REVISED: 8/17/09
1.
These are the League Rules. IF
YOU CANNOT ABIDE BY THE SPIRIT AND THE INTENT OF THE LEAGUE RULES, PLEASE DO NOT
ENTER THE LEAGUE.
2.
The U.S.T.A. Rules, The Code, and the following League Rules shall
govern the Central Florida Tennis League. Our Code of Conduct* states that a player shall at all
times while on and off the court conduct himself in a courteous, sportsmanlike,
honorable and dignified manner with a sense of fair play, which will reflect
favorably on the game of tennis and on fellow players and shall treat all other
players , spectators, and officials with courtesy and dignity. Captains are
responsible for settling all disputes during a team event.
* SEE RULE #8- PENALTY FOR CODE OF CONDUCT VIOLATIONS.
3.
Teams wishing to participate in League competition must submit a team
roster along with a check in the amount of $200.00, payable to Central Florida
Men's Tennis League, Inc., by the date set forth by the League President.
A minimum of six players must be rostered, and the playing facility must
have three lighted courts available at 7.00 PM on Tuesday. For rosters and
checks not received by the cut-off date (assuming the team is accepted into the
league), one team penalty point will be charged for each item.
Players must be assigned a team position that can be changed one position per
week during the
first four weeks of the season. At
least two players must be rostered at
position 1 and two at position 5.
During the season and playoffs, players will be
eligible to play on teams as follows:
Roster Position:
All captains or their representatives are
required to attend the captains meeting held prior to each season. One person
can represent only one team. One team penalty point will be charged to all
teams not represented at the meeting.
No team member will be allowed to play
more than one line during a team event.
PLAYER AGREEMENT AND WAIVER OF CLAIMS:
All players must read this waiver and sign on the team roster form.
Team captains assume all responsibility for players who do not sign
this agreement and waiver.
As a condition of my participation in the
Central Florida Tennis League, I have read and agree to abide by the Rules and
Regulations of the Central Florida Tennis League.
I also agree, for myself, my executors, administrators, heirs, and
personal representatives that all claims of any kind, nature and description are
waived, including past, present and future claims, if any, for injuries and or
insults sustained in traveling to, from, or participating in the Central Florida
Tennis League, as against the Central Florida Tennis League, its officers, team
captains, committees, and employees.
4.
Final rosters must be submitted in writing prior to 7:00 PM on the
scheduled playing date in week #5.
The last roster received from each captain will be considered his
"official" roster if no new roster is received by the cut-off-date.
No player will be permitted to play for two different teams on Tuesday
night or two different teams on Wednesday night after final
rosters are received. Players can play on
a Tuesday night hard court team and a Wednesday night Clay court team.
Players cannot play on Tuesday night teams and Wednesday night Bronze division
teams and vice versa. Roster
changes are made by sending a copy of your corrected roster to the League
President.
All roster changes during the first 5 weeks of the season must be received by
the
League
President in writing prior to the match or postmarked no later than the date the
change is to be effective.
Final rosters must be received by the League President in
writing prior to the match in week number 5 or postmarked no later than the
playing date
in week number 5. Roster additions after the 5th week of the season must be
unanimously approved by all the captains in the affected
division.
5.
There is no limit to the number of players allowed on a team roster.
Players must be male, and 21 years of age or older to participate in the
League. No fictitious players are
to be on rosters at position #1 and #5. To
be rostered at position #1 and # 5, players need to be active members of the
team, i.e., by playing several matches during the current season and/or prior
season.
6.
Prior to the beginning of each season the Rules Committee will decide
which teams play in each division based primarily on the following guidelines:
A. The teams record during
the past season.
B. Division winners should be able
to move up a division if they desire.
C. A
team that dominates a division could be required to move up a division.
D. Teams
that finish at the bottom of a division will be required to move down
if
necessary.
E.
Teams should be able to move down voluntarily if they lose the strength
of their
teams.
F.
New teams will be evaluated and placed by whatever means is available
to
determine
in which division they will play.
7.
The captains within each division will determine the maximum level of play for
their division. When a player is protested for exceeding the maximum level
of play for their division they will be voted on by the captains in the
division. Protested players receiving negative votes per the following list will
be removed from the division.
a)
A division with 8 teams, 4 negative votes will exclude the player.
b) A division with 7 teams, 4 negative votes will exclude the player.
c) A division with 6 teams, 3 negative votes will exclude the player.
d) A division with 5 teams, 3 negative votes will exclude the player.
e) A division with 4 teams, 2 negative votes will exclude the player.
I
For the Plaltinum Division, line 1 is an
open position and any level can play. A player that is significantly better, as
voted on by the platinum captains, can be designated as a line 1 only and may
not play line 2 or lower.
8.
The protest method is
the primary way the League Rules are enforced.
Any person officially rostered on a team may file a protest.
