JCCA ADULT MEN’S' TENNIS LEAGUE

RULES AND REGULATIONS
CAPTAINS: Competition Committee Proposed Changes of 12/03/02 (below in Blue) are necessitated by the Electronic Scoring System.
Changes would  would be implemented EFFECTIVE with ROUND 3 of the 2002 Season, before VOTE in the 5/04/03 Captains Meeting.
Changes enacted by Tennis Committee vote 5/06/01 @  Captains Meeting Changes remain incorporated herein, as amended 08/06/02.
 (Rule 15 Amendment adopted 8/10/99 was REPEALED in 08/06/02 Captains Meeting.)

1.  The TENNIS COMMITTEE shall consist of the CAPTAINS from each team. Captains will be required to attend all committee meetings held and distribute all league information to his club and team members as received. There will be two meetings each year; one prior to commencement of the season and one after the regular season but prior to the playoffs.

Only the TENNIS COMMITTEE may change a rule or amend a rule for a particular season. Any and all changes must receive a majority vote by the TENNIS COMMITTEE. Neither the TENNIS CHAIRMAN nor the COMPETITION COMMITTEE may change or amend a rule without the approval from the TENNIS COMMITTEE.  Special circumstances may allow the Competition Committee to call for early implementation of a given rule but that Rule requires official adoption at the next Captains’ Meeting.

2.  A COMPETITION COMMITTEE of three plus the TENNIS CHAIRMAN will be available in the event of a problem or protest to enforce the League Rules and Regulations.  Members are elected by vote of the Tennis Committee at the May Captains’ Meetings, to two-year terms.

3.  To participate in ADULT JCCA tennis competition a PLAYER is an adult who is no longer eligible to participate in junior competition as per USTA rules and is a dues paying and/or stock holding member of their club.

a)  Any player with multiple memberships must make a decision before the start of the season as to which club they will represent in JCCA league play.

b)  Any player who DROPS a membership and joins another club during the season IS eligible to play with his new club and the matches played will count toward post season eligibility.

In the event an ineligible player is used in a regularly scheduled, rescheduled or play-off match, the offending team will forfeit the entire match and the CLUB will be put on probation for the rest of the season. If the club violates the probation the offending club must forfeit all matches by all its teams in all divisions at the time of the infraction.

c)  Proof of membership/eligibility will be required for each player participating in JCCA Tennis competition.

If proof of eligibility is REQUESTED AND IS not available at the time a match is to begin, said match will be played as to not delay the match and it will be the responsibility of the questioning captain to report any alleged infraction to the COMPETITION COMMITTEE within three (3) days of the match.

4.  The league will be divided into five DIVISIONS. They will be called RED(A), WHITE(B), GOLD (C), BLUE(D), and GREEN(E).

5.  Each club must submit a ROSTER listing all known players and the division they will participate in to the scorekeeper prior to the commencement of league play.

a)  Any additions to a team's roster during the season must be given to the scorekeeper no later than 6 PM on the Monday prior to the next match date in which the new player is to participate. The player is not eligible and cannot participate unless the scorekeeper has been contacted.  (Captains voted 05/06/01 to strictly enforce.)

b)  There will be a 23-player limit of eligible players per team. Any team wishing to add a player beyond the limit must replace a current player listed in order for the player to be eligible. Deleted as of the 2002 Season.

6.  The regular season will consist of each team playing four (4) rounds on a home/away rotation with inter-division play* and will play all regularly scheduled matches on consecutive Tuesday nights starting on the first Tuesday in the month of September with breaks in play for holidays and holiday seasons.

(*Interdivision Play consists of: Red Bye team plays White Bye team; Gold Bye team playing Blue Bye team – for the 2002 season.) designated adjacent Divisions playing each other.

7.  Each divisional team must field a minimum of four(4) teams courts without risk of a forfeit but may field five (5) teams courts if mutually agreed upon by the opposing captains. When four matches are played and end in a split of matches won, (i.e., 2-2) the match is won by the team with the fewest number of games lost. If a tie still exists a twelve (12) point tie break will be played by the last two teams to finish their match to declare a winner.

8.  Matches will be the best two of three sets. In the case of a tie, at six(6) games each, a twelve(12) point tie break will determine the winner of a set.

9.  Host teams shall furnish an unopened can of USTA approved optic yellow tennis balls for each match. Furthermore, the Host team is responsible for furnishing one drink refreshment per person during each match played.

