4.0 & 4.5 Women’s teams are combined.

Both levels play on the same team.

4.5 players may play in the first position only.

CTA ADULT MIXED DOUBLES LEAGUE

Fall League Only

Club Membership ~ Players on Mixed League teams are not required to be members of the club they represent.  Individual Clubs may have restrictions regarding play of non-members on their teams.

Matches are played on Saturdays. 

Team Match ~ Three Doubles positions are played at each match.  

Levels of Play ~  6.0, 7.0, 8.0

NTRP Ratings are combined for each individual doubles team not to exceed their level of play.  (E.g. on a 7.0 team, a man with a 4.0 rating and a woman with a 3.0 rating may play together.)

CTA ADULT NIGHT LEAGUE

Fall League Only

Club Membership ~ Players on Night League Teams are not required to be members of the club they represent. Individual Clubs may have restrictions regarding play of non-members on their teams.  

Team Match ~ Three Doubles positions are played at each match.  

Time of Play ~ Night Matches must start no earlier than 5:30 p.m. and no later than 7:00 p.m.

Division                   Night Played                                Division                   Night Played

2.5 Men                    Tuesday Night                               2.5 Women              Monday Night

3.0 Men                    Monday Night                                3.0 Women              Tuesday Night

3.5 Men                    Wednesday Night                         3.5 Women              Wednesday Night

Open Men (4.0+)      Thursday Night                              4.0 & 4.5 Women*   Tuesday Night

* 4.0 & 4.5 Women’s teams are combined. Both levels play on the same team. 4.5 players may play in the first position only.

CTA League Rules & Information

Revised July 15, 2008

Sponsored by CCCTA:

COLLIER COUNTY COMMUNITY TENNIS ASSOCIATION

The CTA League follows the Official Rules of Tennis including The Code

Published by the USTA available at www.usta.com.

(Except where otherwise stated in the CTA League rules)

CTA League Questions ~ All Questions should be directed first to the League Coordinator.

Fall Season Leagues ~ Adult Day League, Adult Mixed League, and Adult Night League

Winter Season League ~ Adult Day League

League Format ~ The CTA is an interclub adult doubles league (club vs. club).

Facility Requirements ~ All participating clubs must have ‘home’ soft courts available for home matches. No nomad teams are allowed. CTA Board approval is required for exceptions for this requirement for reasons such as facility renovations.

Club Membership ~ All Day League team players (except the Men’s Open division) must be members of the club they represent and have a minimum of a three-month membership.  No special “tennis league” memberships are permitted.  Players must have full membership privileges.  Mixed and Night Leagues have no Club membership requirement.  Individual Clubs may have restrictions regarding play of non-members on their teams.   

Time of Play – Day League matches are scheduled with start times no later than 1:00 p.m.

Mixed Leagues matches may be scheduled anytime during the day on Saturdays.  Night league matches are to be scheduled with start times no earlier than 5:30p.m. and no later than 7:00p.m.

Team / Team Roster / Team Match ~ Number of positions for a match varies depending on the league and division. See information above.  Team rosters should have enough players to play a match plus two to four extra.  Example:  A Division that plays three courts should have 8 to 10 players on their roster.

There is no limit to the number of players on a team roster. Team members may not have a higher NTRP rating than the maximum NTRP rating of the level in which they are competing.  All teams must be identified with a club.  No Nomad teams.

No Individual is allowed to play in a match until they have been registered on their team via www.leaguesforfun.com.  Notification to the League Coordinator BEFORE the match by email or phone is acceptable registration if LeaguesForFun registration is not possible.  Failure to register an individual or notify the League Coordinator of an attempt to register an individual PRIOR to play will result in default of that court.

Home Team provides the balls for the match.  Many Home clubs provide refreshments after the match but this is not required.

All teams must play all scheduled matches.  Any team deliberately forfeiting an entire team match is subject to disqualification for the remainder of the League Season, as well as the following League Season.

Cost ~ $15 per player per team.  Fees will be paid online with a Visa or MasterCard at the time of registration. Sorry, no refunds.

NTRP Rated ~ NTRP ratings will be needed for every player listed on roster. Captains should check at http://national.usta.com/ to see that all your players’ ratings are listed properly on the roster. Current NTRP ratings must be used.  New CTA players that do not have a NTRP rating may self-rate.  Your club professional will help you with your self-rating.  The league reserves the right to adjust ratings of players.

If a player misstates their rating because of using an incorrect NTRP rating or by self-rating, the matches played by that player may be subject to forfeiture.  Teams may be subject to losing more than one individual match due to the strength of the player and the position played.  If the incorrectly rated player (e.g. NTRP rated a 3.5 but self rated themselves as a 3.0) played at the #1 position, the CTA will more than likely default the entire teams match.

NTRP Rating Appeals ~ CTA League will accept ratings appeals.  All appeals must be submitted by your club USPTA Professional or Director of Tennis.  If your club does not have either, the appeal must be submitted by your team captain.  Appeals will not be accepted from individual players.  No appeals will be accepted for USTA Early Start Ratings. Appeal forms are available at www.leaguesforfun.com on the Collier County CTA home page under News & Announcements.  (‘Search’ for ‘club/organization’ – Collier County CTA).  Players that have their ratings appealed are also listed on the site.

Team Players ~ Players must be at least 19 years of age. Players may be on the roster of two different teams within the same league (Day, Night, Mixed), as long as the two teams are at different NTRP levels. (Example: A 3.5 rated player cannot be a regular player on two 3.5 teams for the Day League, but can play on a 3.5 Day and a 4.0 Day team.) 

Club Staff Players ~ For the Adult Day League where club membership is required, Club Staff with “playing privileges” are not considered a club member.  Any club staff that wish to play in the league must first obtain approval from the League Coordinator.  This rule is waived for the Men’s Open Division.

