FAIRFIELD PADDLE LEAGUE

RULES OF PLAY

2009-2010

MISSION:

To promote a paddle league that incorporates fairness and equality of play, spirit of cooperation, and enjoyment of the game.

OVERSIGHT:

The oversight of the league is conducted by two Chairwomen, one senior Chair (second year of term) and one junior Chair (first year of term).  Each Chair will serve a maximum term of two years.  All rule and related issues that occur within the league will be discussed and results will be determined by the League Oversight Committee (LOC).  The LOC will consist of the captain of each flight, both Chair, and one former Chair.

REGISTRATION:

Registration will begin in August and conclude two weeks prior to the first scheduled match.  All registrations will be accepted in the order in which they are received.  Flights will be filled in the manner outlined in ‘STRUCTURE.’  If there are not enough teams for the last flight, the teams slated for that flight will be on a wait list in the order in which their registrations are received.  New registrations for the second session will be accepted as positions are available.  EVERY TEAM must send in a complete registration and payment for consideration.

STRUCTURE:

The league will consist of seven flights.  Additional flights will be added as needed.  Flights 1, 2, 4, and 6 will consist of 8 teams.  Flight 3 and 5 will consist of 7 teams.  Flight 7 will consist of a minimum of 6 teams and a maximum of 8 teams.  Each flight will have one captain.

SEASON and STANDINGS:

Each paddle season will be comprised of a Fall session and a Winter session.  Teams are expected to play both sessions.  Standings will be posted two weeks before the first match of each session. In the event of a tie within a flight, position will be determined as follows.  THREE WAY TIES: The team with the least number of sets lost will determine position; if position is still undetermined, the teams will be positioned by the least amount of games ‘given up.’  TWO WAY TIES:  See ‘Three way ties.’  Teams will be given until midnight the night before the first scheduled match to contest any standings.

PLAY:

Matches are scheduled for play on Tuesday mornings at 9:30 a.m.  In all matches, APTA rules must be followed (www.platformtennis.org).  Matches should first be played within Greenwich proper and on other town courts only when Greenwich courts are unavailable.  Defeated teams provide a new ball either for the match play or to replace the winner’s ball used in match play.  All scores are to be emailed to the flight captain immediately after the match by the winning team.  The captain will post them on the website, but every team is responsible for accepting the scores.  If the score is inaccurate, teams have two weeks from the day the match was played to contest the score.

In the event that a team is not able to play on a Tuesday, they have two options.  Option 1: they may reschedule the match prior to the scheduled Tuesday.  Option 2: they may reschedule the match at a mutually convenient time within the following two weeks after their scheduled match.  This ‘Tuesday Rule’ points to the default should the match come to such a result.  The team unable to play on the originally scheduled Tuesday would take a default if they were not able to reschedule under the aforementioned two options.  THE LEAGUE STRONGLY ENCOURAGES ALL LEAGUE MEMBERS TO BE MINDFUL OF OUR MISSION STATEMENT ABOVE WHEN RESCHEDULING MATCHES.

CHALLENGE MATCHES:

On the deadline date of regular session match play, challengers will be notified by their team captain the team they will play.  They should then notify that team as soon as possible to schedule challenge matches.  The winner is the first team to win TWO MATCHES by the deadline.  Once a team wins a challenge match, they will not move down in standings (see “NEW TEAMS” for further detail) unless challenged in the future. In the case of defaults by the challengees, the LOC will notify teams of the new challenge schedule.

INJURIES, SUBS AND DEFAULTS:

If a player becomes injured or is otherwise unable to play before the first match of a session, and this absence will require them to miss the first two matches, the team may wait a session while still maintaining their current standing until the next session (a BYE).  The team must complete the appropriate registrations.  If they are not able to begin the following session, they will be deemed retired from the league and subject to the two year standing contingency. 

In the case of injury or illness, the party injured or ill has a MAXIMUM two week period from the first scheduled match they will miss to recover.  Once they reschedule their matches, they will be the team to default if their opponents cannot reschedule.  AGAIN WE ASK ALL PLAYERS TO PLAY WITH OUR LEAGUE MISSION IN THE FOREFRONT OF THEIR ACTIONS PLEASE.  If however, the player is not able to recover within the two week time frame, the existing partner may either find a sub (subject to the SUB rules), put her name on the sub list, or retire from the league temporarily.  If the player decides to find a new partner, that new partner’s standing may be no higher than one flight higher than the existing player’s flight.  ALL SUBS must be approved by the LOC.  No subs are allowed after the final scheduled Tuesday match of each session. (i.e. for challenge matches only).

In all cases, once the league season begins, a team that defaults a TOTAL of THREE times will automatically move one flight lower.

ENTERING and LEAVING the LEAGUE:

Entering the league: The entry positions into the League will be in flights 3, 5 or 7 (or lowest flight).  New teams to the league will enter in the lowest flight and challenge their way up if necessary.  Exceptions will be made for teams reentering the league (see LEAVING the LEAGUE for more information) or ranked players based on attrition in their former flights.  In all cases, the prior flight standing of each player will be combined and the rounded up average will be the ‘new’ flight standing.  The team will then be placed in the next available position at or below their ranking.  For example, a team with player 1 ranked in flight 3 and player 2 ranked in flight 4 will be ‘ranked’ in flight 4 (average of 3 and 4 = 3.5 =>flight 4).  If there is no attrition in flight 4 the first available slot below their ranking will be in flight 5.  In all cases, new teams will be assigned positions in the order in which their registrations are received.

Leaving the league:  Once registered, the league expects players to play for both sessions.  If a team leaves the league, each player will retain their standing for a period of two years.  After this time, the player becomes a ‘NEW’ player with no exceptions.

FINALLY…

In the case that a compromise cannot be reached between two teams when unexpected disagreements do occur, the senior Chair will call a result by flip of a coin.  Similarly, in any case where the LOC is unable to reach a majority decision when ruling on disagreements, the senior Chair will call a result by flip of a coin.