2017 LEXINGTON TENNIS LEAGUE (LATA)

USTA LEAGUE TENNIS MIXED DOUBLES

MIXED ADULT 18 & Over, 40 & Over, 55 & Over, 65 & OverDOUBLES

LEAGUE RULES AND REGULATIONS

USTA League Tennis National Regulations, Southern Regulations and SC Mixed Doubles Regulations shall apply to the USTA Mixed Doubles League and take precedence over LATA Mixed Doubles League Rules.

The purpose of the Rules and Regulations is to assure that fair play and good conduct is maintained at all times and to assist the tennis league in rendering equity to all teams and players. The Rules and Regulations are approved by the State prior to League Matches.

The Local League Coordinator’s responsibility is to organize, coordinate and supervise all USTA League Tennis activities on the local level and report to the State Mixed Doubles League Coordinator.

The Local League Coordinator has been approved to implement and administer the USTA League Tennis Program and interpret the Mixed Doubles Local League rules, regulations and procedures.

It is the responsibility of each Team Captain to familiarize all team members with the Rules and Regulations.

Format:

  1. Three eligible mixed doubles partnerships. A minimum of six (6) players (3 of each gender) per team. The team that wins at least two of the three individual matches wins the team match.
  2. All matches in the Mixed Doubles League will be the best of three sets with a match tie break (i.e., first team to win at least 10 points and with at least a two point margin over the opponent) in lieu of the third set, and with set tiebreaks (i.e., first team to win at least 7 points and with at least a two point margin over the opponent) at 6-all in the first two sets. If either a set tiebreak or match tiebreak is needed, the Coman Tiebreak Procedure is to be used.
  3. The partnership must not exceed the combined level of play that the team has entered. The combined ratings of a partnership cannot be more than 1.0 NTRP rating apart.
  4. Combined partnerships may enter one of the following levels of play:

MIXED ADULT 18 & OVER AGE GROUP: 6.0, 7.0, 8.0, 9.0, 10.0

MIXED ADULT 40 & OVER AGE GROUP: 6.0, 7.0, 8.0, 9.0

MIXED ADULT 55 & OVER AGE GROUP: 6.0, 7.0, 8.0, 9.0

MIXED ADULT 65 & OVER AGE GROUP: 6.0, 7.0, 8.0

  1. Teams may also consist of the following STRAIGHT LEVEL of play:

MIXED ADULT 18 & OVER AGE GROUP: 2.5

Eligibility:

  1. All players must have a current USTA membership which is valid through league season. (Any player applying for or renewing USTA membership may do so online when registering on TennisLink.)
  2. Each player shall have reached the required minimum age prior to or during the calendar year in which such player participates in his or her first local league in the Adult Mixed

18 & Over, 40 & Over, 55 & Over and 65 & Over Age Divisions.

  1. A player may play on more than oneteam at the same level in separate local leagues in the Mixed 18 & Over, 40 & Over, 55 & Over and 65 & Over Age Divisions.
  2. A player may play on multiple teams in the same local league as long as they are at different NTRP levels in the Mixed 18 & Over, 40 & Over, 55 & Over and 65 & Over Age Divisions.
  3. Each LATA team must maintain its roster, through the Mixed State Championships, with at least 60 percent of its players with South Carolina Residence (the player’s primary residence is to be defined in USTA records as South Carolina).

Computer Rating:

Any player with a valid computer rating as a result of the ADULT 18 & OVER AGE GROUP, ADULT 40 & OVER AGE GROUP, ADULT 55 & OVER AGE GROUP or Mixed Doubles USTA League Tennis Program must play at that level or higher.

Self-Rating:

  1. Players who do not have a computer rating on file in TennisLink shall self-rate in accordance with the National Tennis Rating Program (NTRP) Guidelines and complete the self-rating process onTennisLink when registering for a team. Failure to do so or omission of information regarding a player’s tennis history will subject the player, the captain and/or others who condoned inaccurate self-rating to penalties and disqualification.
  2. A player that self-rated in the ADULTAGE GROUPScannot self-rate lower for Mixed Doubles.
  3. A self-rate is valid for 2 years.

Rosters:

  1. TennisLink is the official system for team registration.
  2. Team Roster with a minimum of 6 legal players,(3 men and 3 women) must be submitted into TennisLink no later than March 30, 2017 in order to participate in the LATA 2017 Mixed Doubles League.
  3. After commencement of local league play, players may be added to the roster in accordance to the following:
  4. Player’s name must be added to the team roster before the player’s participation in a team match.
  5. Players may be added to the roster until theMay 29,2017 deadline for adding players.

