1. General
a) The T&RA Tennis Rules and Procedures apply to all T&RA sanctioned tournaments and should be available at each of those tournaments.
b) The T&RA recommends adoption of the same rules and procedures for all other tournaments and for normal club activities.
c) The T&RA decides, in consultation with clubs and sponsors, when and where T&RA sanctioned tournaments shall take place.
d) Except where special tournament regulations apply, UK based amateurs entering T&RA sanctioned tournaments must be members of the T&RA.
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2. Tournament Committee and Tournament Organiser
a) A Tournament Committee should be appointed to organise each tournament at least two months before its commencement. Normally this is the responsibility of the host club, but for certain specified tournaments the T&RA will appoint the Tournament Committee. In such cases the Tournament Committee will normally include a representative of the host club.
b) The Tournament Committee shall designate one person to act as Tournament Organiser, who shall have overall responsibility for the day to day running of the tournament.
c) The Tournament Organiser shall be answerable to the Tournament Committee and the Tournament Committee shall be answerable to the T&RA Tournaments and Fixtures Sub-Committee.
d) The Tournament Organiser should consult previous organisers of the corresponding tournament at an early stage in the planning of a tournament. If the Tournament Organiser has any queries or problems he/she should contact the Chairman of the T&RA Tournament and Fixtures Sub-Committee.
e) The Tournament Committee shall designate one person to be responsible for website communications.
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3. Responsibilities of Tournament Committee
a) Tournament Promotion. The Tournament Committee should make arrangements to promote the tournament both nationally and locally, using the T&RA Press Officer whenever appropriate.
Note
T&RA Press Officer, Sally Jones, Tel 01926 651277 (H), 07860 346878 (M), sallymjones70@hotmail.com
b) The Tournament Committee should give every assistance to sponsors. In particular, it should make early contact with sponsors to find out what assistance is required by way of:
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displaying the company name and logo on: publicity material, entry forms, draw sheets, tickets, programmes, etc.;
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distributing copies of the draw;
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acting as host to sponsors and their guests;
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providing free tickets and favoured seating for sponsors and their guests;
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providing facilities for corporate entertaining;
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providing facilities for displaying advertisements, promotional material and products.
c) Entry Forms. These should:
1) Be sent out not less than six weeks before the start of the tournament, with the closing date for entries set approximately three weeks before the start of the tournament
2) Be sent to all clubs, all professionals and targeted amateurs that meet the entry qualifications
3) Be sent to the T&RA’s Chief Executive for insertion on the T&RA Website: www.tennisandrackets.com
4) Acknowledge the sponsor and include the sponsor’s logo
5) Specify the format of the tournament (e.g. round robin, best of 3 x six-game sets, etc.)
6) State that the tournament will be run in accordance with the T&RA Tennis Tournament Rules and Procedures. Any special regulations that apply to the Tournament should also be stipulated;
7) State any entry qualifications (age, handicap etc.)
8) State, in the case of applicable T&RA sanctioned tournaments, that entries will only be accepted from amateurs who are members of the T&RA;
9) Ask competitors to state any scheduling constraints which they would like the organisers to take into account;
10) Show, in the case of Group 1 Tournaments (Para 7), the date, time and place of the draw;
11) State that by entering the tournament, competitors agree to abide by the rules of the tournament.
12) State that all entries shall be in writing (incl. Fax and Email).
d) Draws and Seedings
1) Late entries and entries not made on the official entry form may be accepted up until the time of the draw at the sole discretion of the Tournament Committee. Draws once made should not be altered, except to substitute players who have withdrawn. In such cases the substitute player should be selected from losers in qualifying tournaments in preference to new entrants and should be no better than his/her opponent in the original draw. It is not permissible to make changes to tournament draws once the first ball of the tournament has been struck.
2) Draws shall be made by the Tournament Organiser and in the case of Group I Tournaments carried out in the presence of at least two witnesses. Entrants for Group 1 Tournaments are entitled to attend the draw, but not the discussion on seedings.
