BUX-MONT WOMEN S INTER-CLUB TENNIS LEAGUE 2018-19 Rules for players and captains PURPOSE: To provide fun, good competition and social tennis for all participants. Club Responsibilities including each clubs babysitting requirements is under the League Info tab on Tenniscores.com (Search Buxmont on that site) Section A: Captain Responsibility 1. Should a captain be unclear as to the interpretation of a rule, she should contact her Club Representative for clarification. CALL ONLY YOUR CLUB REPRESENTATIVE. 2. At the start of the season, the team captain must enter a team roster on tenniscores.com no later than 7 days before the first match. Known subs will be added at the time of roster submission, unless they are rostered on a lower level team. ROSTER means the players as numbered in order of strength on Tenniscores. 3. Captains must email additional substitute names to the league director once the season begins prior to the scores being entered on tenniscores.com and preferably prior to the match, so all substitute names can be on the printed score sheet. 4. When there is a default, the captain must notify the opposing captain and club of the default as early as possible. 5. If a team defaults a court, no matter how far in advance, the defaulting team must pay the entire court fee ($60) right to the home club at the time of match payment. If a default is last minute (not known prior to arrival) and cannot be paid at time of match, home club may bill for the default through the league treasurer. Once a default is called in to club or captain, it will stand as a default, unless there is a weather postponement (last minute snow cancellation). 6. Captains will collect the player fees ($15 per player) and give it to the desk BEFORE THE MATCH. Please see on tenniscores Payment forms accepted by club under League Info tab. 7. Each captain MUST present and exchange a tenniscores.com scorecard before each match either with each other and/or the desk BEFORE GOING ON THE COURT. The weekly scorecard is the LINEUP and is based on the current ROSTER as shown on Tenniscores. The LINEUP may differ from the ROSTER due to subs. 8. Both captains MUST sign both score sheets and keep the results on file for the season. Either captain may enter the scores on tenniscores.com. The scores must be entered within 24 hours of match completion. Captains have 48 hours from match completion to confirm or dispute the information on tenniscores.com. If the scores are not confirmed or disputed within the 48 hour limit, they will become part of the record. Disputes should be sent via email to the director with a copy to your club representative and the opposing captain. 9. If a penalty is taken, captain MUST email the director with team name, court for penalty and reason for penalty.
Section B: Format of Play 1. Warm up will be 10 minutes, including 2 minutes for serves, after which the club desk will give the signal for the match to begin. (Please remember this is warming up yourself and opponent, not practicing put-aways.) 2. ALL MATCHES MUST START AT 0-0. (Even if there is a late penalty you always start at 0-0) 3. At 1 hour and 15 min of play the club desk must give the signal to end the match. Only completed games count. When the signal to stop play is given, the match is finished, even if the ball is in the air. A five minute period immediately following the match will be used to play a sudden death 9-point tiebreak. Procedure for this tiebreak is as follows: *** NOTE! THIS IS NOT A USTA TIEBREAK!*** Normal service rotation continues. However, if the last game of regular play is interrupted before completion, the player that is serving that game begins the tiebreak. Player #1 on team A serves 2 points, 1 from the right, and 1 from the left Player #1 on team B serves 2 points, 1 from the right, and 1 from the left Player #2 on team A serves 2 points, 1 from the right, and 1 from the left Player #2 on team B serves 3 points, 1 from the right, and 1 from the left AND 1 FROM THE SIDE CHOSEN BY TEAM A If the SCORE IS TIED 4-4, player #2 on team B serves 1 from the side CHOSEN BY TEAM A. THE FIRST TEAM TO WIN 5 POINTS WINS THE TIEBREAK. 4. When a team wins 6 games, the set ends, and players switch ends. 5. Players must record their scores when pairs change ends of the court. When the match is completed, one player from each pair must initial the paper. All players must agree on the score BEFORE THEY LEAVE THE COURT. ALL SCORES REPORTED TO THE DESK ARE FINAL. The only exception to this rule will be if all 4 players, AND ONLY THOSE PLAYERS, from a given court agree there has been an error in scoring and request that it be corrected on the scorecard. 6. The winning team on each court is determined by the most games won in the official time period. (TIE BREAK counts as 1 game) 7. The team with the most court points wins the overall match. If the match is tied 3-3, the club with the higher game total is the winner. 8. For any rule not specifically addressed in these rules, the standard ITF tennis rules and The Code as expressed in friend at court are applicable. The Code is available on Tenniscores under League Info.
