Constitution/Rules of the League as updated at the Annual General Meeting held on the 27th June 2024.
1. NAME, PURPOSE, AFFILIATIONS, ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGS AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE LEAGUE
a) Name - The League shall be called the Keighley & District Table Tennis League.
b) Purpose - The League will exist to promote and run League table tennis in Keighley and the surrounding area. Its aim is to enable players of all abilities, age groups and gender to play in a competitive friendly League, run for the benefit and enjoyment of its members.
c) Affiliations - The League will be affiliated to Table Tennis England and by TTE rules to the Yorkshire Table Tennis Association and will pay all fees due to these two bodies.
d) Annual General Meetings (AGM) –
i) An AGM will be held on or before the 1st August each year with a minimum of 14 days notice being given to all existing team secretaries notifying them of the time and venue of the AGM and a notice will also be posted on the website being used by the League.
ii) It is a requirement for all existing League teams wishing to play in the Keighley & District League the following season to be represented at the AGM. A team represented at the AGM will have their Registration Fee reduced by £10 for the coming season. Apologies for absence from a team will be noted but they will not have a proxy vote or receive the reduction in fees. All teams and players who are registered and play in the League are invited to attend the AGM and have one vote per Team on matters put to the membership at the AGM, voting will be on a simple majority basis.
iii) If less than 50% of the teams from the previous season fail to be present at the AGM no votes will be permitted unless there is a vacancy on the Executive Committee that requires filling.
iv) The Executives of the League will produce reports for the AGM and the Treasurer will also produce accounts for the financial year ending 31st of May each year. These accounts will have been approved by the Executive Committee and if deemed necessary reviewed by an independent member of the League.
e) Administration –
i) The League will be overseen and managed by an elected Executive Committee consisting of the Honorary President and five Executives who will be the Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer, Fixture Secretary, and Cup Competition Secretary. The Honorary President and Executives will be elected at the AGM. Nominations for any of these roles are invited from club secretaries prior to the AGM and a list of current Executives willing to continue will be sent with the AGM notice.
ii) The Executive Committee will run and manage the League on behalf of all its member teams and in accordance with the Constitution/Rules. It will have responsibility for running all aspects of the League including league structures, divisions, discipline, tournaments, cup events, handbooks, sponsorship, playing venues, fixtures, finance, team structures, promoting table tennis, advertising, additional events that augment the League season. On top of this it will have the authority to make any decisions it considers necessary to enable the League to run smoothly and function in a manner that allows all members to play team table tennis. The Executive Committees will adhere to all normal Fiscal Governance so as to sustain the long term survival and expansion of the League.
iii) The Executive Committee can appoint other members of the League onto the Executive Committee for specific functions deemed necessary by the Executive Committee and any task that will ensure smooth operation of the League throughout the year. These additional members do not need to attend every meeting and will not have a vote at the meeting.
iv) A minimum of four Executives must be present at an Executive Committee meeting to effect any decisions. Each of the Executives will have one vote at Executive Committee meetings, (the Honorary President does not have a vote). The Secretary will arrange meetings and set the Agenda, with input from Executive members as appropriate. They will give a minimum of 7 days notice of any meeting to the Executive members, and ensure that the minutes of the meeting are distributed within 14 days.
v) Any 3 of the 5 Executives may act in the case of any emergency situation and take an immediate decision that must be ratified later by the full Executive Committee.
2. LEAGUE TEAM ADMISSION
a) All teams wishing to enter the League for the coming season must complete an application form which will be issued by the League in advance of the entry date shown in section d).
b) The Team Secretary shall fill in the application form and list all players they wish to register. It is mandatory to have the players name, date of birth, TTE registration number and if the player plays in other leagues. It would also assist the league to complete any other sections of the application form as requested on it.
c) All new teams applying to join the league should make every effort to attend the AGM prior to entry to the League, details of which will be sent to all known new team secretaries as well as being posted on the website being used by the League.
d) All applications should reach the fixtures secretary by 31st July or earlier to allow time to arrange the league structure and handbooks. Any entries after this time will be at the Fixtures Secretary’s discretion, however to help with this and to enable them to plan accordingly the Fixture Secretary will accept details by e-mail if any problems are encountered in returning forms by this date.
e) New players can be registered for a team up to 31st December of the playing season, however in exceptional circumstances players will be allowed to register after that date at the discretion of the Fixtures Secretary. The players must be deemed of a suitable standard for the division concerned.
f) Players may transfer from one team to a second team provided all parties are in agreement.
g) All players playing in the Keighley & District Table Tennis League must have Table Tennis England affiliation and respect the rules of Table Tennis England and the rules of the Keighley & District Table Tennis League.
