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Tournament

Tournament Rules

Overview

1.  The annual Backwell Tennis Club Tournament is open to all members of the club. Tournament matches usually begin in May/June and culminate with a finals weekend in September.

Organisation

2.  The tournament is managed by the Tournament Organiser / Tournament Sub-committee, and overseen by members of the Backwell Tennis Club Committee. The Tournament Organiser is also the referee for the tournament.

3.  All enquiries about the Club Tournament, including matters for resolution, should be directed to the Tournament Organiser / Tournament Sub-committee.

4.  The decisions of the Tournament Organiser / Tournament Sub-committee are final.

Events & Entry

5.  The Club Tournament includes a wide range of events, including singles, doubles and junior events. Players are only able to compete in events for which they are eligible.

6.  Players must register their entry for Club Tournament events by the ‘entry date’, which will be published in member communications.

7.  There is usually a small fee for entry to each event. This should be paid at time of event entry and is a precondition for competing.

Etiquette

8.  We want all players to enjoy playing in the Club Tournament and expect them to abide by Backwell Tennis Club’s Court Etiquette.

Organising Matches & Play-By dates

9.  Tournament matches should be played by the stated ‘play by date’ for each round. Players may be defaulted if matches are not played by the ‘play by date’. The ‘play by dates’ for each tournament event will be published on the Backwell Tennis Club website and on the club-house notice-board.

10.  It is the shared responsibility of each player to be proactive in making contact with their opponent(s) and arranging their match by the ‘play by date’. A court must be booked via the online court booking system.

11.  If players cannot agree which court surface or court number to play on, they must decide by fair means, such as coin-toss. The selection of a specific court surface / number will not be considered a legitimate reason for a match not being played by the specified ‘play by date’ (ref Rule 14b).

12.  If any player has a concern about completing a match by the ‘play by date’, they should notify the Tournament Organiser / Tournament Sub-committee at the earliest opportunity.

13.  Only by express agreement by the Tournament Organiser / Tournament Sub-committee, will an extension of the ‘play by date’ for a match be granted. The extension period will likely be up to a maximum of 10 days.

14.  An extension to a ‘play by date’ is subject to the Tournament Organiser / Tournament Sub-committee deeming that: a) there is NO material impact on any other aspect of the Club Tournament (eg the ability to complete future matches / rounds); b) sufficient effort has been made to complete the match by the ‘play by date’ and there is a legitimate reason why this has not been possible; c) the opponent(s) of a player(s) who did NOT request a ‘play by date’ to be extended, is available to play the match in an extension period (and this has been established).

15.  If, after an agreed date / time has been set for a match, a player becomes injured or unable to play, but before the match has commenced and before the time at which the match was due to commence, the match may be rescheduled subject to the conditions set out above. A player must advise an opponent in good time of their request to reschedule an arranged match - typically 24 hours in advance unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Match Rules

16.  The standard L.T.A. rules of tennis apply.

17.  For each match, it is the players shared responsibility to source and agree the balls to be used.

18.  For adult competitions, matches will be the best of 3 sets with a tiebreak at 6 - 6 in all 3 sets. By mutual consent, a championship tie break can only be played instead of a 3rd set in the event that the match may otherwise be difficult to complete by the play-by date. Both players must agree.

Junior Match Rules

19.  For junior events, matches will take place as follows:

8 and under (red ball)
Match tiebreak (to 10 points, with 2 clear)
9 and under (orange ball)
Best of 3 sets- Tiebreak sets (to 7 points, with 2 clear)
10 and under (green ball)
Fast 4, best of 3 sets - Set 1 & 2 first to 4 games.
Tiebreak at 3-3 (to 7 points, with 2 clear), no advantage scoring.
Set 3 if necessary match tiebreak (to 10 points, with 2 clear).
11 and under (yellow ball)
Fast 4 as above.
12u onwards (yellow ball)
Best of 3 sets - Set 1 & 2 full sets (tiebreak at 6-6)
Set 3 if necessary match tiebreak



20.
  
In the event of bad weather eg sustained heavy rain, or if the courts are unfit for play, the match will only start or continue with the consent of both players. When a match is continued at another time or day, the previous scores shall hold good and the match shall continue from the position where is was left.

21.  If a player becomes injured or is unable to complete a match after the match has commenced, they will forfeit the match. (Players are allowed a suspension in play for assessment and treatment of injury or illness, which is usually 5 minutes). The match is deemed to have started when all players take to the court.

Match Results

22.  It is the responsibility of the winner of each match to immediately update their result on the tournament draw / schedule. (Instructions of how to do this will be included in communications to members about the Club Tournament).

In compliance with rule 10, the completion of a match is the point at which players should seek to proactively contact future opponent(s) and organise their next match.

Finals Weekend

23.  Finals matches will be played on the Backwell Tennis Club ‘finals weekend’ (Saturday & Sunday) and in line with a match schedule published by the Tournament Organiser / Tournament Sub-committee ahead of finals weekend

24.  Finals matches may be scheduled on either day (Saturday or Sunday) and at any time (9am to 6pm), so players must be available to play on both days. It is not possible to accommodate individual requests about match scheduling over finals weekend

25.  The Tournament Organiser / Sub-committee will only consider re-scheduling matches on finals weekend to alternative dates, due to a) bad weather, or b) exceptional circumstances of individual players. In most cases, exceptional circumstances are not deemed to include inability to play due to injury, holiday, work or social commitments. The Tournament organiser / Sub-committee will make the final decision

26. Subject to rule 25, any rescheduled finals matches will usually take place on the weekend after finals weekend.