Section C: Format of teams 1. Players must be at least 19 years of age at the time of the first match. 2. Each A and B club team shall consist of 6 rostered doubles teams. Each C League team shall consist of 3 rostered doubles teams. 3. Rostered players Shall play at least 50% of matches throughout the season 4. When a player will be unavailable for a period of time due to injury or other reason, she should be removed from the roster as soon as possible and replaced with a new rostered player. Both the removed player s matches & her rostered replacement s matches will be combined to count towards the 50 % rule. Example: for weeks 1 10, player A played 7 matches, then for weeks 11 25, player B was rostered in that spot and played 7 matches, the total 14 matches will be counted as meeting the 50%. 5. When an injured player is returned to the roster, she must return to her previously rostered position unless approved by the Director 6. Players may only be rostered on ONE TEAM. Section D: Rosters ( defined as the order of strength numbered player list on Tenniscores.com) 1. New teams entering the League must submit a complete roster to the League Director by June 30. 2. Captains/Co-Captains names, telephone numbers and email addresses MUST be on file with the League Director one MONTH PRIOR to the start of the season. 3. All rostered players and substitutes must be entered in to the tenniscores website with the same name they use on USTA s tennislink system, so their NTRP rating can be identified. 4. Rostered players must be fielded in order of strength. Order of Strength is determined by a combination of Buxmont results and USTA ratings. 5. Year end USTA rating change for a rostered player will not affect her placement on the roster. Year end USTA ratings changes for SUBSTITUTES will be used for placement of substitutes. * Year End Ratings will take effect December 31st. Early start ratings have NO impact on Buxmont 6. If BOTH rostered team players are present, they must play in their rostered position or may be moved up in the roster, but cannot play in a lower position together. Rostered players may move up any number of positions in a given match as needed by the team to prevent defaulting a higher court. ****EXCEPTION to above rule: If a sub is needed and does not fit the appropriate usta rating for the line needing the sub, rostered players can be split up and one of the rostered players can move down (one spot only) or up as many spots as needed to keep order of strength of a team. ALL EXCEPTIONS will have to be approved by Carla B League or Patti A/C Leagues at least 24 hrs before the start of the match. If match is played and approval was not given, the team asking for the exception will be given a default and will be scored as outlined in F5.
7. At any time during the season after 6 matches, if a rostered team in the spot below another team has a winning record greater than 70% better than the team above them, the team in the lower position must be moved to the higher position and the team in the higher position must be moved to the lower position. Example: team on court 2 has a record of 1-6 (14.2%) and the team on court 3 is 6-1 (85.7%) These teams must switch positions. The above percentage determined only for matches that Rostered players have played together) 8. Captains are allowed to make 4 roster changes during the full season. Each roster change can involve as many players as necessary. Additional requests for roster changes, beyond the 4 permitted, could cause a team to become ineligible for 1st or 2nd place in their division, regardless of their statistical standing. ALL Roster changes must be sent to director no later than 48 hours prior to the next match you would like the change to take place. NO EXCEPTIONS. ***Roster changes cannot be made for makeups at end of the season. 9. If a previously rostered player plays as a substitute after she is removed from the roster, she may play in a 4 court range, as long as her USTA rating allows it. 10. Legal Positions for both rostered players and substitutes shown below. Exceptions to this chart can only be made with pre-approval from the director 48 hours in advance and decision will be based on match results in league. Position Min USTA rating Max USTA rating Position Minimum Maximum A1 4.0 5.5 A2-A3 4.0 4.5 A-4 3.5 4.5 A5-A6 3.5 4.0 B1-B2 3.5 4.0 B3-B6 3.0 3.5 C1-C3 2.5 3.0 Section E: Substitutes -Please read ALL sub rules including D5 and D10 above as many relate to each other 1. A substitute is a player who plays in place of an absent rostered player. 2. Rostered players may not substitute on other SAME LEAGUE teams at their home club.