3) The number of seeds selected shall be at the sole discretion of the Tournament Committee, dependent on the quality of the entry. Up to four seeds should be placed in different sections of the draw as follows: 1, 4, 3, 2. Up to eight seeds may be placed in different sections of the draw as follows: 1, 8, 5, 4, 3, 6, 7, 2. Alternatively, at the sole discretion of the Tournament Organiser, the position of seeds 5-6 and 7-8 may be drawn.
4) In order to give each player an equal chance of winning, there should be no seeding in handicap tournaments. However, in the interests of balance, a spread of handicaps within each group is acceptable during the round robin stage of handicap tournaments using such a format.
5) Seedings shall be based on the current International Ranking List for entrants who are amongst the first ten (or other number agreed by the International Handicaps & Rankings Sub-Committee) players ranked on that list at the closing date for entries. Thereafter, seeding should be based on handicaps displayed on www.realtennisonline.com.
6) Should the first or second seed withdraw before the commencement of a tournament, the Tournament Organiser may decide, in the interests of balance, to alter the draw using the following guidelines:
If the first seed withdraws:
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move the third seed to the place of the first seed;
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move the fifth seed, or if only four players have been seeded, the next best player, to the place of the third seed
If the second seed withdraws:
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move the fourth seed to the place of the second seed
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move the fifth seed, of if only four players have been seeded, the next best player, to the place of the fourth seed
7) A copy of the draw should be sent as soon as possible to:
8) In the case of T&RA appointed Tournament Committees, copies of the draw should also be sent to:
9) Notes accompanying the draw should:
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draw attention to the match regulations regarding lateness, white clothing and advertising on clothing;
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list any local rules that will apply to the tournament;
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state that all decisions of the Tournament Organiser will be final.
f) Tournament Organiser and Officials
1) The Tournament Committee may appoint stewards to assist the Tournament Organiser in the execution of his duties.
2) The Tournament Organiser or, in his/her absence, his/her appointee as Acting Tournament Organiser, should remain in close proximity of the court throughout the tournament.
The Tournament Organiser, or Acting Tournament Organiser, shall be the final authority on the management of the tournament and of discipline. He/she shall be empowered to:
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appoint markers and referees;
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decide when the court is fit or unfit for play;
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arbitrate on lateness or injury;
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arbitrate on the acceptability of clothing;
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intervene, when called upon to defuse a potentially inflammatory situation and restore good behaviour;
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take whatever action is deemed appropriate if injury is caused to a player by the unacceptable play of his opponent;
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rule on any matter not covered by the T&RA Tennis Tournament Rules and Procedures.
4) All decisions of the Tournament Organiser shall be final.
5) The Tournament Organiser should take care in the selection of markers and should avoid appointing inexperienced or unqualified markers to mark potentially sensitive matches. All matches in Group 1 Tournaments (Appendix 1) must have qualified markers.
6) In the interests of safety, the Tournament Organiser should ensure that a BSI approved cricket helmet with visor is readily available for any marker and that no marker is required to mark more than two consecutive three set matches from the net without a break of at least 15 minutes.
7) The Tournament Organiser should appoint a referee whenever an advanced marker (from the International Real Tennis Professionals Association current list of advanced markers) is not available for the latter stages of a Group 1 Tournament; and at any time during a tournament where the support of a referee for young, inexperienced, or unqualified markers could be beneficial.
8) In the absence of a referee who is experienced in all aspects of the game, one may be appointed to carry out those duties of the referee for which he is considered competent (i.e. a referee may be appointed to arbitrate solely on discipline).
g) Press Coverage
The Tournament Committee should appoint one person to provide relevant information and results on a daily basis to the T&RA’s Press Officer.
h) Ticket Sales and Seating.
The Tournament Committee may at its discretion charge for admission and/or seating. In so doing it should ensure that appropriate free space is reserved for sponsors, VIPs, T&RA officials, relatives of players and the referee.
i) Arrangements for Tournament Finals.>
The Tournament Committee should arrange for:
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the sponsor or a suitable dignitary to attend the final to present the trophies and prizes;
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the correct trophies and a suitable prize/memento to be available for presentation to each winner and runner-up;
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the Tournament Organiser or a VIP to introduce and thank the sponsor for his support;
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a photographer to attend the presentation ceremony.
j) T&RA Reports
1) A full set of results should be sent to the Chief Executive (james.wyatt@tennis-rackets.net) and copied to his Secretary, preferably by email (office@tennis-rackets.net), immediately the tournament is completed. This should be followed by a financial statement detailing income (from entry fees, T&RA grant, etc. and expenditure (on court fees, marking and administration).
