2006 USA League Mixed Doubles
General Information/Rules
I
Regulations
The USA Mixed Doubles League
will abide by THE RULES OF TENNIS in The
Friend at Court, The Code,
the 2006 National USA League Regulations, the 2006 Southern Sectional
Regulations and the 2006 North Carolina Regulations.
II
Membership
PLAYERS: All players must be
USTA members with expiration dates
September 2006 or later. TennisLink
will not let players register for a team without a current membership. For
easy access to verify USTA memberships: call
the USTA 800 number: 1-800-990-USTA (8782).
III
Registering Team
ROSTERS: Rosters, scores and
standings will be
facilitated through TennisLink.
Captains and players may access TennisLink via www.nctennis.com
or through our local website, www.wilmingtontennis.com.
Registration will begin on
Monday, May 1, 2006.
To Register
Team: Captains
will register their team on TennisLink
and receive a team number. Use
the Team Code - “W” for Wilmington, Captain’s first letter of first
name and first two letters of last name when registering team.
Example:
Judi Koppenhafer, Captain –WJKO Koppenhafer.
Non-playing team captains need to
contact the Local League Coordinator before
entering a team on TennisLink. When
registering, be sure to indicate your Club affiliation, if any.
Each player is responsible for entering
themselves on the team roster using the team
number and paying their own dues via credit
card. All dues will be paid
through TennisLink.
ROSTER
DEADLINE: By
midnight on Monday, May 22, 2006 a minimum
of 6 players must be entered on TennisLink
for a team to exist.
Additional players, up to the maximum of 14, may be added to rosters
until the final deadline of midnight on Monday, June 19, 2006.
Please note that a player’s name must be
added to the TennisLink
roster prior to the player’s participation in a team match.
Any player not formally registered on TennisLink
by the deadline is ineligible to play.
PLAYER
QUALIFICATIONS: Players must play at their current computer rating or
higher. Any player without a computer rating must self-rate in accordance with
the National Tennis Rating Program (NTRP) guidelines when registering for a team.
Self-rated
players must declare their self-rating on TennisLink when registering for a team. Please note:
Individuals who have had a national or section ranking; played college
tennis; have taught tennis; or played professional tennis must
also complete a player history form and
submit to the state and receive approval from
the state to participate at their self-rated level
before participating in a match. Failure
to do so or omission of information
regarding a player’s tennis history will subject the
player, the captain and/or
others who condoned inaccurate self-rating to sanctions
and disqualification. Mixed
Doubles results will not be part of generating a player’s year-end rating
except for those players who play in the Mixed Doubles Division exclusively.
TEAM
QUALIFICATIONS: A
Mixed Doubles Team consists of a minimum
of 6 players and a maximum of 14.
A doubles partnership consists of
one man and one woman playing together. A Local League shall consist of a
minimum of 2 teams at a specific level of competition. All
Adult Division players must be 19 years old by December 31, 2006.
All Senior Division players must be 50 years old by December 31, 2006.
A player may participate in more than one NTRP
level within a Division in the same local league during the same season;
however, a player cannot play on more than two teams in
that Division. Scheduling
concessions will not be made for players who
play on more than one level. Please
be aware that at the State Championships you can only play on
one team at the Adult level and one team
at the Senior level and no special scheduling considerations will be made.
LEVELS OF PLAY: Teams are
formed in the Adult Division using combined
NTRP levels of 5.0, 6.0, 7.0, 8.0, 9.0, and 10.0. Teams are formed in the Senior
Division using combined NTRP levels of 5.0, 6.0, 7.0, 8.0, and 9.0.
The combined levels of each doubles pair cannot exceed the team level.
No individual team can be separated by more than 1.0 in NTRP level.
An example is a 3.5 and a 4.5 can play together on an 8.0 team but a 5.0
and a 3.0 cannot.
FEES
FOR LEAGUE: $25.00/player payable through TennisLink
for each time a player is registered on a team. This includes $6
NCTA head tax, $2 TennisLink fee and $17
local fees. TennisLink
Refund Policy 2006: $2.00
Fee to Tennislink will not be refunded.
