1. The League shall be called
"THE BOLTON & DISTRICT TABLE TENNIS LEAGUE"
2. The
League shall be governed by a Committee elected annually at the Annual General
Meeting and shall consist of the following:
Chairman, Hon.
Secretary, Hon. Match Secretary, Hon. Treasurer, Hon. Lancashire & Cheshire
Inter-League Secretary, Hon. Table Tennis Development Officer, Hon. Tournament
Secretary, along with eight elected representatives.
This Committee
shall have power to decide all questions relating to the eligibility of
players, the interpretation of the League Rules and shall have full
jurisdiction over all matters or business concerning the League whether covered
in these Rules or not and its decision shall be considered final, subject to
appeal.
Should any
member of the said Committee be interested or concerned in any dispute, claim
or protest, they shall not remain in the room whilst such case is being
decided.
The Committee
shall appoint annually a President and Vice-Presidents
The Committee
shall have power to co-opt other persons qualified to assist in administering
the affairs of the League. The quorum necessary for the Management Committee
shall be five. If any member of the Committee absents themselves from three
consecutive meetings without submitting apologies for absence, he will be
deemed to have resigned.
3. Notices
of Motion for new rules, amendments or alterations to existing Rules must be
made in writing to the League Secretary not later than the last Saturday in
April of each year for consideration at the AGM. Nominations for Officers of
the League and for the Committee for the following year must also be made in
writing to the League Secretary by the last Saturday in April.
4. (a) At the Annual
General Meeting the Officers of the League and the elected members of the
Committee shall have one vote. Teams that completed the previous season shall
have one vote per team. A proxy may be nominated in advance to vote, who are
themselves not already a team representative.
(b) Any club not represented at the Annual General
Meeting shall be fined the sum of £6.00.
5. The annual team
subscription fee together with appropriate ETTA and LTTA affiliation fees, as
levied, shall be paid upon entry in the League.
All team subscriptions shall be paid as a condition of entry in the
official handbook and are none returnable. For a team consisting entirely of
juniors, the team fee shall be one fifth of the normal team fee.
6. The players’ annual registration fees must be
paid on the date selected for the collection of handbooks or at least 24 hours
before a player becomes eligible to play in the league. The fees are £6.00 per senior player and
£2.00 per junior player. This is to
include a copy of the League Handbook and Memento fund fee. A junior is a
person under 18 years of age on 31st December during the current
administrative year.
No player may register for more than one club.
7. (a) The registration of
any player shall be subject to the approval of the Management Committee. In particular, the Management Committee shall
approve the registration of any player after 31st January.
(b) A registered player
who wishes to transfer to another club shall make application to the Match
Secretary who shall place the application before the Management Committee. If the application is approved, the player
will be eligible to play for their new club immediately.
8. The
registration of any player normally residing outside a radius of 20 miles from
Bolton Town Hall will be accepted only on the understanding that the player
will play in at least 50% of outstanding League matches subsequent to
registration. Once this percentage of appearances cannot be attained the
player's registration will be cancelled and playing record expunged.
9. A
player must have played in 50% of League matches to qualify for inclusion in
the leading averages.
10. (a) The Management Committee shall have power to
divide the League into Divisions when deemed advisable.
(b) At
the end of the season teams shall be promoted and relegated at the discretion
of the Management Committee.
11. The
various Divisions of the League shall be decided as follows: In each match the
total number of points to be played for shall be nine. A team will be awarded
points equal to the number of sets won. In the event of a tie on points at the
end of the season the record of match wins will decide. A further tie on match
wins will be decided by a play off. This Rule will apply to both Championship
and Runners-up positions in every Division.
12. (a) Apart from players forming parts of relegated
teams, no player is allowed to play in a lower division than in the previous
season without the prior approval of the Management Committee.
(b) Clubs with more than one team shall enter each
team separately on the player registration form, stating the players for each
team. No player from that team will be able to play for a lower ranked team
than the one they are registered for, except as a guest. Further signings will
be to a specific team in the club.
(c) Alterations to ranking lists must be in the
hands of the Match Secretary by the 25th of each month, but the previous list
will remain in force until the Match Secretary notifies the club that the new
list has been accepted.