3. LEAGUE STRUCTURE & OPERATION
a) The League Structure, Number of Divisions and Playing Timetable will be decided by the Executive Committee prior to the handbooks being printed. All information will be sent to the team secretaries and will also be posted on the website being used by the League.
b) Teams may enter as individual teams or as groups of teams and each team must enter a minimum of 3 players and a maximum of 6 unless agreed with Fixtures Secretary. In teams that are part of a group, the playing strength of each player must be taken into account when placing players in a team. Where teams enter as a member of a group the Fixture Secretary will have the final say as to which is the stronger team for the allocation of the ranking prefix.
c) Players may play up from lower teams within a group, but after playing up for 6 matches they will be tied to the higher team, however if a player plays up and does not win any games, including the doubles, then that match will not count towards his 6 games. Any single team club or the lowest team in a multi team club may play a reserve from a lower division to theirs provided that the ranking of that player does not exceed the average of the players in the higher team. The reserve may play up as many times as is required without being tied to the higher team.
d) Players who play in other Leagues must play at least 4 matches for their results to stand at the end of the season. If they do not play 4 matches any wins in either singles or doubles played will be forfeited in the same way as if their team had turned up without a full team.
e) All matches will be played under the Rules of Table Tennis England, see their website for details. All sets will be best of 5 games and each game will be up to 11 with games won by 2 clear points. The Home team has a responsibility to ensure their Venue is open and ready to commence the match by 7.30pm at the latest.
f) Teams shall consist of 3 players per team with 9 singles matches and 1 doubles match being played as per the official scorecard. If there is any change to the order of play then this must be agreed by both teams. Players arriving after 7.30pm but before 8.30pm should be allowed to play providing the match is still in progress. Players arriving after 8.30pm should not be allowed to play unless this was prearranged and agreed by both captains. If a player is not allowed to play their games will be forfeited and they will not be allowed to play in the doubles. The points for the matches forfeited will be awarded to the opposing team and if a team turns up with only 1 or 2 players any games which are not played shall be forfeited and the points awarded in the same way.
g) All matches should start by 7.30 pm however teams can request an earlier start if the opponents are in agreement. Teams may also request playing on two tables if available provided the opposition agree.
h) Cancellation of matches is not permitted unless under exceptional circumstances and at the discretion of the Fixture Secretary. Any matches not played in accordance with the fixture list and not notified and agreed by the Fixture Secretary will be awarded to the none offending team. Clubs with more than one team should always call on players from a lower team, regardless of ability, to ensure the match is played on the due date if they cannot raise a team from their registered players. When considering ‘exceptional circumstances’ the Fixture Secretary will take into account players eligibility to play for a particular team. Any authorised rearranged matches from teams within the same club must play them no later than three weeks before the last scheduled week of the season. Any authorised rearranged matches must be played no later than the first available catch up week as specified in the fixture list. Failure to comply with any of the above will result in the Fixture Secretary being the sole arbiter in awarding any points and after taking into account any submissions received from the teams involved.
i) A Match may be played ahead of schedule if both teams are in agreement. Again the home team must notify the Fixture Secretary.
j) If, for any reason, a player cannot complete his games, the un-played sets shall be awarded to the opposing team and recorded as wins to the opposing players. However, if a player injures himself or is ill and does not complete his first full set, his averages will not be affected, but the sets will be awarded to the opposing players and team.
k) Each team shall supply, alternately, an umpire for each match and the Umpire’s decision will be final. Any disputes must be taken up with the fixture secretary within 48 hours of the match being played.
l) Any team fielding an ineligible player will have any wins recorded to that player removed from the statistics and unless the player is simply there to ensure a full team, then the Fixture Secretary should be informed of the reason for playing the ineligible player.
m) If a team has a wheelchair player and the away venue does not have a suitable table to allow the player to compete, the team may request a change of venue giving 48 hours notice prior to the match The opposing team must accept the change of venue or agree with the Fixture Secretary some alternative arrangement. Any cost incurred will be reimbursed by the Keighley & District Table Tennis League. Other hardships incurred by any wheelchair users will be looked at sympathetically by the league.
n) Visiting Captains may measure net height and adjust if required. If the net is unsuitable the match will be played but the away captain can put in a complaint to the fixture secretary.
