2004 Thomas/Uber Cups Teams Selection Procedure by USA Badminton Event: The 2004 Thomas Cup (men’s team championship) and Uber Cup (women’s team championship) will be held in two stages. The Pan Am zone preliminary stage will be held in Feb. 2004, at a location to be determined. The Pan Am zone preliminary stage winner will advance to the final stage in Jakarta, Indonesia. Please see the IBF website at www.worldbadminton.net for more information on the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup competition. Policy: USA Badminton will select athletes with the greatest opportunity for success at the 2004 Thomas/Uber Cup. Team Size: The team size is expected to be ten - five men and five women. The precise number is subject to USAB budget capability. Funding: USAB will arrange and pay for travel expense, hotel expense, tournament expense and a daily meal stipend. Eligibility: To be eligible, a player must meet the IBF requirements for national representation. They must be a member in good standing with USAB and satisfy one or more of the following: i.) be a citizen of the United States; or ii) has received approval from the IBF for non-citizenship international representation. Selection Procedures: Players will be selected based on the Open event results at the Dave Freeman Classic to be held in San Diego, CA, on Nov. 21-23, 2003. The winner and runner-up teams in Open men’s singles and Open men’s doubles will be selected to the US Thomas Cup team. The winner and runner-up teams in Open women’s singles and Open women’s doubles will be selected to the US Uber Cup team. The USAB national coaching staff may add players, if needed, to the US Thomas/Uber Cup team based on the rank order from the Open event results. No other national or international rankings will be considered. The Dave Freeman Classic will be conducted in accordance with guidelines established by the USAB Court Officials committee.
