BARKSTON ASH LAWN TENNIS LEAGUE
RULES (Updated 2006)
| 1. | The League | ||
| a. | The League shall be called the “Barkston Ash Lawn Tennis League”. | ||
| b. | The League shall be administered by the Elected Officers - namely, Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer. The Elected Officers will be appointed by vote each AGM for one year. They will be eligible, amongst other nominations from Club members, to stand for election in a subsequent year. | ||
| c. | The Members of the League shall be the Clubs participating in the League’s championship. Each Club will nominate a representative to attend and vote at the AGM. There shall be one vote per Club and per Officer. In the event of a tied vote the Chairperson has the casting vote. Each Club will nominate a contact(s) who will be responsible to maintain communication between the League Secretary and his Club, and between his Club and other Clubs for match arrangements. | ||
| d. | Clubs may become Associate Members if they do not wish to participate in the main League events. They shall not have the right to vote but may enter the Knockout Competition. | ||
| e. | The purpose of the League is to promote and administer competitive inter-club matches between tennis clubs in the district. | ||
| 2. | The Competitions | ||
| a. | The League shall take the form of a Championship in each of three Divisions based on home and away mixed doubles matches in teams of three mixed couples. Two teams will be promoted and relegated in each Division as relevant. The number of Divisions and the number of promotions and relegations may need to be adjusted for any year in the light of the number of Club teams entering the Championship. Such adjustments can be made only after discussion between members and by agreement at the AGM. | ||
| b. | A Ladies’ and a Men’s Division will also be run on the same lines as the Mixed Divisions or as decided at each AGM. | ||
| c. | A Knock Out Competition and Individual Tournaments for Ladies’, Men’s and Mixed Doubles and Mixed Over 55’s Doubles will be held under the rules laid out below or as decided at each AGM. | ||
| d. | Junior Division Competitions will be run on the lines laid out in the Junior Rules or as decided at each AGM. | ||
| e. | Trophies will be presented to winners of the competitions and in some cases to the runners-up. Among the trophies are cups presented to the League by the late W. Riley-Smith (Division One and League Champions), Mr and Mrs J.Pasquill (Division Two), Sherburn Tennis Club unfortunately mislaid but replaced by the League (Third Division). A cup presented by Mr and Mrs T.Owen is presented to the Fourth Division winners as and when that operates. All these are held by the Clubs concerned for one year and returned in time for presentation to the new winners. Team member’s trophies are retained by the members. In the event of the League’s dissolution the cups shall be returned to the Secretary who will return them to the donors. | ||
| 3. | Subscriptions and Entry Fees | ||
| a. | Subscriptions shall be £8.00 annually per team entered by the Clubs. Subscriptions for Associate Members shall be £2.00 annually per club. | ||
| b. | Entry Fees for the Knock Out competition shall be £3.00 per team. | ||
| c. | Entry Fees for Individual Tournaments shall be £2.00 per player of which £1.00 will be paid to the League and £1.00 to the host club to defray expenses of holding the tournament. | ||
| 4. | Championship, Ladies and Mens Divisions Rules | ||
| Fixtures | |||
| a. | Clubs will inform the Secretary at the AGM (or if absent from the AGM, within 2 days) of their entries and preferred match days. | ||
| b. | The Secretary will provide a provisional fixture list to each Club. | ||
| c. | Clubs will then arrange necessary changes and notify these to the Secretary who will produce the final fixture list. In principle the object is to complete this by April 15th each season. | ||
| d. | No change may be made to the final fixture list without reference to the Secretary, who must be informed immediately which of the teams requires to change and who, in the event of a match not finally being played, will awards points as if that team had scratched to the opposing team. | ||
| e. | Should both teams agree to a re-arranged fixture, then the Secretary must be informed of the circumstances and the new date immediately so that it is always clear and agreed by both Clubs and the Secretary prior to the match which team is in default if the match does not take place, and which team will be deemed to have scratched. | ||
| f. | A fixture shall be valid unless play is impossible due to bad weather. In such a case the home team must inform their opponents at least one hour before the start time. The visiting team must attend unless so notified. | ||
| Eligibility and Nomination of players | |||
| g. | It is within the spirit of the league that member clubs ensure that all team players are members of the club they represent. A player may not play for more than one member club in any of the mixed competitions in any one match season. A player may represent another member club in a non mixed competition or cup competition, only if their own club has not entered a team in to that non-mixed competition. | ||
| h. | Clubs entering more than one team must nominate two couples before the season starts for each team other than the lowest team. The nominated couples or as individuals with another partner, may play only in their nominated or a higher team. | ||
| i. | The penalty for playing an ineligible or nominated player incorrectly will be that any games in which he/she has played will be awarded to the opposing team. | ||
| Form of Competition | |||
| j. | Each team in the Championship will consist of three mixed couples, and in the Men’s and Ladies’ Divisions, three appropriate couples. | ||
| k. | All matches shall consist of nine rubbers of twelve games each - 108 in total, and the match shall be decided on games won. | ||
| l. | In all matches four points shall be awarded for a win and two points for a tie. | ||
| m. | League tables shall be kept by the Secretary. Points and games won and lost will be recorded and in the event of a tie for first place in each Division, the result will be decided on total games won. In the event of a tie on both counts, a Championship will be decided on a match held on a neutral ground with the same scoring format. | ||
