Huddersfield Table Tennis League, News Article,

HUDDERSFIELD TABLE TENNIS LEAGUE RULES

1. NAME

The League shall be called ‘The Huddersfield Table Tennis League’.

2. THE OBJECTS OF THE LEAGUE

The objects of the League shall be to promote competitive Table Tennis in

Huddersfield and District to improve the standard of play. In addition, the

promotion of local community participation in a healthy recreation through

the provision of facilities and the promotion of Table Tennis.

3. CONSTITUTION

The League shall consist of President and Officers elected in accordance

with Rule 10 hereinafter and Affiliated Clubs and individuals.

4. MEMBERSHIP

Membership shall be open to any club or individual at the discretion of the

Management Committee.

5. ELECTION

(a) Every club applying for membership of the League shall complete the

Application Form in force at the time, which shall state the number of teams

to be entered, the Home Night for each team address of the Club Secretary.

(b) All new clubs are admitted to the League at the discretion of the

Management Committee.

6. SUBSCRIPTIONS

Subscriptions (to be paid at the time of entry) will be £75.00 per senior

team and 50% for junior teams (all players must be juniors) and 67% of this

rate where two juniors payers play on a regular basis (to be a junior all

players must be under the age of 18 at the beginning of the season).

Subscriptions shall be paid by the 31st October of that season, after that

date a 10% surcharge will be added. The subscription includes free entry

into the Closed Championship for each team member.

7. OFFICERS

(a) The Honorary Officers of the League shall be President, Secretary,

Treasurer, Chairman, Match Secretary, Development Officer, Coaching

Secretary and Website Manager.

(b) The Management Committee shall be empowered to appoint any past or

present member of the League as Vice-President in the recognition of

services to the League. Once appointed the person shall hold office for a

minimum of five years.

8. GENERAL COUNCIL

The General Council shall be convened for any extraordinary matter, and

shall consist of the Honorary Officers of the League, the Vice-Presidents

plus any and all registered players entitled to vote. All such persons

attending shall be entitled to one vote.

9. MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

(a) The League affairs shall be managed by a Management Committee consisting

of the Honorary Officers of the league and a representative from each league club,

but voting rights will still remain as one vote per person in attendance.

(b) The Management Committee shall have the power to co-opt additional

members on to the Committee.

(d) Committee Meetings to be held on dates fixed at the first Committee

meeting.

(e) The Committee shall have power to arrange and control any

tournaments, matches, trials or competitions found desirable.

(f) The Honorary Secretary and any other member of the Committee

together shall be empowered to act in case of an emergency and decisions

shall be given subject to confirmation at the next meeting of the Committee.

(g) If any member of the Management Committee (with the exception of the

President) is absent without reasonable cause from three consecutive

meetings, he or she may be requested to resign.

(h) Should an Officer or member of the Management Committee relinquish

his or her office during the year, the Management Committee shall have the

power to fill the vacancy.

(i) In all matters before the Management Committee concerning a Club in

which a member of the Committee is interested as an official or member,

such a member shall have no voting power when a decision is being arrived at.

(j) The League Secretary, Match Secretary, Coaching Secretary, Website

Manager and Development officer shall receive an honorarium of £50.

(k) The League Treasurer shall receive an honorarium of £25.

10. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

(a) The Annual General Meeting of the League shall be held no later than the

30th June, at such place as the Management Committee shall decide.

(b) At least fourteen days notice of the Meeting, together with the Agenda

and Proposed Alterations of Rules shall be given to all affiliated Clubs who

shall be responsible for notifying all registered players.

They shall retire annually and shall be eligible for the re-election at the

Annual General Meeting.

(d) Each Registered Player shall be entitled to one vote at the Annual

General Meeting.

(e) Attendance at the Annual General Meeting by non-registered players

shall be at the discretion of the Management Committee.

(f) Clubs not sending a representative to the Annual General Meeting shall

be fined £20.

(g) (i) Nominations for the Honorary Officers as defined by the Rule 7 shall

be in writing to the Secretary before May 1st each year and shall include the

written consent of the person nominated.

(ii) Nominations for the Management Committee will be accepted at the

A.G.M. if the person nominated has consented.

(h) Resolutions shall be carried by a simple majority of the votes cast.

