PURPOSE
The purpose of the league is to provide a competitive league structure for tennis matches (doubles only) between member clubs in the local area around Guildford, in South-West Surrey.
LEAGUE COMMITTEE
The committee consists of four officers: – Chairman, Secretary and two committee members.
CONSTITUTION
(1) The league must hold an Annual General Meeting every year, preferably in December, at which all the officers are elected and decisions taken regarding the following years’ matches.
(2) An Extraordinary General Meeting may be called if one third of the member clubs notify the Secretary of the reason for such a request. The Secretary must then organise the EGM within two months.
(3)A quorum at a General Meeting is two thirds of the member clubs. Each club has one vote. All decisions are taken on a simple majority.
PLAY AND SCORING
(1) The rules of play are as defined in the L.T.A. Handbook. The home team must supply four new balls per court.
(2) The format of a match is 4 rubbers and each rubber is the best of 3 sets. Each team has 2 pairs who play both the opposing pairs.
(3) All divisions play sets 1 & 2 as normal tie break sets. If a deciding 3rd set is played, this will be a Championship tie-break – first to 10 points, at least 2 points clear.
(4) League positions are determined by the total number of points won during the season. Points are awarded on the basis of 1 point for each set won.
(5) Round One is Pair 1 v Pair 2. Round Two is Pair 1 v Pair 1.
(6) End of season league ties are resolved by first counting matches won throughout the season, then matches lost, then head-to-head results will decide the winner.
ARRANGEMENT OF MATCHES
(1) Matches are arranged between club representatives at the AGM. It is vital that all clubs attend.
(2) Home/Away is decided by reversing the venue from the last match played between the two teams. If it’s a new fixture clubs should try to keep an equal number of home and away matches.
(3) Matches are arranged between 1st April and mid-September. The final playing date for all matches is the first Sunday in October.
(4) Each club must send a copy of their fixture list to all clubs that they play and to the League Secretary before 1st April.
(5) Once arranged, a match date/time can only be changed if both team captains mutually agree – where possible this is always encouraged. However, when a request is made less than 2 weeks before the match date there is no obligation to change. If the request is due to exceptional circumstances it is hoped (but not expected) that the request is granted.
WALKOVERS
We encourage team captains to play all their matches, where possible. Walkovers are strongly discouraged.
(1) If a full team cannot be raised, then a single pair can be used. However, if a team plays only one pair twice in a season, they will automatically be placed last in the division.
(2) A team conceding a walkover will have 4 points deducted.
ELIGIBILITY
(1) Any player must be a bona fide member of the club they are representing.
(2) A player cannot play for more than one club in the same competition. The competitions are Mens, Ladies, Ladies Midweek, Mixed and Veterans.
(3) Clubs with more than one team in a competition must not use players of a higher team in a lower team e.g. mens 1 player cannot play in mens 2 team.
(4) All higher teams should have four nominated players who must play regularly for that team, barring unforeseen circumstances, and who cannot play for a lower team.
(5) Once a player has played three times for a higher team than usual then that becomes their level and they cannot play for a lower team subsequently.
(6) If an ineligible player is used then their sets are conceded and, in addition, a point is deducted for each rubber played.
(7) The qualifying ages for the Veterans Mixed Division are 55 for men and 50 for ladies, as at 1st January.
(8) The League Secretary should be notified of nominated teams. Failure to do so will result in the team used in the first match being considered the nominated team.
(9) Where a club has two teams in the same Division, the match between those teams must be the first match of their season.
(10) All Clubs must be LTA registered venues.
TIME-KEEPING
(1) A pair that is 15 minutes late must concede that rubber.
(2) If no pair is available by 30 minutes after the start time then all eight sets are conceded.
WEATHER
It is the Home captain’s responsibility to call off a match if the weather is too poor for the match to be started. Consideration should be given to the weather forecast, the travelling time of the visitors and the state of the courts.
INTERRUPTION OF MATCHES
(1) A match that has to be abandoned before the end of Round One because of the weather should be rearranged and replayed from the beginning.
(2) If the match is abandoned after Round One then, unless the captains agree on a result by concession of the remaining sets, the Round 1 result stands and the Round 2 matches should be replayed from the start with the same players. In this case, to facilitate rearrangement, the Round 2 matches do not have to be played at the same time.
(3) The Secretary must be kept informed of the rearrangement details.
RESULTS
(1) The Home captain must submit a match result via the LTA League Planner website ( LTA – Tennis for Britain – Chaucer League – Organization ) within 2 days of the match. The scorecard, signed by both captains, should emailed to the Chaucer Secretary and retained by both captains until the end of the season, in case of any queries at a later date.
(2) For matches played in September results must be notified promptly.
(3) Result cards may be scanned and emailed, if previously agreed with the league Secretary.
PROMOTIONS & RELEGATIONS
Where there are two or more divisions in a league, teams will be eligible for promotion and relegation based on two up, two down. The Committee reserves the right to change this if it feels that the number of teams in any of the divisions has become unbalanced i.e. too many/too few, or if there is a significant difference in the playing standards of the two divisions involved. Clubs will be advised of proposed changes prior to the Annual General Meeting.
DISPUTES
In the event of any dispute the League committee’s decision is final.
These rules were approved by member clubs at the AGM 8.1.2024