Sittingbourne and District Table Tennis Association
STANDING
RULES
1) Title
·
The
Association shall be known as the “Sittingbourne and District Table Tennis
Association”.
2) Constitution
·
The
admission of clubs which are not already in membership shall be decided at the
Association’s Annual General Meeting, Winter League Fixture Meeting, Summer
League Fixture Meeting, or where participation in the League is not involved,
by the Committee. Clubs already in membership may only be expelled from the
Association at the Annual General Meeting or at a Special General Meeting
called for the purpose. The Association shall be affiliated to the English
Table Tennis Association and in membership with the Kent County Table Tennis
Association.
·
The
Officers of the Association shall be President, Vice-Presidents, Chairman,
Vice-Chairman, Hon. General Secretary, Hon. Competitions Organiser, Hon. Kent
League Representative, Hon. Treasurer and Hon. Summer League Organizer
·
The
affairs of the Association shall be managed by a Committee consisting of the
Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Hon. General Secretary, Hon. Competitions Organiser,
Hon. Kent League Representative, Hon. Treasurer, Hon. Summer League Organiser
and six other members.
3)
General Meetings
Annual
·
The
Annual General Meeting of the Association shall be held each year subsequent to
the closing of the financial year and at that meeting the Officers and
Committee shall be elected for the ensuing year.
·
No person absent from the Annual General
Meeting without good reason shall be elected to the Committee.
·
Two
Auditors shall also be elected.
·
A
record of attendances of the Committee shall be given in the General
Secretary’s Annual Report.
·
Notifications
of resolutions shall be submitted to the General Secretary by the 15th March. Such
resolutions shall be circulated to all Clubs by the 31st March and any
amendments shall be submitted to the General Secretary by the 14th April.
·
The
complete Agenda and notice of the meeting shall be circulated at least 14 days
before the date of the meeting.
Special
·
A
Special General Meeting shall be called at any time if requested by at least
three member Clubs or by the Committee.
·
At
least 14 days’ notice of the date and full agenda of such meeting shall be
given and no other matters shall be dealt with at that meeting.
Note!
·
At
any General Meeting each Club represented shall be entitled to one vote only on
matters affecting the constitution, rules or membership of the Association. On
other matters voting may be decided by a show of hands at the discretion of the
Chairman. The Chairman shall have a casting vote.
·
Each
member addressing the Chair shall first state his/her name and Club.
4)
Finance
·
The
financial year of the Association shall end on the 31st May, and an audited
statement of accounts up to that date shall be presented at the Annual General
Meeting. The necessary expenses of the Officers and Committee incurred on
Association business shall be paid from Association funds.
·
Fees
payable to the Association are as follows:
Team Affiliation , Player
Registration ,Team Tournament (Main Winter League) & Handicap Singles
Team Affiliation (Summer League)
All
above fees are to be paid in addition to the ETTA and KCTTA fees. They are
payable at the appropriate Fixture
Meeting
of the Winter League or Summer League.
Fees to be decided at the Annual General Meeting.
5)
Laws & Discipline
Games in all the Leagues and
Tournaments shall be played in accordance with the Laws of Table Tennis as
approved by the ETTA.
·
Where
there is any infringement of the Rules detailed under Standing Rules, and no
penalties are already specified the Committee may impose such disciplinary
measures or penalties as it may think fit.
The Committee shall be empowered to take disciplinary action
against individual players as may be deemed necessary if circumstances
warranted such action.
Clubs and individuals against whom such action is taken
shall have the right of appeal to the Committee, and if not satisfied, to the
KCTTA.
·
No
alterations, additions or deletions shall be made to Standing Rules or to the
League or Tournament Rules, except at an Annual General Meeting, or at a
Special General Meeting. The Committee shall have full power to decide on any
matter not covered within these rules.
6)
Dissolution
·
In
the event of the winding up or dissolution of the Association, all surplus
assets shall be distributed amongst the full members of the Association, as
soon as possible after the event. This would only be done if there is a surplus
after discharging all debts and liabilities of the Association.
WINTER LEAGUE RULES
1) Winter League
·
The
Winter League competition consists of teams being entered into the League from
every club in the Association and playing up to 11, best of 5 legs.
·
The
League shall consist of such Divisions as may be determined by the Committee.
·
Each
team shall play each other team in its Division twice, home and away unless
otherwise agreed by the Committee.
· The Competitions Organiser must be notified
of any postponement within 7 days of the original date, and must be informed of
the re-arranged fixture within 1 calendar month of the original date. Any
re-arranged match shall not include players registered after the original date
of the match unless specially agreed previously by the Committee.