3. Substitutes may play in a 4 court range in any given league. Changes to a substitute s range can be made with approval from the director. Approval will be based on the following criteria: If after 5 matches, a substitute has greater than a 60% win rate at her given 4 court range, she can move up 1 spot and the new 4 court range will be established. If a substitute has lower than a 40% win rate at her given 4 court range, she can move down 1 spot to a newly established 4 court range. Changes must be requested 48 hours before match time. 4. Rostered C league players and C substitutes may sub in the B league in courts 4-6. 5. Only rostered B players and B substitutes WHO PLAY IN COURTS 1-3 may substitute in courts 4-6 in the A league. B rostered players and substitutes who play in court 4-6 may NOT substitute in the A league. 6. UNROSTERED players who substitute for the A league and play on courts 1, 2 or 3 may not substitute in the B league. UNROSTERED players who substitute for the A league and play courts 4, 5 and 6 may substitute for the B league only on courts 1, 2 and 3 if their USTA rating allows. 7. When combining two rostered players whose partners are not present, the lower level player must move up to a higher position. Example: If half of courts 1 and 2 are to be combined, the player from court 2 would be moved up to court 1. If a player from court 3 plays with a player from court 5, the players would play in court 3 or 4. The higher player may move down ONLY one position. 8. A rostered player without her partner may be moved down one position * as long as order of strength is maintained and USTA rating allowed per D10. 9. Substitutes may play for one club only. However, as of the first match in January, a rostered player or substitute may change clubs and play for a different club for the second half of the season. If a club does not have a team at the higher level of play, a rostered player at that club may substitute in the higher level league for another club. They can substitute for only one club at the higher level. Section F: Scoring Penalties, Retirement and Default Scoring Please see Entering Scores Tips under League Info tab before entering scores online. 1. If a court is defaulted, that court will not be played and players on that court from the opposing team may be used as substitutes in higher courts if the team chooses. Courts are no longer required to move up. 2. If either player of a doubles team is late for the start of the official match, the players on the effected court are responsible for comparing time on watches. The following penalty schedule shall apply: (Definition of official match = when the signal is given by the desk to start the match After warm up) Penalty games are to be deducted at the end of the OFFICIAL MATCH (after the whistle blows and any tiebreak completed). Players on the court should agree on time and note time of late player arrival on score slip. 0 5 minutes = loss of 2 games 5:01 10 minutes = loss of 4 games 10:01 15 minutes = loss of 6 games
15:01 20 minutes = loss of 8 games 20:01 = DEFAULT OF MATCH The pair receiving the defaulted match will be awarded the win (1 point) and the average number of games that their other doubles teams scored in the match. (Any percentage of.5 or greater becomes another game.) The court defaulting receives the loss and no games. 3. If a player leaves the court during the match for any reason the following penalty schedule applies: 0 5 minutes off court = loss of 2 games 5:01 10 minutes off court = loss of 5 10:01 or more = DEFAULT of match PLUS loss of 5 games Time should be agreed upon by all 4 players and one watch used to keep official time. The time off court must be recorded on the scoring slip. If play is resumed, The match and game score remain as they were before stoppage. Penalty games are to be deducted at the end of the OFFICIAL MATCH (after the whistle blows and any tiebreak completed). 