RULES FOR THE SEASON 2024-2025
CONSTITUTION
1. The League shall be called the Wembley and Harrow Table Tennis League.
2. The object of the League shall be to assist and encourage the formation of Table Tennis clubs in Wembley and Harrow and surrounding areas, and to promote the game in every possible way and in all sections of our multi-cultural society.
3. The management of the League shall be vested in a Committee to be known as the Management Committee, which shall consist of the Chairman, Vice-Chairman, General Secretary, Treasurer, Assistant General Secretary, Representative Match Co-ordinator, Team Knockout Cup Competitions Secretary, Media Secretary, Closed Championship Secretary, Records Secretary, Summer League Secretary, Welfare Officer, Minutes Secretary and Development Officer, five to form a quorum. One representative can hold more than one office. The Management Committee shall have the power to co-opt additional members onto the Committee and to appoint Representative Match Secretaries and Divisional Results Secretaries who will report to the Management Committee through the Representative Match Co-ordinator and Records Secretary respectively.
4. In the event of the winding up or dissolution of the League, any surplus assets remaining after discharge of all liabilities shall automatically vest in the Middlesex Table Tennis Association (MTTA) who shall hold them for a period of six years in trust to pay them to any organisation set up with objects identical with or similar to those of the League (the MTTA during such period making every endeavour to promote and encourage the formation of such an organisation) and thereafter for the general purposes of the MTTA.
ADMINISTRATION
5. The Management Committee shall conduct the business of the League generally and shall hear, discuss and decide all disputes and protests. The decision of the Management Committee shall be final.
6. If any member of the Management Committee shall absent himself or herself without reasonable cause from three consecutive meetings, he or she shall automatically retire or, should an officer or member of the Management Committee relinquish his or her office during the year, the Management Committee shall have the power to fill any vacancies.
7. The Chairman, Vice-Chairman and General Secretary shall be empowered to act in cases of emergency and their decisions shall be ratified at the next meeting of the Management Committee.
8. All monies pertaining to the League shall be paid into a separate banking account in the name of the Wembley and Harrow Table Tennis League. All cheques drawn on the bank account shall be signed by two of the following:- Chairman, Vice-Chairman, General Secretary, Treasurer. Funds surplus to the current requirements may be invested with a building society of Trustee status. An audited Balance Sheet and Income and Expenditure Account shall be submitted at the Annual General Meeting.
9. From the applications received the Management Committee shall determine the number of divisions, and allocate the clubs in the said divisions according to strength.
MEETINGS
10. The Annual General Meeting shall be held in June of each year at such place as the Management Committee then in office shall decide. At Annual or General Meetings each club shall be entitled to a vote for each team entered in the League. Registered members are invited to attend the Annual and General Meetings of the League, but only one elected delegate from each club shall be entitled to vote. If a club is not represented at the Annual General Meeting they will be fined a sum of £20.00.
11. The notice convening Annual or General Meetings, together with a copy of the Agenda, shall be forwarded at least twenty-one days before the date of the meeting.
12. No club shall be entitled to vote at the Annual or General Meetings unless its Subscription and Registration Fees have been paid by the previous 31st October and its fines are paid to date.
13. This Rule is no longer used.
14. The elected delegates of clubs attending the Annual General Meeting shall elect the members of the Management Committee for the ensuing year and an Hon. Auditor. The President and Vice-Presidents for the ensuing year shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting on the recommendation of the Management Committee.
A Life Vice-President may be elected at an Annual General Meeting. The distinction may only be conferred on the nomination of the Management Committee.
15. The members of the Management Committee shall have the right to attend all meetings of the League with the power to vote, the Chairman being entitled to a casting vote. The President and Vice-Presidents shall be entitled to attend all League meetings and have the right to vote at the Annual General Meeting and any General Meeting.
16. No amendment or alteration to the League Rules shall be made, except at the Annual General Meeting. The proposed alterations, for submission to the Annual General Meeting, must reach the General Secretary in writing not later than the 30th April preceding the Annual General Meeting. Notification of all proposed alterations shall be sent to clubs together with the Agenda for the Annual General Meeting. Amendments dealing with the same subject matter may be accepted at the Annual General Meeting at the discretion of the Chairman providing all such amendments are proposed and seconded by elected delegates present at the meeting.
17. Upon receipt of a request by at least fifty per cent of the clubs the General Secretary shall call a General Meeting. The General Secretary may arrange other General Meetings as and when considered necessary by the Management Committee.
SUBSCRIPTIONS AND REGISTRATIONS
18. By the date of the AGM each Club shall send to the Vice-Chairman a fully completed Application for Membership Form giving full details of the Club and a list of the teams being entered for the forthcoming season.
