GEORGIA-NORTH FLORIDA WOMEN S TENNIS A LEAGUE RULES A. Players should be 18 years old to be eligible to play in the League.

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1 GEORGIA-NORTH FLORIDA WOMEN S TENNIS A LEAGUE RULES I. ELIGIBILITY: A. Players should be 18 years old to be eligible to play in the League. B. College students who play varsity team tennis are not eligible to play in the League. II. RULES: A. United States Tennis Association Rules and Code are in effect for all play unless superseded by a League Rule. III. DUES: A. The dues are $10.00 per person and include the cost of the end of year luncheon. Deadline for dues OCTOBER 31. B. Make check payable to Ga/No Florida Tennis League. Please turn in the full amount at one time for the entire team, not piecemeal. (You may send 12 checks, just send them all at the same time.) Mail to: Jane McFarlain, 2014 Golf Terrace Dr., Tallahassee FL IV. MATCH FORMAT: A. A League play consists of six doubles matches. All individual matches count one point. B. All matches should be played on the scheduled date. If all 4 players agree to play prior to the match date, this is permissible. If the scheduled date is rained out, the match played early stands. If all 4 players agree to play after the scheduled date, this is permissible. However, it must be played and scores sent to the Statistician no later than 6 P.M. on the following Monday. If the regularly scheduled match is rained out, the points in this match will also be split. C. The home team furnishes new USTA approved balls (top quality, soft or hard court). D. Captains may call each other prior to the match but should call about any potential problems. If you use to communicate, be sure to get a reply. Do not assume the other captain has received your information. E. All teams must submit a viable roster by July 31 to Jane McFarlain, 2014 Golf Terrace Drive, Tallahassee, FL or Janie@McFarlain.com. Anytime there is a permanent change in roster, the information should be given to Steffi Bixler, who will include the changes on the next published score sheet. 1

2 V. MATCH TIMES: A. Warm up starts at 9:15 AM. The home team Captain is responsible for seeing that the matches start promptly at 9:30 AM. B. Warm up time (including practice serves) is 15 minutes. If opponents are late arriving, players should warm up with team members to have full warm up time. Late players will be penalized as follows: 1-5 minutes loss of toss plus one game minutes loss of toss plus two games 10:01-15 minutes loss of toss plus three games More than 15 minutes default C. Penalties start to be assessed at 9:30 AM. Players are entitled to a five-minute warm up period after penalties are assigned. D. Courtesy dictates that the match be played, scores recorded, but no points awarded to the late team. Players may decide to waive the default penalty if opponents have a legitimate excuse or if the players agree. VI. SCORING: A. Each individual match consists of the best of three sets. All matches, once started, must be played to completion or be defaulted. (Exception: see Section X, Rule C.) B. The 7 point tie break will be used if the score in any set reaches six games all. C. During the months of August and September, the 10 point tie break will be used in lieu of a third set unless all four players agree to play a full third set. Beginning with the first match in October, a full third set will be played unless all four players agree to use the 10 point tie break. The decision to play or not play a full third set must be made at the beginning of the match. VII. RESULTS: A. The home team Captain has the responsibility of getting the score sheet ed to: Steffi Bixler at bixler@rose.net B. If the results are not received by 6 PM on the Monday following the match, the home team s points are forfeited and the visiting team keeps the points it won no exceptions. C. When the visiting team Captain gets her result sheet, she now has five days to send in her score sheet to get credit for points won. 2

3 VIII. SUBSTITUTIONS: A. An official Sub List will be maintained on our web site: gafl-tennis.com B. Subs will be given a designated position. They may play higher but not lower. If a new sub needs to be added to the Sub List, she must obtain a position placement from the Sub Committee before being allowed to play. In case of an emergency, an unlisted sub may be used but an official form must be submitted with a postmark no later than the match date the sub was used to Janie McFarlain. Her address is on the official form. C. An official Sub Form may be downloaded from the official web site. D. Substitutes must be placed where they belong in the lineup according to their strength so that the entire team is in descending order of strength. Any other procedure is called sandbagging and is illegal. E. Players may not move down. Players may move up an unlimited number of positions, still attempting to maintain descending order of strength. All B League players are eligible to sub, but should be placed on the official list. F. Regular A6 League team players will be allowed to sub at the B1 position with a B1 player or B1 sub as a partner. Two regular A6 League team players will not be allowed to play together at the B1 position. IX. DEFAULTS: A. Defaults are permitted at any position. B. If a minimum of three individual matches are not played, the offending team will be on probation for the rest of the season. If the offending team repeats the offense during the probation period, the team will not be allowed to participate in the League for the remainder of the year. Captains should not cancel the entire match if three teams are not available; even one or two is better than none and shows good faith. C. After a default is given, the match may be rained out. In this case the default is disregarded. X. RAINED OUT MATCHES: A. In case of rain or threatening weather, the home team Captain has the responsibility of calling the other team Captain before 7:30 AM to call off the match. If the home team Captain cannot guarantee 100% that the courts will be playable at 9:15 AM, she must give the visiting team Captain the option of splitting the points. If no call is made, the visiting team Captain will assume the weather is good and the courts are playable. Violation of this rule will result in 3 points awarded to the visiting team and 0 points awarded to the 3