(i) No registered player shall be entitled to a vote at the Annual General

Meeting if monies are owing to the League either by the player or the

player’s club.

11. FINANCE

(a) The Financial year of the League shall end on April 30th and a Statement

of Accounts up to and including that date shall be presented to the Annual

General Meeting.

(b) The Funds of the League shall be lodged at the Yorkshire Bank in the

name of The Huddersfield Table Tennis League. The Financial Business of

the League shall be the responsibility of the Honorary Treasurer.

12. ALTERATION OF THE RULES

No addition to or alteration or rescission of the Rules shall be effected

unless at the Annual General Meeting or at a General Meeting convened for

the purpose. Any proposed addition to, alteration or recission of the Rules

shall be submitted in writing to the Honorary Secretary before April 30th or

together with the requisition for a General Council Meeting.

13. LEAGUE COMPOSITION AND TEAM ENTRY

(a) The League shall be composed of a General Selection plus a Ladies

Section should entries permit. Ladies teams will be incorporated into the

General Section should entries prove insufficient for a Ladies Section. A

Ladies team cannot enter the General Section as a team unless they are

entered in the Ladies Section should one exist.

(b) Clubs should enter their teams for the forthcoming season by or at the

Annual General Meeting accompanied by a £20 deposit per team. Late

entries, if accepted, will be subject to a £10 non-refundable levy.

14. ALLOCATION OF TEAMS

Where two or more divisions are formed the Management Committee shall

decide to which division a ream shall be allocated, but the following general

principles shall be observed:

(a) At the end of a season the bottom two teams in each Division except the

lowest Division shall be relegated to the next lower Division; and the top

two teams in each Division except the highest Division shall be promoted to

the next higher Division.

(b) A team shall be allocated to the same Division as that in which it

participated the previous season except where clause (a) or (c) operates.

previous season or the failure of a team to re-enter the Division shall be

either filled by a team which would normally have been relegated in

accordance with clause (A), a team from the next lower Division, or a new

team.

(d) A new team entering the League shall be allocated to the lowest

Division, unless otherwise allocated in accordance with clause (c).

(e) A team which resigned during the previous season and is desirous of

re-entering the League shall be regarded as a new team.

15. FIXTURES

(a) Fixtures shall be arranged by the Management Committee and shall be

fulfilled by each team by the end of a season.

(b) Postponement of a fixture will be permitted providing:

(1) 48 hours is given. However in exceptional circumstances where an event

occurs within the 48 hour period e.g. inclement weather, sudden illness of a

player, postponement will be permitted.

(2) The Match Secretary is notified of the postponement prior to the date of

the original fixture.

(3) The home team must offer two alternative dates.

(4) The team requesting a postponement shall be liable to a £10 fine which

will only be imposed if the fixture remains unplayed 28 days after the

original date of the fixture.

(5) If the fixture remains unplayed after the new date then both teams will

be required to attend the next Management Committee when further

penalties may be imposed.

(6) All fixtures from the first half of the season must be completed within 21

days of the end of the first half otherwise rule 15(d) applies.

Note: The Committee are seeking to strengthen the existing rule

considerably because of the unacceptably high numbers of unfulfilled

fixtures at the end of last season and the apparent ease with which teams

have cancelled matches without rearranging them within reasonable time.

responsible for submitting the official result card to the Match Secretary

ensuring that it is received no later than the Wednesday following each

week to the match. The away team is responsible for sending the result

(score card only) by email to the Match Secretary within 48 hours of

completing the fixture. Clubs in breach of this rule may be liable to a fine of £3.00

(d) In the event of a team not fulfilling a fixture on the original date or a

rearranged date under Rule 15(b), the matter will be referred to the League

Management Committee, who may deduct up to 10 points from the offending

team and may order the match to be played on a fixed date. The Committee

will have the power to award points for any unfulfilled fixture.

(e) Teams failing to fulfil two or more fixtures to be suspended from the

League at the discretion of the Management Committee.

(f) The Management Committee may fine, suspend or expel from the

League any club, team or player sending in the name of a player who did not

take part in the match.

(g) For each occasion after the first that any team plays a match with less

than three players, the team shall have two additional points deducted,

irrespective of the result of the match. Points for unplayed games to be

credited to players for Merit Award purposes.