Each Club shall pay a subscription of £25.00 plus £12.50 for each team that is registered in the League and a deposit of £25, which is refundable if not used to cover any fines incurred. Fees required by the Table Tennis England and MTTA will be in addition.
Teams wishing to enter knockout cup competitions for which they are eligible (see Regulation 7) must do so in advance and will be charged an entry fee of £5.00 per competition.
Clubs will be invoiced for the total fee before the end of September. Fees must be paid by the following 31st October, and if they are not, the Management Committee shall have the discretion to fine clubs, remove teams from competitions and deduct points as they see fit.
19. Each Club shall send to the Records Secretary the full name, and current season’s Table Tennis England membership number for each player they wish to register. Not less than three players must be allocated to each team entered. The fee for the registration of each player will be £4.00 plus any fees required by the Table Tennis England and MTTA. Player registrations should be made by the 1st September, after this date the fee must be remitted to the Records Secretary within 7 days of the date of application.
No player is eligible to represent a team unless the Record Secretary (or, in his absence, the Chairman or Secretary of the League) has been notified of their application before the commencement of the match and confirmation of acceptance has been obtained. Non-compliance with this Rule will mean a player remains unregistered until all details and monies are received. In the event of an unregistered player playing, any sets won by that person will be forfeited to the opponents. Acceptance of any player’s registration shall be at the discretion of the Management Committee.
20. Although not a requirement, it is usual for better players to be registered in the higher teams for their clubs. A player registered in what is considered by the Management Committee to be a team too low for his or her standard will not normally be allowed to step up or transfer to a higher team. Except for those deemed to be registered out of order, players may step up for a higher team or teams of the same club up to a total of four times in one season. A player may be transferred to a higher team upon notification to the Records Secretary. A transferred player is subject to the limit of playing for a higher team no more than four times. Any matches played stepping up before the transfer will be counted.
To play in a lower team, the consent of the Records Secretary is required. If such consent is obtained and they have already played for a higher team, they may not thereafter play for any other team of the same club during the remainder of the season. If they have not already played for a higher team, they may do so for up to a total of four times as above. Upon a change of registered team, no further fee is payable.
For the last 4 weeks of the season all requests for a player to step up, for a team in the same division, must FIRST be approved by the Records Secretary. The decision of the Records Secretary will take into consideration the playing record of the player/s in question. During the last 4 weeks of the season, players stepping up without obtaining clearance may be treated as ineligible and all sets played by them awarded to the opposition.
21. A player having registered for a club cannot be transferred to another Club in this League in the same season without permission from the Management Committee.
22. No player shall be registered or transferred to another team or Club after the last day of January in each season except with the approval of the Management Committee.
NOTIFICATIONS
23. In the event of a Club Secretary or Team Captain being compelled to relinquish his or her position, he or she shall send to the General Secretary the name and address of a member who will carry on. This member shall notify each team in the division concerned of the change.
Should a Club Secretary or Team Captain change his or her address the change must be notified to the General Secretary and, in addition, the Team Captain must notify each team in the division concerned of the change.
24. Clubs must specify a particular home night for inclusion in the Official Handbook. If a match is to be played on that home night, no further notification to the opponents shall be necessary. If a home team wishes to change its home night or venue from the one specified in the Official Handbook, notification must be given to the opposing Team Captain not later than the Monday of the week preceding that in which the match is to be played, confirmation must be obtained from the opposing captain that the change has been noted. No match shall be arranged for a Saturday or a Sunday except by mutual arrangement. If the away team do not play on the day specified, the home team shall be awarded the points. Alternatively, if the home team do not give the required notice or do not play on the day specified, the away team shall be awarded the points.
25. All League fixtures shall be completed in the week laid down in the league programme. Matches not played shall be considered void and no points awarded (except as provided in Rule 24). This rule will only be waived in exceptional circumstances at the discretion of the Records Secretary from whom prior approval must be obtained. Should a team concede a walk-over on any occasion during the season a fine of £5.00 and a four-point penalty shall be levied on the Club for the first and every subsequent walk-over. This rule can only be waived in exceptional circumstances at the discretion of the Records Secretary.
25A. The W&HTTL appreciates the multi-cultural composition of its membership and of the area in which it operates. Exceptions to Rule 25 can be made in the following circumstances:
- where a team cannot attend a fixture for religious reasons, arrangements shall be made between the two captains to re-arrange the match for the same week (or, by prior arrangement with the Records Secretary, for another date within three weeks of the original match date).