In the event of a match being
cancelled or not played on the date shown in the fixture list, the team at
fault will be penalised, 5 points for the first offence and 10 points for
subsequent offences at the discretion of the Committee. Should the game not be
played at all, the team at fault shall be penalised a further 5 points for each
offence, unless an adequate reason has been forwarded to the Competitions
Organiser within 48 hours. Unless the match is rearranged by mutual consent,
the team at fault shall receive no points and the Committee shall award to
their opponents such points as they might have been expected to win, with a
minimum of three. Any team wishing to claim points should do so within 48 hours
giving reasons.
· Any team at fault on three occasions shall
be automatically removed from the League.
Note! The above applies apart from the
lowest division. In this division they can play with handicaps as determined by
the Committee. Where two players have the same
handicap, the game shall commence at love all and be played to 11each leg. In
doubles play the handicap shall be the average of the two players rounded
towards zero.
2) Registrations
·
All
players must be registered as bona fide members of the Association.
·
Fixtures shall be arranged at a fixture meeting held in
September and any Club not represented at that meeting can
be fined a sum of money determined by the
Committee.
·
Each
Club must supply a copy of its fixture list to the Competitions Organiser
before the first match is due to be played. Every match must be played on the
date shown in the fixture list unless otherwise mutually agreed by the clubs
concerned.
·
A
team shall consist of three players who shall be bona fide members of the Club
represented. Such members shall be registered for that team at the time when
the team is entered into the League.
·
Registered
players will be provided with the Association Handbook.
·
New
members may be registered after the allocation of teams to the League provided
that the necessary form and fee are in the hands of the Competitions Organiser
at least 24 hours before the first match in which they are required to play.
·
The
closing date for League registration applications shall be the end of January
unless special dispensation is received from the Committee. Such registrations
for the first division shall be fully effective at the outset. Registrations
for other divisions will be subject to ratification by the Committee. Games
played before the registration is approved are at the discretion of the Competitions
Organiser.
·
If
any Club is represented by more than one team, such teams shall be graded
first, second, third, etc.
·
To
be eligible to play in any team other than the first a player must not have
played during the current season in more than four matches for any team or
teams of higher grading. Should a player have played more than four matches for
any team or teams of a higher grading that player shall then be only eligible
to play for the remainder of that season for the highest team for which these matches
were played.
3) Play
·
All
matches shall be played between the last Monday in September and the second
Friday in April unless otherwise approved by the Committee.
·
When
a Club has two or more teams in the same division, and it becomes clear that
the higher-ranked team is the weaker, the Committee may, if it sees fit, decide
that players from the lower-ranked team may not play for the higher ranked
team.
·
Transfers
from a higher to a lower team may be granted by the Committee in special cases.
Any infringement of this rule shall entail the forfeiture of the ties played.
4)
Matches
·
A
match shall consist of ten ties, i.e., nine singles and one doubles, each tie
to be the best of five games.
·
Matches
must commence by
·
Where
a team (whether home or away) is late arriving without good cause, the
opponents if not themselves at fault may claim one game for every
fifteen minutes that the start of the match is delayed, and the remainder of
the match shall be played in the order on the card - i.e. in a match
commencing at between 7.45 p.m. and 7.59 p.m. the
first game should be B. v Y. Where such claim is made the commencing
time must be shown correctly on the score card and in each game claimed should
be noted “claimed - late start.” Alternatively should a team arrive
after
·
Any
Club failing to produce three players for a League Match shall forfeit to the
opposing team all the games which are not played. In the event of both teams in
a match having only two players, the match shall consist of five ties only,
each player of one team playing each player of the opposing team the best of
five legs in addition to a doubles tie.
·
One
player shall constitute a team with three singles matches being played if
playing a three man team, two singles matches being played if playing a two man
team and one singles being played if playing a one man team.
5) Doubles League
·
The
doubles game played within the normal scheduled league match
,will also count towards a separate Doubles League for each division.
·
Points
will be awarded to each team, regardless of player combination, according to
the following scale:
5 points for a victory in 3 straight legs
4 points for a victory in 4 legs
3 points for a victory in 5 legs
2 points for a defeat in 5 legs
1 point for a defeat in 4 legs
0 points for a defeat in 3 straight legs
6) Results
·
Results
of matches must be notified to the Competitions Organiser by the Captain of the
home team within 48 hours on a League Result Card, which shall be signed by a
member of each team.
