LANCASTER, MORECAMBE & DIST. TTL CONSTITUTION
League Rules
1. TITLE - The League will be called- Lancaster, Morecambe & District Table Tennis League aka L&MTTL and be affiliated to the Lancashire T.T.A and Table Tennis England (TTE).
2. MEMBERSHIP - Membership of the League
Shall be open to any person completing an application form and paying the relevant subscription fee as determined by the members at the AGM. They must also agree for their contact details to be displayed on the website. Members must abide by the Rules and Regulations. Membership will include- Senior, Junior (under 17 on 30th June) and Associate.
3. MANAGEMENT - Executive Officers shall consist of President, Chairman, Vice Chairman, General Secretary, Treasurer, Match Secretary, Junior Development Officer, Press Officer and TTE Representative and County Representative who shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). The affairs of the League will be controlled by the Executive Officers (aka Committee). In order to ensure the smooth running of the league it may be necessary on occasions to co-opt members to specific roles not specified at the AGM. These roles will be classed as temporary but may be considered for permanent status at the next AGM. Officers cannot hold committee positions in other leagues.
The duties of the Committee shall be: -
3.1 To control the affairs of the league including the development and promotion of its members.
3.2 To keep accurate accounts of the finances of the league through the Treasurer.
3.3 To make decisions on the basis of a simple majority vote.
3.4 To report to the membership via the next AGM the outcomes of any decisions made.
3.5 Hon Gen Sec (HGS) will arrange meetings as circumstances demand and requires a quorum of 4 league members. Each club can nominate a representative and all registered players are eligible to attend. Issues shall be decided by a majority of those present who are eligible to vote. Each Committee member and one representative per club is allowed a vote (committee members may represent their club). In the event of a tied vote, the Chairman of the meeting has a casting vote. The Committee shall decide any questions not provided for.
4. FINANCE - All monies to be banked in the name of the League. The signature of the Treasurer and one of the Executive committee is necessary for a withdrawal. Exceptions are in place for the use of online banking where the Treasurer is the sole nominated officer. The balance statement shall be presented at the AGM.
5. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM) - The AGM shall be held prior to the 30th June. Clubs will be notified of the date and venue at least 14 days prior to the meeting.
5.1 The meeting requires a quorum of at least 4 voting members in attendance although exceptions can be made in the interests of the league (a voting member is a member of the executive committee or a representative of a member club)
5.2 Notice of office retirement should be served on the General Secretary at least 14 days before the meeting.
5.3 Election of Officers – all officers shall be elected at the AGM by a majority of votes.
5.4 All officers are elected for a period of one year, but may be re-elected for the following year.
5.5 Items for the Agenda shall be forwarded to the General Secretary at least 14 days prior to the AGM.
5.6 Voting rights – There will be one vote for each Executive Committee member, plus one vote per team per club (a maximum of 4 votes per club). In the event of a tied vote, the meeting Chairman has a casting vote.
5.7 Clubs not represented will be subject to a fine of £5 added to the club’s entry fees.
6. SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING (SGM) - Clubs may request the League Secretary to call a SGM to resolve significant issues outside the AGM provided they enlist the support of 50% of the clubs. Notification timescales will be the same and the AGM voting rules will apply.
7. INFRINGEMENT OF RULES & MATCH REGULATIONS - Teams and/or individuals guilty of infringements of league rules/match regulations or misconduct render themselves to be penalised as the Committee decide. This may include a written warning, suspension, fine, deduction of points or expulsion of the player/team from the league.
The record of a team withdrawn or expelled from the League shall be expunged. No player/team will be allowed to register the following season until outstanding fines are paid.
All protests/appeals to the HGS within 7 days of the incident or of a decision.
8. LEAGUE REPRESENTATION EXPENSES - Players/officials representing the league in matches or at county/national meetings are eligible to claim appropriate mileage.
9. AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION - Proposed amendments to the League Constitution may only be considered at an AGM or SGM. Any alteration must be proposed and seconded by Senior Members. Such alterations shall be passed if supported by a majority of votes at the meeting, assuming that a quorum has been achieved.
10. DISSOLUTION - If at any General Meeting a resolution is passed calling for the dissolution of the league, the Secretary shall immediately convene a Special General Meeting to be held not less than one month thereafter to discuss and vote on the resolution. If the resolution is carried by at least two-thirds of the Full Members present, the General Committee shall thereupon, or at such date as shall have been specified in the resolution, proceed to discharge the assets, debts and liabilities of the league. The remaining assets shall be given or transferred to other voluntary organization having objects similar to those of the league.
MATCH REGULATIONS
1. MATCHPLAY - All matches to be played in accordance with the Laws of Table Tennis. Local league scorers (umpires) can exercise some flexibility in regulation interpretation except for the service law (ball toss, foot stomping etc) and ungentlemanly conduct (aggression and/or excessive foot stomping during play.) In the first instance the scorer (umpire) will call a let and on the next occasion the umpire may award a point against the player. For repeat instances the umpire has the discretion to award a point without a warning.
2. LEAGUE BOUNDARIES - Team entry restricted to teams based in post codes LA1 - LA9, PR3.
3. TEAM COMPOSITION - A team consists of 3 players who each play 3 singles and one pair will play doubles A team may use 1 or 2 additional players to play doubles.
4. TEAM & PLAYER REGISTRATION (i) All teams will pay a team fee decided at AGM and will includes participation in league and cup competitions. Exceptions for late payment will be made for the Univ.
(ii) Players play free of charge whilst the league operates under the TT365 system. Players can also pay an individual Membership fee to Table Tennis England to take advantage of player insurance and participation in national tournaments. (iii). Teams are required to register a min of 3 player’s .
(iv) A player may play up for a team a max of 4 times, A player may also play for a team below that for which he or she is ranked, up to a max of 4 times provided he or she is ranked (according to the league handicaps) equal to or below the player in the lower team being temporarily replaced. On the 5th occasion he/she will become a member of that specific team for the remainder of the season. A player can play for more than one team on the same evening but not in the same fixture. (Note: This is a work in progress trial as some players have different interpretations).
(Vi) Annual Tournament - Players are required to participate in a min of 2 league or cup fixtures to be eligible to participate in the end of season annual tournament unless otherwise agreed by the committee.
5. TEAM CONTACT - Each team must provide details of the venue location, match night, start time and contact details. Each team should provide an email address for the receipt of league correspondence.
6. TRANSFERS - Detailed requests for player transfers to be submitted to the League Secretary for approval. Transfers for tactical reasons will not be approved. 7. FIXTURES - Home fixtures official start time is 7.00 pm. Variations allowed and will be detailed in the fixtures on the league website. Players absent after 8 pm will forfeit their games.
(ii) When playing at venues with time constraints, late arriving teams must concede any un-played games providing the match starts on time and there are no significant delays. To avoid time constraints, team captains can agree anytime during the match a revised playing format. Any mitigating circumstances resulting in unfinished games should be reported to the Match Sec for a ruling on the result. 8. POSTPONEMENTS & REARRANGEMENTS - Subject to the following criteria:-
a) Unavailability of home venue. Subject to agreement the fixture can be played on an alternate match night or at the away team venue if available.
(b) Illness effecting at least 2 players from the same team. NOTE: Clubs with more than one team are
expected to use reserve players from lower teams where appropriate.
(c) Player/s selected for the league, county or national representative team.
(d) Other circumstances subject to the agreement of both teams. It is the responsibility of the postponing team to initiate the rearrangement process. Matches can be brought forward by mutual agreement.
Teams should contact League Sec for clarification/ruling if required. (e) Postponements are not allowed when a player/s is participating in another league. This is catered for in Rule 4 (iv). Teams have the option of playing with 2 players or conceding the fixture.
