General rules & meetings

 1

The league shall be called the Wigan & District Table Tennis League.

 2

The league shall be open to clubs in the Wigan district subject to the approval of the Management Committee without distinction of gender, political, religious or other opinions.

 3

The League shall be governed by a Management Committee elected annually at the Annual General Meeting and shall consist of the following, Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Fixture Secretary, along with three elected representatives.

This committee shall determine the structure  of the League and fixtures and have the power to decide on all questions relating to the eligibility of players, the interpretation of the League rules and shall have full jurisdiction over all matters or business concerning the League whether covered in the rules or not and its decision shall be considered final, subject to any appeal.

The committee shall have the power to co-opt other persons qualified to assist in the administration of the affairs of the League.

The quorum necessary for the Management Committee shall be five members.

                                                            RULE 3A

An Annual General Meeting shall be held every year after the end of the season.

At the AGM, the officers of the League and the elected members of the Management Committee shall have one vote each. In addition, teams who competed in the previous season shall have one vote per team. The vote required for any proposal shall be a simple majority. In the event of a tie, The Chairman shall have the casting vote. The quorum of an AGM shall be twelve members.

                                                            RULE 3B

Promotion and relegation for winners and losers in respective divisions will be enforced by the Management Committee, subject to the number of teams in each division. In the case of significantly amended teams, or new teams entering the League, the Management Committee reserves the right to place them in the appropriate division.

 4

Any clubs joining the league shall be deemed to accept the rules of the league on admission. League members should at all times refrain from foul and abusive language or other unsporting behaviour.  The Management Committee shall have the power to fine, suspend or expel, any player or club, as deemed necessary, found guilty of misconduct or breach of League Rules.

 5

A Special General Meeting shall be called within 14 days on a requisition signed by the secretaries of five member clubs being lodged with the League Secretary.

 6

No alteration of rules of the league can be made except at the Annual General Meeting or  Special General Meeting expressly called for that purpose.  Any proposed alteration of the rules should be sent to the Secretary before the AGM if possible.  These proposals will be circulated prior to and at the AGM and any amendments to these or any further proposals will be accepted for consideration. In order that any proposed alteration of rules may be properly debated, the members proposing are required to be present at the meeting.  

 7

The Appeals Committee (made up of not less than three representatives from the Management Committee) shall have the power to judge on all disputed matters in the League, and their decision will be final, (subject to appeal to the Lancashire County Table Tennis Association). 

Representatives of clubs concerned in a dispute shall not be entitled to sit or vote at the Appeals Committee meeting whilst the dispute is under consideration. However they will have the right to appeal and be heard in person at the Appeals Committee Meeting whose decision will be final, (subject to appeal to the Lancashire County Table Tennis Association).

 8

It shall be considered the responsibility of a team changing its secretary, address, contact details, headquarters or match night, to notify the League Secretary, the Webmaster and the secretary of all other clubs in the league, in writing, of the changes.

 9

The team scoring most points in each division shall be awarded the appropriate championship trophy. The trophies shall be held by the winning clubs for twelve months and returned to the league in good condition

In the event of teams within a particular division ending the season with an equal number of points, the higher position will be awarded to the team based on all league results using the following criteria:-

1. The team which has won the most matches, then if unresolved

2. The team which has the fewest points conceded.

If the teams are still tied then the cumulative match results between the teams involved will be used in the following manner:-

3. The team having scored the most points, then if unresolved

4. The team which has won the most matches, then if still unresolved,

5. the team with the fewest points conceded.

NB Definition of a match is the overall result at the end of the evening and definition of points is the potential 30 points played for during a match.

 10

In the event of a club withdrawing from the league, it shall hand over to the league immediately any cups, shields etc. which belong to the league, and results of all matches such clubs have played shall be considered void.

 11

Any matter not provided for in these rules shall be referred to the Management Committee for decision.

