Barnets & District Table Tennis League Rules
Changes made to the rules at the last AGM are in Bold Italic text
1. TITLE. The name of the League shall be the “Barnets and District Table Tennis League”.
2. OBJECT. The objects of the Barnets and District Table Tennis League shall be to conduct annual competitions between member clubs, to arrange and run individual championship competitions, to assist and encourage the formation of the Table Tennis Clubs and promote the game in every possible way.
3. MEMBERSHIP.
4. The League shall be open to all Table Tennis Clubs within a six mile radius of Barnet Parish Church or at the discretion of the Executive Committee.
5. LIFE MEMBERS. Life membership may be proposed at general meetings in recognition of long and valued services to the League. Such persons when duly elected shall receive a certificate to this effect.
6. GENERAL MEETINGS. Three weeks notice of general meetings shall be given.
7. An Annual General Meeting shall be held to elect League Officers and Committee members, to receive an audited balance sheet and income and expenditure account and to conduct any other business of the League. All nominations for League Officers, and Committee members shall be received in writing by the Secretary three weeks prior to the Annual General Meeting, in the event of a nomination not being received for any post, nominations may be accepted at the Annual General Meeting.
8. A Special General Meeting of the League shall be convened on a resolution of the Executive Committee, or within six weeks of receipt by the League General Secretary of a resolution signed by the authorised representatives of not less than one third of the clubs in the membership.
9. In addition to the Officers of the League each affiliated team may send one representative to vote at a general meeting. A representative may only act for one club. Ten voting persons must be present at a general meeting in order to form a quorum.
10. Voting on all matters will be by a show of hands.
11. Any proposed alterations to rules must be made in writing and must reach the League General Secretary at least three weeks before Annual General Meetings, or six weeks before Special General Meetings.
12. LEAGUE OFFICERS. The officers of the League shall be the Chairman, Vice Chairman, General Secretary, Treasurer, Registration/Database Secretary and all Divisional Secretaries.
13. The League Executive Committee (E.C.) will consist of all League Officers as listed in rule 12 plus three other members. When elected they will appoint one of their number to act as Vice-Chairman. Five members shall form a quorum. The Chairman shall have a second or casting vote.
14. The E.C. may delegate some of its duties to a Sub-Committee or Committees, e.g. Inspection, Tournament, etc. The Chairman of any such Sub-Committee shall be a League Officer.
15. The E.C. shall govern the League and shall decide any question not provided for in the rules. They also shall have the power to co-opt additional members, or to compel the resignation of any member who fails to attend three consecutive meetings of the committee without satisfactory explanation.
16. FINANCE. The annual subscription for playing in the league shall be determined by the Executive Committee and be as announced at the AGM. Currently there will be a League player registration fee and no team fee. The League player fee can be waived at the discretion of the EC. All juniors under the age of 18 at the start of the season will not be required to pay a player fee.
17. PLAYERS REGISTRATION. Only players registered on the form provided and lodged with the Registration Secretary, or delegated officers, shall be eligible to play in matches governed by the League. Any player who has not paid the League registration fee will not be registered to their team and will be ineligible to play in the league until they have done so. As the League is remaining with TT365 for monitoring purposes and there is now no direct link to TTE, it is not possible to police whether players have paid their TTE subscriptions. It is therefore left for individual members to decide whether to pay the TTE fee or not . It is not a requirement to be a member of TTE to play in the League. No player may be registered into the League after January 12th, except at the discretion of the E.C. Persons wishing to change their club/team for some bona fide reason, such as a change of residence etc. must make an application in writing to the Registration Secretary via their club secretary. A player may not be registered for more than one team.
18. a) A club must register a minimum of three and not more than eight adult players for each team but may include an unlimited number of junior players in that team. Where a club enters more than one team the registered players should conform to the principle that no player in a lower team shall be of a higher standard than any player in a higher ranked team. If an individual player’s registration does not conform to this principle, the E.C. shall be empowered either, to place the player in the correct team, or, to rule that the player may not be allowed to play as a reserve for higher ranked teams and may also be excluded from certain other competition events.
b) Any individual player entered to play in a team where a player who is, in the opinion of the Divisional Secretary and/or the League EC and based upon statistics available, of a much higher standard than the Division the Team has entered, will be denied inclusion in that team and will be encouraged to join a team in an appropriate Division. See rule 18a above.
c) A club with only one team or the lowest team shall register with a minimum of four players.
