SHEFFIELD & DISTRICT WORKS & SPORTS CLUBS ASSOCIATION TENNIS SECTION RULES (2013 Version) I. NAME The name of this section shall be the "Sheffield & District Works & Sports Clubs Association, Tennis Section." 2. AIM & OBJECTS The objects of the section shall be the organisation and promotion of amateur lawn tennis and social activities related thereto, under the rules of the association and the recognised bodies governing lawn tennis. 3. MEMBERSHIP OF THE SECTION 3.1 The members of the section shall be those clubs who :- a) Are paid up members of the association. b) Participate, or intend to participate in league activities. c) Have paid the team (s') entrance fee(s) for the current year. 3.2 Any club suspended by the association is automatically suspended by the section. 3.3. Applications for membership to, and resignations from the section shall be made in writing to the secretary, not later than the AGM. 3.4. Any member club having difficulties in raising or maintaining a team(s) to compete in the section may be permitted to apply to the section before the end of February for consent to amalgamate with another consenting member club. All such proposals will be put to the committee, and, in the case of such acceptable amalgamations, and then the rules will apply in all respects as if they were one member club. 4. MEMBERSHIP OF MEMBER CLUBS 4.1. Participation in lawn tennis activities organised by the section shall be restricted to persons who are members of an affiliated sports club. 4.2. Players with dual membership will only be allowed to play for one club in the respective league. If a player wishes to transfer from one club to another he/she must apply to the section secretary giving his/her reasons. Authority must be given from the section before a member can play for a different club. 1
5. OFFICERS & COMMITTEE 5.1 Management of the section shall be by the officers and committee of the section. The officers of the section shall be: - i) CHAIRMAN ii) VICE CHAIRMAN iii) SECTION SECRETARY iv) LEAGUE SECRETARY v) ASSISTANT SECRETARY 5.2. The committee shall be made up of not more than six representatives who must be full members of association member clubs. 5.3.1 Elections of officers & committee shall be held every year at the AGM. Nominees for posts can be proposed and seconded at any time up to, and including, the date of the AGM. 5.3.2 Any vacant officer and committee posts can be filled at any time during the year on invitation from the committee subject to the consent of the individual invited. 5.3.3 Each club represented at the AGM shall have one vote only for the election of each of the officer posts. For the election of the committee, each club to have a maximum number of votes to correspond with the number of vacant posts to be decided, (i.e. 1 vote per post). 5.3.4 No club shall have more than two representatives amongst the committee. 6. FINANCE 6.1 The section entrance fees and fines for the season shall be those agreed at the AGM prior to the commencement of the season. 6.2 Section fees and fines are due by the commencement of the season, and any club not, paying the section fee by the 30th June shall be dealt with at the discretion of the.committee, the maximum penalty to be suspension from the section. 7. MEETINGS 7.1 The section AGM shall be held each year during February, Any member club not sending a representative to this meeting will be fined and dealt with in accordance with rule 6. Standing items at the meeting are to include a statement of accounts & a report of last season. 7.2 Any member club may give written notice to the secretary before the 15th January of any business, which it requires to be on the agenda. 2
7.3 Special General meetings may be called by the committee, or by the responsible officials of three competing clubs on a signed deposition to the league secretary. These meetings to be held where practicable within 1 calendar month of receipt of the requisition. Member clubs must be provided with a minimum of five days notice of.the business of the meeting and no other business is to be discussed. 7.4 At all general meetings each member club shall be entitled to one vote only. 8. TROPHIES 8.1 A trophy shall be awarded to the champion club of each division, and to the winners of any section tournaments held through the year. Such trophies will be held by the respective club/member until the 1st September following receipt. 8.2 The champion clubs/members shall be expected to sign a receipt for all trophies entrusted into their care. 8.3 The president, treasurer and secretary of the member club in receipt shall, for all intents and purposes, be the legal owners of the trophy in trust for the association. 