2009 RULES OF LADIES INTERCLUB TENNIS LEAGUE
Section 1-The
League/Annual Meeting
a) The name of this League
shall be the Ladies Interclub Tennis League (hereinafter referred to as The
League). The League will be comprised of three (3) divisions RED, BLUE AND
YELLOW. Each club in the RED AND BLUE DIVISION may field an A, B and C Team.
The YELLOW DIVISION currently consists of a C team only.
b) An Annual Meeting of the
League will be held between January 15th and February 15th each year
at a club determined at the previous Annual Meeting. Each club will send one
representative to these meetings. An outgoing representative may bring their
replacement with prior approval from the president. However, only the current representative
or her appointed substitute may have voting rights. Any additional meetings may
be called at the discretion of the President. Clubs not having proper
facilities may co-host with the next club on the list if it is agreeable. A
President, Red Secretary, Blue/Yellow Secretary, Scheduler, all of whom must be
members of the host club, will take office at this time for the coming year.
The President will preside at the meeting and a Secretary will record the
minutes. The minutes of the meeting will be mailed by the Secretary to each
club representative, along with the Captains roster, a list of Recorders
(included in the minutes) and a sample score sheet and recorder sheet.
c) Rules may be changed by a
majority vote of the club representatives.* All proposed Rule
changes/revisions/additions must be submitted to the Rules Committee Chair 30
days prior to the Annual Meeting or any other meeting called by the President.
All proposed changes/revisions/additions will be emailed/mailed 7 days prior to
the meeting for Representative review. There will be no
changes/revision/additions designed at a meeting.
d) Any new teams application
or requests must be made to the President of the League, in writing, ten (10)
days prior to the Annual Meeting.
e) Any team wishing to join
the League must come in as part of the YELLOW Division. New clubs entering the
League must have a minimum of five (5) soft courts available for play at the
same time on their clubs premises. An exception is made for Bethesda and
Potomac Swim because their membership predates the five (5) soft court rule. Any club with five (5) soft courts is allowed to have
three (3) teams in the LITL. At no time is a club with fewer then ten (10) soft courts allowed to have three (3) teams
playing on the same day. It is the Representatives responsibility to be aware
of her club teams participation level. If a club
wishes to add a fourth (4th) team that club must have ten (10) or more soft
courts available for match play. There will be a four (4) team limit per club
within the present structure.
Section 2-League
Organization
a) The Club Representative
duties include but are not confined to: attendance at the Annual Interclub
Meeting, meet with team captains and distribute pertinent information and
paperwork for the current year, act as the liaison between your club and the
Interclub board including the Rules Committee, serve as a recording club for
one year and choose the central recorder for the level you are assigned.
b) A Central Recorder will be
chosen for each level of each Division at the time of the Annual Meeting. The
job of the Central Recorder should rotate among the clubs each year and no club
should have more than one Central Recorder per year. The Central Recorders
responsibilities include: check score sheets to insure names are on the team
roster and see that no one has played up twice; record scores of her division
level on the recorder sheet on a weekly basis; contact division level winners
and losers in regard to the playoffs; mail to each captain in her division
level and the League President and Secretaries, a permanent record of the
season standings at the conclusion of the playoffs.
Section 3-Player
Eligibility
a) All players must be at
least twenty-one (21) years of age and may compete for only one club of which
they are full-time (yearly) dues-paying members, or are the spouse of a club
head professional who has club membership privileges. All currently ranked
(national or sections open in ladies singles or doubles) players or teaching professionals
must play on the uppermost TEAM only at their club. A professional is defined
as an individual with accreditation to teach tennis and being compensated for
this activity, or as being USPTA certified. The individual level of play also
needs to be considered.
b) At the beginning of each Spring and Fall season, the Club Representative must submit
an alphabetized roster for each team at her club of up to thirty (30) names per
team to the appropriate League Secretary and the Recorder in her division, as
well as the affected Recorder above and below.
Any additional names must be submitted to the division Recorder and
League Secretary before a match during the season as long as those names do not
appear on any other teams roster and does not exceed the 30 player limit.
If a name is not on a roster or has not been previously
reported that position is defaulted. Any player may be brought up to
play from a clubs lower team, but never down from an upper team. Once any
player from a lower team has played two (2) times on any upper team in a
season, she is considered a member of the lower of the two upper teams and may
not play down for the remainder of the season, including playoffs. Once a team
has played a match, the team members as submitted on that teams roster are
subject to the above rules for the duration of that season (i.e.: Spring or
Fall). All ladder players are subject to the above 3 (b) rule. If a club has an
active ladder, the Secretary must be given the ladder in its entirety.