19. a) Clubs having two or more teams may re-register players from one team to another.
b) Notice of each re-registration shall be given to the League Registration Secretary, by the General Secretary of the club, by letter, email, or any other method acceptable to the League Registration Secretary.
c) No such notice shall be acceptable after 31st January except in circumstances acceptable to the Executive Committee.
d) Re-registration shall take effect 24 hours after receipt of such notice.
e) No player may re-register more than once during the season.
f) The Executive Committee shall have the right to reject any re-registration.
20. a) A player may play for teams higher than that for which they are registered.
b) Such playing up shall take place on no more than 3 occasions in each season.
c) A player having been re-registered from a higher team to a lower team cannot play again for a higher team in that season.
d) Playing up will not be permitted from a team that has been expelled or withdrawn. A player belonging to such a team must be re-registered in accordance with the rules before playing for any other team.
e) This rule shall be applicable to League matches only. The scorecard sent to the Divisional Secretary must show the Division and team for which the player is registered. No player may play for a team lower than that for which he or she is registered.
21. Any team that includes a junior player must have a responsible adult who will be able to supervise the junior/s at all times. In the event that all team members are junior players a responsible adult must accompany the team and act as captain of the team. The responsible adult shall be accountable for the correct behaviour of all the junior players and ensure that the spirit and rules of the League are maintained.
22. PLAYING REGULATIONS. In order to be eligible a club must have a table complying with the Table Tennis England rules, and will also be required to have reasonable lighting, heating, playing space and conditions approved by the Inspection Committee. All matches shall be played with the ball or balls adopted by Table Tennis England and will apply to all matches, except that Table Tennis England Law 12 will be waived in Handicap Competitions.
23. Teams competing in the League competitions shall consist of three players. The home Captain shall enter his/her players on the score card and shall then pass the score card to the Captain of the visiting team who shall enter his/her team. Each member of the home team shall play each visiting player the best of five games (an individual match). A match must be played to a finish and 1 point shall be awarded for each game that is won by either team to a maximum of 9 points, plus a bonus point for the winning team.
24. When playing league matches the order of play shall be as indicated on the official score card, except by mutual agreement between both team Secretaries or Captains.
25. a) Matches shall commence at 7.45 p.m. unless previously agreed. If a team is short of a player or players half an hour after the time for commencing the match, these players sets will be awarded to their opponents, except by mutual agreement between both team Secretaries or Captains. If both teams are short of a player or players half an hour after the time for commencing the match, or such time as mutually agreed by the team Captains (recorded by them on the result card), the match shall not take place. The facts must be submitted in writing, with the result card, by the home team to the Divisional Secretary, to reach him within 2 days of the match date as fixed in the handbook and stored on the League website. The Divisional Secretary shall either order the match to be played within 28 days of his decision, or place the facts before the E.C., who shall have the power to adjudicate on the matter. Ineligible players shall forfeit their sets to their opponents. Teams failing to arrive at a venue or conceding without playing will forfeit the match 9-0 - see rule 31a.
b) In the interests of fairness to both teams, extended practice sessions by any player involved in a match should not be allowed once the 7:45pm threshold (or approved start time, if different) has been reached. When two players have a ‘warm up’, this should be for a maximum of 2 minutes and only on the match table. Use of alternative tables for warm-ups/practise during the match is not considered fair play and team captains will be expected to honour this rule at venues/clubs where ‘spare’ tables are available.
26. Where it is impossible for any reason to complete a match the facts must be submitted to the Divisional Secretary concerned, who shall have power to award points or arrange a replay.
27. Home team Secretaries or Team Captains shall forward a properly completed score card to the Divisional Secretary to arrive within two days of the match being played, preferably sent electronically. In the event of late submission of a scorecard a penalty deduction of 2 points will be made against that team. This penalty will be subject to the discretion of the Divisional Secretary and/or the League EC. The League shall supply score cards for this purpose, which shall be signed by the visiting team Secretary or Captain. An Electronic version of the scorecard is available on the League website and can be printed for use.
28. No time-outs are allowed in the League.
29. Coaching a player may only take place between games, and not during a game, to a maximum duration of 1 minute. If coaching of any sort takes place outside this allotted time during a set then a warning should be issued by the referee and on a second offence a point awarded to the opposing player at the time the offence occurs. Details of such action should be recorded on the scorecard and reported to the Divisional Secretary.
