July 22-24, 2016

2016 Kromer Mixed Doubles Entry Form (entry deadline Tuesday, July 19th @ 4pm)

About the Kromer Flights

Sam Kromer, former Athletic Director and coach at St. Clair County Community College, came up with this format in 1973. He wanted to see that every player had a chance to win. Every tennis-playing community needs a flight tennis tournament to compliment the traditional tournaments. Because of the established practice of seeding in the traditional tournament most novice players draw a more skilled player, making their tournament exposure brief. Therefore, approximately half of the players in most tennis tournaments play one match, then it’s over.

We have been playing both singles and doubles Flight Tennis in Port Huron since 1974, and it is appealing to a wider spectrum of participants continually. Of course, flight tournaments attract experienced players, but just as important flight tennis appeals to the players who may avoid tournaments in which they could anticipate early termination. The idea is to assign players to flights with players of like ability. Six players (or teams) constitute the ideal flight. A local committee does our flighting and with few exceptions this arrangement works well.

How the Kromer Flights are played

All teams participate in round robin competition. During the round robin phase an 8-game pro set is played. Each flight is assigned two courts twice during the week to play their matches. Time and motion are important. Brief warm-up time, fill the courts quickly, and generally keep things moving. Each flight should play three matches the first day and remaining matches the second day. The top four teams qualify for the semi-finals played on Saturday. The first place team plays the fourth place, and the second place team plays the third place. The winners play for the flight championship on Sunday. At the discretion of the tournament director, semi-finals may not be played, and the top two teams from the round robin competition will advance to the finals. The semis and finals are the best two out of three sets (the third set will be a 10 point tiebreaker), using regular scoring and at 6-all in each set play a 12 point tiebreaker.

Flight Mixed Doubles Results