2) A tournament report for inclusion in the Annual/Spring Report, accompanied where possible by a photograph(s), should be sent to the T&RA Office as soon as possible after the tournament has been completed.
3) For Group 1 Tournaments (Para 7), there should be a match report written for the T&RA website www.tennisandrackets.com. For other T&RA tournaments a website report would be desirable but is not essential.
k) The Qualifying Date for Entry in all T&RA Age-Limited Tournaments shall be the day before the start of each tournament.
Note:
In the case of the World Masters Championships, any player who reaches the qualifying age during the calendar year in which the Championships are played shall be eligible to compete in the relevant section of those Championships.
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4. Match Regulations
a) Play in all matches shall be subject to the T&RA Laws of Tennis.
b) Predominantly white clothing (including footwear) shall be worn during match play, although coloured track suits are permissible during the warm-up. In this context predominantly shall mean not less than 80% of each article of clothing. Advertising on shirts shall be restricted to three separate areas of up to 24 sq cms (9.45 sq ins) and one of up to 48 sq cms (18.90 sq ins). No other advertising shall be permitted without the approval of the Tournament Organiser.
c) Players late on court shall be scratched. A player is late if he/she arrives on court more than ten minutes after the scheduled start time of the match or, if the previous match has run over time, ten minutes after that match has finished.
d) Unless the tournament rules specify otherwise, players shall be permitted a warm-up period ending not more than five minutes after the match’s start time.
e) Should a player sustain an accidental injury during a match he/she shall be entitled to a five minute suspension of play during which he she may receive treatment. Should the player be unable to continue play after this time he/she shall forfeit the match.
f) Subject to any host club conditions, competitors may use free court time for practice. This should be allocated fairly between competitors and in the case of matches finishing early, priority should be given to competitors about to play over those who have just finished.
g) A player may not receive coaching during a match, except from his/her partner in a doubles match or from his/her captain or acting captain in a team match. In team matches, the advice may only be given when the players change ends and provided it does not unduly interfere with the natural flow of play.
h) If one player wants artificial lighting, his/her wish shall prevail.
i) In handicap tournaments, players shall play off their current handicap. Unless special rules apply to the tournament, this shall be the handicap displayed on www.realtennisonline.com applicable on the date for last entry (i.e. when the draw is made). In cases where there is any doubt about a player’s handicap, the Tournament Organiser may seek a ruling from the Chairman of the Handicaps & Rankings Sub Committee.
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5. Conduct
a) Players shall conduct themselves in a manner consistent with the etiquette, sportsmanship and exemplary standards of behaviour expected of the sport. In particular, competitors must:
1) Abide by the laws and spirit of the game
2) Accept the decisions of referees, markers and other officials without question or protest
3) Exercise self control at all times
4) Treat their opponents and fellow participants with due respect at all times
5) Accept success, failure, victory or defeat with good grace and without excessive display of emotion
6) Not behave in any other way likely to bring the game into disrepute
b) In the event of any incident, either on or off the court, which has in any way brought or might bring the game of Tennis into disrepute, either by contravening the provisions on Conduct in the Laws of Tennis or in the Tennis Tournament Rules and Procedures, or by any other manner, the Tournament Organiser and/or any other member appointed by the Tournament Committee to handle disciplinary matters, should:
1) Report the breach or incident (hereafter called ‘the complaint’) to the Chief Executive as soon as possible.
2) Investigate the complaint and forward a detailed written report with statements from all the relevant witnesses and a statement by the respondent, to reach the Chief Executive by mid-day on the eighth day after the incident.
c) On receipt of the report the Chief Executive shall forward it, together with his recommendation, to the Tennis Committee Chairman, who may decide to deal with the complaint himself or refer it to the Tennis Disciplinary Committee
d) If the Tennis Committee Chairman decides to deal with it he may, if he finds the complaint justified, censure the respondent or, if as a result of interviewing the respondent he decides that the complaint is more serious than he had initially thought, he may refer it to the Tennis Disciplinary Committee
e) A respondent found guilty and censured by the Tennis Committee Chairman may appeal to the Tennis Disciplinary Committee against the finding and/or sentence. That appeal shall be final and he/she may not subsequently appeal to the Council Appeal Board.
f) A respondent found guilty and punished by the Tennis Disciplinary Committee, other than a respondent found guilty and punished as a result of an appeal to that Committee, may appeal to the Council Appeal Board against the finding and/or sentence.