·
Where
no result card is received by the Competitions Organiser within 5 days from the
due date of the match, the points will be awarded to the away team, with both
teams being notified accordingly.
·
The
winner of each division shall be decided by points, one point being awarded for
each game won. Where the number of games won is equal, the winner shall be
decided by the number of matches won. Where these are equal the matter shall be
resolved by the Committee.
ANNUAL TOURNAMENTS
1) Rules
·
Junior
and Senior Tournaments shall be organised annually and shall be restricted to
members of Clubs in membership with the Sittingbourne and District Table Tennis
Association.
·
Any bona fide club member who, owing to
special circumstances, has not been able to play the number of games required
to qualify may be allowed to enter at the discretion of the Committee.
·
All
the events shall be played at a central venue on one or more days as may be
determined at the Annual General Meeting. The actual dates, times and venue
being decided by the Committee.
·
Any
player who, having entered a tournament, either fails to attend without due
notice or a reasonable excuse, or leaves before completing his or her matches,
may be excluded from the next tournament.
·
All
entries shall be made on forms supplied for the purpose to Club Secretaries,
and such forms shall be forwarded to the Competitions Organiser or such other
person as may be decided by the Committee, together with the entry fees, not
later than the date specified on the forms. (The entry fees shall be as
determined by the Committee).
· Any points not covered by the rules
should be referred to the appropriate Tournament Organiser for that event or to
the Competitions Organiser, or to the Association Committee via the Hon.
General Secretary.
2) Junior
Junior
Tournaments shall consist of the following events:-
·
Jimmy
Mannooch Trophy Rules are as follows
Open to members of either sex under the age of 15.
Who have not previous won any tournament.
Who do not play in the league in a division higher than the lowest division.
Who live within the Borough of Swale.
Have entered at least one other event in the current Junior Tournament.
· Boys Junior Singles & Doubles
· Girls Junior Singles & Doubles
· Under 15 Boys’ Singles & Doubles
· Under 15 Girls’ Singles & Doubles
· Under 13 Boys’ Singles and Under 13 Girls’ Singles.
· These Tournaments shall be open to
players who were under 17(15 or 13 for the younger events) on the preceding 1st
January,
and who have played a minimum of 5
matches in total in the current Winter League, Team Tournaments, Summer League
prior to the closing date for entry or who reside or attend school in the Swale
Borough.
· No player may enter more than four
events, including the Jimmy Mannooch Trophy.
· Where there are less than 4 entries
for any event the tournament organiser will decide whether to run the event or
to combine it
for that occasion with the corresponding event
of the opposite sex.
· All singles events shall be played in
groups of four or three, with the winner of each group taking part in a
knock-out competition
· Where there are less than six entries
for any event it shall be played as a straight knock-out.
3)
Senior
Senior
Tournaments shall consist of:-
1.
Combined
Singles
2.
Consolation
Singles (for First Division players knocked out of the groups of the Combined
Singles event)
3.
Women’s
Singles & Doubles
4.
Veterans’
Singles & Doubles (The Veterans’ Singles & doubles shall be open to
players of either sex aged 40 years or over on the previous 1st
January.
5.
Men’s
& Mixed Doubles
6.
Divisional
Singles for each separate Division of the League except the first.
Where there are less than six entries for a divisional
singles, that event may be combined with the next highest division. Where there
are less than four entries for any other event or for the second division
singles (after combination if appropriate) there shall be no competition for
that event.
Entrants in the divisional singles may only take part
in the event appropriate to the lowest division of the league for which they
are eligible at the closing date for entries.
Players registered after the league has commenced may
be excluded from the divisional singles at the Committee’s discretion, provided
that the decision is taken and notified at the time of registration.
·
Doubles
events shall be played on a straight knock-out basis, but singles events may be
played in groups, at the
discretion of the
Committee, according to the number of entries, and the time available.
·
Entrants
will usually be required to have played a minimum of 5 matches in total in the
current Winter League or Team Tournament prior to the closing date for entry, however this number may be reduced at the Committee’s
discretion.
HANDICAP KNOCKOUT TEAM TOURNAMENT
AND SECONDARY TOURNAMENTS
1) Rules
·
A
team tournament for teams shall be organised each season.
·
The
competition may be run on a divisional basis or by combining divisions
together.
2)
Registrations
·
A
team shall consist of 3 players eligible to play in the league for that
particular team.
·
A
player may play once for another of their club teams within the same competition,
but only at the discretion of the Tournament Organiser.