All players requesting a refund of their Local Fees and State Head
Tax charges will be given a refund when requesting prior
to the team’s first match.
Requests should be submitted to the Local League Coordinator in writing
stating the reason for refund. All
requests will be held and submitted on one list to the State League Coordinator
after the start of the Local League season.
IV
2006 Season Calendar
Play begins Monday, June 12,
2006. The season ends Sunday,
August 13, 2006. State
Championships will be held in Wilson, NC September 15-17, 2006 and Section
Championships will be held in Cary, NC Oct. 22-24, 2006.
V
Facilities for Match play
Matches will be played at
Laney, New Hanover, Hoggard, Ogden Park, Hugh MacCrae Park, Empie Park, Holly
Tree, Porter’s Neck, Echo Farms, Cape Fear Country Club, Landfall, Ashley,
Legion Stadium, Pine Valley Country Club and UNCW. Club courts will be used only if a team
is affiliated with the particular club. When
playing at a private club, please check in at the pro shop/office before
matches. Courts are only available
for the match time. Do not expect
to get on early unless you are invited to do so by the club officials.
Clubs have rules about what type of beverages or food may be brought onto
their property. Please respect
these rules. Due to NC Liquor Laws,
alcoholic beverages are not allowed to be brought onto the Club premises. Purchases generally can be made at the club.
When playing at a public site please abide by each site’s rules.
Play only on the courts assigned to the
Mixed Doubles League.
Do not ask anyone to leave a court before the start time for a match.
Please be polite to the public at all times.
Please note: If a complaint
is received regarding people being asked to vacate courts that are not assigned
to the League or before the reservation time, the Local League Coordinator may
disqualify a team from further play in the League season.
Please remove all trash,
ball containers, drinks, etc from the site.
Trash cans are available at all sites.
It is important that we respect the property we have been given to use in
our leagues.
VI Format for Match play
SCHEDULED
MATCH TIME:
Match times are mandatory!
All matches will be played on the surfaces scheduled and
played at the time scheduled unless court surfaces are unplayable.
Team matches shall not be played after the
scheduled day for any reason other than inclement weather. Scores
will be reported within 48 hours of scheduled match time or both teams risk
double default. Captains will enter
and confirm scores on the TennisLink system.
LINEUP
EXCHANGE: Each scheduled match will have a “Match Number.”
Prior to the match, captains should obtain a copy of the Match Scorecard
from the TennisLink system. This
card should be filled in with the match lineup and exchanged simultaneously with
the opposing captain 10 minutes before the scheduled match time. (Captains, it
is advisable that all players be present prior to exchanging your scorecard.)
Scorecards must be exchanged by
the scheduled match time. At
ten minutes past the scheduled match time and if courts are available, courts
become forfeits for any players who have not shown.
BEGINNING
THE MATCH:
The match begins at either
the scheduled match time or when the first
assigned court(s) becomes available. The
ten minute default time starts at either the
scheduled match time or when the assigned court(s) become available.
Available courts are assigned in the following order:
#1 Doubles begins first,
#2 Doubles next
and #3 Doubles goes on last. Home team
determines the court placements on the three courts assigned.
Simultaneously with the card exchange and before
looking at the opponent’s scorecard, the home team captain (as listed on the
schedule) determines where each match is played.
(Example: 1st Doubles will be played on court #2; 2nd
Doubles will be played on court #5, etc.).
Please note:
In the event that you are waiting on the previous matches to finish, you
must begin on the first available court. If
this is the case, the 1st Doubles plays on that court; then 2nd
Doubles on the next available court and proceed down the scorecard.
BALLS: Home team
provides balls for play. They must be USTA approved for whatever court surface you are
playing on.
WARM
UP TIME: The first ball will be served at 10 minutes after either the
scheduled time or when the first assigned
court(s) become available.
If players opt to go to the bathroom during this warm-up period, they do
not get additional time
to warm up. Included in the warm-up
time period is the time to take serves. Captains:
It is your responsibility to make sure that the warm up time is observed!
We must begin on time so that the next matches will not be delayed. If
during the 10 minute warm up period, a player becomes ill, has an injury, or
doesn’t show up, a substitution may be made with a non-playing team member. If
the substitution is made during the warm-up, the substitute player is entitled
to a five (5) minute warm-up. You may not redo your lineup, only make that one
change.