(d) Any player may assist a higher ranked team than
their own any number of times when they are not playing in their own team that
fixture week.
A player shall be allowed to assist a higher
ranked team than his own in the same week that he plays his own match, even if
the team is in the same division. Any
single player may only do this a maximum of six times during the season.
(e)
All players will be charged an entry fee for the Individual Championships on
registration night. Only those registered players who return the form by the
required date will be entered in the draw. Prizes will be assessed by the
Committee after expenses have been deducted.
(f) Players of proven ability who have been
allowed to play in a lower Division to help out various clubs shall at the
Committee's discretion be "starred” meaning that they should play only in
the Division of their standard for any individual championship.
13. All
protests must be made in writing and be in the hands of the League Secretary
within seven days after the match, and must be accompanied by a fee of £5.00
which will be returned if the protest is upheld.
14. If
a team resigns from the League after enrolment, no money shall be refunded and
all matches played by the team shall be expunged from the League table.
15. Any
correspondence sent out to a club or player from the Management Committee which
requests a reply must be answered within 14 days or the offending club or
player may be fined a sum not exceeding £3.00 and depending on the gravity of
the offence may be further dealt with by the Management Committee. Non-payment
of fines within one month of being imposed will result in a further fine of
£1.00 per week or part of a week that the money remains unpaid.
16. A
team shall consist of 3 players. Nine singles (sets) will be played, each to be
the best of five games. The home team shall enter their players on the match
card followed by the away team and the sets to be played as follows:
1x2, 3x1, 2x3, 3x2, 1x3, 2x1, 3x3,
2x2, 1x1. Home team first, in each case, to be played as far
as possible in the above order. The visitors' umpires must officiate in
the first and alternate games.
17. Both
Captains shall see and initial the card before the Home Captain posts it.
Should the match card fail to reach the Match Secretary by THREE postal days
after the match, a fine of £3.00 will be imposed in the first instance; the
Committee will deal with any subsequent offence.
18. Full teams must
be played in all matches, which must start not later than 7.30pm. By 8.15 pm teams must be represented by at
least two players. Beyond this time the 3rd player of either side may absent
themselves for as long as the match can continue without stopping. At this
point a reserve player may be included or if there is no reserve player the
sets will be forfeited unless the absentee is in possession of a late pass
obtainable from either the Match Secretary or Secretary in advance. (Remember a guest player may be used.)
19. If
one player from each team is present at 7.30pm then they should play their game
even though it might not be according to the card.
20. Clubs
not playing a full team shall be fined £3.00 for every player short of a full
team. Subject to non-compliance with Rule 22 any full team failing to attend a
fixture will be fined £12.00. Should any infringement of this Rule by insertion
of fictitious entries on the Score Card come to the notice of the Committee, a
fine of £12.00 will be imposed.
21. All
matches must be played on the date stated in the Official Handbook. Teams
consisting entirely of juniors may opt for home fixtures only.
If a regular player
is not available on that night then a reserve or ‘guest' player may play. A 'guest' player may be any player,
but their points would not count.
A match can only be rearranged:
(a) If the home team's venue is not available;
(b) If a player of a team is required for a Bolton
Inter-league match
or
(c) For
any special circumstances approved by the Hon. Match Secretary.
Any team, which cancels a match
without informing the Match Secretary, will be fined £12.00. The secretary of
the club wanting a rearrangement must inform the match secretary of the new
date that they have agreed with the opposing captain, to be played within 21
days of the original fixture. If this does not happen, the matter shall be
reported to the Committee who will examine the circumstances and then make a
decision, which may include awarding points and/or the levying of a fine up to
£12.00. The above also applies to any team not fulfilling a fixture.
22. It
shall be the responsibility of a club changing its secretary, headquarters or
match night, or the secretary changing their address, to notify the League Secretary
and Match Secretary in writing and to advise the secretary of each club in the
Division or Divisions to which they are attached. Where a club changes its
match night, all opponents for home matches must be sent a reminder at least
seven days and not more than ten days before each fixture.
23. The
top two teams in each Division shall receive a set of mementoes. Clubs having
one or more teams competing shall not allow players to compete for mementoes in
more than one team,
24. The
League allows only for three mementoes to champions and runners-up of each
Division. All extra mementoes above three per team, shall be applied for, and,
permission being granted, the cost shall be defrayed by the club concerned.