·
Any
player may play for their club’s other teams which are in a different
tournament upon application to and at the discretion of the Tournament
Organiser providing that a revised handicap has been given.
·
After
the second round, no player not already eligible may
be introduced to a team unless special permission is obtained from the
Tournament Organiser.
·
A
player who registers after the Fixture Meeting must have played in at
least 2 league games prior to the round concerned unless special permission is
obtained from the Tournament Organiser.
·
The
draw shall be made by the Committee, and circulated to all participants at the
Winter League Fixture Meeting.
3)
Handicaps
·
Each
player will be allocated a handicap; this handicap will be decided by the
Committee and can be varied from round to round.
·
Any
player who has not played in the league before will receive a handicap of zero,
unless the player’s standard compared to other known players is included on the
appropriate form.
4)
Play
·
One
week in October shall be left free of league fixtures for the first round and
one week in November for the second round.
·
The
home team must offer their opponents a minimum of two dates after the second
round for subsequent rounds. In the first and second rounds only one date need
be offered since certain weeks are set aside for them.
·
The
final shall be played at a neutral venue to be decided by the Committee.
·
A
set shall consist of two legs up to 31, with no deuce. The total amount of
points gained by each player in both legs shall then be entered in the
appropriate column on the official scorecard. Handicaps should be added to this
total. Therefore, an accumulated total is kept after each set, showing the match
score.
·
Matches
will consist of nine singles (all play all, with two legs up to 31 for each
game (N.B) all games must be played).
The winning team
shall be the one with the highest accumulated total over the nine singles.
·
Where
the final totals are equal each team shall nominate one player to play a
deciding singles, consisting of one leg only. Each player shall receive points,
equivalent to their handicap and the winner shall be the first player to reach
31 points or to gain a two point lead after 30 all. The players shall
toss for ends or service and shall change ends at 15 points (including
handicaps).
5) Matches
·
Matches
must commence by
·
Where
a team (whether home or away) is late arriving without good cause, the
opponents if not themselves, at fault, may claim 5
points per leg of all games not played within three and a half hours of the
agreed start time. The legs not played will be adjudicated by the Tournament
Organiser on the basis of the handicap given to the players in the outstanding
games and the winner put forward to the next round.
6) Results
·
The
result card must be forwarded to the Tournament Organiser by the ‘Winning Team’
within one week, otherwise the home team shall be eliminated at the discretion of
the Competitions Organiser
HANDICAP, SECONDARY HANDICAP &
INTERMEDIATE HANDICAP SINGLES
1) Rules
·
The
Handicap Singles event shall be restricted to players playing in the first
division.
·
The Secondary Handicap Singles and Intermediate Handicap Singles
shall be played under the same rules as the Handicap Singles, except that
entries shall be restricted to players playing in the lower divisions.
·
The
Finals shall be played at a venue decided by the Committee.
·
Each
player who is drawn at home in each round shall be supplied with a card on
which shall be shown his or her opponents name and address and the date by
which the match must be played. The home player must then offer his opponent
reasonable dates for selection within seven days of receipt of the card.
Opponents who do not receive such notification within the specified time shall
notify the Tournament Organiser. When a date has been fixed it shall not be
altered except by mutual consent and defaulting players shall forfeit the match
to their opponents.
2) Play
·
A
match shall consist of 3 legs up to 31 points with no deuce. The total
amount of points gained by each player in each leg shall be entered into the
appropriate column on the official scorecard.
·
Handicap
totals should be added to the score so an accumulative total is kept after each
leg and the winner shall be the player with the highest accumulated
·
Where
the total points accredited to each player are equal, then a deciding leg shall
be played. Each player shall receive points, equivalent to his/her handicap and
the winner shall be the first player to reach 31 points or gain a two point
lead after 30-all.
· In the third leg players change ends at the first player reaching 15
points. (including handicaps) The choice of ends or service in the third leg
shall be decided by the toss of a coin.
3) Results
·
The
result must be forwarded to the Tournament Organiser by the winner within one
week; otherwise the home player will be eliminated
·
In
the event of a match not being played by the due date, the home player may be
eliminated at the discretion of the Competition Organiser.
4) Handicaps
·
A
list of handicaps shall be supplied to each Club, with the draw for the first
round.
·
All players’ handicaps can be reviewed after each round.
THE SUMMER LEAGUE
1) Rules
·
The
Summer League Committee shall consist of the Hon. Summer League Competitions
Organizer (SLCO) (appointed by the Associations Committee), the Hon. General
Secretary of the Association and one representative from each club entering the
Summer League.