30. Bad behaviour e.g. spitting on the floor, throwing a bat, hitting the wall or hitting the table with the bat potentially causing damage to the table and persistent bad language will not be tolerated in any of the matches. In such cases the referee should warn the player first and on a second offence award a point to their opponent. The details of such action must be entered on the scorecard and reported to the Divisional Secretary.
31. LEAGUE FIXTURES. The League shall publish a fixture list seven days prior to the commencement of the league fixtures. Any Club requiring an amendment to be made, after publication, shall notify, in writing, the League and Divisional Secretaries and all Club or Match Secretaries concerned with the amendment. No confirmation of fixtures is necessary except where a home team match night has been altered. All fixtures must be completed by the date indicated by the match chart.
a) Should a team concede a walk-over on any occasion during the season a 5 penalty shall be levied on the Team for the first and every subsequent walk-over and there shall be 10 points awarded to the receiving team. This rule can only be waived in exceptional circumstances at the discretion the League Committee with the facts and recommendation being presented by the relevant Divisional Secretary.
b) To postpone a match, agreement must be given by both the opposing captain and the Divisional Secretary and this cannot be sought retrospectively. If an agreement is not given by both, the match must be played on the original date - if the match is not then played, the team that did not turn up to play or declared a walkover will forfeit the match and will be penalised 5 points while the team that was available to play will be awarded the match and will gain 10 points.
A team may only have one outstanding match at any time i.e. a postponed match that has either not been played or got an agreed rearranged date on the website fixture list. However, given exceptional circumstances, the Divisional Secretary may override this.
For the avoidance of doubt, it should be noted that there is no restriction on the number of matches that can be postponed during a season but individual teams may only have one match at any one time for which they have requested a postponement that has not been rearranged.
c) Clubs requiring to withdraw a team, or who are expelled, from the League during the season, do so on the understanding that; all outstanding fees will be paid and such fees and any deposit be forfeited; all players registered for the withdrawn team be transferred to the Clubs’ next higher team, or, where a club has only one team or no higher team these players registrations be cancelled. If a Clubs’ highest team is withdrawn, and therefore the player’s registrations cancelled, these players will only be allowed to register for a new Club with written permission from the League Fixture Secretary.
32. DIVISIONS. The E.C. shall have power to form as many divisions as it deems necessary including ladies and youth divisions providing that there are not less than six and not more than fourteen teams in any one division.
33. PROMOTION & RELEGATION. A system of promotion & relegation shall be observed, and in each division, where applicable, the top 2 teams shall be promoted and the 2 lowest teams relegated. The EC shall be responsible for filling any further vacancies and determining the final structure of the Divisions.
34. DIVISIONAL POSITIONS.
a) The League position of a team within a Division will be based on the number of League points gained. In tied situations the positions will be resolved by comparing the matches won and if still a tie then by considering the For/Against ratio of the tied teams with the higher the ratio being ranked top. The ratio order will be games (for/against) and points (for/against)
b) The record of any team who may resign, or be expelled shall be expunged, provided that if such team resigns, or is expelled, after one half of the seasons fixtures has been completed by that team, the record of such team during the second half of the season’s fixtures only shall be expunged.
35. INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIPS.
a) The individual Singles and Doubles Championships shall be organised annually by the E.C. if appropriate, and if practicable played off in one week at a central hall.
b) The Championships shall be open only to bona fide registered players of the League who must have been registered, and have played in at least 25% of league matches, prior to the closing date for entries. However the Tournament Organiser can refer to the Executive Committee where special circumstances have prevented an individual playing the required 25% of league matches.
c) In the case of the minor singles events the Tournament Committee shall exclude players of those clubs who are found to have contravened rule 19.
36. DIVISIONAL HANDICAP KNOCK-OUT COMPETITION. A Divisional Handicap knock-out competition shall be organised, if appropriate, which will be open to all affiliated clubs and teams may only play in their relevant division. Players shall only play for the team for which they are registered, and a player may not play for more than one team. No player shall be allowed to compete in the semi-final or final rounds of the competition unless they have played in at least 5 of the league matches of the team for which they are registered at the date on which such round is played. The Home team will pay the table costs if played at BTTC, however, if both teams play at BTTC then the costs will be shared. Teams will automatically be entered for the competition unless they notify the General Secretary that they do not wish to participate.
a) There will be initial playoff rounds in order to reduce the number of teams progressing to the subsequent round to 8.
