but state in your league entry that you are available to play-up. Where space allows, eligible players will be invited to join this additional league night. There is no extra cost for taking part in these additional league nights. Where there are more applicants than places available to play up, these will be prioritised as outlined in the next section.

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This approach ensures that KCTC members are offered every opportunity to develop their game, progress through the grading system, and enjoy competitive play within the club community.​

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Pairings & Selection of Players to Play-up

To ensure fairness of pairings and offers to play up to higher grades, KCTC has developed a centralised player database that records each member’s:

• Grade

• Gender

• Total Tennis Ireland (TI) National Tour Rankings (highest ranking from singles, doubles or mixed)

• Internal league results

• League participation history

 

This data helps guide pairing and offers to play-up, though final decisions will always rest with the League Committee.

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Selection for play-up offers will follow this order of priority:

1. Official Munster Tennis grade

2. Tennis Ireland National Tour Rankings  https://ti.tournamentsoftware.com/ranking/find.aspx?id=47279 *

3. Internal league wins (from September 2025 onwards) *

4. Previous league participation

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* While there are no restrictions on the number of leagues a member can apply for a play up, each player’s TI National Tour rankings or internal league wins will be taken into account only once per league season when considering a play-up offer. After this, selection priority will revert to grade and participation history. This approach ensures fair distribution of play-up opportunities among members, preventing repeated selection based solely on TI National Tour rankings or internal league wins.

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Player Grades

All player grades will be verified using the Munster Player Directory: https://players.munstertennis.ie Each member is responsible for ensuring their listed grade is correct and up to date. If a member is not listed in this directory, it will be assumed that they are a Grade 6 player for the purposes of KCTC leagues.

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If you do not have an existing grade, or if you believe your current grade is incorrect, you may contact a KCTC club coach (Bryan Stewart or William Guiry), or another Tennis Ireland-accredited coach, to request an initial grading or a regrading. This also applies if you feel your current grading in the Munster directory does not accurately reflect your ability. The coach can then submit an update to Munster Tennis on your behalf.​

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Grade 6 Players that were previously across Wednesday and Tuesday are now categorised into Grade 6 and Grade 6 Advanced (Grade 6A). Grade 6A players will typically have played open competitions and have accumulated points on the Tennis Ireland National Tour or have accumulated points in the Munster Winter League or Summer Cup. You can check if you have points on the National Tour or Munster Directory by checking the link at https://ti.tournamentsoftware.com/ranking/find.aspx?id=47279 or https://players.munstertennis.ie. As players accumulate points on the Tennis Ireland National Tour or Munster Directory, they will be moved from Grade 6 to Grade 6A. 

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Grade 7 is a new category for players new to tennis. Grade 7 players are encouraged to complete at least two Grade 7 leagues before progressing to Grade 6.

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League Registration Process

• 4 weeks before each cycle: Notification of league entry opening via email and KCTC Whatsapp Community

• 3 weeks before each cycle: Internal registration opens

• 2 weeks before each cycle: Internal registration closes

• Final week before cycle: Entry opened to External players; final schedules are published..

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Change to League Entry and Management Platform

Please note that league registration and management will no longer be handled through Tournament Software. From the 2025/2026 season onward, all league entries will be managed directly through the KCTC website.

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This change is being made due to the impact that internal league pairings and results can have on players’ World Tennis Number (WTN) ratings. As WTN scores influence national competition seeding and tournament entry, it is essential that KCTC leagues are managed independently to avoid unintended effects on players' WTN.

 

The new system will ensure:

• Greater flexibility and control over internal league management and scheduling

• Protection of members' official WTN ratings

• Simplified and centralised registration through the club's own platform

 

More details and step-by-step guidance on how to register via the KCTC website will be shared ahead of the first league cycle.

 

We look forward to an exciting year of leagues ahead and encourage everyone to get involved.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the League Committee at leagues@kilfeacletennis.ie.

 

Best regards,
KCTC League Committee

 

League Schedule for 2025/2026

To help members plan their schedules, the following is the KCTC League Schedule for the  2025/2026 league season. These are subject to change based on league entries etc but will be followed as much as possible.​

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