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6. Finance
a) Fees (amateurs only), except for players Under 28 for whom guidance is given annually to tournament organisers, shall be at the discretion of the Tournament Committee and should take into account:
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Court fees
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Marking fees
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The cost of prizes
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Administration expenses
less
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T&RA grants to clubs for running tournaments
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Gate receipts (if applicable)
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The proceeds from programme sales or fund raising activities
b) Any advertising to raise funds, which uses or refers to any sponsor, must be approved by the main sponsor. In the first instance, contact with the main sponsor should be through the T&RA’s Chief Executive.
c) Grants made to clubs for running tournaments are decided by the Tournaments and Fixtures Sub Committee and endorsed by the Tennis Committee before the start of each season. The grants will be paid on receipt of the Tournament Organiser’s financial report which should reach the T&RA’s Chief Executive no later than two months after completion of the event.
d) The money allocated for prize money and professionals’ expenses to each professional and open event is decided by the Tournaments and Fixtures Sub Committee and endorsed by the Tennis Committee. It is distributed according to an agreed formula by the International Real Tennis Professionals Association and need not concern the Tournament Committee.
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7. TOURNAMENT STATUS LIST
All the Tournaments listed below are on the Group 1 Category List, but will not be played in the UK every year.
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GROUP 1 CATEGORY LIST |
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THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP |
Specific Rules |
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP DOUBLES |
Specific Rules |
EUROPEAN SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP |
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*OPEN SINGLES AND DOUBLES QUALIFYING TOURNAMENTS |
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*OPEN SINGLES AND DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIPS |
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*AMATEUR SINGLES QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT |
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*AMATEUR SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP |
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*AMATEUR DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIP |
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*PROFESSIONALS SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP |
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*PROFESSIONALS DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIP |
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THE LADIES WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP |
Specific Rules |
LADIES OPEN SINGLES and DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Specific Rules |
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Note: Matches in Tournaments with asterisks shown against them are all to consist of 5 sets. |
Page last modified: September 2006
THE NATIONAL CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP
FIRST DIVISION FOR THE FIELD TROPHY
SECOND DIVISION FOR THE BRODIE CUP
CHAMPIONSHIP RULES
General
- The Championship shall be for teams representing Clubs which have their own court and which have accepted the T&RA’s invitation to enter their respective Divisions by the due date. Acceptance of an invitation to enter shall be regarded as a commitment for the Club to compete in all rounds of the Championship for which it is eligible. The Championship shall be run on a knock-out basis and the winning team shall hold the relevant Trophy for one year.
- The T&RA Tennis Tournament Rules and Procedures shall apply, except that these Championship Rules shall take precedence over the Tournament Rules and Procedures in cases where there is conflict between the two.
- The winner and runner-up of the previous year’s First Division Championship shall be seeded first and second respectively and the third and fourth seeds shall be drawn from the two losing Semi-Finalists. In each round, all Second Division matches shall be played at the opposite venue to the First Division matches.
- Participation in the Championship shall be restricted to amateur players who are fully paid up members of the T&RA at the time of each match. In exceptional circumstances, Clubs competing in the Second Division may include one or more players who are not members of the T&RA at the time of the match, provided that those players become fully paid up members of the T&RA within 7 days of the match. Any Club defaulting on this Rule shall forfeit the match in which the ineligible player competed. Any Club defaulting on this Rule in the First Division shall also forfeit any Singles or Doubles match ranked below it that cannot be moved up the order to take its place.
- A player may only play for one Club in the competition in the same season (1 August-31July) and a player may not represent different Clubs in consecutive seasons. At least one season must elapse before a player is eligible to play for another Club.
