NLTA WinSum Tennis League - Rules 2009/2010
Click Here to view a printer friendly version of the rules
The playing period is from 26th September 09 until July 2010. Five sessions of 9 weeks each will be scheduled to coincide with LTA Ratings Runs - actual dates to be advised.
The entry fee for all five series is £12. The entry fee for individual series is £3.00 per series. All payments should be by cheque, payable to ‘NLTA WinSum League’. A stamped self-addressed self-seal envelope must be provided in advance of any given series. Send to Diane Bush, 12 Fairfield Road, Norwich NR2 2NE.
There are separate leagues for boys and girls. Each league is divided into groups. Initial group placement based on your LTA rating and, to some extent your age, is at the discretion of the Norfolk Selection Committee. To assist this process, please attach a list of your five most recent best-of-three-set match wins to your entry.
At the end of each series, the players’ number of wins will determine the group positions. If two players have an equal number of wins and matches played, positions will be determined firstly by who won between the two, secondly by the percentage of sets won to sets played or, if that is equal, by the percentage of games won to games played. Once the group results are processed, for boxes of four, the top player will be promoted and the bottom one relegated for the next series. In boxes of five, the top two will be promoted and the bottom two relegated. Once promotion and relegation movements are effected, the group dividing lines may need to be re-drawn for the next series in the event of players joining or withdrawing. Players joining after Series 1 will be placed at the discretion of the Norfolk Selection Committee.
Each match involves a designated ‘home’ and ‘away’ player. The ‘home’ player is responsible for booking the court, providing four good-quality balls. Court/guest fees may be shared. Players must offer at least three dates. Players not playing all their group matches may be disadvantaged when it comes to determining group positions at the end of a series – for this reason it is recommended that an “away” player does not rely on the “home” player to make contact. A player may award an opponent a “walkover” in the event that they cannot play their match due to illness, injury or forced withdrawal from the league. However, it is recommended that if at all possible all matches are played as walkovers do not qualify for ratings purposes.
It is assumed that matches will be played outdoors. Should, for whatever reason, both players agree to play indoors, each player will pay half of any indoor court fee that may apply. No player should feel under any obligation to play a match indoors. All matches involving a Norfolk player to be played on Norfolk courts. Where both players reside outside Norfolk, matches may be played at a mutually agreeable venue.
All matches are best-of-three tiebreak sets. However, by prior mutual agreement, players may elect to play a Match Tie-Breaker third set. This means the first player to reach 10 points with a 2-point advantage is the winner. This should be of particular benefit to younger players and those who travel or play indoors. Players will normally do their own scoring. Less experienced players may be helped to score during matches, provided both players agree. Parents/spectators are not allowed on court and must be at a distance such that no coaching /communication with the players is possible. If there is a disagreement about a score go back to the score you can agree on and play from there.
No extensions of series time will be allowed. Results may be submitted by fax or email initially (not by telephone) but must be confirmed on the result slip provided in order to be reported to the LTA and for record-keeping purposes. Results not declared by the deadline will not count for league or rating purposes and may result in automatic relegation.
In the event of two opponents designating a match played in an LTA ratings event to count as their WinSum League match, the Organiser must be informed of this when the result is declared. Such a result will count for WinSum league purposes, but not submitted to the LTA as the referee of the other event will automatically do this. Anyone failing to inform the Organiser of such a match risks disqualification.
End-of-season prizes will be awarded to boys and girls in each age group.
In the event of a dispute of whatever nature, the decision of the Organiser will be final.
Code of Conduct: Matches to be played in good spirit: no foul language or abuse of equipment will be tolerated. Players risk being reported to the LTA if they do not comply with the LTA Code of Conduct. Any complaints about players’ behaviour on court should be sent in writing to the Tennis Manager, Tennis East, Hills Road Sports & Tennis Centre, Purbeck Road, Cambridge, CB2 2PF.
Challenge Matches: In addition to the matches played in your group, you may also challenge up to two more players of the same rating and, if accepted, the result declared on the results form for submission to the LTA. Both players must post the result and you must have played all your group matches first.