(h) Where two or more teams in the same division have the same number of

points at the end of the season, the number of games won will determine

the winner. In the event of games won being equal, then the side with the

least games conceded (lost) will win.

(i) Players playing competitive table tennis outside of the Huddersfield

League, but excluding the National League or International competition,

must register this fact on their team registration form. Any such player must

play a minimum of five Huddersfield League Fixtures during the season. A

player failing to fulfil this minimum requirement shall have any sets that

he/she has participated in declared void at the discretion of the

Management Committee.

(j) In case of dispute on any point covering fixtures, reference shall be made

to the Management Committee, whose decisions shall be final.

16. WITHDRAWALS

Should a team withdraw from a Division during the season the matches

played by that team shall be declared void.

17. MATCH PROCEDURE

(a) All matches shall be played udner E.T.T.A and I.T.T.F regulations and the

current laws of the table tennis for International Competitions except that

the League reserves the right to play 21-up in knockout competitions.

(b) Teams shall consist of three players, each of whom shall play each

member of the apposing team a set. In addition one set of doubles shall be

played. In each case a set shall consist of best of five games.

team X, Y and Z. Immediately before the commencement of the match the

teams shall simultaneously exchange the names of their players.

Subject to any re-arrangement mutually agreed upon, the order of play (A,

B, C being the Home Team) shall be A v X, B v Y, C v Z, B v X, Doubles, A v

Z, C v Y, B v Z, C v X , A v Y.

(d) One point will be awarded for each set won.

(e) All matches to start PROMPTLY at 7:30 p.m, except where two or more

tables are to be used, in which case matches shall start no later than 8.00

p.m. To encourage maximum participation by younger players, teams may

request an earlier start than 7:30p.m. Wherever possible, opponents should

respect such requests. No practice should be allowed for players arriving

after the start of the match.

(f) If a team shall not have sufficient players present to keep the table

continuously in use, the opposing team shall be entitled to the outstanding

unplayed sets at the discretion of the Management Committee.

(g) The umpires for each set must be agreed upon mutually and scoring

should be undertaken alternatively by representatives in each team. In the

case of a dispute as to who should umpire, the visiting team shall have the

choice.

18. PLAYERS REGISTRATION

(a) Clubs entering the League shall submit player registrations by July 31st.

Final date for the player registration 31st December. Application for later

registration subject to Management Committee discretion (only in cases of

emergency).

(b) A Club entering one team shall register a minimum of four players; two

teams - 8 players; three teams - 12 players; four teams - 16 players; five

teams - 19 players; six teams - 22 players. No team shall be allowed to

commence its fixtures until the minimum number of registrations have been

made.

not be allowed to play twice against the same opponents in the League in

the second half of the season.

(d) A team entering two or more teams in the League shall register the best

three players in the first team, the next best three in the second team and so

on. No player may play for a lower team than that for which he/she is

registered, unless that team is in the same division. No player may play

against the same opposition more than the number of League games

scheduled between the team for which he is registered and the opponents,

nor for more than one team in a round of a cup competition (a player may

play for one other team in a cup competition up to a maximum of 2 matches

for that other team). No player of a losing team can play against the winning

ream in a latter round of the same competition while playing for the other

team. In the case of these rules being infringed then the illegal player(s)

scores shall be deleted and games awarded to their opponents. New players

must play a minimum of 2 League Matches before being eligible to play in

a cup competition. Each registered player may play for a higher team or

team within the limits of Rule 18 (g). Clubs seeking to demote a player, from

a higher team to a lower team, must seek the approval of the Management

Committee before that player is allowed to play for a lower team. Once

demoted, that player may not play for a higher team again that season. Any

demotion must be equated with a promotion unless the higher team already

has its required number of three players.

(e) A registered player may transfer from one club to another subject to the

approval of the Management Committee.

(f) Players cease to be eligible to play for lower division teams once they

have played six matches in a higher division(s). The Management

Committee will consider any submission covering exceptional

circumstances but until permission has been given in writing by the Match

Secretary or his deputy any points gained at a higher level after the sixth

match will be declared void and awarded to the opposition. Games played

for the player’s established lower division team will not be affected pending

the clarification of his status.

(g) No player shall be permitted to play until their registration has been

confirmed by the League Registration and Match Secretary.