9. PLAYING DAYS Wherever possible the following playing nights are to be observed :- 6 MAN LEAGUE -WEDNESDA Y 4 MAN LEAGUE -TUESDAY LADlES LEAGUE MONDAY MIXED LEAGUE -THURSDAY 10. START TIMES 10.1 Matches should commence at 18.00 but team captains can agree a later 18.30 start as required. 10.2.1 Rubbers are to be conceded/claimed at the following times: - Ist Rubber: - If a couple is not on court ready to play 15 minutes after the start time, (2 courts -at start time ). 2nd Rubber: - If a couple is not on court ready to play 45 minutes after the start time, (2 courts -30 minutes). 3rd Rubber: - If a couple is not on court ready to play 90 minutes after the start time. For the recommended order of play where only two courts are available see APPENDIX A. 3
II. BALLS 11.1 One of the following types of ball must be used :- SLAZENGER/ DUNLOPFORT/ WILSON / PENN They must, where possible, be yellow in colour and they must be of "current" year manufacture. 11.2 It is the responsibility of the home club to provide the balls on the following basis :.. 6 & 4 MAN & MIXED LEAGUE -3 BALLS I COURT LADIES LEAGUE -A MINIMUM OF 2 BALLS TO BE MAINTAINED THROUGHOUT THE MA TCH 12. MATCH POSTPONEMENT 12.1 Matches can be postponed on the following basis :- i) Inclement weather. ii) Works holiday closure weeks. iii) On agreement by the representatives of each team prior to the date of the match. In all cases both the home and away clubs secretaries, must inform the section secretary of the postponement in writing 5 days from the date of the fixture giving the reason. Match Postponement (For conceded matches see 17.3) 12.2 The home club is to offer to the away club, within 3 weeks, 3 dates for the fixture, these dates to be conveyed to the match secretary.if a mutually acceptable date cannot be found from the dates offered then both clubs must inform the committee via the section secretary. The committee, upon examining all the circumstances, will decide upon a date for the rearrangement. 13. NON APPEARANCE In the event of any team failing to make its appearance at the ground for the match, the offending team shall be dealt with at the discretion of the committee. Penalties imposed could include the deduction of points and the offending club having to meet any costs incurred as well as the penalties set out in rule 15.2. 14. FITNESS OF COURTS 14.1 In the event of inclement weather causing any dispute as to the fitness of the court for play either prior to the commencement of the match or after the match has commenced, the two captains shall be the deciding factor. In the event of any disputes/protests arising out of the fitness of the courts, then the procedure set out in rule 16.2 will be followed. 4
14.2 If a match is unfinished (no side reaching the number of rubbers required to win the match) due to inclement weather, the match shall be treated as a postponement and the procedure set out in rule 13 shall be followed, i.e. a re-arrangement of the entire match with new balls. 14.3 Where no decisive score has been reached and less than 6 rubbers have been played, the match must be entirely replayed. If 6 or more rubbers have been played and no decisive score reached, the match must be continued from where left off so far as completed rubbers are concerned. Unfinished rubbers are to be started from scratch using the same players. 15 RESULTS 15.1 A match result card will be completed by the home club and signed by a representative of the opposing team. Result cards to be forwarded to the match secretary. 15.2 Any protest against the result of a match shall be made in writing to the section secretary and the other section club(s) involved within 5 working days of the match being played. Representatives of the team(s) concerned will then be requested, if necessary, to put the dispute to the committee in person. The committee shall then decide on a course of action which could include the following: - i) Overturning or upholding the results of rubbers and/or matches. ii) Fining any team found to be in contravention of the section rules. iii) Suspension of a team from the league if found to be in contravention of the rules. 16. END OF SEASON 16.1 All league matches must be completed by the first weekend in September, after which time all unplayed matches to be dealt with by the committee. Results not received by the match secretary one week after the end of the season will not be taken into consideration when deciding final league placing except at the discretion of the committee. 16.2 At the discretion of the committee, an extension to the season can be granted up to the 3 rd weekend in September. 