RULES
R1 Registration of Teams and
Players
a. Every team must
complete the League Entry Form and send it to the Match Secretary of the League
to arrive on, or before, the date stated on the form. The Executive Committee will decide on the form of the League.
b. Every player must be an E.T.T.A. player-member, and be
properly registered with the League – without this, a player will not be
eligible to play in the League. The Match Secretary must have received an
appropriately completed form at least three days before a player can
participate in his/her first match. Any
points found to have been won by an ineligible player will be awarded to the
opposition.
c. Players cannot be registered or transferred after the
end of November without the permission of the Executive Committee.
d. Players should, in the first instance, be registered to a
specific team, and play their matches for that team. Permission can be sought from the Match
Secretary or the Executive Committee for a player to represent a team other
than the one he/she is registered to. In
order to grant such permission the Match Secretary or the Executive Committee
will need to be satisfied that, in making such a request, a team is not seeking
unfair advantage and, moreover, would receive no such advantage should
permission be given. Players will not be
allowed to drop more than one division.
e. No player will play in a re-arranged match
unless they were eligible to play in the original fixture. No player will play for more than one team in
one week's fixtures unless the Match Secretary or the Executive Committee has
given prior permission. Any points found
to have been won by an ineligible player will be awarded to the opposition.
f. No player will be eligible to play in any
fixture (scheduled or rearranged) on or after February 20th if he/she has not
played in at least 3 league matches prior to that date, unless specifically
permitted to do so by the Match Secretary or the Executive Committee. Any points found to have been won by an
ineligible player will be awarded to the opposition.
g.
Any
player discovered playing under an assumed name will be liable to suspension
for the remainder of the season. In any
match where a player is found to have used an assumed name, the opposing team
will be awarded the 10 available points, and the offending team will be fined
an amount to be determined by the Executive Committee.
R2 Fees
a. The
annual subscription will be set by the Executive Committee. The fees set will be shown on the League’s
team registration forms, and announced at each Annual General Meeting. The subscription will include the League
fees, C.T.T.A. fees, an entitlement to three tickets per team for the annual
Presentation Evening, and a team levy towards the costs of running the annual
Town Championships. In addition, each
team will be required to pay the appropriate E.T.T.A. membership fee for any of its
players who have either not yet joined the E.T.T.A. or renewed their
existing E.T.T.A. membership. Each player
in a team must be registered with the Match Secretary. There is no limit to the number of players
that may be registered, but no player may be registered for more than one
team.
b. Prior to the beginning of each season,
Team Secretaries, or their representative, will be required to attend a brief
meeting at which they will be expected to pay all League Fees, and to
collect Handbooks and Scorecards for the
forthcoming season. Any team not paying
its fees by September 30th of the season in question shall be suspended from
the League until such fees
have
been paid.
R3 League Fixtures/Matches
a. A league fixture, cup competitions excepted,
will consist of nine singles matches and one doubles match, each comprising the
best of five games. Teams may consist of three or four players. The fourth player may only play in the
doubles match. Games will be played to
11 and will be won by the first player/pair to score 11 points unless both
players/pairs score 10 points, in which case the game will be
won by the first player/pair to
gain two clear points. Service will
change after every two points, except where both players/pairs score 10 points,
in which case service will then change after every point. All matches must be played according to the
E.T.T.A. Approved Laws of Table Tennis.
b. A team will receive one point for each
singles or doubles
match won.
c. In
extreme circumstances, scheduled League fixtures may be postponed by the
relevant
Team
Secretaries, but should ideally take place within fourteen days of the original
date.
The Match Secretary must be informed of the
postponement or cancellation of a match within one week of the original match
date. Teams failing to comply will be liable to a fine
[see
Rules :
Section R5]
If a match cannot be rearranged within fourteen
days, Team Secretaries should ensure that it is played before the Friday of the
last week of normal League fixtures. Or,
as an alternative, a match postponed in the first half of the season may be
amalgamated with the match scheduled
for
the second half of the season, and played for double points.