STRENGTHS
IN LINEUP:
Under the guidelines established by USTA, no strength order is required.
All courts are considered to be equal strength; therefore no accusations
of ”stacking” are valid. Once
the teams exchange lineups, no movement of players is allowed.
NEVER MOVE PLAYERS ALREADY LISTED ON THE LINEUP
TO ANOTHER POSITION.
MATCH SCORING:
The match winner
will be the team which wins at least 2 of the 3 courts played. On each
individual court, scoring will be the best two out of three sets, using regular
scoring, with a match tiebreaker (first to 10 points with a margin of 2) in lieu
of a 3rd set. There is
no rest period or coaching after split sets, just the normal 120 second break
between sets. Teams
advancing to all Championship Play (State, Sectionals) will be using the
tiebreak in lieu of a third set format.
TIME
TABLE DURING MATCH:
Time
allowed:
Between
points
20
seconds
Between
games
20 seconds
Changing
ends
90 seconds (exception: no break is allowed after the
first
game of each set and during a tie-break game)
Between
sets
120 seconds
COMPLETION
OF THE MATCH:
Captains should either sign or
verbally confirm each other’s scorecards to avoid
disputes in score entry.
Either captain
may go to TennisLink and enter the match score which the other captain then
confirms. Don’t
assume someone else will do it-BOTH CAPTAINS ARE EQUALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS
JOB.
To record the score, go to
TennisLInk, Leagues Homepage and click on “Record a Score” on the right side
of the screen. Enter your USTA
number and the Match Number. Select
players in each position. Enter
scores; click “Submit”. If
accurate, click “Finish.” To
verify scores so that they will be published, follow the same procedure as above
but click on “verify” if everything is correct or “dispute” if they are
inaccurate. If not accurate, call
the other captain to discuss the problem and then notify the Local
League Coordinator (KennyM@ec.rr.com
or 392-5807). All
scores must be entered and confirmed within 48 hours of the scheduled match
times. If the scores are not
verified within the 48 hours, then the scores will stand as originally entered.
VII
Reasons for Match Postponement
INCLEMENT
WEATHER:
Weather-delayed matches must be completed within
7 DAYS of the original match date. The procedure for inclement weather is as follows:
If the match is scheduled at a Club, the Club officials will determine if the courts are playable by their standards.
In some cases this may be up to 30 minutes prior to match time.
Call the Club to find out if playable. If you are playing at a Public site, go
to the site and physically go onto the courts at your scheduled match time to determine if they are playable.
If either captain has gone to the site and determined that it is not
playable, they can phone the other captain and inform them, BUT
if the other captain CANNOT be reached
on the phone then WAIT until he/she
shows up at the match site and then assess the courts.
If any player from either team determines that the conditions are unsafe
(surface slippery, etc…) then the match will have to be rescheduled.
INCLEMENT WEATHER
MATCH MAKE-UP PROCEDURES:
Captains must either meet
or talk by phone on or before the scheduled match time to exchange line-ups.
At the time of exchange, captains should present phone numbers to the
opposing captain so that each court may schedule their match individually. ALL
MATCHES MUST BE RE-SCHEDULED WITH A DATE AND TIME TO PLAY WITHIN TWENTY-FOUR
(24) HOURS OF THE ORIGINAL TIME. ALL
MATCHES MUST BE PLAYED WITHIN SEVEN
(7) DAYS.
EACH
TEAM CAPTAIN MUST REPORT TO THE RAIN MAKE-UP COORDINATOR THE DATE OF EACH
COURT’S MAKE-UP (in its entirety-all courts) WITHIN 24 HOURS AFTER THE
SCHEDULED MATCH TIME. THIS SHOULD BE DONE BY E-MAIL TO PAULA SNEEDEN pjsneed@aol.com. THEREFORE ALL PLAYERS MUST MAKE CONTACT WITH THEIR
OPPONENTS AND FIND AN AGREEABLE TIME TO MAKE UP THE MATCH.