Section 4-Match Play
a) ALL LEAGUE MATCHES WILL
FOLLOW THE USTA TENNIS RULES EXCEPT WHERE STATED.
b) Any infraction of the
rules will be referred to the Rules Committee for the necessary disciplinary
action. * Unless
otherwise stated in these rules, a first time offense will
result in a warning and a second offense may result in the default of an entire
match. Within 7 days of receiving the Rules Committee decision, a club may
request that the Committee review the decision. The club in question will
forward to the Rules Committee Chair a pertinent narrative with new information
on the initial ruling. **Rules may be changed by a majority vote of the club
representatives.
c) Each individual match will
be recorded and scored on the score sheet.
In a regular match or an official rain date match, both captains must
have completed lineups filled in prior to the match. When borrowing a player from a lower team or
when a shift occurs due to a default (re: 4g), it must be indicated by an
asterisk (*) on the score sheet before mailing to the Recorder and the
Secretary. Each week the host team captain must come to the match with two
complete score sheets, one for the recorder and one for the appropriate League
Secretary. At the end of the match, the scores must be copied onto the score
sheets, and signed by both captains. The host captain must mail or fax the
signed score sheets to the appropriate League Secretary and recorder within 24
hours.
d) The winner on any given
day is that club whose team won the most individual matches against the other
club. A win for a club should be worth one (1) point; a loss would equal 0
points.
e) Host team captains must
contact opposing team before the match. Each match should be preceded by a
15-minute warm-up. Five (5) courts for warm-up with the opposing teams must be
ready at 9:45 a.m. or 15 minutes before match is scheduled to begin. Host club
must have available two (2) courts for the opposing team to practice on at 9:30
a.m. After the warm-up, if either captain deems the courts unsafe/unplayable,
the match will be rescheduled on the appropriate rain date. Since the A teams
and Red B play on Friday, their rain date is the following Monday. The Blue B,
Red C and Blue C teams play on Wednesday, so their rain date is Thursday. The
Yellow C Team plays on Tuesday, so their rain date is Thursday, unless
Wednesday is rained out. Then, Yellow will play Monday. NO LEAGUE MATCHES
WILL BE PLAYED ON AN INDOOR COURT, EXCEPT AS NOTED BELOW. If on the day of
play the host team cannot provide five (5) outdoor courts due to reasons other
than weather, these positions shall be defaulted if the visiting team is
present and ready to play. However, if the host team captain informs the
visiting captain in advance that there will be shortage of courts; the play may
take place at the visiting teams courts for those
positions involved. If it rains on the rain date or the rain date is scheduled on a religious
or national holiday (Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Memorial Day and Columbus Day)
players are not required to play on the holiday but may do so if all 4 players
agree. For any positions which
choose not to play on one of the above holidays, individual matches will be
scheduled. These individual matches must be played within fourteen (14) days
of the original play date. If all four players agree,
their match may be played indoors or outdoors and at the courts of either club.
In the interest of completing all matches within fourteen (14) days, the
individual matches must be verbally agreed upon within 48 hours of the original
play date by the two team captains. The host team captain is responsible
for initiating the process of setting up the required individual matches. The captains are not required to exchange
line-ups when setting up individual matches. These matches may be scheduled by
position, time, date and place without revealing the players’ names. After each
match is played, the players will report the scores and players’ names to their
respective captains. The captains will verify this information with each other
and the host captain will send the score sheets to the appropriate secretary
and recorder and the web site manager. If the players in any
position, through their captains, cannot mutually agree upon a date for their individual match, their match
will be played at 10:00 a.m. on the last day of the allotted time period. For
Yellow C, this would be the second Monday following the original ( Tuesday)
play date: for Blue B, Red C and Blue C, this would be the second Tuesday
following the original (Wednesday) play date: for Red b, Blue A and Red B, this
would be the second Thursday following the original (Friday) play date. If an
individual match scheduled under this rule is rained out after play starts, the
same four players must reschedule the match within the original fourteen (14)
day period and continue where they left off.
If the
rained –out match had not started, eligible substitutions are allowed to play.
If an individual match is not completed within the fourteen (14) days, both
teams will receive zero points, except in those circumstances where the Rules
Committee has determined that the failure to negotiate an individual match in
good faith should result in a default.
If a team chooses to default all five
courts, that team will automatically move down ONE division (
e. Red A to Blue A, Blue A to Red B etc.) However, in the case of the
yellow division, the lowest in the league, the team defaulting
all five courts will be dropped from the division. That team may choose to
reapply for entry into the League and participate in a lottery selection
process, along with other eligible clubs, at the Annual meeting. If a team in
any division defaults all five courts during the spring season, the team will
continue to play in the fall with an “unofficial” status and will be dropped at
the end of the fall season. Should the team elect not to play in the fall under
these circumstances, they will not be permitted to reapply. A cancellation due to rain must be made no later than
8:45 a.m. on the play day unless other arrangements are mutually agreed upon by
the teams concerned. If a team is
involved in the playoff, then the rained out match must be played prior to the
normally scheduled playoff day.