The Match Secretary must be kept informed of any
decisions taken regarding rearranged
matches.
If
a postponed match is not played by the Friday of the last week of League Fixtures,
the team originally requesting the postponement will concede 10 points to the
opposing team
d. A minimum of three days notice must be given
to re-arrange or cancel a fixture otherwise the offending team will forfeit the
match, unless agreement can be reached by the Team Secretaries concerned.
e. Matches will be in the sole charge of
the captains of each team, and each team must alternately provide an umpire.
f. The normal starting time for matches will be
7.30pm unless specified otherwise in the team details published in the
handbook. One player from each team
should be present and ready to play at the specified starting time. Any team causing the late start of a match
will be liable to a fine [see Rules : Section R5].
g. If, by 7.30pm, or an agreed later time, a
team is not represented, the opposing team will have the option of claiming the
match and the ten available points.
However, it should be appreciated that there may be genuine reasons for
a late arrival e.g. adverse weather, traffic conditions etc., and some leeway
is recommended. Any team which thinks
they have been unfairly penalised for an unavoidable and unintentional late
arrival may appeal to the Executive Committee via the General Secretary [see rule k
below].
h. Except by prior agreement between the two
Team Secretaries, any player scheduled to play who arrives after 8.45pm will be
considered to have lost his/her matches, and the points will be awarded to the
opposing team.
i. Matches should be played in card order unless team captains agree
otherwise. When it is not possible to maintain card order because of a player's
late arrival, the captain of the opposing team can choose the order of
play.
j. Notification
of match results : The Match Secretary
must receive score cards within one week of matches being played or
postponed. Teams failing to comply will
be liable to a fine [see Rules : Section R5].
k. Protests :
Any protest concerning a match must
be made in writing to the General Secretary within 48 hours of the night of the
match. A copy of the letter should also
be sent to the Secretary of the opposing team.
l. Playing conditions :
Matches must be played on regulation
tables. Any complaints regarding playing conditions must be
sent in writing to the General Secretary for consideration by the Executive
Committee.
m. Abandoned match : If there is a dispute
during a match which results in it being abandoned, the match will initially be
declared void, with no points being awarded.
Following a full report, and consideration of events, the Executive
Committee may award points and/or take disciplinary action as appropriate.
R4 End of season
a. The team in each division that accumulates the most
points will be champions.
b. In the
event of two or more teams finishing the season on equal points, final League
places will be determined by analysing the results of the League fixtures
played between those teams during the season, as follows:-
Teams
will be placed in the order of the number of matches won. If this fails to separate the teams, they
will be placed on the basis of the number of games won, then if still tied, on
the basis of the number of points won.
Should a tie still result, a play-off fixture, or fixtures, at a neutral
venue will decide the final League positions.
c. Trophies will be awarded to the winners and runners-up in
each division, at the annual Presentation Evening.
d. A trophy will be presented for each division to the
player who has won the most matches during the season.
e. At the end of a season, the top two teams in any division
other than the highest will be promoted, and the bottom two teams in any
division other than the lowest will be relegated. However, in the event of any division
consisting of 8 or fewer teams, then only one team will be promoted or
relegated. Such promotions and
relegations will occur unless resignations or other exceptional circumstances,
as approved by the Executive Committee, warrant a team staying in a given
division irrespective of their end of season position.
R5 Fines and penalties
a. Late score card - £2
b. Late start to a match - £2
c. Failure to inform the Match
Secretary of the postponement or cancellation of a match - £2
d. No representative at the Annual General
Meeting, or an Extraordinary General Meeting - £5
e. Return of Perpetual Trophies in an unclean
condition - £10
f. Team Secretaries will be notified in writing
of any fines incurred, and payment should be made within fourteen days of
receipt of the notification.