IF THE OPPONENTS CANNOT WORK OUT A TIME WITHIN THE SEVEN DAYS, THEN
SUBSTITUTIONS SHOULD BE MADE.
Captains
should contact the local league coordinator (within the 24 hours) (kennym@ec.rr.com)
if there are any problems. The
League Coordinator will set the new match time for any courts that cannot agree
on a time.
If the captain enters a
forfeit in any of the courts at the time of lineup exchange, then that forfeit
will stand.
Any
team that does not show up for the assigned make-up date will lose by forfeit.
MATCHES NOT MADE UP IN THE ALLOTTED TIME WILL BE SCORED A
“DOUBLE FORFEIT” FOR BOTH TEAMS.
If the original match is
in progress when the inclement weather begins, and conditions become unsafe (USE
COMMON AND SMART SENSE), play stops. The
same lineup must be kept and play is continued when conditions are favorable.
The score should be agreed on and recorded by the players at the time the match
is stopped. The same situations
will begin when the play is made up even if in the middle of a game.
IN THIS SITUATION, PLAY MUST BE COMPLETED AND THE MATCH MADE UP WITHIN
SEVEN (7) DAYS OF THE ORIGINAL MATCH OR IT WILL BE SCORED A DOUBLE FORFEIT.
SUBTITUTIONS
FOR INCLEMENT WEATHER:
If the original match never began,
you may substitute a player who was NOT ON THE
ORIGINAL SCORECARD into the lineup.
This could help with getting the match made up within the 7 day time
frame. Captains, please encourage your
players to work with the other players to arrange their makeup match as quickly
and cooperatively as possible. Have
your players confirm the makeup match (DATE/TIME/PLACE) with all players
concerned and then have them inform you of the details.
CAPTAINS BEWARE: If you
agree to a make up match for your players, it is BINDING (make sure your players
can play at the time you scheduled with other captain!).
Once a time, day and location for the makeup match has been agreed upon
by the players involved, that match MAY NOT BE CANCELED, for any reason other
than inclement weather. If teams are having a problem coming up with a
suitable make-up date, the Local League Coordinator will set the date.
Please avoid
this because the time picked is arbitrary and may not suit either team.
Any
team that does not show up for the assigned make-up date will receive a forfeit.
Matches not made up in the allotted time will be scored a “DOUBLE
FORFEIT” for both teams.
If the original
match is in progress when the inclement weather begins,
and conditions become unsafe, play stops. The score should be agreed on and recorded by
the players at the time the match is stopped. The same lineup must be
kept and play is continued when conditions are favorable. Incomplete matches
must be continued by the same players and resumed at the exact set, game, point,
side, and server as when play was stopped.
The match must be made up within 7 DAYS
of the original match or it will be scored a double forfeit. Please keep in mind
that since the season is only approximately 10 weeks long, we need the matches
made up as soon as possible. If players cannot agree on the surface for
the make-up match, then the surface shall be the same as was originally
scheduled.
VIII
MISCELLANEOUS RULES
FORFEITS: The players who win
by forfeit must be present and ready to play at scheduled match time.
The forfeit is technically not given until the 10 minute warm up period
has passed. Forfeits must be taken
from the bottom up (#3 position is forfeited first).
No substitutions may be made after the exchange except in
accordance with the following USTA league regulation:
A team match is started when the first ball, of any of the three
positions, is put in play. No
substitutions may be made in an individual match after the lineup has been
presented, except for injury to, illness of, or disqualification of a player,
prior to the start of said match. After
the start of an individual match, if injury to, illness of, or disqualification
of a player occurs, the opponents will be awarded a forfeit for that individual
match only.
In the event of illness, injury, disqualification, or no-show of a player
prior to the start of a team match (once the lineup has been exchanged) a team
may substitute a player in the affected position within the 10 minute default
time, using a player not already listed on the lineup. The substituted player is
entitled to a 5 minute warm-up. If
no substitutions can be made, the affected position will be forfeited.
TEAM
DISQUALIFICATION DUE TO FORFEITS:
If a team forfeits an entire match (teams are expected to play all
scheduled matches) twice in one season (Local
League Coordinator determines disqualification of team),
that team is disqualified for the rest of the League season.