Fees:

  1. Fees will be collected (via credit card) when a person is put on a roster in the TennisLink system. The cost to play in the LATA 2017 Mixed Doubles League is $17, which includes the USTA/SC player fee, local league fee and TennisLink fee.
  2. Once placed on a roster through TennisLink, there will be no refunds. It is possible to transfer from one team to another without additional fees by contacting the Mixed Doubles League Coordinator to process the movement from one team to the next. Transferring to another team must be done before the start of the Mixed Doubles Season.

Day and Time of Play:

Matches for Mixed Adult 18 & Over and Mixed Adult 40 & Over will be scheduled during the week (Monday thru Thursday) starting no earlier than 6:00 pm. Matches for Mixed Adult 55 & Over will be Saturday morning starting no earlier than 9:00 am. Matches for Mixed Adult 65 & Over will be Sunday at 6:00. The LLC has the option to schedule other days and times if the number of teams and court availability warrants such a schedule.

Local Play:

  1. Each team must have a captain or acting captain present at each match.
  2. Home Team Captain is responsible for contacting Visiting Team Captain one to three days ahead of scheduled match to confirm match and match time.
  3. Captains must exchange written line-ups prior to starting play. Scorecards MUST be downloaded from TennisLink. If there are multiple playing surfaces at a site, the visiting captain is entitled to know which specific match will be played on which surface before line-ups are exchanged.
  4. Each team in a round robin must play every team in the round robin at least once and an equal number of times.
  5. It may be necessary to divide a level into several different divisions if there are too many teams for a single round robin group. In that case, there will be a local league playoff to determine the LATA champion and which team(s) advances to the State Championship.
  6. Each player must play at least two matches locally for Mixed Adult 18 & Over Age Group and Mixed Adult 40 & Over Age Groupand 1 match locally for Mixed Adult 55 & Over Age Group and Mixed Adult 65 & Over Age Groupto qualify for further championship play (one default received will be used to qualify for advancement to State and Sectional Championships.)
  7. Each team must Round Robin with at least one team of the same level. Each team must play at least three matches to qualify for further championship play.
  8. Winners will be determined based on team matches won or winning percentage of team matches. Procedures for playoffs, which will be published on the web and e-mailed to captains by the level coordinators, may vary according to the level of play and number of teams. In all cases, ties will be broken in the following order.
  9. Winner of most individual matches
  10. Winner of head to head.
  11. Loser of fewest sets.
  12. Loser of fewest games.
  13. Toss of coin by LLC.
  14. Home team is responsible for court fees and providing new balls.
  15. It is the responsibility of the home team captain to contact the visiting team captain prior to the scheduled match time if the weather will not permit play. The captains can then discuss postponement, rescheduling, etc. If weather and availability of courts at visitor’s site permits play, match should be played at visitor’s courts.
  16. If the beginning of a match is delayed by rain or wet courts, the teams must wait no longer than one hour past the original match time for the start of the first match to determine if the courts are playable. If the courts are still not playable after one hour has elapsed, the teams are free to reschedule and leave, unless both captains agree to wait longer.

L.In the event that rain or inclement weather forces the cancellation and re-scheduling of a

team match, substitutions may be made in any individual matches, which had not begun.

Incomplete matches must be resumed at the exact score – set, game and point – as they

stood when halted. Completed individual matcheswill stand as played.

  1. Rain Day– Friday (following rained out match). Captains may schedule rained out

matches at another agreeable day and time as long as they contact the Level

Coordinatorimmediately of therained out match and inform them of the agreed upon

rescheduled day and time. Matches should berescheduled and played before the next

scheduled match. There is a maximum of 14 days, includingthe scheduled date to

complete a match. Matches (all three positions) must be made upwithin 14

calendar days from the originally scheduled match time. Countthe day that the

match is rained out as “day one. *Do not skip playable days. Should you skip

playable days and the rescheduled date is rainedout, you must still make up all

positions within the 14 days. Thelevel (flight) coordinator willarbitrate and

render a decision if a conflict cannot be resolved by the teamsinvolved. Any matches

that cannotbe agreed upon will be rescheduled by the level (flight) coordinator

within the 14 day limit.

  1. Once matches are rescheduled and the Level Coordinator notified of rescheduled

match, teams are committedto play on that date and failure by one team to play will

result in a default of the match.

  1. Players must report to scheduled matches on time. The 15-minute default rule will apply

– unless priorarrangements have been made between captains.

  1. CELL PHONES must be turned off. If a cell phone rings during a point, the opponent

wins the point based on ahindrance.

  1. Should a Spring League Team progress to the State, Sectional or National

Championship playoffs, team captainsshall make accommodations in team match play

when the affected team cannot field the required teams to

complete a scheduled Mixed Doubles Match. This does not include championships

the team/players knew about in advance. See note below under Match Conflicts.