10. Team captains will be responsible for prearranging scheduled matches and times. The host captain must contact the visiting team captain no later than two (2) days before the match to specify playing times (i.e., Sunday before 5:00 PM). The visiting team gives their line-up first.

11. Match starting times will be 6:30 P.M. and 7:45 P.M. with a five(5) minute warm-up allowed before each match.  Captains shall exchange lineups in writing before match play begins.  A captain may call a forfeit if the opposing team captain if a team is not prepared to start play fifteen(15) minutes after the scheduled match time. If a team arrives at 6:45 P.M. for a regularly scheduled 6:30 P.M. match, that team’s warm-up is forfeited and play must commence. The same rule applies to the 7:45 P.M. match, as clarified in Rule 12.d below. Any player may call for play to commence after this warm-up period. Any team declining to begin play may be defaulted. All match schedules are firm. There shall be no deviation in time schedules unless mutually agreed upon by the opposing captains in advance.

12. Forfeits

a.  No team may forfeit more than two (2) positions in a single match. Initial violation of this rule will put the offending team on probation. A second violation of this rule will result in ineligibility for all members of the offending team in the playoffs.

b.  If a team is forfeiting before any matches are on the court, that team must forfeit at the #5 #4 position and then the #4 #3 position.

c.  Prior to forfeiting at match time the offending team will be allowed fifteen (15) minutes beyond scheduled match time to obtain sufficient players.

d.  Players must be ready to commence the match before the end of this fifteen minute period or within five (5) minutes from the end of the previous match.

13. If a team forfeits a position, that point is lost and no credit is given for its member's qualification for post-season play. The team receiving the forfeit will receive credit for a win and receive credit for post-season play qualification. A forfeited match is scored 6-0,6-0 against the forfeiting team.

14. Once a match is in progress it cannot be delayed or postponed for any reason other than unplayable weather. Except for weather if a match is not completed the participating players should decide between themselves who must default. If they cannot come to a decision the captains should decide. If a decision is still not reached the COMPETITION COMMITTEE will decide the outcome.

a)  Rained out matches will only be made-up at the discretion of the competing captains. No credit for post-season eligibility will be given to the players listed on the scoresheets for rained out matches.

b)  What constitutes a rainout match - versus a "match played - to be counted"? If 50% of the matches played, have been completed, those results will be tallied by the score-keeper. Otherwise, the match is listed as a rainout.

15. A player may not play down more than one division but may play up.  Also a player may only play in one match per night.

(Rule amended in the 8/10/99 Captains meeting at Green Acres as follows: "Special exemption is extended to Paradise Manor Country Club and Lakeside Country Club as these clubs have only two tennis courts, limited tennis member-ship, and JCCA Men's Tennis teams two divisions apart. These teams may use substitutes between the two teams of their own club."  This Rule Amendment ratified by the JCCA Board of Directors 9/27/99 with the caveat, "This Rule Amendment is for the duration of the 1999-2000 JCCA Men's Tennis Season, and is null and void after said Season."  (Captains extended the Amendment in the 8/08/00 Captains meeting - although never ratified.)

16. A player must play in 33% of the scheduled matches played by his team to qualify to play in the post-season playoffs and in the post-season tournament. All matches played in all divisions will count toward the 33%. If qualified, the player must play in the division in which he played the most matches. If the number of matches is equal in two divisions he may play in one or the other but not both.

17. Standings will be decided by divisional team won-loss record.  Six teams from each division with the best won-loss percentage (%) will be eligible for the post-season playoffs.

Ties will be broken first by head-to-head competition.  If a tie still exists there will be a playoff between the teams involved.  Awards will be given to the playoff division winners in each division.

18. At the conclusion of the regular season the top two(2) teams from the White, Gold, Blue and Green divisions shall advance to the Red, White and Blue divisions respectively. Conversely, the bottom two (2) teams from the Red, White, Gold and Blue divisions will move down to the White, Blue and Green divisions. This movement is based on the won-loss percentage of the teams during the regular season, and shall be mandatory.  (The Competition Committee was given discretion on team movement by acclamation in JCCA Captains' Meeting 8/08/00.)

