Chattanooga Tennis Association

Chattanooga Tennis Association

Adult Tennis League Rules

Revised August 2018

I.Membershipand Dues

A.Anyone who is at least 19 years old can be a member of, and participate in Chattanooga Tennis Association (CTA)

Adult Men's, Women's, Singles, and Mixed Doubles Leagues.

B.All participants must be current members of theCTA.Membership dues are payable annuallyto the association as follows:

Single membership:$40.00 (no longer Family Membership)

Dues may be paid online at www.chattanoogatennis.comby clicking the “JOIN CTA” tab, or mailed to P.O. Box 23383, Chattanooga, TN. 37422

A.A non-CTA member is allowed to substitute twice without joining CTA.If the non-CTA member substitutes more than twice they need to pay the CTA dues or, the team will incur a Team Penalty and will forfeit the affected court.

B.Any non-member or substitute player who participates in anyCTA Adult League match is responsible for membership dues. Dues must be mailed or delivered to theCTA office within ten (10) days after the second substitution of match play. A list of available substitutes will be supplied to captains when available.

I.Team Rosters, Divisions and League Format:

A.A team will consist of a minimum of four (4) doubles teams (8 players) and will have a maximum size of sixteen (16) players.

B.A team should be entered in the appropriate league level (3.0 - 4.5+) based on the skill level of players on the roster.

C.A team winning two (2) out of three (3) seasons will have the option to move to the next higher level of play for the following season.

D.Final determination of league placement will be the responsibility of the CTA League Coordinator and CTA League Board.

E.Captains need to register team by the league registration deadline.Completed rosters must be turned in to CTA league coordinator 2 weeks before the first match of the season is played.Players may be added during the season, but must have 8 to qualify as a team.

F.Captains must register teams each season (spring, summer, fall).

A player can play on more than one league roster. Ex: Combo 3.5 (Tues morning) and 4.0 Thursday morning, Day and or Evening, and sub on any team their level or higher.

G.If a player chooses to substitute at a higher level for one team only, his/her name should appear on the roster with “sub” noted beside the name.

H.If a player would like to sub at a higher level without restriction to a single team, his / her name should not appear as a sub on a roster, but should be included on the CTA sub list for that level (by request of player only - pleasenotify CTA ).

I.Teams may be moved up or down between divisions based on scores and at the discretion of the CTA League Coordinator.

Combo and Adult League Play will follow guidelines below:

A.Straight NRTPlevel leagues will play that leagues level on all 4 courts in descending strength. Court 1 being the strongest players.

B.+ Leagues: Courts 1 and 2 will play a combo team while courts 3 and 4 will play straight NRTP.

Example: 3.0+ league will play a 3.0 and a 3.5 player on courts 1 and 2, and courts 3 and 4 will play straight 3.0 players. Descending order of player’s strength, court 1 being the strongest.

C.Combo Leagues:

Example:

3.5/4.0 Combo league, Each court will play a 3.5 player and a 4.0 player together. The Strongest combination on court 1 and descending strength combinations to court 4.

D.Rosters must share 50% (no less) at combo level. Ex: 3.5 Combo needs four 4.0 players and six 3.5 players. (If there is a question about subs and/or ratings, please contact the CTA league coordinator.)

I.Line-ups

A.Captains will determine line-ups weekly by strength according to CTA, NTRP, or self-ratings in order to make competition fair to all.SANDBAGGING IS PROHIBITEDand bad form.

B.The strongest and highest rated player must occupy the #1 position. The remaining positions are placed in descending order of strength.

Players without an official NTRP Rating shall self-rate. Issues over self-rated players will be ruled by the CTA League Coordinator

I.Captains’ Responsibilities

A.Captains should provide each team member with:

1.League Rules

2.League Schedule

3.Team Roster (including emails/phone numbers) and possible substitute players.

B.Contact the visiting Captain or Co-Captain well in advance of scheduled matches.

C.Advise the opposing captain if a position must be forfeited before match time.Never assume a match has been cancelled, communicate.

D.The captain (or acting captain) shall be available one hour prior to match time.This applies to both teams.If there is a substitute captain, the opposing captain should be notified.

E.Communicate weekly with teammates to determine if subs are needed. PLEASE avoid forfeited matches.

F.*BOTH captainscan view schedules, and print a score card from topdogtennis.com

Immediately after the match and the winning captain will enter scores on topdogtennis.comThe opposing captain will double check the scores and VERIFYon topdogtennis.comIF there has been an issue on the court or with the match email the CTA League Coordinator asap and the CTA League Coordinator will address the issue.

Keep a record of team matches and scores

A.Captains should be very familiar with USTA rules as found in “Friend at Court” available at www.usta.com

B.Call the CTA office or League Coordinator promptly with any problems or suggestions.

C.Court fees, guest fees, and USTA approved balls are the responsibility of the “home team.”
ie, Teams who choose to have Champions Club, Baylor, GPS, and McCallieas their home courts will take the responsibility to collect the fees from their teammates for the usage of those

courts. Those HOME teams will pay their fee as well as their guest teams fee.

D.Teams who have Baylor, Manker Patten, McCallie and Racquet Clubas home courts and have an option to play a rain match indoor will contact the guest team and ask if that team would split the cost of indoor courts. If the Guest team does not want to split the cost, then the two teams will make up the match on the rain date or split the score 4/4.