Rescheduling procedure should follow inclement

weatherguidance and the Level Coordinator be advised of such.

R. MATCH CONFLICTS WITH OTHER EVENTS:

Except in the event of weather, matches may not be played after the originally

scheduled match date. Any other conflicts a team may have with a scheduled match

must be made upin advance of the originally scheduled match. These might include

events such as school holidays, extended weekends of a holiday such as Memorial

Day,etc. These requests should only be made if a team has a problem fieldinga

complete team for a match. The team requesting to reschedule a match should do so

at the beginning of the season and give the other team several dates. If the other team

does not agree, the match must be played at the original scheduled time. If it rains the

day of an agreed upon rescheduled time and no other day can be agreed upon to play,

then the original date of the match stands.

The only conflict exception is a League Championship. Teams must agree to

reschedule matches that interfere with any teams participating in these championships

where they do not have enoughplayers available for the scheduled match. This

does not include championships that theplayer/team knew of in advance.

Teams that have players that are aware of championships prior to the scheduled

match are to reschedule these matches ahead of time as in the case of

other conflicts. This does not negate the 14 day rule.

S. There will be no scheduling concessions for players playing in other leagues including

playoffs.

Coaching:

Once an individual match has begun, no coaching may be given a player by team

captains, coaches, pros or any other spectator.

Sportsmanship:

  1. No linesmen or umpires will be provided for matches.
  2. Every player is expected to call shots on his side, as he would expect his shots to be called on the other side and loud enough for his/her opponent to hear. Any out ball must be called instantaneously; otherwise, it is presumed good and in play. Avoid late calls.
  3. Balls that are not clearly out should be awarded the opponent. In the case of doubles, when the partnership is in disagreement of a call, it should be awarded the opponent.
  4. Players are advised to call the score before each point to avoid confusion. If the players cannot agree on the score, the score reverts to the score at which the players last agree.
  5. All complaints alleging a violation of fair play and unsportsmanlike conduct shall be filed in writing to the LLC who will forward the complaint to the Grievance Committee. The Grievance Committee will review the alleged grievance and determine the necessary actions that should be taken.

Scorecards:

  1. Scorecards are to be printed by captains from TennisLink.
  2. Captains are to exchange line-ups simultaneously. No changes may be made after line-ups have been exchanged, except as indicated in the substitution rule. Please note: After scorecards have been exchanged, if a team receives a default, the receiving team does not have the option to change their line-up!
  3. Substitution: In the event of illness, injury, disqualification, or no-show of a player prior to the start of an individual match (once the lineup has been exchanged), a team may substitute a player in the affected position within the 15-minute default time. The start of an individual match is once the ball is struck and put into play to begin the match. In event rain or inclement weather forces cancellation and rescheduling of a team match, substitution may be made in any individual match that has not begun. No player involved in a default may participate in rescheduled match.
  4. Captains are to agree on scores and players’ names (as they appear in TennisLink) on scorecard before leaving match and sign each other’s scorecards. Signed scorecard will be official.
  5. Either captain can report scores on TennisLink and should report immediately after eachmatch. National Reg 1.04C(2) establishes a 48-hour deadline for scores to be initially entered into TennisLink after the completion of a match.The first captain to access TennisLink enters the score; the second captain either confirms or disputes the score. Each match must be entered and confirmed or disputed. If the match is notconfirmed or disputed in TennisLink within 48 hours after the first captain enters the score, scores are considered correct and TennisLink will automatically confirm it (as is). DISPUTES MUST BE MADE WITHIN 48 HOURS OR SCORE ENTRIESWILL STAND AS ENTERED

In case of a disputed score, the captain must notify ASAP the Level Coordinator

(copying theother captain) that a match has been disputed and the basis for

the disputed score. Refer to the match number when reporting a dispute and be

specific.

Defaults:

  1. Default – when a team knows in advance it will not be able to field all three positions. Inthis case, the #3 doubles position must be defaulted.
  2. Forfeit by default – when a player who was expected to play fails to appear on time or becomes unable to play and no substitute is available. In this case, the position in which the player was scheduled to play is defaulted.
  3. Default by disqualification – disqualification occurs when a player is ineligible to participate for any reason (i.e., not a member of USTA, under age, not on roster). The position in which the disqualified player played is defaulted.
  4. If a team defaults an entire match (2 of the 3 positions) for any reason during round robin play, then all matches of that team, played or to be played, shall be null and void when determining standings. If all teams in contention for the championships have already played the defaulting team in good faith, the matches stand as played.
  5. Players receiving a default must be listed on Scorecard; players giving a default must not be listed.

F. Defaults given are voided in the event of rainouts provided no individual match

has started.If any match has started (first ball put in play), the default stands.