League Rules (2009/2010)

1. The name of the league shall be the "Wandsworth and District Table Tennis League" and its objects shall be to foster competitive table tennis in the Wandsworth area and also to encourage table tennis generally.
   
   
2. The Wandsworth and District Table Tennis League clubs and members must be affiliated to the ETTA and abide by their rules.
   
   
3. The subscription shall be £39.00 per annum for each team (including the right of free entry to team cup competitions organised by the League). Furthermore, a guarantee fee of £8.00 per team registered shall be lodged by each club, to be refunded at the conclusion of the season, on request, provided that the Committee are satisfied that the club's commitments have been satisfactorily carried out within the stipulated time.
   
   
4. Players registration fees will be £3.00 per person.
   
   
5. For the purpose of conducting the league competitions, there shall be divisions of not more than six teams each. A promotion and relegation system will function at the end of the the first half of the season, normally the top two teams shall be promoted to a higher division and the bottom two teams relegated to a lower division. The new division will then play the second half of the season with promotion and relegation occurring again at the end of the season. Division positions will be decided according to the following, in order of priority:- (a) points gained; (b) matches won; © matches drawn; (d) games difference; (e) aggregate score of home and away matches of teams involved. In the event of a tie on all of the above, such tie shall be resolved by a play off on a neutral table, consisting of nine singles.
   In the event of new teams applying to join the league, the Committee shall have discretionary powers to place such teams in divisions appropriate to their playing strength. In some circumstances this may result in restructuring of the divisions, with the normal promotion/relegation system not being applied.
   
   
6. The Annual General Meeting shall be held every year not later than 31st July. A special General Meeting may be convened by the Committee should it consider it necessary, or if the same be desired by one third of the clubs affiliated.
   Every decision of all Annual or Special General Meetings shall be final and conclusive and shall be binding on clubs and members as the voice of the whole league. At least 21 days clear notice shall be given to all affiliated clubs with regard to any Annual or Special General Meeting including any proposed alterations to rules. Any suggested alterations to rules must be made in writing and such suggestions must reach the General Secretary on or before May 1st. It shall be the duty of each member club to ensure that it has at least one representative at the Annual General Meeting of the League, who can cast one vote for each team entered in the previous season. Failure of a club to have any representative whatever at the AGM shall result in the forfeit of one half of the total club guarantee fee.
   
   
7. It shall be the duty of a club participating in the League competitions to provide the best possible playing conditions with particular regard to (a) efficient lighting; (b) tables and floor space. In the event of a complaint about playing conditions, the Committee shall request the club concerned to submit a report, and the recommendations of the Committee must be adhered to. Dress shall be as laid down by the ETTA.
   
   
8. Each match in normal league competition shall consist of nine singles and one doubles, all played 11 -up, best of five games. The singles shall be played by three players of each team, each playing each. If desired, additional players can participate in the doubles making a maximum complement of five players per team. The home team must present their order of play to their opponents in all matches. In the case of matches being played on more than one table, the away team shall have choice of tables and order of play.
   
   

   League scoring to be

   4 points for a 10-0, 9-1, 8-2 win

   3 points for 7-3, 6-4 win

   2 points for a 5-5 draw

   1 point for a 4-6, 3-7 loss

   0 points for a 2-8, 1-9, 0-10 loss

   In the event of a walkover the non-offending

   team shall be awarded 4 points.
   
   

9. For each walk-over awarded to their opponents a team shall be fined £5.00 and on the fourth occasion be automatically withdrawn from the league. Any team giving less than 24 hours notice to opponents of being unable to fulfil a fixture shall be fined £10.00 at the Committee's discretion. Any team comprising less than three players in a match shall be fined £2.00 per player short at the Committee's discretion. If a team withdraws, or is withdrawn from the League their record shall be deleted and the team guarantee fee of £8.00 shall be forfeited. In addition the team shall be banned from re-entering the League for a period of one season.
   
   
10. The umpire for each game shall be agreed mutually and his or her decision is final.
    
    
11. There is no limit for the registration of players, but the club MUST register at least three players for each team entered. In general the strongest players shall be in the first team, the next strongest in the second team and so on. Any exception to this must be cleared by the Committee prior to the start of the season. Players of stronger ability must not be registered in lower teams for the purpose of playing up in crucial matches. No player shall play for a lower team than that for which he/she is registered. Any player of a team having played for a higher team on more than two occasions shall not thereafter play for the lower team during the current season, except by special application and sanction of the Committee. If a team uses a player of higher standard than the regular players, his/her games may be awarded to the opposing team. Regular players are those who play 50% or more of the team's matches during a season.
    
    
12. After registration, players wishing to transfer to another club for some bona fide reason must make an application to the General Secretary in writing. All decisions are subject to the approval or non-approval of the Committee and those club's concerned.
    
    
13. Where an unregistered player is added to a team for the purpose of fulfilling a fixture, that player shall be registered not later than the day of the match with the Match Secretary who shall have the power to accept or reject such registration. The necessary fee shall be forwarded within 48 hours of the match to the General Secretary. Failure to comply may result in nullifying the games of such player.
    
    
14. No registration of players shall be allowed after 31st January, except in special circumstances at the Committee's decision.
    
    
15. Clubs must submit for inclusion in the handbook a single home match night for each team entered. When a club changes their home night during the season, they must send a reminder to their opponents in the remaining home matches a week before the match is to be played.
    Matches must be played on the night shown in the handbook in the week specified in the fixture list, or by mutual consent brought forward. When a match is not played on that night, the points will automatically be awarded to the non-offending team and if both teams are at fault the match will be void.
    The only reasons normally valid for postponing matches are (1) premises not being available; (2) players representing a Wandsworth League team. When matches are postponed for any reason, the Match Secretary must be notified in advance, with the reason for postponement and the date of the rescheduled match. Matches so postponed should be played as soon as possible, and in any case prior to the end of each scheduled half season, unless prior clearance is provided by the Match Secretary,
    Inability of regular players to play shall not be deemed sufficient reason for postponement of a match. In such cases, a player from a lower team or registered reserve as per rules 11 and 13 MUST be used.
    
    
16. Matches must start by 7.30pm. If a match does not start by 8.00pm, the team ready to play is entitled to claim a walk-over. Clubs that have a time limit on their premises are shown in the handbook. Matches must start by 7.30pm at these clubs. If either team arrives after 7.30pm the other team is entitled to claim any games which cannot be claimed by the time limit. They must, however, notify their opponents on arrival that they are applying this rule. Any member of a team who has not arrived by 8.15pm, shall not be allowed to take part in the match, unless agreed to by the opposition team captain, prior to the match.
    
    
17. The home team secretary must notify the Match Secretary of the League of the result of the match, giving the names of players and result of any conceded games signed by both captains. In view of postal delays, result cards must be posted to catch the first collection following the match, otherwise league charts will inevitably be late. In addition , if any postponement is not notified to the Match Secretary, there will be a fine of £5.00 to the offending team.
    
    
18. League tables, showing the progress to date, will be sent to team secretaries. To qualify for inclusion in "best performances" of each division, players must have played 60% of matches.
    
    
19. Closed Championship entries shall normally be restricted to registered players who have participated in 50% or more of possible divisional matches in the League at the closing date for entries. To avoid penalising non regular players and for special cases arising, the organising committee has discretionary power to allow entry.
    
    
20. The committee shall have discretionary powers to take any necessary action to preserve the spirit of the game.