- where a team is unable to complete fixtures on a particular night of the week for religious reasons, the captain should contact the opposing captain at the earliest opportunity after the fixtures have been released to inform them of the likelihood that the fixture will not be able to be completed. The two captains should consider alternative dates in the same week if possible (or for another date within three weeks of the original match date). If the home team is unable to provide facilities on a different night of the week, the match could be played at the away team's venue or at a neutral venue. If not to take place in the same week as programmed, the Records Secretary must be informed of the revised date of the fixture as soon as it is re-arranged.
26. The result of each match must be recorded on an official score card, signed by both team captains, and either sent electronically to the Records Secretary or Divisional Records Secretary, or entered into the database, as soon as possible after the match. Both teams must keep a record of the results of each match for the duration of the season, for submission to the Records Secretary or Divisional Results Secretary if requested.
PLAYING CONDITIONS AND MATCH PLAY
27. Each Club shall provide suitable accommodation, a table or tables in accordance with Table Tennis England regulations, together with reasonable lighting, floor surface and run back. The home team shall provide refreshments.
28. The ball shall be as approved by the Table Tennis England and no other shall be acceptable. If the home team cannot provide such a ball the match will be forfeited to the opponents.
29. Teams shall consist of three players. Should a team field less than three players on more than two occasions during the same season, a fine of £5.00 shall be levied on the club, for the third and any subsequent offence. This fine will only be waived, in exceptional circumstances, at the discretion of the Records Secretary. Each player shall play each player of the opposing team one set, the best of five games, 11 points up. For each set won a team will be awarded one point.
30. Match play shall commence at the time specified for that club on the website which should be no earlier than 7:30pm. If a team has no member ready to commence play within 15 minutes of the start time the match will be forfeited to their opponents. The order of play, which shall be completed by the Home Team first for the Away Team to see, shall be as indicated on the official score card and a maximum of three minutes shall be allowed between the completion of one set (best of five games) and the commencement of the next. If only one player has arrived they will be designated player 1 and play the first set.
If any player is not ready to commence play within the time limit permitted that set shall be forfeited to the opponents and the next set commenced forthwith. This rule may be varied by mutual agreement. If only one player has arrived and they have completed their first set then they must start their second set and the matches in between are forfeited. Any member of a team who is not ready to play 45 minutes after the starting time for the venue shall not be allowed to take part in the match, save with the agreement of the opposition team captain.
31. All play shall be in accordance with the laws of Table Tennis as approved by the Table Tennis England and International Regulations numbers 3.2.4.1, 3.4.2.4, 3.4.4.1, 3.4.4.1.1, 3.4.4.1.2.
LEAGUE TABLES AND TROPHIES
32. At the end of the season the team having the greatest number of points in each division shall be declared the Champion Team of the division. In the event of a tie the positions of the teams shall be decided on (i) the greatest number of matches won, (ii) the best sets difference, (iii) the best games difference.
The two bottom teams in Division 1 shall be relegated to Division 2, and the two top teams in Division 2 shall be promoted to Division 1. This principle shall regulate the promotion and relegation in all other divisions.
33. The record of any team who may resign, or be expelled, at any time during the season shall be expunged.
34. All clubs receiving Championship or Challenge Cups from the League do so on the following conditions:
(a) The cups cannot be won outright;
(b) In the event of any club becoming defunct whilst holding a League trophy, the trophy shall be returned immediately to the General Secretary.
(c) Individual trophies shall be awarded to the winners and runners-up in each Division. In addition, a trophy shall be awarded to the player in each division with the most number of ‘Player of the Match’ awards (as per the league results database). In the event of a tie, the player with the better or best average number of wins shall earn the award.
TEAM KNOCK-OUT CUP COMPETITIONS AND CLOSED CHAMPIONSHIPS
35. The Management Committee may conduct team knock-out competitions and Closed Championships annually in accordance with the regulations for these events. The Committee may vary these regulations at their discretion.
MISCELLANEOUS
36. No player shall be eligible for representative matches unless registered in the League. Players must also have played in at least three matches during the season, except for the first four weeks of the season, when their qualifications would be judged on the previous season’s play in the League. Playing qualifications may be waived at the Management Committee’s discretion. The League dress will consist of red blouse or shirt, navy blue skirt, shorts or slacks and white socks and shoes. Players selected for representative matches will be expected to adopt this dress.
37. Clubs promoting other than Open Championships, or their own club tournament, must first obtain permission from the League secretary, and shall be required to hand the League 10 per cent of the total entry fees within twenty one days of the finals.
38. Any club infringing the rules shall be liable to such fine or other penalty as the Management Committee decides to impose.
39. The Management Committee shall decide any question not provided for in these rules, and their decision will be final.
DEFINITION
It is to be understood that the areas of Wembley and Harrow referred to in Rule 2 are those of the Boroughs in force before the formation of the Greater London Council in 1965.