Playing Up – Players are encouraged to play at their rating level.  If a player chooses to play ‘up’, they may only move up one level.  Ex: a 2.5 player may play on a 3.0 team but not on a 3.5 team.  Players are not allowed to play down a level.

75% - 25% Rule ~ All team rosters must maintain at least 75% of its players at the NTRP designated team level.  There is no specific percent needed during match play.  There is no limit to the number of players on a roster.  Occasionally teams/players may be asked by the CTA Board to move up and are exempt from this rule.

Flights ~ Divisions that have large numbers of teams may be placed in several flights.  Geography will be taken into consideration when forming flights.

Schedules / Scheduling Conflicts ~ Once divisions and flights are formed, schedules are created by the computer.  Schedules will be available at www.leaguesforfun.com on the dates published.  Due to the large number of teams playing, scheduling conflicts may occur.  Please check your schedules and resolve conflicts early.  Example: Two home matches for different teams at the same club may be scheduled on the same day or Club events may create conflicts.  The team captains are responsible for working out these conflicts.  The match may have to be moved to the away team’s club or rescheduled for a different day or time.  Individual matches may be scheduled at different times and locations. 

Our clubs are experiencing many scheduling difficulties due to the growth of tennis in our area.  If your club has multiple teams playing on the same day, the CTA League may occasionally schedule a match at a later time in order to accommodate play.  Captains should make every attempt to help each other in the rescheduling of conflicting matches. Captains, please notify the League Coordinator of any schedule changes.  Be sure to contact your clubs with any schedule changes so they can revise their court reservation schedules.

All matches should be played before the last match of the regular season (before playoffs).  The League Coordinator should be consulted before any match defaults are taken.

Match Lineup ~ Captains should print out the correct match scorecard, available on the LeaguesForFun website, and bring it to the match. Team captains for each team shall exchange their team scorecards simultaneously prior to the beginning of the team match.  No substitutions may be made in an individual match after the lineup has been presented, except for injury to, illness of, or disqualification of a player, prior to the start of such match.  If the substitution is made during the warm-up, the substitute player is entitled to a five (5) minute warm-up.

Each team must play their individual doubles teams in order of strength.  NO STACKING. The CTA League promotes fair and competitive tennis; to put your lesser qualified player on the top court IS NOT FAIR. Example: A number one doubles team cannot play down in another position switching places with a number three doubles team. If an opposing team files a grievance suggesting there has been stacking, the CTA League Board will review the order of play and penalize appropriately.

Scoring ~ All matches will be the best of two sets with regular scoring and a set tie-break at 6-all in each set.  The set tiebreak is a 7-point tiebreaker (Coman Style), (the first to seven by two points).   No rest break is allowed after the first game during a set. 

In the event of split sets, a 10-point SUPER TIE-BREAK (Coman Style), (the first to 10 by two points), shall be played in lieu of a third set with a two minute set break.  The Super Tie-Break shall be scored as 1 set and 1 game for tiebreak procedures (1-0 on scorecard).

One (1) point is awarded for each overall team win (not individual courts won).  In addition, least Individual sets lost, then least Individual games lost may be used to break a tie.  Some divisions will use % won if they do not play everyone in the division or there are uneven numbers of teams or byes. (% = # of Overall Team Wins divided by the # of Matches Played)

LeaguesForFun software shows up to the minute standings.  All teams are displayed in order of strength.  Contact the League Coordinator with questions regarding the standings.

Reporting Scores via www.leaguesforfun.com ~ Match scores must be entered into www.leaguesforfun.com by either captain within 24 hours of the completion of the match.  The OPPOSING captain must Confirm or Dispute the scores entered within 48 hours of the entry. Disputes: Call or email the captain who entered the original scores to make the correction.  If scores are not confirmed or disputed within 48 hours by the opposing captain, www.leaguesforfun.com will accept the scores as entered and deny any dispute.  Both captains should retain a copy of the scorecard.  Teams/Captains that consistently do not enter or confirm their scores in a timely matter may be subject to penalty.  

Coaching / Court Conduct ~ NO COACHING IS ALLOWED AT ANY TIME DURING THE MATCH BY CAPTAINS, TENNIS PROFESSIONALS OR SPECTATORS.  PROFANITY OF ANY KIND IS AGAINST THE RULES AND SUBJECT TO PENALTIES as described in the Friend At Court handbook, which can be ordered on-line at www.usta.com (click on USTA Shop  then go to books).  The league recommends that each Captain have this publication and a copy of these CTA rules available on the court at match time. USE OF ANY DEVICE (E.G. CELL PHONES, RADIOS, DIGITAL MESSAGING SYSTEMS, ETC.) TO RECEIVE COACHING AND OTHER INFORMATION IS PROHIBITED.  LINE/SCORING CALLS MAY NOT BE MADE NOR DISPUTED BY SPECTATORS NOR TEAM-MATES….LINE/SCORING CALLS ARE DECIDED  BY PLAYERS ONLY.

General supervision of all aspects of play belongs to the club Tennis Director.

Cell Phone Usage During the Match ~ If a cell phone is answered, a point penalty may be called, second time, a game, third a default. If a phone rings the opponents may call a warning and play a let (if they want) if the ringing is in the middle of a point.  Second time, a point penalty, third, a game penalty.  No outgoing calls may be made.  ALL CELL PHONES ARE TO BE TURNED OFF. NO EXCEPTIONS.

Defaults ~ A match default is defined as 15 minutes after the scheduled time and the match has been called to start and the court is available.  Please use your discretion before calling a default.  If the opponent is late for just cause, please try to be understanding and play the mat