f) Stacking up or down is
prohibited. A player may only play within a three-position range (1-3, 2-4,
3-5). When you are borrowing a player from a lower team, the individual player
may only play at position #4 or #5. Any team in violation of this rule will
default the entire match.
g) If there is a default
prior to 8:45 a.m. then all players must shift up to play positions 1-4. If
there are substitutes from below in positions 4 and 5 they are to shift up to
play positions 1-4. This is not a stacking violation it is a one time occurrence. All players return to their original
positions after the match. Any team that defaults two (2) or more courts in a
season will be reviewed by the Rules Committee.
h) If a player is more than
fifteen (15) minutes late (from 10:00 a.m.) that court will be defaulted unless
there are extraordinary circumstances such as traffic problems. All efforts
should be made by the delayed team to contact the host club and warn of the
situation. If the captains cannot agree on whether the match will be defaulted,
the match will be played under protest, and the dispute referred to the Rules
Committee. Play should begin on time on the courts where the players have
arrived. If a captain knows before 8:45 a.m. on the play day that she will be
missing a player, players at the #5 position will be defaulted. If a captain
finds out after 8:45 a.m. and by 10:15 a.m. that a player is missing, that players position is defaulted.
i) In the event of injury during a team match, the
injury time out will not exceed fifteen (15) minutes or that court/individual
match will be forfeited.
j) Play will consist of two
(2) out of three (3) sets with a twelve (12) point tie breaker (first team to 7
points win by 2 points) at 6-6 for each set.
k) All cell phones must be
turned off during match play and while on host clubs property.
l) Proper tennis etiquette
dictates that a service ball should not be returned when warming up.
m) There will be no on or
off court coaching during interclub play.
n) In case of misconduct
(unsportsmanlike language and/or behavior), a warning will be issued by the
offended player to the opponent. If play does not continue satisfactorily, play
will stop until representatives of both teams can monitor the remainder of the
match.
o) Game balls and
refreshments will be supplied by the host club.
Section 5-Division
Playoffs
a) At the end of the season
if there is a tie between clubs in the same division level, the total number of
individual matches won, followed by the winner of head
to head competition would determine the winner of that season. In the event of
a multiple tie, the percentage of sets won out of the total number of sets
played will decide the order of winners.
b) The RED DIVISION winners B
and C will play a playoff match against the BLUE DIVISION losers A and B, at
the end of the spring season and at the end of the fall season, to be held at
the defending teams club on its next regularly scheduled play day. If the RED
DIVISION winner beats the BLUE DIVISION loser, those two teams will interchange
for the following season. Rain dates for the playoff matches will be held on
the defending teams regularly scheduled rain date. If the rain date is rained
out, the match must be played on the following scheduled defending teams match
day. If it rains on the scheduled match day then you must play on the scheduled
rain date of the defending team. NO OTHER DAY IS ACCEPTABLE!
c) The BLUE DIVISION winners
A, B and C will play a playoff match against the RED DIVISION losers, A, B and
C at the end of the Spring season and at the end of the Fall season, to be held
at the defending teams club on its next regularly scheduled play day. If the
BLUE DIVISION winner beats the RED DIVISION loser, those two teams will
interchange for the following season. Rain dates for playoff matches will be
held on the defending teams regularly scheduled rain date. If the rain date is
rained out, the match must be played on the following scheduled defending teams
match day. If it rains on the scheduled match day then you must play on the
scheduled rain date of the defending team. NO OTHER DAY IS ACCEPTABLE!
d) The YELLOW DIVISION winner
will play a playoff match against the BLUE C DIVISION loser at the end of the Spring season and at the end of the Fall season, to be held
at the defending teams club on its next regularly scheduled play day. If the
BLUE C DIVISION loser loses to the YELLOW DIVISION winner, those teams will
interchange for the following season. Rain dates for the playoff matches will
be held on the defending teams regularly scheduled rain date. If the rain date
is rained out, the match must be played on the following scheduled defending
teams match day. If it rains on the scheduled match day then you must play on
the scheduled rain date of the defending team. NO OTHER DAY IS ACCEPTABLE!
e) During the regular
season, as well as in the play-offs, if a club has two teams in the
same division, NEITHER TEAM CAN BORROW A PLAYER FROM THE OTHER TEAM. The
designation of #I and #II in the same division will be by standings at the end
of the season. During playoffs, if a club has two teams in the same division,
neither team may borrow from the other.
f) No player may play in a
playoff match unless she has played at least two (2) matches
at that particular level or below during that season. Prior to a playoff match,
each team captain must supply the appropriate League Secretary and recorder
with a list of her eligible players. The League Secretary and recorder will
verify the eligibility of each player before and after the playoff match is
played.
Bold Italics indicates the revisions
voted on at the February 2009 Annual Meeting
Asterisk (*) after the first sentence of
Section 1( c )
indicates appropriate relocation
from
Section 4
(b).