4 home team. It is better to call off the match if there is threatening weather than to have a wasted day. B. In the case of some courts being available and some not (where there are mixed surfaces available), if an even number of positions will not be able to play, each Captain will get to choose a team to receive the 1/2 point. If it is an uneven number the home Captain shall get the odd choice. C. A match that is halted by rain will be resumed on a date that both Captains agree upon and within the next 10 days, excluding weekends and holidays. The match is resumed with the same scores and same players as when the match was stopped. If no time can be agreed upon, the points may be split. Individual matches may be handled separately. As a last resort, if no date can be agreed upon, the team leading the match must offer three dates (daylight hours), one of which must be accepted or the match is defaulted. If teams are tied, the home team will offer the dates. The Captains may also agree before the match is started and there is a possibility of the match being interrupted by rain, to split all points if the match is interrupted prior to completion. XI TEMPERATURE PROVISION A. Using weather.com as our guide, if at 6 PM on Wednesday the temperature in Tallahassee or Thomasville is predicted at 9 AM. on Thursday to be 35 degrees or below, in actuality or by including the wind chill factor, all matches will be cancelled and no points awarded. C. The decision to cancel will be communicated by no later than 7 PM on Wednesday XII. PLAYOFF RULES A. The team that wins the Fall season with the most points and the team that wins the Spring season with the most points will have a playoff match to determine the League Championship. B. In case of a tie at the end of the Fall or Spring season, the results of the head to head match will decide the winner. If teams are still tied, the team with the fewest sets lost in the head to head match will be the winner. If the teams are still tied, the team with the most games won will be the winner. If the head to head match was not played, the match will be rescheduled. C. A team lineup must be submitted to the Grievance Committee, c/o Janie McFarlain, 5 days prior to the playoff date. This rule must be adhered to or the team will forfeit any grievance rights. D. Substitutes must have played in at least two regular matches for any team during the current year to be used in a playoff or subs must be pulled from B League regular players. In order to cut down on the use of substitutes, individual teams who know that they cannot play on the scheduled date will be permitted to arrange with their opponents to play on 4

5 another day, prior to the playoff match. If the opposing team cannot accommodate the other team, a sub will be permitted. E. In case of a tie in the league playoffs, the team with the fewest sets lost will be the winner. If the teams are still tied, the team with the most games won will be the winner. The playoff will be played at the Club or site that hosts the luncheon, or at a mutually agreeable site. XIII. INJURY A. In case of injury, a five minute suspension of play is allowed. XIV. COACHING A; No coaching is allowed during the match, except between the second and third sets when a ten minute rest period may be taken. XV. GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE: A. Special forms are available if an infraction occurs that needs to be brought before the Grievance Committee. B. Minor infractions should be brought to the attention of the appropriate Grievance Representative. Bainbridge Joy Smith, , edjoysmith@windstream.net Capital City Janie McFarlain, , Janie@mcfarlain.com Golden Eagle Kathy Maus, , kmaus@butler.legal Killearn Elaine Daughtry, , tallylassie1995@aol.com Tally Babs Susan Morton, , semorton@earthlink.net Thomasville & Glen Arven Steffi Bixler, , bixler@rose.net Ace Kickers, Simply Smashing & Sweet Spots Mary Alice Linzy, , linzym@centurylink.net C. Players should consult with their Grievance Representative before filing a grievance. She will be ineligible to vote if she actually plays on the team considering filing a grievance, but may give guidance on whether it is a worthwhile grievance. D. Responses to grievances must be received within a reasonable time; otherwise, the grievance will be honored. 5

6 E. Captains should take into consideration the win/loss record of the teams being moved when deciding descending order of strength. This fact will be considered by the Grievance Committee in the event a grievance is filed. F. Blatant wrongdoing by any Captain may result in a total loss of points for that match. XVI PERSONAL INFORMATION: A. addresses that are available through the Georgia/North Florida Tennis League are to be used only for League or tennis related business. No League member may use another League member s address for business or other purposes without the express permission of that addressee. XVII. HOSPITALITY: A. Clubs that have dining facilities welcome visitors to stay for lunch. B. The year end luncheon will rotate among the teams. 6