b) For each round the teams shall be drawn in pairs by the Chairman and General Secretary. The first team drawn shall be the home team except in the case of the final round, which shall be played at a venue decided upon by the E.C. Each team shall be notified of the result of the draw and the date by which the match must be played. The home team shall be responsible for arranging a suitable date and venue for the match. Failure to play by the due date will result in the defaulting team forfeiting the match.
c) Each team shall consist of 3 players and the match shall consist of 8 singles and 2 doubles. Each round of the match shall be 2 sets. Each set shall be played until either player has scored 21 points - there shall be no deuces. The number of points scored by each player shall be recorded on the score sheet. The handicap of each player shall then be added to the individual points scored in each of the sets. The home team will use the notation of ABC and the away team XYZ with the relevant players name entered on the score sheet/ the home team shall enter their player’s names first before passing the sheet to the away team to enter their player's details.
d) There shall be two (2) points available for each round played. The player, who has the greater number of points after the handicap has been taken into account, will score one (1) point per game. In the event of a draw, the point will be shared between the two players. A player can win a round 2-0, 1½-½ or draw 1-1. After all ten (10) rounds have been completed the team with the higher number of points shall be the winner.
e) In the event of a tie, player C will play player Z over 2 games (21 up), the handicap will be added to ascertain the winning team. If the scores are still equal one additional tie breaking point shall be played by the above players.
f) On completion of the match the result shall be forwarded to the Tournament Secretary and/or Divisional Secretary within 48 hours of the game being played.
g) The handicap of each player in a team will be decided by the Tournament Secretary and/or Divisional Secretary who will, if necessary, change the handicap for each round. The handicap of each player in a team will, initially, be based upon the BTTC Summer league, their position in their division at the time of the draw for each round and any other relevant information relating to a player’s ability.
h) Any event that occurs and is not covered by the above rules will be considered by the E.C.
37. The E.C. can agree to a Summer League Competition taking place under the organisation of the Barnet Table Tennis Centre or other approved body. In those circumstances the League would have no responsibility for the fees involved or presentation of trophies.
38. All League rules (with the exception to dates in rule 17, and registration fee in rule 16) will be operable where these are reasonable. The Divisional Secretary shall have power to interpret the foregoing sentence. In case of dispute concerning the interpretation of League Rules with regard to summer play, the full facts shall be submitted by the Divisional Secretary to the E.C. whose decision shall be final.
39. TROPHIES. The winners of standing trophies shall have their details listed on a roll of honour and displayed at the Barnet Table Tennis Centre.
40. BREACH OF RULES.
a) Any breach of rules either playing or otherwise, shall be reported to the League General Secretary who must bring such complaints before the E.C. They shall have the power to formally warn any guilty party of such breach, and continued default may be punished by the deprivation of points, and in the case of flagrant disregard of rules, by expulsion from the League.
b) Review of League decisions
i) Any individual or club aggrieved by the decision or action of the League, or a Committee Officer or any official of the League, may apply to the E.C. to review such a decision or action, and the E.C. shall arrange a Hearing if requested.
ii) Any application for a review shall be made in writing to the General Secretary within 14 days of notification of the decision or action of which the review is sought.
iii) Once the hearing has taken place and details reviewed the decision made shall be communicated to the appellant and be binding on all parties and no further communication will be entered into.
41. PAYMENTS TO LEAGUE.
a) Receipts for all fees will only be issued on request.
b) Cheques should be crossed and made payable to ‘Barnets and District Table Tennis League’.
c) Electronic transfers may be made to the League bank account for fees but an email should be sent to the General Secretary and Treasurer advising of the transfer.
The League bank account details are: Barclays Bank plc A/C no. 53153630, sort code 20-74-81. Please ensure that the Club name or Team name, in the case of player fees, making the payment is included in the reference field.
42. DISSOLUTION. In the event of any dissolution of the Barnets and District Table Tennis League, owing to any circumstances, a Liquidator Committee composed of the Chairman, Treasurer and General Secretary (for the time being) shall automatically be appointed to realise the assets of the League, and after all debts are settled and expenses paid any balance shall be paid to a suitable charity or organisation that supports the sport of Table Tennis as determined by the Liquidator Committee.
43. The EC shall have powers to deal with all matters from and not covered in these Rules, and to take such action, as it shall in its discretion think fit, provided that such matters are subsequently reported at the next AGM.