However, the Stewards may waive this requirement provided the following conditions are met:
- The player informs the Stewards by 1 September of his/her wish to play for another Club in the subsequent season.
- The player demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Stewards that the transfer request stems from a bona fide geographical relocation.
In such circumstances the Stewards may permit the player to represent his original Club during the transitional season.
Individuals wishing to change Clubs as outlined above should apply directly to the Stewards.
[NB It is recognised that those players in full-time education, or those that have recently left it, may not be able to comply with the above and therefore they can make application to the Stewards for fast track transfer.]
The Stewards’ decision on all matters relating to player transfers shall be final.
- Players shall only be eligible to play in the First and Second Divisions of the Championships if they have a singles handicap registered on the current RTO website. To participate in the First Division, players shall only be eligible if they have a singles handicap of 6.6 or above on 1 November of the Championship Year.
- A player who has participated in an earlier First Division match may play in any subsequent Second Division match during the remainder of the season and vice-versa.
- Players shall be eligible to play in the Second Division of the Championship if their RTO-based singles handicap applicable on 1 October of the Championship Year is equal to or higher than the minimum level applicable to the relevant string of the match. The minimum handicap levels applicable are:
- First Singles 30.0
- First Doubles 35.0 (each player)
- Second Singles 40.0
- Second Doubles 45.0 (each player)
- Third Singles 50.0
A player whose singles handicap on the RTO Website drops by more than 3.0 points below the minimum handicap level for the relevant string, at any time between 1 October of the Championship Year and 10.00am on the Friday preceding the day of the match (or in the case of the Final, 10.00 am on the seventh day preceding the match), shall be ineligible to play at that level in any Second Division Match during the remainder of that Championship Year.
- Members of participating teams must have been paid-up, Full members (for the relevant age group) of the Club they represent from at least the start of the current season. Country members do not qualify as Full members under this Rule.
In exceptional circumstances the Stewards shall have discretion to allow players, who are not Full members, but whose membership category is analogous to that of a Full member, to participate.
- Each match shall consist of three Singles and two Doubles ties. Seven different players must be used. All matches shall be the best of three six-game sets, played level.
- In the First Division, it is not obligatory to play the best three players of a team in the Singles, but those nominated for the Singles must play in ascending order of web-based handicaps (i.e. 13, 15, 20), applicable on the Sunday one week prior to the date of the match. Likewise, the Doubles pairs must play in ascending order of combined web-based singles handicaps, applicable on the Sunday one week prior to the date of the match, based on the T&RA Doubles Handicap Calculator.
- Except for Qualifying matches, which may be completed on any one day before the due date, all five matches of the tie must be played at the designated venue on the scheduled date.
- Full results, including the handicaps (as per Rule 6) and T&RA membership status of all participants, must be notified by the Captain of the winning team to the Chairman of the Stewards by the Friday following the match. The results of all Singles matches in both Divisions must be recorded on the RTO web-based handicap system by the Home Team no later than five days after the match.
- A Club wishing to appeal on any matter connected with a match must lodge its appeal with the Chairman of the Stewards no later than midday on the eighth day after completion of the match. Each appeal and any supporting evidence must be factual and in writing. The decision of the Stewards on any appeal shall be final and not be subject to subsequent appeal.
Qualifying Rounds
- It shall be the responsibility of the Managers of the Home Teams involved in qualifying rounds to arrange with their opponents for the matches to be completed by the due date.
For All Matches Prior to the Final
- It is the Visiting Team Manager's responsibility to contact the Home Team’s Manager at least ten days prior to the scheduled date of each round to discuss the order of play. The two Managers shall agree the start time for each match, which shall be confirmed by Email exchange not later than 10.00 am on the Friday preceding the day of the match.
- In the event of the Match Managers being unable to agree on a playing schedule, matches shall be played as follows:
- 10:00 a.m. Second Doubles
- 11:00 a.m. First Singles
- 12:15 p.m. Second Singles
- 1:30 p.m. Third Singles
- 3:00 p.m. First Doubles
- In the event that a Club should fail to honour its obligations to play all its matches and should withdraw from the Championship after 10.00 am on the Friday preceding the match, it will be required to meet any reasonable costs incurred by the opposing Club and its Members.