R6 Cup Competitions :
The Volcrepe Cup
a. The Volcrepe Cup competition is an
inter-divisional handicap competition for teams consisting of three players,
and is played on a knock-out basis. All
teams registered with the Glossop League will automatically be entered in the
Cup. At the discretion of the Executive
Committee, a Consolation Cup competition may be held for those teams knocked
out of the Volcrepe Cup in round 1. Such
a competition will be considered as part of the Volcrepe Cup competition and
will follow the same rules.
b. To be eligible to play, a player must be
registered with a League team, and must have played in at least two League
matches prior to the first round of the Cup competition. In any one season a player may play for only
one team in the Volcrepe Cup.
c. Every eligible player will be allocated a
personal handicap. The team for each
match can comprise any three of a team's eligible players. The team handicap will
be the total of the individual handicaps of the three players selected for that
match.
d. Any points found to have been won by an
ineligible player will be awarded to the opposition.
e. Volcrepe Cup matches should be played in the
weeks allocated in the fixture list unless otherwise authorised by the Match
Secretary.
f. Matches will comprise eighteen games, and the
games should be played in scorecard order wherever possible.
g. Each player will play one singles game
against each of the three members of the opposing team, making 9 singles games
in all.
h. Each team will form three doubles
pairings. Each pairing will play one
doubles game against each of the doubles pairings from the opposing team,
making nine doubles games in all.
i. All games will be played to 21-up, with a
change of service every 5 points.
j. Players should change ends as soon as one
player reaches a score of 11 points.
k. The winner/s of a game will be the first to
21 points unless a score of 20 – 20 is reached, in which case the game will be
won by the first player/s to gain a lead of two clear points.
l. The total number of points scored by a team
in the 18 games is to be added to that team's handicap, and the resulting total
will constitute the team's final score.
Whichever team finishes with the highest points total will be the winner
of the match. In the event of a tie the
match will be replayed with the venue reversed.
m. It is the responsibility of the home team
captain to ensure delivery of the scorecard to the Match Secretary within one
week of a match
being played. Failure to do so will
leave the offending team liable to a fine [see Rules :
Section R5].
n. The venue for the final may be agreed, in
consultation with the Match Secretary, by the two Team Secretaries representing
the finalists. If agreement cannot be
reached on a suitable venue, the Match Secretary will nominate the venue. An official, who will be in sole charge of
the match, will represent the League at the final. In the event of the final being tied, the
match will be replayed at the earliest opportunity.
o. The winners and runners-up will receive
trophies at the annual Presentation Evening.
p. Any variation to the rules of the competition
can only be made at the discretion of the Executive Committee.
R7 Town Championships
a. In order to qualify for the Town
Championships, players must have played in at least 4 League matches in the
current season prior to one week before the date of the
Championships. Players who have not played in the
required number of matches may apply to the Executive Committee for special
consideration.
b. The Town Championships' Organiser, his/her
assistant, and the League Chairman shall decide the number of events and the
rules for each event.
c. Each Team Secretary will be sent full details
of the Town Championships, including the closing dates for entry, details of
entry fees, and an application form, at least four weeks before the date of the
Championships.
d. The winners and runners-up in each event will
be presented with trophies at the annual Presentation Evening.
R8 J D Trophy
The
J D Trophy may be presented annually to a person, or team, associated with the
Glossop and District Table Tennis League that has shown outstanding
sportsmanship, or made a significant contribution to table tennis, during the
year. Any registered League player may
make nominations to the League Secretary up until the end of the season. The Chairman, League Secretary and Treasurer
will decide who is to receive the trophy Should no
nominations be received, the trophy will not be presented.
R9 Trophies
All Perpetual Trophies will remain the property of the League and
cannot be won outright. The safe care
and return of any Trophy awarded will be the responsibility of either the
person, or the Secretary of the Team, currently holding it. In the event of loss or serious damage, the
League will expect the person (for Individual trophies) or the secretary of the
team (for Team trophies) to pay the full replacement or repair costs. All
Perpetual Trophies, presented either to individuals or teams, must be returned
in a clean condition to the Trophy Organiser before the end of February each
season. Any team failing to meet these
requirements will be named at the AGM, and be liable to a fine [see Rules : Section R5].