TORONTO LADIES TENNIS LEAGUE PLAYING RULES A) INTRODUCTION 1) The League shall be known as the Toronto Ladies Tennis League. 2) The season is from April to July each year. The season will not begin prior to the last Monday in April. 3) The League has two Divisions. The Evening Division plays on Monday evenings; the Day Division plays on Wednesday mornings. 4) The sub-divisions of the Day and Evening Divisions are referred to as sections in these playing rules. 5) Except where noted, these playing rules apply to both Divisions. Ignorance of the rules will not be accepted as an excuse for any violation. 6) When a dispute arises from the application of the Playing Rules, the team captain raising the dispute must submit, within 48 hours, a complaint to the League President describing the incident that arose to cause the dispute citing the rule in question. The complaint must be submitted on the form on the TLTL website. The League Executive Committee will return a final decision to both team captains within five days of having received the complaint. A binding decision must have the majority vote of the standing members of the Committee. If a tie exists, the President shall have a second vote to break the tie. The Executive Committee reserves the right for further investigation and consultation with any and all players involved in the dispute to render a decision, as well as extend the time frames outlined in this procedure. (Amended March, 2018) B) LEAGUE ENTRY 1) Only clubs located within the geographic boundaries of the City of Toronto as of March 6, 2006 may enter the League. (Note: those clubs outside the City of Toronto that were members of the League at March 6, 2006 were grandfathered in.) 2) All new teams applying to join the League must have four evening courts with playing lights, or three day courts, available in one location at match time. (Note: Two long-time member clubs which do not comply with this Rule, Rosedale and York Racquets, were grandfathered in at March 1, 1976).
3) All new teams shall apply for entry into the League in the lowest section of the Evening or Day Divisions. 4) Captains Responsibilities Captains must submit the following items by the required deadline: a) application of the team to play in the League, identifying the Captain and/or cocaptain and their contact information, by the Annual General Meeting (AGM) b) League entry fee, by the AGM c) Through the TLTL website, the roster of players that meet the eligibility requirements no later than 24 hours prior to the start of season play. Failure to meet this roster deadline will result in a one (1) point penalty deducted from the team s overall standing. Adding players during the playing season may be done on the TLTL website following the add a player function. C) LEAGUE PARTICIPATION 1) All clubs participating in the League shall have washroom facilities available on site. 2) All clubs with winter bubbles must ensure that their courts will be in a safe playable condition for the first home game of their schedule. If this is not possible, the club shall be restricted to having one team only in the Evening Division and one team only in the Day Division. If the club wishes to retain two teams in either Division and cannot make such an assurance, the club must provide alternative courts at a convenient site. 3) Host teams shall ensure that an adequate meal and refreshments are provided for all players after each match. D) LEAGUE TEAMS 1) (a) (i) Each team player must be a member of the club she represents. (ii) Each club determines who is a member of a club. (iii) Any club member chosen by her club, including club members who are tennis professionals at that club or another club, may play on any team in the League. (b) Each player on a composite team must be a member of one of the clubs making up the composite team. (c) There is one exception to (a) and (b) above. In the Evening Premier Division only, a team player may be a non-member of the club she represents if she is a tennis professional at that club.
2) No player shall represent more than one club in the Evening Division during one season. No player shall represent more than one club in the Day Division during one season. 3) No player shall take part in more than one event in each match. 4) No player who is under suspension by the Ontario Tennis Association shall play on a team. 5) A maximum of two juniors may be fielded on one team in any match. A junior is defined by the ITF Rules of Tennis: any person under 18 years of age as of December 31 of the preceding year. 6) Member clubs having teams in more than one section of a Division may have a player substitute once only in a higher section. A player who plays more than once for a team in a higher section may not return to play for her former lower team. A player on a higher team may not play for a team in a lower section. 7) Member clubs having two teams in the same section shall, for the purposes of player eligibility, be considered as two separate entities with no interchange of players permitted during a season. E) LEAGUE PLAY 1) All matches shall be played by the current edition of Rules of the Court published by Tennis Canada. 2) All players in League matches shall wear tennis attire. Clubs observing white tennis attire only shall notify visiting captains at least seven days prior to the match. 3) Evening Division matches consist of four ladies doubles matches. Day Division matches consist of three ladies doubles matches. 4) Captains must ensure that their teams are arranged so that their strongest pair of players is playing in the first position, second strongest in second position, third strongest in third position, and, in the Evening Division, fourth strongest in the fourth position. Players who have competed two or more times in their team s Pair 1, may not subsequently play in that team s Pair 3 (Day League) or Pair 4 (Evening League) either as a pair or with another team player. This is regardless of a win or loss in Pair 1. If a player breaches this rule and her pair wins the match, the point will be awarded to the opposing pair.