·
The
Summer League shall consist of such Divisions as may be determined by the
Committee.
·
Any
points not covered by these rules should be referred to the SLCO, or to the
Association Committee via the Hon. General Secretary
2) Play
·
All
matches shall be played between the last Monday in April and the second Friday
in August.
·
Each
team shall play each other team in its Division twice, normally home and away
unless mutually agreed.
·
Fixtures
shall be played on the club’s home night in the week as shown on the fixture
chart unless mutually agreed otherwise, in which event the SLCO must be
informed prior to the designated match date.
·
The
change of serve shall be maintained at every five. (Note!., if the game commences
at 3 — love, the first server only has two services, the service being changed
at 5 — love or the equivalent.)
·
A
change of ends shall take place in the third leg when the first player reaches
the mid-.point of the required number of points to win the leg.( e.g., a player on Owe 6 shall cause a change of ends upon
reaching 13 (having to go to 27) or a player on a Plus 9 shall similarly do so
on reaching 15.)
3) Registrations
·
New
players may be registered after the Summer League Meeting provided they are
registered with the SLCO and receive an appropriate handicap before the first
match in which they are required to play.
·
A
team shall consist of two players (although it is advisable to register at
least three). Such members shall be registered for that team at the time when
the team is entered into the Summer League, and any fees shall be paid before
or at the Summer League Meeting.
4) Handicaps
·
The
allocation of teams and handicaps shall be completed by the Summer League
Committee prior to the commencement of the League.
·
Where
two players have the same handicap the game shall commence at love all and be
played to 21 each leg.
·
In
doubles play, the handicap shall be the average of the two players comprising
the team, rounded towards zero.
·
The
Summer League Sub-Committee (consisting of at least 4 members including the
SLCO) shall be empowered to revise any handicap of any player after receipt of
the first four result cards that involved the player, should these have
indicated that the original handicap was inappropriate.
5) Matches
·
A
match shall be of 5 ties i.e., four singles and one doubles, each tie to be the
best of three games.
· Matches shall commence by
· Where a team (whether home or away)
is late in arriving by more than forty-five minutes without good cause, the
opponents if not themselves also at fault, may claim the match unless it is either
mutually agreed to continue the match or rearrange it within the league
timetable. Should a match commence after 8 p.m. without mutual consent, the
team not at fault may claim one tie for each complete 15 minutes that the start
of the match is delayed or alternatively all ties not completed by the club’s
closing time.
·
Any
club failing to produce two players for a match shall forfeit to the opposing
team all games not played.
·
In
the event of both teams only having one player the match shall be cancelled and
either each team will receive no points or it shall be mutually rearranged.
·
In
the event of the match not being played by the end of the season the team at
fault shall automatically forfeit the points and a Sub-Committee (consisting of
at least 4 members) shall award a minimum of two points to the team not at
fault with the offending team awarded no points. Any team at fault on three
occasions shall be removed from the Summer League.
6) Results
·
The
winner of each division shall be decided by points as follows: 3 points for 4
- 1 or 5 - 0 victory
2 points for 3 - 2 victory
1 point for 2 -3
loss
·
Results
of matches shall be forwarded to the SLCO by the Captain of the home team
within 48 hours on a results card, which shall be signed by a member of each
team.
GENERAL RULES ALL
COMPETITIONS
1)
Transfer of Players
·
No
player shall represent more than one Club, but a player may be transferred from
one Club to another during the season provided a fortnight’s notice is given to
the General Secretary before the player takes part in a match for his new Club.
·
Notification
of transfer must be signed by the Secretary of each Club concerned.
A player so transferred may not play
for his new Club in a Division lower than that for which he would have been
eligible with
his former
Club, except by permission of the Committee.
2) Captains
·
Each
team shall appoint as Captain a responsible person who need not necessarily be
a playing member The Captains shall be responsible for:-
1.
Entering
the names of their respective players on the result card, the Home Captain to
enter his players’ names first
2.
The
organisation of the match in accordance with the Winter
and Summer League rules.
3.
The
general conduct of the players
4.
In
the case of the Home Captain, such of the playing conditions as are
within his control
3) Umpires
·
Umpires
shall be provided by both teams by mutual consent and the Umpire’s decision
shall be accepted as final.
·
Umpires
should indicate the change over points prior to commencing the final leg of any
match.
4) Additional
Competitions
The Committee at its discretion may organize additional
events as may be appropriate to further the game of table tennis.