Protests must be received in writing by the League President within 7
days of the alleged violation. Exceptions
to this time period may be made by the Rules Committee if the situation
warrants. The League President will
turn all protests over to the Rules Committee for a decision.
Situations not covered by the League Rules shall be directed to the League
President who
will
ask the Rules committee to render a decision.
Team
violations involving an illegal player or players will be penalized by having
the individual match defaulted where the illegal player was used and all the
matches below it defaulted, i.e. if an illegal player was used at team #3, this
team would be required to default positions #3, #4, and #5.
The first Code of Conduct violation (see
rule 2) that is upheld by the Rules Committee will be punished by a warning
given to the offending player. The second code of conduct violation will
result in an automatic two match suspension effective immediately for the offending player. The
third Code of Conduct violation will result in a 12 month suspension
effective immediately for the offending player. Request for re-admission
to the league must be in
writing to the Rules Committee and acceptance is at the discretion of the Rules Committee.
Punishment at any of the above steps could be more severe depending on the Rules
Committee's evaluation of the infraction, including permanent suspension for
league play.
9.
Rule modification will be directed to the Rules Committee for approval
and formal presentation to the captains for voting their approval or
disapproval. During the season any variance must be approved by the Rules
Committee. Rule changes approved for presentation to the captains will be
emailed to the captains a minimum of one week prior to the captains
meeting.
10.
Due to constraints of time and other considerations there is no
appeal process to Rules Committee decisions.
Rules Committee decisions are final.
11.
Team line-ups are to be exchanged by 7:00 PM. or prior to
the scheduled time of the match. Each captain will complete a line-up sheet that
is to be exchanged prior to the beginning of the first match, and both captains
must abide by each other's line-up. Team
line-ups can not be altered or changed in any way after they have been exchanged
by the captains. Captains are required to advise opponents of any known
defaults as soon as they are aware and prior to the exchange of team line-ups. A
minimum of three team matches shall begin promptly at 7:00 PM with defaults set
at 7:20 PM unless otherwise agreed upon by both captains. Players are expected to warm up before 7:00 PM, where
possible. When late matches are
required (due to less than 5 courts being available at 7:00 PM) the late match
will be scheduled for 8:00 PM or the first available court after 8:00 PM. The default time for late matches is 8:20 PM, provided a
court is available, i.e., if a court becomes available at 8:15 PM the default
time is 8:20 PM. If a court becomes
available at 8:25 PM the default time is 8:25 PM. One team penalty point will
be charged for not exchanging team line-ups by 7:00 PM.
12.
The Home team shall provide 5 cans of new yellow tennis balls except
where the schedule indicates the visiting team must provide balls due to their
high percentage of away matches. One team penalty point will be charged for
not providing new balls.
13.
Each match will consist of the best two out of three sets with a twelve
point tie breaker at six all. However,
if time becomes a factor, the captains should mutually impose a nine point
"Sudden Death" tie-breaker. If
the host facility lights are turned out (or go out) and cannot be turned back
on, the match will be treated as a rain-out and play will continue from the
exact point that play was halted.
14.
There can be no substituting during a match.
If a player is injured during a match the affected team must default the
match.
15.
The home team captain is responsible to decide if a team event will be
declared a "rain out" and he shall notify the President immediately of
such decision. It is the
responsibility of both captains involved to make up the rain out, however, the
captains can agree not to play the rain-out in which case the matches are split
2 points each. When the two captains do not set make up arrangements, the rain out is automatically
scheduled for the second Sunday after the rain out at the original site except
for the last match of the scheduled season and the playoffs, for which the 12
day rule will be reduced to 6 days so the playoffs start as scheduled.
Make up matches may be played one position at a time, if necessary, prior
to the make up deadline. A team
that does not show up for a scheduled make up defaults the point.
Teams may use comparable courts other than the home site if the home site
is not available. No matches can be played after the 12 day period.
If a scheduled match is declared a rain out before any play begins,
the makeup match
is considered as if it were a new
match. If either captain had
notified the other
captain of
any defaults for the scheduled night, the defaults do not hold in the makeup
match.
If a scheduled match is declared a rain out after one point has been finished on
any of the 5 lines then the original 20 players must play the makeup matches-no
substitutions are allowed. Play will resume at the exact set and game
score where they were stopped.
The time for makeup matches on the 12th
day after a rain out, if not mutually agreed otherwise by the two captains, is
7:00 PM unless the home facility's operating hours cause the courts to be closed
earlier. Should this be the case,
the starting time will be two hours before the home team's courts close.
If there are not enough courts for all of the makeup matches, early
starts will be determined by the home team captain.
The home team captain must notify the opposing captain of the final
arrangements at least two days before the makeup occurs. If the home team does
not notify the opposing team of final arrangements as required the home team
defaults all unplayed matches.
If a rain out occurs in a scheduled makeup on the last allowable date, points
will be
awarded as follows:
A 4 or
5 unfinished matches - 2 points for each team.