17. SCORING 17.1 Points awarded will be two for a win and one for a draw. A draw can only be awarded in the ladies, 4 man and mixed leagues where the number of rubbers, sets and games are tied. 17.2 All matches must be played and no match is to be counted double for 4 points. 17.3 In the event of a team conceding a match both teams should send a signed match card to the Match Secretary. Any team failing to do so could have points deducted at the discretion of the committee. On receipt of the cards, the opposing team will be awarded the result and two points. Matches not claimed by the end of the season to be void. The number of rubbers, sets and games will be decided on the following basis; At the end of the season the match secretary will total all the rubbers, sets and games won by the team concerned during the season. The mean value of these, to the nearest whole number, but not less than a winning number of rubbers, will be added to the.score of the "winning" team. The losing team shall receive nil points, rubbers, sets and games. 5
18. WITHDRAWAL FROM THE LEAGUE If a team withdraws during the season, then all the points, rubbers, sets and games i won and lost by their opponents will be deducted. 19. LEAGUE PLACINGS 19.1 League/divisional placings shall be decided on the scores in the following order of priority:- POINTS RUBBERS SETS GAMES 19.2 The divisional structure along with the number of teams to be promoted and relegated from the divisions will be decided at the AGM prior to the start of the season. 20. PLAY 20.1.1 Each ladies, 4 man and mixed team shall consist of four players, each pair to play each opposing pair one rubber. The full match will therefore consist of 4 rubbers except in the case of inclement weather where a result has been obtained. 20.1.2 Each rubber will consist of two short and one long set. If either or both first round rubbers are tied at one set all and therefore requires a deciding set, the rubber(s) must be held over for completion at the end of the second round rubbers. 20.2.1 In the 6 man league each team shall consist of 6 players, each pair to play each opposing pair one rubber. The full match will therefore consist of nine rubbers except in the case of inclement weather where a result has been obtained. 20.2.2 Each rubber will consist of one professional set, and the side reaching 9 games with a winning margin of two clear games will be the winner. If the score is standing at 8-8 then the tie break rule will operate. SEE APPENDIX A FOR THE TIE BREAK RULE 21. TEAMS IN THE SAME DIVISION 21.1.1 Two teams from the same club may compete in the same division. In such a case four players from each of the teams must be nominated before the first match of the season. These nominated players may not play for a lower team than that for which they are nominated. i.e. A for B or C, or C for B etc. 21.1.2 Fixtures between two teams from a club in the same division will be played at the start of the season. 6
22. ELIGIBLE PLAYERS Any club member having played 4 matches for a higher team(s) may not play for a lower team for he remainder of the season except at the discretion of the committee. 23. TOURNAMENTS The organisation of all tournaments shall be the responsibility of the section officers and committee. An organiser will be appointed for each tournament and the order and the formation of the tournament shall be his/her responsibility. However, it is the committee recommendation that tournaments be played on the following basis: - 9 couples or less -one league where each couple plays every other couple. 10 couples or more -two or more leagues, the winners and runners up going into a playoff. 24. OTHER Any matter arising not covered by these rules shall be dealt with at the discretion of the committee. 25. RULES No alteration or addition to the rules shall be made except at the AGM of the section or at a special general meeting called under rule 7.3 RECOMMENDED TWO COURT ORDER OF PLAY COURT l COURT 2 I v I 2 v 2 lst matches 2 v I 3 v 3 2nd matches 3 v 2 I v 3 3rd matches 3 v I 2 v 3 4th matches l v 2 7
TIE BREAK RULE The person to serve first in a tiebreak will be the person whose turn it would be to serve next in rotation. He/she will serve one point from the right hand side of the court. The serve will then pass to the next player in rotation who will serve two points, the first one being served on the opposite side of the court to the last point served. Service will then continue in rotation. After every 6 points the sides will change ends. The winner(s) will be the first to 7 points by a margin of two. i.e. 7-5, 8-6 etc. 8