9. OUTSTANDING FIXTURES - To be played no later than the date indicated on the TT365 Website fixtures. League will record un-played fixtures. However, if the outcome of the un-played fixtures has a significant impact on the finishing positions the league will make a realistic adjudication on the outcome of the un-played fixtures (refer to HGS for clarification). Note: Internal club Walk Overs in the last 2 weeks of league fixtures may be assessed if it appears tactical. If proven It may be necessary to adjudicate the un played fixture. If a team concedes 3 walk overs then the team is liable to be withdrawn from the league
10. MATCH BALLS - ITTF approved 3 Star 40+ plastic/poly balls must be used.
11. POINTS - A match consists of 10 sets, each set the best of 5 games. 1 x point awarded for each game won.
Teams may claim a Walk Over (30 pts to nil) when a team does not turn up or agrees to concede the fixture.
In some circumstances it may be necessary for the league to rule on the outcome of Walk Overs (refer Reg 8). Unregistered players or `no show's' are recorded as Forfeit i.e. 3pts to nil.
12. Providing the Away team is ready to play at the official start time, any unfinished games/sets are conceded by the Home team.
13. MATCH RESULT - Asap forward Match Cards to Match Sec by phone/email for input or enter result direct to the 365 league website if you have website admin permissions.
14. CLOTHING & EQUIPMENT- Appropriate sporting attire, no white clothing unless using orange ball. Headbands for the control of perspiration are acceptable. All players must comply with the current ITTF authorized racket coverings.
15. SCORING - Teams to score alternate sets and the scorer's decision is final unless both players (singles) or pairs (doubles) agree on an alternative decision.
16. LEAGUE TABLES - Finishing positions shall be determined by:-
(i) Highest number of league points won
(ii) If equal on points then matches won, drawn, ratio of league points won to lost
17. PROMOTION & RELEGATION - If there are 8 teams or less in a division, the winners are eligible for
promotion and the bottom team for relegation. If 8 teams or more in a division the winners and runners
up are eligible for promotion and the bottom 2 for relegation. The strength and composition of each
division shall ultimately be left to the discretion of the committee.
18. LEAGUE TOURNAMENTS - Qualification is a min of 3 league matches played unless otherwise agreed.
19. COMPETITION AWARDS - The league will provide individual awards for permanent retention to winners and runners up. Divisional awards will be presented after completion of the league fixtures and teams/clubs will be notified of the collection arrangements. Failure for teams or their representative to collect the awards may result in the awards being forfeit. Perpetual trophies are the property of the League and cannot be won outright. Teams/individual winners are responsible for their safekeeping.
20. LEAGUE REPRESENATION - The league representative teams are entitled to claim out of pocket expenses.
CUP REGULATIONS
1. KENNON TROPHY - Individual Handicap format for Premier Division teams
2. KENNON PLATE - Individual Handicap format for Championship Division teams
3. CORONATION CUP - Team Handicap format for Premier Division teams
4. RILEY CUP - Team Handicap format for Championship Division teams
5. Players can only play for one club and one team in the Kennon and Coronation cups.
6. Kennon Plate & Riley Cup players are not eligible to play in the Kennon Trophy or Coronation Cup..
7. Cup Finals to be played on the advertised dates. To ensure compliance, allowance will be made to replace a team unable to participate with an appropriate replacement agreed by the Handicap Committee.
8. Clubs may select a registered player to play in the Coronation or Riley cup who was not included in the original handicap calculation for that comp. He/she will take the handicap of the replaced player unless it is seen as an unfair advantage.
9. The formats of all the cup comps are subject to change.
10. All handicaps will be reviewed and may be revised prior to the finals.
11. Players should have played at least one fixture to be included. For exceptions refer Reg 13.
12. Trophies will be awarded to the finalists unless a team has conceded.
13. The HGS has executive authority to rule on all decisions