I.Match Rules

A.Team schedules will be distributed to Team Captains prior to the beginning of each league season.

B.All players must be present and matches should begin at the scheduled time:

Day: 9:30 a.m.Night: 6:30 p.m. (all Eastern Time)

*Please arrive 10 – 15 minutes early in order to begin match play.

C.If any player arrives more than fifteen (15) minutes after the scheduled match time, his/her team will automatically forfeit that court.

D.Line-ups must be exchanged simultaneously and are not to be changed once exchanged.

E.Courts are assigned by the “home team” captain.

F.Do not delay warm-ups or alter court assignment while waiting for a late player.

G.Play should begin following a warm-up of no more than ten (10) minutes. However, if a player arrives within the 15 minute grace period, he or she will be allowed to warm-up 5 minutes without penalty.

H. If a captain is aware of a forfeit prior to the match, the captain of the opposing team should be notified prior to filling out the scorecard so that line-ups can be altered as

necessary. In the Straight NRTPleagues ( ex: 3.0 team, Notthe 3.0+ or Combo teams) Position #4 should be forfeited first, then Position #3, etc. In the + leagues and Combo

leagues, notify the opposing team the specific line that will be forfeited.This will ensure the level of play is consistent and fair.

I.In the event of a forfeit due to late arrival, players are encouraged but not required to play. However, the match should be recorded as a forfeit.

J.Captains may prearrange time adjustments to scheduled playing times for individual players only if both captains agree.

K.3^RDSET: Matches will be the best two (2) out of three (3) sets, regular scoring, tie break at six all (6-6) (first to 7 by 2).

If time is a consideration and captains agree, matches may be scored no-add, or a third set 10 point (COMAN) tie break.

** (CTA Board Approved change) All 3rd set's are to default to a 3rd set tie break, UNLESS All players agree, and time on the court is not an issue, to play a 3rd full set.

Reguardless of a 3rd Set Tie Break or A Full 3rd set, scoring will be 1-0 entered into chattanoogatennis.topdoglive.com

ALL 3^rdSET’S WILL BE SCORED AS 1-0 REGUARDLESS IF YOU PLAYED A SET OR TIE BREAK. This is to be fair to those who have court time restraints.

L.USTA rules will govern play except as altered in these rules.

M.Scores are reported on topdogtennis.com and is electronically calculated at the time of entry.

Rain Delays and Rainouts

A.In the event of rain, captains are responsible for cooperatively rescheduling rained out matches on rain dates.

B.RAIN OUT MATCHES:

1 RAIN DATE is included in the CTA league schedule. If multiple rain date’s are needed

Captains are to exchange their lineups with player contact information and each line can schedule their match at their convenience before the next scheduled match is to be played.Rescheduled matches may be played one court at a time. This is to be fair to those who do not have indoor court availability.

C.Teams that are assembled to play and are delayed by rain or wet courts may be dismissed at the captain’s discretion (opposing captains must agree.) Captains may agree to reschedule within the league time frame mentioned above.

D.If the first game has not been completed prior to rainout, players listed on the original roster may be changed for the rescheduled match.

E.Completed match scores will stand as recorded.

F.Incomplete matches must be completed by the players originally listed from the point of discontinuation.

G.If match cannot be played for a valid reason, points will be split.Questions/disagreements will be addressed by the League Coordinator.

VI.Rule Enforcement

The CTA League Coordinator will enforce this set of rules and regulations.Decisions and recommendations concerning major violations will be referred to the Board of Directors of the Chattanooga Tennis Association for final decision. The committee welcomes suggestions concerning league play and will meet as needed to discuss the leagues, rules, and ideas for improvement.League concerns may be addressed to CTA League Coordinator or any CTA Board Member.

Please, Everyone remember, we are ambassadors in the Community and CTA.

As such we need to conduct our behavior to each other and those watching in a dignified manner.

Please be extra Polite when entering the courts.

Our younger players are taught fairness, and court etiquette, we adults must teach by example.

Tennis Family,

We are thankful Baylor, Champions, GPS, Manker, and McCallie allow CTA to play on their courts.

These courts are called the "paid courts" because teams "Pay to Play".

Please remember these courts are only charging for 1 1/2 hours of play. Please do not abuse the time, and be respectfull those courts may be reserved before/after your time.

To play within the time limit, please play the 3rd set Coman Tie Break.

Thank you,

Karen Ellis

CTA League Coordinator

THE COMAN TIE-BREAK FORMAT:

The Coman tiebreak procedure is identical to the regular tiebreak procedure except that the players Change ends after the first point and then after every four points, and at the conclusion of the tiebreak.

Set Tie Break: First to win 7 points by 2 points wins “Game “ and“Set”

3rd set Match Tie Break:First to win 10 points by 2, wins match.

The player whose turn it is to serve shall serve the first point from the deuce court.

After the first point, the players shall change ends and the following two points shall be served by the opponent(s) (in doubles, the player of the opposing team due to serve next) starting from the add court.

After this, each player/team shall serve alternately for two consecutive points (starting from the ad court); changing ends after every four points, until the end of the tie break game.

Switch sides after points 1,5,9,13,17..…. and at the conclusion.

Principle Advantages

Fairness – By changing ends more frequently, the effects of the elements (sun, wind, etc.) are distributed more evenly between the two opponents as opposed to playing six consecutive points before changing ends.

In doubles, the server will always serve from the same end of the court, rather than having to serve from both ends.