| n. | Should a match have to be abandoned for inclement weather or light when 55 games or more have been won by a team, this team will be awarded four points. Should it be abandoned when one team has won 54 games, the two teams must decide at that time whether to call the match a draw for two points each or to re-arrange a replay of the whole match. The Secretary must be informed of their decision immediately. | ||
| o. | Should a match have to be abandoned before a result is clear, the Clubs will arrange a new date for a replay of the whole match and inform the Secretary immediately. | ||
| p. | Should a team in any match scratch to the opposing team, the latter shall receive four points and be awarded games according to their current win average. | ||
| q. | The decision to abandon a match shall rest with the two team captains of the day. The home team captain’s decision will be final. | ||
| r. | Clubs with two or more teams in the same Division must have completed all fixtures between them by end June or such matches will be deemed void and no points awarded to either team. | ||
| s. | All matches must be played by 15 September each season, and if no explanation has been received by the Secretary to enable him to judge an award of points, any such matches will be deemed void and no points awarded to either team. | ||
| t. | The home team shall provide new balls for each match. | ||
| Match times and Attendance | |||
| u. | Matches will start at 6.30 pm for evening matches and 3.00pm for afternoon matches. Alternative times may be arranged by Clubs but the time agreed will be the start time. Provision shall be made by the home team to enable both teams to knock-up for 15 minutes prior to the start time. The start time will be the point at which attendance will be judged, whether or not knock-up time has over-run. | ||
| v. | Should a couple not be present to go on court within 15 minutes of the start time, the opposing team may choose whether to claim the 12 games which would have been played and count them towards the match result. The only exception to this rule is that in the case of two court Clubs, the third couple may arrive more than 15 minutes after the start time but must be ready to go on court for the start of the second rubber, otherwise they will be deemed to be over the late limit as above. | ||
| 5. | Knock-Out Competition Rules | ||
| a. | All entries from League and Associate Members shall be submitted to and accepted at the AGM. | ||
| b. | Each team will comprise of three ladies and three men. | ||
| c. | A player having played for one team in the season’s competition, may not play for another. To be eligible for the Semi-final you must have played one League or Cup match, for the Final a player must have played in at least two League or Cup matches. | ||
| d. | The initial draw and round completion date will be circulated after the AGM, and subsequent draws and completion dates after the completion date of each round. Any team failing to complete a round will be disqualified other than if the Secretary has been kept fully informed of mitigating circumstances. | ||
| e. | The first named team after the draw is the home team and the contact must offer the opponents within seven days of the published draw, three practical dates, and inform the Secretary of the agreed date. The contact must inform the Secretary of the result of each match within 48 hours of the match to enable the next round draw to be made. | ||
| f. | Approximately three weeks will be allowed for the completion of each round and the Secretary shall be informed by the completion date. Failure to report results by date that will mean that the League Officers will decide an outcome. | ||
| g. | Each Team shall supply half the new balls required for the match. Failure to do so will result in them compensating their opponents for the cost of their share. | ||
| h. | The Final shall be played on a neutral ground. | ||
| i. | A cup will be presented to the winners and a trophy to the runners-up provided the number of entries is sufficiently high. | ||
| j. | The order of play in all rounds will be as follows (each team member having been allocated a number from 1 to 3): | ||
| Mixed 1 v 1 2 v 2 3 v 3 | |||
| Mens 1+2 v 2+3 2+3 v 1+2 1+3 v 1+3 | |||
| Ladies 1+2 v 2+3 2+3 v 1+2 1+3 v 1+3 | |||
| k. | Each rubber shall consist of one conventional set but with a tie break should the score become six all. | ||
| l. | Should a match require to be abandoned for weather or light before a result is known (or before even having been started), the captains of the day shall arrange a new date to play a whole match, other than if the score shall have reached 3 all, the captains will arrange a new date to complete the match from the point reached. | ||
| 6. | Individual Knock-Out Tournament Rules | ||
| a. | Dates, venues and start times for each of the four Individual Tournaments will be decided at the AGM. Host Clubs will appoint a member to deal with the organisation of the tournament. | ||
| b. | All entries shall be received by the organiser at each host Club by mid-day on the day preceding the tournament. | ||
| c. | Only players from Club and Associate Members are eligible to enter. | ||
| d. | Tournaments will be on a round robin basis with the winners of groups (or winner and runner up if only one group) playing a final. Consisting of either one long set or two short sets and one long set. If there is a large entry, then the format will be knock-out based - nine games in the rounds with the final of one long set or two short sets and one long set. | ||
| e. | Should weather prevent play, a new date shall be arranged by the organiser and the Secretary and Clubs notified. If play has reached semi-final stage and the semi-finalists are known, then the organiser shall arrange a new date for the semi-finalists to complete the tournament under the same rules. | ||
| f. | Dependent on the number of entries trophies will be awarded to the winners or winners and runners-up. | ||
| g. | The finalists of the previous season, should they both enter for the new season will be seeded into each half of the draw. | ||