4. PROMOTION, RELEGATION & FINAL AVERAGES
a) All matches, scores and ranking will be entered on the website being used by the League. The site produces our League Tables, Player Averages and League Ranking for all players in Keighley. If a player plays in more than one league all their results are entered into the ranking list and we cannot alter this. The ranking list is used for any of our handicaps and tournaments but is not the sole deciding factor in any of our calculations for handicaps or seeding.
b) Each set won during a game earns your team one point and an additional two points are awarded to the winning team or one point to each team if the final result is a draw. At the end of the season the team with the highest points total will be declared “Divisional Champions”, and team members will receive a trophy at the AGM. If two teams have equal points at the end of the season the team with the most games won will be Champions. If both teams have the same number of wins then a play-off between the teams will decide the Champions.
c) The Champions will normally be promoted to the next highest Division but the Committee always look at the standard of teams, number of teams and structure and number of divisions to give the best competitive situation for all teams. The bottom team in each division will normally be demoted but again the same criteria applies.
d) A player must have played at least 66% of the possible team matches to be eligible to win the Divisional Averages. Playing up as reserve does not count in these statistics. The averages shall be calculated by expressing the number of sets won as a percentage of the sets played.
5. CUP COMPETITIONS AND TOURNAMENTS
a) The League runs two Cup competitions, the Jeff Naylor Handicap Trophy, and The Dave Boothman Plate which are run by the League Cup Secretary. The format for both these competitions are decided by the League Executive Committee and the format is notified to all clubs prior to the commencement of each competition.
The Executive Committee may also introduce new competitions if it enhances the League and gives more players a chance to play in more competitive games.
b) The League also holds an Annual Closed Tournament for all Keighley players. This Tournament is usually run towards the end of February and is organised by the Tournament Secretary. There are many events usually including Group Singles, Doubles, Veterans, Juniors, Ladies, Handicap and a Consolation Singles event, however the Tournament Secretary will decide on which events to run depending on the number of entrants. The event is held on a Sunday at the Table Tennis Centre. Hot and cold food and drinks will be available during the Tournament. To enter the Keighley Closed Tournament a player must have played a minimum of 4 games in the Keighley League prior to the start of the Tournament.
c) Individual trophies will be presented to members who win the following: -
i) All Divisional Team Champions (4 trophies only. Additional trophies will be purchased if required but must be paid for by the Team concerned)
ii) Winners of all Cup competitions
iii) Winners of events at the Annual Closed Tournament
iv) The Most Improved Player for the Year if Selected
v) Winner of the Divisional Averages
vi) Any other events selected by the Executive Committee that are deemed appropriate.
d) The League will pay the entry fee for one team to play each of the four English League Cup categories namely the Mens, Womens, Boys and Girls cups. If more than one team wishes to enter the cost of one team entry will be split to subsidise these multiple teams rather than the League bearing the full entry cost. At least one player from each team should play in Division 2 or higher. If a team withdraws, the entry fee must be reimbursed to the League unless there are extenuating circumstances that need to be considered at the discretion of the Executive Committee.
6. CONDUCT & DISCIPLINE
a) All players who participate within the Keighley League are required to show good sportsmanship and conduct themselves in a responsible way. All adult players are expected to show respect and set good examples to the younger players and new players. We are endeavouring to be a friendly League with competitive games. Enjoy winning but be magnanimous in defeat. Please note, although we encourage good sportsmanship at all times, it is not a disciplinary matter within Table Tennis England’s rulebook.
b) If a team feels that another team or player has been aggressive, threatening, sworn excessively or broken any table tennis rules then they should contact the League Chairman who will outline the options open to them to complain either officially or just have the situation noted. Should an official complaint be necessary the complaint and a £5 fee must be sent to the League Secretary. Only If the complaint is successful will the £5 will be refunded.
c) When an official complaint is received in writing with full details of the incident then the procedure that takes place will be as follows:- 3 senior Executive members will meet, discuss the Incident and write to the person or team involved and ask for their comments on the alleged incident. They will be sent a copy of the Complaint. The panel will then consider all the information and come to a decision. In a serious incident the parties concerned may be asked to talk to the disciplinary panel. Should the complaint be upheld the Executive Committee will decide on what is the appropriate course of action. This could range from a letter asking for improved behaviour, a formal written warning, up to Suspension from the League.
7. DISOLUTION OF THE LEAGUE
In the event of Keighley & District Table Tennis League being disbanded, the Treasurer and Secretary shall be Joint Trustees for a period of ten years. After this period, all money held in trust shall be donated to a local coaching group. Should the League be reformed during the period all monies and assets held in trust shall be returned to the new league without prejudice.
8. AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION/RULES
i) The Constitution/Rules may be amended at the AGM by resolution passed by a simple majority of those present.
ii) Proposals for amendment can be submitted by the Executive Committee or by any member teams who must obtain a seconder to their proposals before submitting.
iii) Proposals need to be sent to the League Secretary by the 1st June in any year to enable any proposals to be sent to member teams with the information for the AGM.