5) Any default must be made at the lowest position - the fourth position in the Evening Division and the third position in the Day Division. After defaulting the lowest position, the Captain of the defaulting team may re-arrange her team players and lineup as she chooses, ensuring compliance with all other Playing Rules, then amend the player list on the score sheet accordingly. (Amended March 2018) 6) The captains shall exchange their team lineups in writing on score sheets prior to going on the court. After the matches have been completed, they will record all scores and both Captains will sign the score sheets as an acceptance of the results. 7) A match shall consist of the best of three sets. At six games all in a set, a twelve point tiebreaker (first to seven points with a margin of two points) shall be played to determine the winner of that set. If each of the two competing team pairs wins one set in a match, they must play a full third set to determine the match winner. No tiebreaker may be substituted for the full third set. 8) Each match played and won earns a team one point. If a match is not played, no points will be awarded. For each team pair that defaults or withdraws, one point shall be forfeited to their opponents. 9) Evening Division matches generally start at 7.00 p.m. with a 7.15 p.m. default time. Captains of teams with approved earlier/later starting times must notify visiting team captains at least seven days prior to the match. Day Division matches generally start at 10.00 a.m. with a 10.15 a.m. default time. Captains of teams with approved earlier/later starting times must notify visiting team captains at least seven days prior to the match. 10) The default time may be modified with the mutual agreement of the two team captains. If teams are playing a match where there is a player who has not arrived, no matches should commence until the default has been settled unless the potential default is in the lowest pair. Under no circumstances may a set be given to an opposing team as a penalty. 11) The home team will provide three new USTA-approved tennis balls per team pair. 12) The choice of ends and the choice to be server or receiver in the first game shall be decided by toss before the warm-up starts. The pair that wins the toss may choose: a) to be server or receiver in the first game of the match, in which case the opponents shall choose the end of the court for the first game of the match; or b) the end of the court for the first game of the match, in which case the opponents shall choose to be server or receiver for the first game of the match; or c) to require the opponents to make one of the above choices
13) The warm-up should not exceed 15 minutes. The home captain shall call time, if necessary. If a player is injured during the warm-up, that team must immediately replace the player OR must declare a default in the lowest position (Rule E5, Pair 3 in Day League and Pair 4 in Evening League). There is to be no extension of the 15 minute warm-up time. The team with the injured player will amend its lineup, if necessary, and proceed to play the match. The opposing team will be awarded the point from the default. 14) The home team captain shall report the result of each match played at her club by posting scores on the TLTL website within 48 hours of the match completion. Failure to post scores within the time limit may result in the League assessing penalty points against the home team. The away captain is responsible for checking the scores on the website and reporting any discrepancies to the Website Director within 96 hours of the match completion. F) SUSPENDED OR POSTPONED MATCHES 1) A suspended match is a match in progress where play has to cease, usually because of weather conditions or poor light. The warm-up period is not part of the match. A match begins when the first server of any pair has released the ball and hit the ball with a racquet before the ball hits the ground. In the event of a suspended match: - the points scored will stand - a record must be kept of the score when play ceased - the same four players will resume the match from that score - a record must be kept of the players positions when play ceased, the server, and the rotation of the serve 2) A postponed match is a match which did not begin on its scheduled date, usually because of weather conditions. The warm-up period is not part of the match. A match begins when the first server of any pair has released the ball and hit the ball with a racquet before the ball hits the ground. In the event of a postponed match, substitute players may be used in the rescheduled match. 3) a) Suspended or postponed matches shall be rescheduled by the respective captains. Rescheduled matches are set only in the case of weather conditions, unplayable courts, or other extenuating circumstances. b) Rescheduled matches shall be completed, and results submitted to the League, within 14 days of the last scheduled match of the current season. c) Home Captains must submit mutually agreed-upon rain makeup date(s) to the Website Director within five days of the original scheduled match date. For clarity, Evening
Captains must submit no later than 5.00 pm on Fridays and Day Captains no later than 5.00 pm on Sundays. Failure to submit will result in zero points being awarded. (Amended March, 2018) G) PROMOTION AND RELEGATION 1) The team at the top of each section at the end of a season will automatically advance to the next highest section for the following year s play. 2) The team at the bottom of each section at the end of a season will automatically drop down to the next lowest section for the following year s play. 3) The end-of-season standings shall be used as the basis for any League restructuring of sections required by expansion or reduction of Divisions. H) END-OF-SEASON PLAY-OFFS 1) In the event of a tie at the top or bottom of a section, the winner shall be the team with the least number of sets lost during the season. 2) If the least number of sets lost is tied, then the winner shall be determined by the points won when the two teams played each other during the season. The team which won the most points from their head-to-head match(es) during the season is the end-of-season winner. 3) If there is still a tie after 1) and 2) above, a play-off match will take place. The location, date, and time will be determined by the League President in consultation with the team captains. The host team will provide food and refreshments while the visiting team will provide balls. 4) The day prior to the match, each captain shall submit her line-up to the president. Once the line-up has been submitted, no changes may be made. To be eligible for a play-off match, each player must have played a minimum of two League matches during the current season for the team she is representing. 5) The President, or her appointee, will be present at the play-off match to act as an observer if an observer is requested by one of the team captains when the location, date, and time are being determined. 6) In the event of rain, the match will be rescheduled for a mutually-agreeable new date and time. The match will be rescheduled indoors if possible, with the cost of the indoor court time paid by the League. 7) Evening Division: in the case of a 2-2 tie in the play-off match, the winner will be determined by the least number of sets lost. If the sets are tied, Pairs 1, 2, and 3, will each play a 12 point tiebreaker to determine the match winner. 8) The League Board has the option of: - relegating all tied bottom teams to the lower section
- subject to space availability, elevating two tied top teams to the higher section - elevating a proven, very high caliber team to a higher section. Amended March 5, 2018