25. No
club shall receive any trophies until all outstanding monies are paid.
26. The
Committee shall have power to withhold the trophies from any club at its
discretion.
27. When
a game is being played the home Captain must ensure that there is no outside
interference.
28. Members
of all teams competing in all sections must wear officially approved clothing.
A playing shirt, shorts or skirt shall be mainly of a uniform colour other than
white, but the collar and sleeves of a playing shirt may be of contrasting
colour or colours other than white.
29. Matches
shall be played in accordance with the current Laws of Table Tennis as adopted
by the ETTA.
Venues
1. All
premises should have adequate lighting over (a) the table and (b) the adjacent
playing area as defined in Rule 32.
For those rooms with a light background, an
orange ball should be used if one can be made available.
2. There
should be a clear playing area of not less than 21 feet by 13 feet.
Code of Conduct
1. All players must show respect
for their opponents, umpires and spectators by conducting themselves in a
sporting manner. Gratuitous swearing, intimidation or misuse of equipment must not take
place at any time on the premises of any match under the control of the League.
2. Any complaint must be made in writing to the
General Secretary within seven days of the match. A justified complaint can
result in the withdrawal of a player's registration.
3. Any complaint will be delegated by the
Committee to be heard by a Disciplinary Committee. This will be chaired by a
member of the League Committee and consist of members of the Committee not
involved, plus Secretaries of clubs or any other proxy senior club
representative not involved in the complaint to make up a quorum of at least
five. Any decision will be decided by a secret ballot.
(This
competition is for all teams in the League).
(This
competition is for the Premier Division and Division 1.)
(This
competition is for teams in Divisions 2 & 3.)
(This
competition is for teams in Divisions 4 & 5.)
1. Entry
to cup competitions is by request at the time of team registration.
2. The
entire control and management of the Competitions shall be vested in the Table
Tennis Committee.
3. A team shall consist of three players. Nine
Singles (sets) will be played of four games each. The home team shall
enter their players on the match card followed by the away team and the sets
played as follows - 1x2 3x1 2x3 3x2 1x3 2x1 3x3 2x2 1x1.
4. A
team shall be deemed to constitute those players registered for that team. In
the event of a qualified player not being available, a player from a
lower ranked team may be included.
If no lower ranked players are
available the team must comprise only those players who are qualified according
to this Rule. In order to play a semi-final and final a player must have played
in 50% of league matches from the date of their registration and up to the
semi-final and final. Any sets not played as a result of not playing a full
team must be forfeited.
No fines will be levied for playing
incomplete teams under the foregoing circumstances. However, if a team fails to
honour a fixture without informing the opposition and Match Secretary, they
will be fined £12.00.
Should
any team include a player who is not eligible according to this Rule then it
shall forfeit three sets for each ineligible player and a fine of £3.00 will be
imposed for each ineligible player participating in such a match.
5. Each set of a cup match will consist of 4
games. The total points from the four games will be entered on the scorecard.
The total points from the 9 sets together with the handicap shall determine the
result.
If a
team is a fixture down for any reason, five points will be added to their
league points for each match down and their position adjusted within their
division before the handicap is worked out.
The
handicap is determined as follows: Count the number of teams that separate the
teams and are on different points than either of the two teams involved and
multiply by 7, then add 30.5 subject to a maximum of 301.5.
6. All cup-ties are to be played on the home
night of the home team. If this is shared with another team then whichever team
has to change must offer another date to their opponents. All cup finals should
be played at a neutral venue.
7. Cups and Trophies cannot be won outright and
at all times will remain in the custody of the League. Should a club following
presentation of a cup/trophy wish to take temporary custody then the recipient
shall sign a receipt undertaking full responsibility as per regulations laid
down by the League. Cups and trophies must be returned to the Match Secretary
(if necessary via the Hilton Centre) in good condition at least two weeks prior
to the presentation evening, otherwise a £3.00 fine
will be imposed.
8. The interpretation of these Rules and any
matters not provided for in the Rules shall be dealt with by the Committee as
it deems fit.
1. All Inter-league teams must be
entered through the Committee.
2. All senior Inter-league teams
should pay their own expenses and fines.