Exeter & District Tennis League 
 

                                                                                                        RULES

1. The League shall be known as "The Exeter and District Lawn Tennis League".
2. The Headquarters of the League shall be in Exeter.
3. The entire management of the League shall be vested in an Executive Committee, which shall consist of a Chairman, Hon. General Secretary, Hon. Match Secretary, Hon. Treasurer, and up to six other members, with power to co-opt as necessary.
4. a) The Annual General Meeting and Fixtures Meeting shall be held before 15^th April, upon 14 days notice being given. b) All clubs shall notify the Leagues Match Secretary of the teams they wish to enter during the forthcoming season on the form provided.
5. All clubs must be affiliated to the Lawn Tennis Association before playing in the League.
6. The League shall consist of such Divisions as the Executive Committee may decide.
7. Any club seeking election or re-election to the League must: a) make an application to the Leagues Hon. Secretary; b) obtain a two-thirds majority at the Annual General Meeting, c) if accepted start in the lowest Division.
8. The League subscriptions shall be decided at each Annual General Meeting, payable to the Leagues Hon. Treasurer not later than 1^st June.
9. League matches shall consist of four doubles matches and there shall be four players in each team.  Each rubber shall be the best of three sets, but all matches tied at one set all shall play a third set championship tie break, (first to reach 10 by two clear points).
10. One 'Home' and one 'Away' match shall be played between each team within the same Division. Each set  shall count as one point. The tie-break shall operate in the first two sets at six games all.
11. The Home team must provide a minimum of six new balls for each match. All balls must correspond to LTA standard and must be of the current year of manufacture. The Home team decides which courts a match is to be played on and the match must be completed on these courts unless otherwise agreed by the Captains.
12. Dates of league matches shall be arranged before 21^st April each season and notified to the Leagues Match Secretary, on the form provided, by 1^st May. All matches shall be played on the date specified on the fixture list unless both Captains agree to an earlier date. After that date no postponements will be allowed, except by the Home team due to bad weather. The Home team must then, within five days, inform the Leagues Match Secretary of the postponement and offer the opponents at least three alternative dates, which must be in different weeks, for the rearranged match. The opposing team must agree a date within two weeks of the postponement and the Leagues Match Secretary notified of the new date by the Home team. Contravention of this rule will result in the offending team forfeiting the match.
13. At least four players shall be registered for each team on the form provided, and such registration shall be received by the Leagues Match Secretary by 1^st May or before a clubs first match, whichever is the earlier. Teams must be nominated in merit order.
14. Clubs with two or more teams in the same Division must complete their inter-club fixtures not later than 31^st May. No points will be awarded for matches played after this date.
15. Matches shall commence not later than 6.30pm and all players shall be in attendance at that time. The visiting team may choose the order of play. In the event of matches being unfinished due to: a) the late arrival of one or more members of one of the participating teams; b) a player being unable to continue due to injury or other unavoidable cause; unfinished or un-played sets will be scored 6-0.  Complaints about the late arrival of participants should be referred to the Leagues Match Secretary, who will decide what action to take. Failure of a team to fulfil a fixture, due to the non-arrival of one or more members or by failing to comply with Rule 12 in respect of postponed fixtures shall result in the non-offending team being awarded the match 8-0, sets being scored 6-0. In addition the offending team shall be fined four points. The Committee, however, has the right to waive the deduction of four points when a written appeal is upheld by the Executive Committee, whose decision is final. Matches unfinished at the end of the season will be scored on the number of completed sets.
16. Teams failing to raise four players for two matches during the season shall be relegated by one Division and teams in the lowest Division shall be expelled from the League and must apply for re-election the following season.
17. In the event of rain, bad light, or any other unavoidable cause, uncompleted matches shall be continued at a later date where they are left off. The Leagues Match Secretary to be notified of the date the match is to be completed or replayed, as in Rule 12.
18. All matches must be played by 30^th September unless otherwise agreed by the Committee.
19. The Team Captains shall forward the completed score sheets in respect of all Home Matches played, to the Leagues Match Secretary, within five days of the match being completed. Home teams whose score sheets have not been received after seven days will be fined two points.
20. No person shall become a member of the League or qualify to play in a League fixture, or represent a club at a General Meeting, until he /she has become a bona-fide fully paid up member of the club they represent.
21. The Leagues Match Secretary shall report to the Executive Committee every case of a team playing an unregistered player in a League fixture. The offending team shall forfeit the League points scored by that player and his/her partner, the points being awarded to the opposing team. The offending team shall also be fined two points.
22. (a) A player shall only represent one club in one team, except that a player who is a member not in the First Division shall be allowed to play two matches for any team of the same club in higher Divisions, without being disqualified from playing in his/her original team. Players in clubs with two or more teams in the same Division may only represent one team within that Division. If a player plays three matches for teams in a higher Division, he/she shall not be eligible to play for a team in a lower Division during the current season.          (b) Should a club decide a player has been registered for too high a team, that player maybe transferred to a team below provided that      (i) he/she has not played more than twice for the higher team, (ii) the higher team have played at least three matches, (iii) where fewer than four players remain in the higher team another player is registered in his/her place. The Leagues Match Secretary must be informed of the transfer before the player plays for the lower team. A transferred player may not play for a higher team during the current season. (c) Additional players may be registered, and the Leagues Match Secretary must be informed before such players play their first match. Contravention of this Rule will result in the offending team being penalised as in Rule 21.
23. The Leagues Match Secretaries have full powers to enforce the League rules with regard to matches
24. In the event of a "Tie" between two or more teams, League placings will be decided as follows: a) the team with the most wins; b) the better results from the two games played against each other and finally, c) if still level - a play off - on a neutral ground chosen by the Committee.
25. The Executive Committee shall have the power to suspend or expel any team or member of the League whose conduct in their opinion is detrimental to the interests of the League.
26. The League shall make awards to the winning teams of each Division.
27. Promotion and Relegation shall be a) two up and two down, except one will be promoted from Division 2 and one relegated from Division 1, b) The second from bottom team in Division 1 will play a play-off match against the second team in Division 2. This match will be played by 31st October at a pre-determined neutral location to be decided by the Executive Committee. The winner of the match will play in Division 1 and the loser in Division 2 for the next season. In the event of a draw the match will be decided on the number of games won. If still a draw one set will be played between a pairing of each teams choice. Pairs will have to consist of players who have played in at least one third of the teams fixtures that season. c) A team withdrawing from the League at any time will not effect promotion but will be counted as one of the teams relegated from that Division. Other teams may be promoted or relegated where appropriate, to ensure equal numbers of teams in each Division.
28. Clubs or individuals holding permanent trophies of the League must provide security for their safe keeping and return when requested.
29. One member from each club shall be allowed to vote at the Annual General Meeting.
30. Any proposed amendments to rules must be sent to the Leagues Hon. Secretary by 1^st March each season.