Team / Club registration & fees

 12

All team applications should be made on the appropriate form and must be in the hands of the League Secretary by 31st July each year. Any applications after this date will only be accepted subject to the approval of the Management Committee.

 13

Each team registered shall pay an entrance fee of £60 if paid before the end of October or £70 if paid after the end of October. The entrance fee will be inclusive of all W&DTTL Player Registration Fees and LTTA Affiliation Fees, but does not include Table Tennis England Individual Membership Fees (to include elements for Personal Accident Insurance and Public Liability Insurance). 

There is a £5 discount for each junior player up to a total of £20 per team.

 14

All League Fees should be paid on or before the first League Meeting following the start of the season; also registration of players must be in the hands of the League Secretary at or before the pre season meeting.

 15

Where a club has more than one team in separate divisions, they shall play their best team in the higher division.

 16

Where a club has two or more teams in the same division, the teams shall be treated as separate clubs and all player transfers etc. shall be covered by rules of the League.

Eligibility to play in the league & player registration

 17

All teams must have a minimum of four registered players at the start of the season. The maximum number of players that can normally be registered with any team is eight, however this can be increased, but only with approval of the Management Committee.  All team entries must be accompanied by a list of team members.

 18

No player may be registered for more than one club/team in the league in any season unless he/she transfers to another club.

 19

No player can play in the league without having fully paid up Table Tennis England membership. This membership condition will be checked before results of matches are entered into the system.

In the event of a dispute, the onus of proof of membership is on the individual to provide evidence of their TTE registration to the Results Secretary.

No player may play in the league without membership of their club/team subject to each club/team's rules and regulations. If any membership fees are outstanding, the league, in support of its member clubs/teams, may retrospectively disallow any matches played by the player until such time as their membership/registration fees are brought up to date.

 20

No player can be registered after the 31st January in any season without the approval of the Management Committee.

 21

A player shall remain with the club they are registered with until granted a transfer or should the player’s club /team resign from the league. Player registrations are cancelled at the end of a season.

 22

All players are eligible to take part in Team or Individual Handicap KO competitions provided they are registered with a team in the League.  No players shall be eligible to take part in any other Individual KO Competitions unless they have represented the team for which they are registered in at least the minimum number of matches as considered appropriate and advised by the Management Committee at the commencement of each season.  Postponed or conceded matches in which a player may have been selected to play will not count towards the necessary matches.

 23

Any player wishing to participate in Junior Competitions which the League may hold must be under 19 years of age on 31 December of the current season.

 24

Teams playing ineligible players will forfeit the league points scored by that player in singles and doubles and if the match is a cup match then the teams will be disqualified from the competition. Players are defined as eligible to play if they are in compliance with Rules 4, 13, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25 & 26.

Player transfers & playing for other teams within the league

 25

Transfer of players from one  team to another shall be subject to the sanction of the Management Committee.  Such players shall receive a ‘clearance note’ from the Secretary/Captain of their old team, which must be forwarded to the League Secretary together with a letter of resignation from the player and a formal application from the player’s new team.  No transfer shall be considered after 31st January in any season.

 26

 Teams may call up reserves from a lower division to play for their team on any number of occasions and can be up to two players per match. The teams in the lowest divisions can call upon reserves from their own division on any number of occasions and can be up to two players per match.

Teams CAN NOT call up a reserve player if one of their registered players is available to play.

Any of the three players on the night can form the doubles partnership.

All players must be registered with Wigan and District Table Tennis League.

A player MAY NOT play for more than one team on the same night whether the other team is in the Wigan League or not.

Playing matches

 27

Each team shall play home and away matches against every other team in the same division as indicated by the fixture list. No team is allowed to play more than one match on the same night.

 28

All matches shall be played under the rules of  Table Tennis England and shall commence by 7.30pm. Matches are to be played with balls sanctioned by Table Tennis England.