- Subject to the agreement of the Home Club, which shall not be unreasonably withheld, Visiting Teams shall have access to two hours of practice on the court scheduled for the tie in the week preceding the match. The Visiting Team shall also be entitled to have use of the court for the one hour immediately preceding the start of the match. All practice court bookings, for which payment must be made to the Home Club, must be confirmed no less than ten days before the match.
- The Home Club’s Captain shall be the Match Organiser on the day of the match and he/she together with the Visiting Captain shall be responsible for the smooth running of the match. The two Captains or their nominated substitutes shall be present at the court before the start of the practice session prior to the commencement of the match and at least thirty minutes before the scheduled start of the first match.
- The Team Captains shall exchange full details of their teams before the start of the practice session prior to commencement of the match and these details shall not then be changed.
- All Field Trophy Singles matches shall be marked from the Marker’s Box.
- The Host Club's duty professional shall be responsible for deciding whether the court is safe for play.
The Final
- The Finals of the First and Second Division Championships will be held at the venues and on the dates shown in the T&RA’s Annual Fixture list.
- The Chairman of the Stewards shall nominate the match organisers for the Finals.
- Team Captains must submit full team details to the Chairman of the Stewards not less than seven days before the match. Once team details have been submitted, substitution will only be allowed in the case of illness, injury or other exceptional circumstances at the discretion of the Stewards. The replacement shall not have a better handicap on the day of the match than the player he is replacing. The Stewards will then decide whether there should be any amendment to the original order submitted. No change will be allowed after the first ball of the Final has been struck.
- The Match shall be played sequentially as scheduled below, with times after 11.00 a.m. approximate:
- 11.00 a.m. Second Doubles
- 12.30 p.m. First Singles
- 2.00 p.m. Second Singles
- 3.30 p.m. Third Singles
- 5.00 p.m. First Doubles
28. Match Regulations
- Play in all matches shall be subject to the T&RA Laws of Tennis.
- Predominantly white clothing (including footwear) shall be worn during match play, although coloured track suits are permissible during the warm-up. In this context predominantly shall mean not less than 80% of each article of clothing.
- Players late on court are liable to be penalised. A player is deemed to be late if he/she arrives on court more than ten minutes after the scheduled start time of the match or, if the previous match has run over time, ten minutes after that match has finished. At the sole discretion of the opposing Captain, a player who is late on court shall be penalised one game initially and a further game for each completed five minutes he/she is late on court. In cases where a player has a valid reason for the lateness and has given reasonable prior warning of lateness, the ten minute allowance shall be increased to twenty minutes.
- Players shall be permitted a warm-up period ending not more than five minutes after the match’s start time, or completion of the previous match, whichever is the later.
- Should a player sustain an accidental injury during a match he/she shall be entitled to a five minute suspension of play during which he/she may receive treatment. Should the player be unable to continue play after this time he/she shall forfeit the match.
- Coaching may only be undertaken by a team’s playing Captain or in doubles matches also by a player’s partner. The Captain may delegate this responsibility to another member of the team, but not to a professional, at any time or for any length of time, provided the opposing Captain is advised of the change. Tactical advice may only be given when players change ends and must not interrupt the natural flow of play.
- If one player wants artificial lighting, his/her wish shall prevail.
- Players shall conduct themselves in a manner consistent with the etiquette, sportsmanship and exemplary standards of behaviour expected of the sport. In particular, competitors must:
- Abide by the laws and spirit of the game;
- Accept the decisions of referees, markers and other officials without question or protest;
- Exercise self control at all times;
- Treat their opponents and fellow participants with due respect at all times;
- Accept success, failure, victory or defeat with good grace and without excessive display of emotion;
- Not behave in any other way likely to bring the game into disrepute.
- Any practical problems, or matters not specifically provided for in these Rules shall be resolved at the sole discretion of the Stewards, whose decision shall be final.
Stewards:
Anthony Clake (Chairman): Tel 07799 888 555 (m); email: a.clake@mwam.com
Sam Leigh: Tel 07947 217 556 (m); email: sam@samleigh.demon.co.uk
Colin Dean Tel 01707 646594; email: colin.dean4@btopenworld.com.
29 March 2007
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