B 2 or
3 unfinished matches -- 1 point each team.
C 1
unfinished match-- 0 points awarded.
16.
The home team captain or his designated co-captain (in charge) is
responsible for mailing in the team event score sheet.
Both captains or co-captains must sign the completed score sheet. No points will be awarded without a score sheet.
Score sheets are to be emailed or faxed to the League President the
day after the match. One team penalty point will be charged for score
sheets not received by the Monday following a scheduled match.
17.
In order to meet the eligibility requirements for the playoffs a player
must have played at least 40% of the matches scheduled for the season for the
team he is playing for in the playoffs. A
play credit will be earned for injury defaults that occur during a scheduled
match . For example:40% of 11 matches =4.4, then 5 matches are required to qualify.
Any player defaulted for not showing up during the season will not get credit
for a "play"
on the defaulted match. Team
captains are responsible to keep track of how
many
matches
are played by each member of his team.
18.
Each team will be awarded one point for each match won.
If for example, a team wins three out of five matches Tuesday night, it
will be awarded three points. If
the same team wins four matches on the next Tuesday it will have a total of
seven points. The running scores
and standings will be published every two weeks until the last two weeks of the
season. At that time, scores will
be published and distributed weekly.
19.
At least three courts must be available at one location by 7:00 PM each
Tuesday night. Hopefully, a fourth
or fifth court can be obtained by the host captain.
In any case, the host captain is required to contact the visiting
captain BY THE SUNDAY PRIOR TO THEIR MATCH TO: ( FAILURE TO DO THIS WILL
RESULT IN A PENALTY POINT FOR THE HOME TEAM CAPTAIN)
A.
Verify the court location and number of matches to be played, and
the time of each match. If less
than 5matches can be played by either team then a default can be taken by the
opposing team provided the opposing team has qualified, available players to
take the default. A default cannot
be taken by a team that does not have qualified, available players at the
position that night.
B.
Discuss the possibility of the fourth or fifth lines starting first for a
change. The home team captain has the first option of choosing which teams play
early and late matches when 5 courts are not available at 7:00PM
C.
Coordinate a mutually acceptable time for the late matches to begin,
subject to rule #11.
D.
If a "no show" occurs in any position, the captain of the
"no show" team must default the position where his player(s) fail to
show. The team receiving the
default must have qualified, available players to receive the default. In
the case of a "no show", if it can be determined beyond a reasonable
doubt by the Rules Committee that the "no show" team probably never
intended to play the match, the Rules Committee has the option of defaulting
more than one match to the opposing team.
E. A double “no show” is considered a
code of conduct violation subject to penalties under rule No. 8 paragraph 4. A
double “no show” occurs when both players for a given position do not show.
F.
One team penalty point will be charged to the host team failing to
call the visiting team as required.
20.
All matches must be played on the same type of court surface, unless the
host facility authority prevents it due to prior scheduling conflicts or
maintenance, or, if the captains mutually agree to use two different court
surfaces.
21.
A team having excessive defaults shall have all its matches to date
nullified and future matches shall be treated as a bye for the remainder of the
season. Excessive defaults shall be defined as defaulting all points
in two separate matches or averaging more than one default per match.
Matches defaulted by injury during play or an emergency during the match
do not fall under this rule. Matches defaulted for administration reasons do not
fall under this rule.
22. Ideally, each
team will play all of the other teams within their division at least
twice
when
scheduling permits. Each division
will have four teams qualifying for the playoffs
at the end of the season, as long as
there are at least five teams in the division.
In the semi-final playoffs, the first place team will host
the fourth place team. The second place team will host the third place team.
If a team is unable to host their playoff the opportunity will be given
to their opponent.
In the final playoff, the team that wins their semi-final
playoff match and finished highest in the regular season will host the final
playoff. If this team cannot host
the playoff their opponent will host the playoff .
If a division contains only four teams, the first and second
place teams will play each other in the playoff.
23.
The berths for the playoffs will be determined first by accumulated match
points. If tied, then by
the total points scored in head to head competition between tied teams.
Then, if tied, by sets won for the season, then by games won for the season,
and finally by the last team event between
subject tied teams.
24.
The League will provide $30.00 toward the purchase of new tennis balls
and beverages for division playoffs and finals to the host team.
25.
League prizes will consist as follows, based on a minimum of five teams
entered in a division:
$100.00 to each division winner after the regular scheduled season.
$50.00 to each
second place team after the regular scheduled season.
$100.00 to each final playoff winner.
$50.00 to each
final playoff finalist.
If less than five teams is entered in a division,
the prizes will be as follows:
$50.00 to each division winner after the regular
scheduled season.
$25.00 to each
second place team after the regular scheduled season.
$50.00 to each final playoff winner.
$25.00 to each
final playoff finalist.
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