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| Caversham Park Tennis Club |
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| www.tennisontheline.org/cptc |
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BERKSHIRE LAWN TENNIS ASSOCIATION SUMMER LEAGUE RULES |
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Management
1. The Competition is open to clubs affiliated to the Berkshire LTA and clubs affiliated to neighbouring counties who had been accepted into the Berkshire Leagues before the 1974 boundary changes took place. Each club may enter up to six teams in each of the men’s, ladies and mixed competitions, provided that they have or can hire sufficient courts to play all home matches on the same day (See Rule 20). A club may enter additional teams but only with the prior agreement of the League Secretary. Additional teams cannot be guaranteed acceptance until all the entries have been received. 2. The Competition shall be managed by a Sub-Committee (referred to in these regulations as the committee), approved by the Berkshire LTA, consisting of a League Organiser, plus two members of the Leagues Committee of the above Association. All questions of eligibility, qualification of players and clubs and interpretation of the rules shall be referred to the Sub-Committee, whose decision shall be final. Should any of the clubs concerned in any dispute have a member(s) on the Leagues Committee, the said member(s) shall not be eligible to sit on the Committee while such dispute is being considered. Qualification and Eligibility of Players 3. A player shall be qualified to represent a Club if he/she is a bona fide member of said club. No player may represent more than one club in the same competition i.e. either men’s, ladies or mixed in the same season. 4. Clubs entering more than one team in any competition must nominate two players for all teams except the lowest. Mixed team nominations must be for one man and one woman. Nominated players may play in higher teams but must not play in lower teams. Where a player plays for a team higher than the one they were originally nominated for this counts towards the minimum number to matches they are required to play. Nominations are to be included at the time of entry but may be changed at any time later in the season by informing the League Secretary. The minimum number of appearances for a nominated player in the standard men’s, ladies and mixed divisions will be three. Where the nomination rules are clearly breached, the penalty shall be the loss of all rubbers, sets and games in which the offending player is involved. Should nominated players not play in the required number of matches their team shall have one rubber from their final match total deducted for each match missed. The total number of matches in which any player shall represent a club in any competition shall be equal to the maximum to be played by any team for which he/she is eligible plus one. Composition of Teams & Divisions 5. Each competing team in the men’s ladies and mixed competitions shall be represented by a team of two pairs and each pair shall play one rubber against each pair of the opposing team. Play shall take place in the following order. The away pairs will play both their rubbers on the same court. Round 1: Home pair 1 v Away pair 1 and Home pair 2 v Away pair 2 Round 2: Home pair 2 v Away pair 1 and Home pair 1 v Away pair 2 6. A club shall not be bound to play the same team throughout any competition, but no change shall be made in the composition of any of the teams engaged in any match after the start of play. If a match be unfinished, or postponed before any play shall have taken place, the composition may be changed. 7. Teams will be divided into divisions of six. In the transit divisions (division 2 in all competitions), two teams will be promoted to division 1 and two relegated, one each to divisions 3A & 3B. One team will be promoted from division 3A and one from division 3B to division 2. In all other divisions promotion and relegation will, as far as practicable, be on the basis of two up and two down. Promoted teams going from one A or B division to another and relegated teams going from A to B and from B to A. Balls 8. Eight new balls of a make authorised by the LTA shall be used for each match. The balls will be provided by the club whose home fixture it is. Method of ascertaining results 9. In all competitions each match will consist of four rubbers. Each rubber shall consist initially of two full sets with tie-breaks at six games all. If after two sets in a rubber the score is level at 1 set all then a further full set shall be played with a tie break at six games all. 10. Should any player be absent 20 minutes after the scheduled or otherwise agreed starting time, the first set must be conceded. A further 10 minutes absence will result in the second set and therefore the first round being conceded. This rule will also apply to the second round. 11. The match result will be decided firstly on rubbers won. If these are equal, then the most sets won, and if sets are also equal, then the most games won will determine the result. Three points will be gained for a clear win of either 4/0 or 3/1 in rubbers, two points for a narrow win where rubbers are equal and one point for narrow loss. In the rare event of a tie where ALL SCORES are equal, a tie-break shoot out should be played to determine the winner. The tie-break shall be won by the first pair to reach 10 points with a two point difference. Any two of the four team members can contest this shoot out. This tie-break will count as one set and one game only and should be clearly shown on the match card. 12. If a club concedes a walkover to another club, the score will be 4/0 in rubbers, 8/0 in sets and 48/0 in games to the opponents. Any club needing to postpone a match other than for adverse weather, should give seven days notice for the convenience of opponents. In such a case opponents should make every effort to find a new agreed date. If no more than 24-72 hours notice is given, then opponents are entitled to claim a walkover. Should any team concede two or more matches during the period of the scheduled rounds, they will be relegated at the end of the season, regardless of the number of points gained. 13. Final league positions will be decided by the most points, then matches, then rubbers, then sets and then games won. Any team that wins all its matches but finishes lower than a team that wins fewer matches but has more points it will receive a bonus of 1 point per match won by a narrow margin. If all points, matches, rubbers, sets and games won are equal then the fewest sets or games lost will be the deciding factor. 14. Matches should be played on or before designated weekends. If this is not possible due to adverse weather or for other reasons (but not due to unavailability of ‘higher team ‘players), home captains must offer a choice of new dates. Where matches are delayed by more than three weeks, the League Secretary should be informed. If clubs with multiple teams cannot field all their teams on the scheduled day, they must fulfil all their higher fixtures and postpone or, if necessary, concede the matches of the lowest team or teams. 15. Should any match be started and abandoned before the first round has been completed, it must be replayed from the start on another day. If adverse conditions force curtailment at a later stage, the result will be taken from all completed rubbers, sets and games. 16. Both home and away captains should sign the match cards and both should post their completed card to the League Secretary within 48 hours of the completion of the match. 17. As soon as possible after all matches are completed and all results sent in, the League Secretary will compile final league tables, and send one copy of relevant results to each club, plus a full set of results to the BLTA Press Secretary and the County Handbook Editors. The winners of each division will receive a Berkshire LTA Certificate. 18. If it is desired to play any league match indoors, the prior agreement of the visitors should be obtained. Clubs are under no obligation to play all or part of matches on indoor courts. 19. All matches must be completed by the start of the winter league season. If any re-arranged match clashes with the National Clubs League, the latter will take precedence. Time of Play 20. Unless mutually agreed otherwise by the clubs concerned the time of commencement of play shall be 1.30pm. If a club has more than one team playing a home fixture on the same day and there are not enough courts to play both con currently then the lower division match shall commence at 10.30am. Appeals 21. Any dispute arising between clubs in a competition shall be referred to the sole arbitration of the Committee, and its decision shall be final and binding on all clubs involved in the dispute. |
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