Each application for registration must be accompanied by the Players ETTA

Player Licence Number and will be deemed accepted on the issue of the

Certificate of Registration in the handbook signed by a League Officer.

Verbal confirmation of registration will only be valid for 14 days and it is the

players responsibility to ensure that they have evidence of registration and

ETTA Licence Number at all league events.

(h) In the event of a club playing an unlicensed player(s), that the player(s)

scores shall be deleted from the card and the games awarded to the

opponents. The club shall also be fined £2.

19. PLAYING FACILITIES AND EQUPIMENT

(a) Each club shall provide accommodation, lighting and one or more tables

which shall be maintained to the satisfaction of the Management Committee.

(b) Tables, nets and supports shall conform with the Laws of Table Tennis

nos. 1 and 2.

the E.T.T.A. shall be used unless otherwise mutually agreed upon by the two

teams concerned.

(d) No electronic smoking (vaping) to be allowed in the room where a table

tennis match is taking place.

20. CHANGE OF HEADQUARTERS, SECRETARY, ETC

Any change in Secretary, Secretary’s address or Headquarters, shall be

notified by the Club concerned to the League Honorary Fixture and

Registration Secretary and to the Secretary of each Club having a team in

the same Division or Divisions as the club concerned making the change.

This notification to be in writing.

21. CHANGE IN HOME NIGHT

Any change in Home night for a team or teams shall be notified to the

League Secretary and the Secretary of each Club which has a team or teams

in the same Division or Divisions. This notification to be in writing.

22. EXPENSES

The travelling expenses of the following shall be paid out of the League

Funds:

(a) Players representing the League in competitive matches only.

(b) Officers of the League or members of the Management Committee

representing the League at the meetings of the Y.T.T.A. and the E.T.T.A.

23. HONOURS

Perpetual Trophies will be awarded to Divisional Winners at a time and

place to be decided by the Management Committee following the

completion of each season. Trophies to be returned in a clean condition to

the Hon. Secretary during the month of March each year. Four permanent

trophies will also be presented to each winning team. Any expense incurred

by the League in repairing damaged trophies or restoring them to a

Presentation condition will be levied at the Club or individual in whose

possession the cup or trophy was last entrusted.

MERIT AWARD - This will be awarded to the player in each Division who has

won the most sets during the season. In the event of a tie all players

involved will receive an award. No player may win a Merit Award for the

same division (except the first) on two successive years.

Junior Award - The most improved Junior in the League and a Senior Award

- The most improved player in the League. Both awards are to be

determined by the Management Committee.

24. LEAGUE REPRESENTATION

Any player selected to represent the Huddersfield League are required to

play a minimum of 4 games (during the current season) in the Huddersfield

League. Upon a player representing the town for a third time, he or she shall

qualify for, and be awarded, a representative brooch.

25. CLAIMS AND COMPLAINTS

Any claims or complaints against any club team or person must be made in

writing to the Secretary of the League within 10 days of the matter of claim

or complaint arising.

26. OTHER MATTERS

In the event of any question or matter arising which is not provided for in

the foregoing rules, such a question will be dealt with by the Management

Committee whose decision is final.

Time Out will not be permitted in any of the League Competitions including

the Closed Championships.

27. EXPULSION OF MEMBERS, CLUBS AND MEMBERS

Any club or player registered with the League whose conduct is

inappropriate or who decline to abide by any of the rules may be expelled

or suspended by a resolution passed at a Management Committee meeting

where registrations and subscriptions may be forfeited. The right to appeal

with regard to any decision must be submitted to the League Secretary

within 7 days notification of the decision.

28. DISSOLUTION

(a) if at any General Meeting of the League a resolution be passed calling

for the dissolution of the League of Secretary shall immediately convene a

Special General Meeting to discuss and vote on the resolution.

(b) If at that Special General Meeting the resolution is carried by at least two

thirds of those present and entitled to vote the Management Committee

shall proced to realise the assets of the League and discharge any debts

and liabilities.

voluntary organisations having similar objects to the League. The remaining

assets shall not be paid or distributed amongst the players and clubs of the

League.

29. CLOSED CHAMPIONSHIPS

A player registered with another league must play in a minimum of five

Huddersfield League Fixtures, by the closing date for entries to be eligable

to play in the closed championships.