This section describes what you need to do to become a junior tournament player.

You must be a USTA member in order to enter sanctioned USTA NorCal tournaments. Memberships purchased by telephone (1-800-990-8782) will be processed in 24 hours. Memberships purchased online are processed immediately.

USTA Northern California junior tournaments are categorized by age as well as level of difficulty. The age divisions are 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18. You can "play up" in a higher age group but you cannot "play down." You may play an age division until the month in which you Ňage outÓ of that division. This means players who are 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 years old may continue to play in their respective age divisions until the month in which they turn 9, 11, 13, 15, 17 and 19, respectively. If a tournament carries over into the next month, the starting date of the event will determine your eligibility.

You are required to have a birth certificate on file at the USTA NorCal office. If you do not have a birth certificate on file, please send a copy to: USTA Northern California, Attn: Birth Certificates, 1350 South Loop Road, Suite 100, Alameda, CA 94502.

The Sectional Championships, Excellence, Championship tournaments, and the Maze Cup team are open only to residents of Northern California (see definition below). Additionally, only residents of Northern California may be ranked on the sectional Final Ranking Lists and endorsed into USTA Junior National tournaments. Non-residents may enter Open, Challenger, and Novice tournaments.

"Residents of Northern California" refers to permanent residents of USTA NorCal and temporary residents of the Section who do not reside there solely for the purpose of participating in tournaments and who are:

• citizens of the United States;
• resident aliens in possession of a valid alien registration receipt card; or
• aliens who have resided in the United States continuously for more than one year and who are members of families in the diplomatic or consular corps

The residency of a USTA NorCal junior is determined by the primary residence of the physical and legal custodian or guardian of said junior player.