19. Scores are to be reported no later than 6:00 PM the first Friday following the scheduled match.   All matches, INCLUDING RAINOUTS must be reported.

a.  The JCCA Scoreboard will be used exclusively to report scores.

b.  HOME TEAM Captain is responsible for reporting scores.  Failure to report scores will result in Forfeits for HOME team.  WINNING  team captain should take the initiative to report the scores, since the Winning team has the most motivation for accurate reporting, and the most to lose for failure to comply with this rule.

c.  Score inputs are to be completed accurately.  Misrepresentation of players or scores will result in a forfeit of the offending team in that match.

d.  Match records are electronically stored on the JCCA web site database.  The database will be backed up and stored at 2 other locations following the 6:00 PM Friday deadline for reporting scores, and STATISTICS will be updated weekly..

e.  The Competition Committee will review any team having multiple forfeits for the. Multiple forfeits could impact the team's playoff eligibility.

19. Each team (host & visitor) must turn in a correctly completed score sheet with the results for each scheduled match, INCLUDING RAINOUTS, using the standard issued score sheet for that season.

a.) Score sheets must LEGIBLY list both the first & last name for each player from each team. The score sheet must list the host and visitor team name and number  (USE THE SCHEDULE AS A GUIDE - i.e., "2 BC#3"), the date of the match, the match number and list scores of all matches played including forfeits.

b.) Failure to follow this rule in any part will result in a forfeit by the offending team in that match including loss of eligibility for the players toward post-season play.

c.) Score sheets may be turned in by mail or in person at the location specified by the scorekeeper, no later than the next Monday following the scheduled match date.  (Scorekeeper NOTE: No team will receive credit from scoresheets turned by the opposing captain.)  .

d.) A record is kept of all matches played and the players participating.

20. USTA POINT PENALTY SYSTEM is to be used for unsportsmanlike conduct and enforced by the host captain. If the captain(s) is not present then the players are responsible. Furthermore, “THE CODE", which is a set of written regulations for non-officiated matches should be followed.

CODE VIOLATIONS: Sportsmanship must be strictly adhered to. Racquet abuse, foul language, disruptive behavior will not be tolerated. Captains will address the other Captain during the match in order to bring attention to a violation.

POINT PENALTY PROCEDURE: 1st offense- Warning

2nd offense- Point penalty

3rd offense- Game penalty

4th offense- Match penalty

Note added 6/9/02: These Point Penalties are described in USTA Regulations, under Tournaments, for ready reference.

21. Clubs renting courts should rent Laykold type courts, well in advance, to assure play on a familiar surface. If Laykold type courts are not available, try to rent hard surface courts. Rent Rubico only if nothing else is available.

Summary of Changes: Rules 1, 5.b, 6, 7, 11, 12.b (editorial ONLY), 14.a, 19 (complete), are CHANGES PROPOSED by the Competition Committee in a meeting 11/26/02, and while these take effect as of Round 3 of the 2002 season, MUST be voted on in the 5/4/03 Captains Meeting.  NOTE: these changes agree with the information given to Captains in the 8/6/02 Captains Meeting at Green Acres.

Rules 3, 5, 11, 14, and 19 were changed following the May 5, 1998 Captains’ Meeting at Bissonet (last MAJOR revision.)  The May 6, 2001 Captains' Meeting at Bissonet changed the following:

Page 2, Changed Rules 4 and 6, and Rule 19 on Page 5, to include references to the new GOLD Division.

Page 3, Rule 10 Changed to Require Home Captains to contact Guests no later than Sunday before match.

Page 3, Rule11 Reworded to prohibit a forfeit if courts are not available.

Page 3, Rule12, Deleted the option of an additional forfeit if one player doesn't show up.

Additional Changes from the August 8, 2000 Captains' Meeting at Green Acres (not previously incorporated into the Rules):

Page 1, NOTE at beginning, and elsewhere, Modified the Rule 15 Amendment to apply to all similar situations without remanding to vote.

Page 4, Rule 18, Incorporated the vote by acclamation to allow Competition Committee discretion on team movement.

Additional Change, stating a long-established requirement for all captains to submit score sheets:

Page 4, Rule 19, Added Scorekeeper Note that each team's score and post-season player eligibility is derived solely from that team's score sheets.

These RULES, and the Changes as shown herein, have been RATIFIED by the JCCA BOARD of DIRECTORS, and are now the OFFICIAL RULES OF JCCA MEN’S TENNIS:

Original Signed by                                                                   .

                             Gay Fourroux                        Date
                             JCCA Tennis Chairman