All their matches during that season, both played and scheduled to be
played, will become null and void. An
automatic grievance will be filed with the local grievance committee and they
will determine if any further action needs to be taken.
Re-entry (as a team) into the local league will be in jeopardy in the
future. No more than three of the
players that had played together on the disqualified team will be allowed to
play together on any level in the next season.
Re-entry in future years is subject to approval by the league board.
RETIREMENTS: The non-retiring players win the match. Please record scores at the point of retirement.
COACHING: No one is allowed within
the fenced court area except the players. No
outside “advice” from
anyone is allowed.
BATHROOM
BREAKS:
Reasonable bathroom breaks are allowed.
If a bathroom facility is
not
available at a site, then a player may leave to go to the bathroom.
No one should accompany that
player
but a partner or opponent.
FAIR CALLS: In
accordance with “The Code” and in reference to line calls, when in doubt as
to whether a ball is out or good, the call is always made in favor of your opponent.
Players who make intentional bad calls are cheating.
CELL
PHONES: All cell phones/pagers should be turned off or to silent during League
Matches. This is considered an
official warning about cell phones/pagers. The player whose cell phone/pager
rings during a match, loses the point. The
penalty is only enforced on the court of the cell phone/pager owner.
DRESS
CODE: All
players must wear proper attire during Mixed Doubles League matches.
Shirts must be worn at all times. Tank
tops and sleeveless shirts on men are not permitted (this includes hemmed and
torn off sleeves). Women may not
wear a sports bra that is not covered entirely.
Proper shoes must be worn. Running,
cross trainers or any other non-traditional tennis shoes are not permitted on
soft courts.
PROFANITY
AND UNSPORTSMANLIKE BEHAVIOR:
All players are under an official warning in reference to unsportsmanlike
behavior. The Mixed Doubles League
will uphold a non-tolerance policy of unsportsmanlike behavior of any kind.
Profanity will not be tolerated in League play! General behavior on the
court is expected to be sportsmanlike at all times and players who abuse these
rules will suffer a penalty. Opponents
or the Local League Coordinator may file an official grievance against such
players and disqualification from further play in the League season will be
enforced if the Grievance Committee finds the complaint to be valid.
This is a recreational league. Players
should abide by the rules of tennis as stated in “THE CODE”.
(A copy of “THE CODE” can be found at the NCTA website,
www.nctennis.com.
“THE CODE” is the players’ guide to unofficiated play and it is a
handy item to have in your tennis bag.
UNATTENDED
CHILDREN: No unattended (by an adult) children should be brought to
the tennis courts. No children are
ever allowed on the courts during play. Violation
may result in default.
ADVANCEMENT
TO CHAMPIONSHIP PLAY: To qualify for State
and/or Sectional championships at the Adult level, each team on a level must
play at least 2 matches and individual players must have played in
at least 2 matches. To
qualify for State and/or Sectional championships at the Senior level, each team
must play at least 2 matches and individual players must have
played in at least 1 match. A
forfeit received by a player during local competition shall count for advancing.
If
the season ends with a tie, the tie shall be broken according to the following
procedure:
a.
Winner of
the most individual matches
b.
Loser of
the fewest number of sets
c.
Loser of
the fewest number of games
d.
Winner of
head-to-head match
e.
Toss of
coin. A league official shall toss
the coin
A
minimum of 6 team members who were on the final roster of their Local League
team at the conclusion of Local League play must be available and eligible to
compete at the State and Sectional Championships. The Tournament Committee can reduce that number to not less
than four.
GRIEVANCES:
The
procedures for filing a grievance are stated in the 2006
USA LEAGUE TENNIS REGULATIONS
which
can be accessed via TennisLInk.
To do this, go to www.wilmingtontennis.com
and click on the TennisLink
logo which will put you on the TennisLink homepage. On
the far right-hand side under “Learn More” click on “USA League Tennis
Rules” and then on “2006 USA League Tennis Regulations” to obtain a
printable copy of the document.
GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE
2006:
Glen Watford, Beverly Blalock, Janet
Jones
GRIEVANCE APPEAL
COMMITTEE 2006:
Toppy Sayre,
Jerry King, Bob Dempsey
.