4. In the event of injury, play must be resumed within 5 minutes or an injury retirement is awarded. The time must be agreed upon by all 4 players, and one watch, held by the uninjured pair, should be used to keep official time. If play is resumed, the match and game score remain as they were before stoppage. In the event of an injury retirement, the pair forfeiting receives the number of games already won. The winning pair receives the number of games already won or an average number of games that it s other 5 doubles teams have scored in their matches whichever is greater. The forfeiting pair receives the loss of the match but keeps the games it has already won. 5. When a court is defaulted prior to the match, the score is determined by calculating the average of the total games of the non-defaulting team divided by the number of courts played. Example: One court is forfeited and the total games for the non-defaulting team are 55. Divide 55 by the number of courts played determining an average score of games per court. The team that wins by default receives the calculated average games, 1 match point and credit for playing. The defaulting team receives 0 games and 0 match points and no names are listed. If the score divides to a.5 or higher, the game score is rounded up. (Example: 11.5 becomes 12) 6. CELL PHONES AND ELECTRONIC DEVICES: (Cell phones should be left in purse or tennis bag and turned OFF) If an electronic device sounds on the court, including I-Watch/Fit Bit (RING or ALERT), 2 games will be deducted from the offending teams score at the end of the match and a let will be played. If a player ANSWERS or MAKES a call, text or page, 2 MORE games are to be deducted. If a device sounds on an adjacent court, a let can be played. 7. ALL PENALTY GAMES ARE TO BE DEDUCTED FROM THE FINAL SCORE OF THE INDIVIDUAL MATCH. 8. If an entire team defaults, the match point and 6 court points are awarded to the non-defaulting team. An average of the total games per court played (to that point in the season) is calculated and awarded to the non-defaulting team. 9. The penalty for an illegal lineup or illegal use of substitutes is that the court in violation will become a
loss. Games won for the team winning by default will be calculated as above in F5. All 4 players involved shall pay the usual Buxmont match fee. Section G: Reschedules and Make Ups 1. Every club is expected to play every match. Matches may only be postponed due to hazardous driving conditions and/or unexpected school closings or acts of God (flooding, power failure, etc) with the agreement of both clubs, or announcement from the Director. One make up week will be built in to the schedule and will be used for any reschedules that involve the entire league. Also see Rule D8. 3. All schedule changes MUST be confirmed by the Director. 4.. UNPLAYABLE INDIVIDUAL COURTS If an Individual Court has a non-functional issue (power failure, excessive flooding (not a puddle), lighting issue), the lineup will be exchanged and a score of a ½ point for each team on an unplayable court. The court will Not be made up at a later date. H: Rules and Grievance Committee (Electronic submission) 1. The Rules Committee will meet annually to update the rules. 2. The Grievance Committee chairman shall choose two different representatives on a rotating basis for each grievance that is filed. The Director will serve as an ex officio member of the committee. 3. All grievances must be transmitted electronically (email). 4. A team captain must submit her grievance within 5 days, both to the Director and to the Captain of the team against which she is protesting. The effected team shall have one week to electronically submit its response to the grievance to the Director and the opposing team Captain. 5. The Grievance Committee must resolve grievances in a timely fashion. The final decision must be in writing and may be electronically transmitted to all parties involved. 6. The Committee has the authority to rule on all grievances or appeals concerning rule violations and to adjust scores or award forfeits where it deems necessary. 7. In some cases the Director may rule on a direct infraction of the League Regulations without going through the usual grievance process. If both parties cannot agree on the outcome, then a regular grievance process must be followed. In addition, the Director may also lodge a grievance at any time if she perceives an infraction of the rules has occurred. I. Determining League Winners 1. The winners of each league are determined by the total number match points won. In the event there is a tie (matches), the winner will be determined by the number of line wins. 2. If at the end of the season clubs have an uneven number of matches played, the final standings will be determined by the match win percentage under tenniscores team statistics (adjusted if needed for
uncalculated ties). 3. If match wins and line wins are tied, the winner is determined by the head to head play during the scheduled season. If there is a head to head tie, games lost for the entire season will determine the winner. 4. If it is determined that a team has not met the 50 % rule for any one or more of its court positions that team is disqualified.