RULES FOR SENIOR LEAGUES 2005
The League Competitions are open to all Clubs affiliated to Tayside Tennis
Players eligible to represent a club in the League Competition must be a fully paid up member of such club as defined in their rules. Players may only play for one club in a season in one competition. However, players may play for different clubs in different competitions, provided that they are fully paid up members of these clubs.
The Clubs to compete in each division shall be determined annually by Tayside Tennis, under predetermined conditions. They shall at the same time decide on all the other details of the competition.
For the purposes of the League Competitions, the clubs entering will be separated into divisions of six teams. In the event of the number of entrant clubs not being divisible by six then the size of the lowest league/s will be adjusted accordingly. On the completion of that year’s competition the top two teams in the division will be promoted and the bottom two teams will be relegated.
As far as is applicable, all matches will be played under the ‘Rules of the Lawn Tennis Association’ and the ‘Regulations for the Management of the Lawn Tennis Tournaments’ as adopted by Tennis Scotland. The Scottish Cup Rules are as laid down in the Tennis Scotland Handbook.
Teams:
Each competing team will have a nominated captain who will be responsible for enforcing the regulations of play during the match. Any disputes arising will be settled by the team captains within the rules of the competition.
Each competing team will usually consist of six players who shall be arranged into pairs by their respective captain. The exception to this will be when playing at a two court club when each team will consist of four players.
Clubs must play their best three available couples in their first team, their next best three couples in their second team, etcetera. If teams do not comply it may result in the offending team losing the sets affected by the non-compliance.
When the two court clubs are playing at home they should still fill in the names of the third couple who would have been playing had there been a third court
Complaints regarding the composition of teams must be made in writing to the League Secretary within 72 hours of the event.
Each pair shall play two sets against each pair of the opposing team, according to the draw. Each set will be a tie-breaking set with the tie-break operating if the score reaches six all.
A fixed sequence of play will operate with the draw at the beginning merely deciding in which order the sequence will be played. The sequence is as follows:
3 Court Club 2 Court Club:
Rounds A B C Rounds A B
Court 1 1v1 2v2 3v3 Court 1 1v1 2v1
Court 2 2v3 3v1 1v2 Court 2 2v2 1v2
Court 3 3v2 1v3 2v1
Timings:
Before the draw the travelling captain may request a finishing time for the match and it must be granted. The following rules apply:
The match must be played for a minimum of three hours and/or two rounds must be completed.
If two rounds have not been completed at the end of 3 hours and, if both captains agree, then play may continue until two rounds have been completed.
If they do not agree then a date for the continuation of the match must be agreed on as per the rules above.
Matches must start at 18.15pm. Any couples not on court and ready to play (with or without a knock up) by 18.30 will forfeit the first round. Similarly any couple not available and ready for play within ten minutes of the completion of round one will forfeit their remaining sets.
Where a team has to travel more than fifteen miles the away captain has the right to request a start time of 18.45pm. This request must be made 48 hours prior to the match and must be granted.
Points & Results:
In League matches a ½ point is awarded for a winning set. At the conclusion of a match the team with the highest number of points is the winning team. If the sets are equal the match is a draw. Teams gain two points for winning and one point for a draw.
The League positions will be determined primarily by points.
Where two or more teams are level on points then the percentage of total sets won over total sets played will determine which team comes top.
If this is still equal then percentage of games won over games played will count. If this still results in two teams being equal then the matches between the tied teams will become the decider - firstly by points, then sets and finally games.
In the event of any club failing to fulfil their obligation to play a match on the given date or one mutually arranged or ordered by the League Secretary and no reasonable explanation is forthcoming then the club shall be judged to have forfeited the match and the points.
As a penalty the forfeiting club will have a point deducted from the total for each match not played.
In the case of conceded matches both teams must still process the score sheet in the usual manner. Teams receiving a concession will be credited with the 2 points for winning and with their average sets and games scores which will be calculated at the end of the League.
The match score sheet detailing the n ames of all the players and their scores shall be signed by both captains and forwarded by the winnign team to the League Secretary within 72 hours of the match being completed. Winnig teams who fail to comply with this shall not have the points added to their total. Missing score sheets will not be chased.
Match Nights& Continuations:
Ladies matches shall normally be played on a Monday evening. If postponed or uncompleted through adverse weather or court conditions matches shall be played or continued on the Wednesday of that week, providing either team are not already scheduled for a match on that date.
Men’s matches will be played on a Thursday evening. If postponed or uncompleted through adverse weather or court conditions shall be played or continued on the following Tuesday.
Henderson Vase matches are played on Monday evenings and if postponed or uncompleted shall continue on the Tuesday evening following.
In all cases if, on continuation, the match is still not completed the captains should agree mutually on a date and this must be communicated to the League Secretary immediately. If however the captains cannot agree the League Secretary shall fix the date for the match to be completed.
Unfavourable weather and/or unplayable court conditions are deemed as satisfactory reasons for not playing. In case of any doubt the secretary of the home team should contact their opponents as soon as is practicable with details of the conditions and likelihood of play.
As an alternative to rearranging, provided that at least two rounds have been completed and that both the captains agree, the match result can be determined by completed sets. If no agreement is reached a continuation should be arranged.
No change may be made to the composition of teams after start of play. Where a match is unfinished and has to be continued on another day agreed substitutes may replace unavailable players.
The match will resume at the point of interruption. .
Any club intending to scratch shall give intimation in writing of their intention to both the match secretary of the opposing club and the League Secretary before the time agreed upon for playing. Failure to do so will result in the offending club being reported to the management committee who shall have the power to take action as they may deem appropriate.
Responsibility for the provision of nets, balls etc., rests with the host club. The exception shall be if the match is played at a third party club when it shall be the responsibility of the club on whose ground the match should have been played.
Any team withdrawing from any League or conceding more than two matches may be relegated down two divisions for the following season
The management committee shall have the power to alter or add to the above rules as they may deem expedient. All questions of eligibility, qualifications or interpretation of the rules shall be referred to the Management Committee whose decision will be final.