 29

Prior to commencing any match, all teams shall fill in the scorecard  listing players in order of play. Any player not available after 8.00pm can be called upon to play in the order of the card and if the player is not present the player’s team will forfeit the set unless a reserve is available. Reserve players subsequently included in a team after the match has commenced, must take the place of the missing player and must be shown as a replacement player on the official scorecard. If no reserve player is available, then the match should be played out according to the scorecard and games should be forfeited if the player is not present. If, due to absent players, the match has not commenced by 8.00pm, the opposing team, provided it has all its players present, shall have the option of claiming the match and league points.

 30

The umpire for each game shall be mutually agreed upon, and the scoring shall generally be undertaken alternately by members of the visiting and home teams.  In the event of any dispute over who should umpire, the visiting team shall have the choice.

 31

Each match will comprise of 10 sets. Each set will be played to the best of five games. The number of league points per set shall be the number of games won by each team in that set, e.g. if a set was won by 3 games to 2, then the team that won the set would be awarded 3 points and the team that lost the set would be awarded 2 points; if a set was won by 3 games to 0, 3 points and 0 points would be awarded, etc. 

 32

In all divisions, there shall be three players per team, with each player playing each member of the opposing team plus one doubles match, in which a fourth or fifth player may be introduced by either team.  HOWEVER ,note that if a reserve player is included in the three match players, then the fourth of fifth player CAN NOT be a registered team member.

Teams shall not play an ineligible player, nor record on the score card as having taken part in a match, the name of a player who did not do so. Failure to comply with this rule will result in 12 points being deducted from the team. In matches where a team deliberately record players who haven’t played with the agreement of the opposing team, 12 points will be deducted from both teams.

 33

A scorecard must be filled in for each match, including Team Knockout matches, and signed by both captains.  The home team shall be responsible for e-mailing the completed scorecard to the Results Secretary so that the Results Secretary receives the card within three days of the match. For any scorecards not received within three days, the home team will have twelve league points deducted.

Postponing matches

 34

Other than detailed below ( Rules 35 & 36), all fixtures shall be played on the match night set out in the League Fixture list. No game may be postponed without prior permission of the Fixture Secretary where considerations will be given to reasons of 1) the unavailability of playing premises, or 2) players involved in a town team match on the night that the match should have been played, or 3) exceptional personal circumstances of a serious nature. In respect of scenarios 1) and 2) permission to postpone should be made by the home team/opposing team secretary at least 7 days in advance with the Fixture Secretary notifying both teams of the decision at least 48 hours before the game is to be played.

 35

One postponement per team is allowed without recourse, with the approval of the Fixture Secretary.

 36

Subject to the approval of both teams, games may be played earlier than the scheduled date, there being no limit to the number of games brought forward. The Fixture Secretary MUST be notified of all changes of date.

 37

The relevant team secretary shall be responsible for notifying the Fixture Secretary of a match postponed or brought forward under Rules 34, 35 or 36. Postponed games must be rearranged within two weeks of the date of the postponement and the Fixture Secretary informed.  If the match is not re-arranged within two weeks the Management Committee will adjudicate and advise the re-arranged date when the match is to be played.  The re-arranged date will then be subject to Rule 34 regarding postponement of league matches.  If the match is not played on the re-arranged date, then the Appeals Committee will rule on the points awarded.  No match can be postponed more than once.

38

If a team concedes or fails to turn up for a league match, the non offending team will receive all thirty points and the offending team zero points. In addition, the offending team will receive a 12 points penalty deduction.

All points deducted (for any reason) will be ignored when calculating handicaps.

39

Details of protests and match claims (stating that the offending club has been informed) shall be sent in writing to the League Secretary and the offending club within seven days of the alleged offence taking place.  The offending club, on being informed, should, if they so desire, send a statement of their case concerning the protest or dispute, in writing, to the League Secretary, within a further 7 days.  The Management Committee will only consider a protest or match claim if these procedures are followed.