How does your league handle teams who default team matches?

[Cindysphinx]

We are in our combo season (three courts of doubles). There are 18 teams in the 6.5 flight, so each team gets 17 matches.

One of the teams (with 15 players) frequently defaults the entire team match. They have been Habitual Defaulters for as long as I have played. So far, they have defaulted 2 of the 5 matches they have played this season, which means they couldn't find just 4 people to come out and play.

In our league, captains must post a deposit ($100 or so) as security against defaults. Each time you default a court, you lose a portion of your deposit ($30, I think). If you notify the opposing captain and league coordinator 48 hours ahead, however, you are not charged at all.

I'm getting a little irritated about this one team that keeps defaulting. We played them already and won, but we gave up some games. Other teams have won against them by default, thereby giving up no games or sets. This really does affect the standings because sets lost and games lost are the tiebreakers. It is annoying to see another team blast ahead of you in the standings without even lacing up their tennis shoes.

Personally, I think the league should allow a team two team defaults per season. After the second, all of their scores should be converted to double bagels across the board and they should be barred from playing matches for the remainder of the season.

Does any league have a different way of handling this?

 

[kylebarendrick]

Norcal is pretty harsh with match forfeits:

If a forfeit of an entire match is claimed, an administrative grievance shall be filed by USTA NorCal against the forfeiting team. If the Grievance Committee determines, at is discretion, that there was good cause for not playing the match, it shall require that the match be rescheduled and played according to the Rescheduling Procedure. If the Grievance Committee determines, at its discretion, that there was no good cause, the team’s season will be declared null and void, and for the purpose of standings, all its matches will be voided. Further sanctions against the captain and team members may include suspension from all USTA league participation for one year.

 

[Cindysphinx]

What is considered good cause for not playing the match?

Say the match format is three doubles courts. Due to availability or injury, you only have four players available. On match day, one player gets stuck in traffic.

Under our rules, that match cannot be played because a match cannot begin unless both teams have a mathematical chance of winning the team match. If only one court of doubles can be played.

In Norcal, would there be any chance that the match would be rescheduled?

In our league, the defaulting captain would be charged $30 for the court that wasn't canceled ahead of time, but there would be no penalty for the court that was canceled.

 

[Topaz]

We are in our combo season (three courts of doubles). There are 18 teams in the 6.5 flight, so each team gets 17 matches.

One of the teams (with 15 players) frequently defaults the entire team match. They have been Habitual Defaulters for as long as I have played. So far, they have defaulted 2 of the 5 matches they have played this season, which means they couldn't find just 4 people to come out and play.

In our league, captains must post a deposit ($100 or so) as security against defaults. Each time you default a court, you lose a portion of your deposit ($30, I think). If you notify the opposing captain and league coordinator 48 hours ahead, however, you are not charged at all.

I'm getting a little irritated about this one team that keeps defaulting. We played them already and won, but we gave up some games. Other teams have won against them by default, thereby giving up no games or sets. This really does affect the standings because sets lost and games lost are the tiebreakers. It is annoying to see another team blast ahead of you in the standings without even lacing up their tennis shoes.

Personally, I think the league should allow a team two team defaults per season. After the second, all of their scores should be converted to double bagels across the board and they should be barred from playing matches for the remainder of the season.

Does any league have a different way of handling this?

WOW! In three years of captaining, I've never come across this. Defaulting a court, yes, but the whole match?

Well, in NOVA it would be the same as for you, the defaulting team covers all the court costs. I don't think we've ever had situation with a team habitually defaulting, though. You raise a good point, though...have you brought this up to your coordinator?

One year when I was playing mixed, our captain (total knucklehead) wasn't putting any of the scores in for the *four* teams he was captaining, and eventually the other captains complained to our coordinator so much, that she threatened to default ALL the teams if he didn't get the scores in. He did, and made some of them up, which is why I now have incorrect losses in my Tennislink record. Anyway, moral of the story - talk to your coordinator. They should be able to get to the bottom of what is going on with this team. As an opposing captain, you do have the right to inquire about it.

 

[Supernatural_Serve]

In our interclub league (non-USTA), the owner of the club whose team defaulted picks up the cost of the defaulted court and if the entire team fails to show, they pay for the 4 defaulted courts plus $100 fine.

The risk is all on the club owners not the captain or players.

 

[luckyskulls]

Our Combo is outside, so there are no court fees. We had the last place team default all 3 three courts. They have been kicked out of the league for the season.

The main issue I see, is how it skews the rankings. The top 4 teams are ALL 4-2, with just sets and games separating each one. The team that took the 3 court 6-0, 6-0 win moved ahead of everyone else.

They just didn't feel like playing anymore. So, there were no "extenuating" circumstances....except for being lazy, poor sports.

 

[equinox]

My comp is default #1 $25, #2 $50, #3 $75 fine and all the team matches are considered byes.

 

[Cindysphinx]

Our Combo is outside, so there are no court fees. We had the last place team default all 3 three courts. They have been kicked out of the league for the season.

The main issue I see, is how it skews the rankings. The top 4 teams are ALL 4-2, with just sets and games separating each one. The team that took the 3 court 6-0, 6-0 win moved ahead of everyone else.

They just didn't feel like playing anymore. So, there were no "extenuating" circumstances....except for being lazy, poor sports.

Yeah, it totally messes up rankings. The current top two teams are both 5-0. The tiebreaker is games lost, with the second place team having given up 5 more games. This is because the first place team received that team match default.

Yeah, I'm definitely going to write the the Head Poobahs about this. We need a rule like NorCal, for sure.

 

[Fedace]

^^ We live in a era where tennis is declining in popularity. Therefore, USTA is trying to do everything it can to promote and help tennis grow everywhere possible. So they or even local official leagues will not put in too harsh of punishment for teams that default. You yourself may have to talk to their captain and see what is really going on there, take a more pro-active approach instead of just complaining. this is what leaders do. Ask them what you can do to help them. Maybe you can integrate their team to yours and mix them in once in a while and maybe they are perfectly happy with that since they have chance to play on a good team even though they don't play that much? So be a leader and see what you can do to help.

 

[tennis-n-sc]

Two total defaults and the team is kicked out of the league and cannot be in the league the following year. I've never seen it enforced nor have I seen it ever occur.

 

[Cindysphinx]

Fedace, that's sweet. It really is.

But there is no flippin' way on God's green earth I would absorb these women into any team I captained. No way, no how. My team is fine the way it is.

Really, it isn't my job (or the job of any other captain) to give these players rides to the venues, beg them to play, babysit their children. That is for the league to handle. These are supposed to be grown-ups. And grown-ups know that if you can't keep your commitments, *you* find a solution.

Just for fun, I checked out their defaults for spring 3.0 2007. There were 10 team matches. They defaulted 1 court in five of those matches and defaulted 2 courts in one match. No team defaults. So they failed to field 8 players half of the time.

But check out the default rate in fall 5.5 combo 2006. There were 12 matches, with the five teams playing one another three times. They defaulted two team matches (one team was the beneficiary of both defaults!), and they defaulted single matches in 6 additional team matches. That means they are only bringing the full squad of 6 players 30% of the time.

Yeah, something needs to be done.

 

[JavierLW]

We are in our combo season (three courts of doubles). There are 18 teams in the 6.5 flight, so each team gets 17 matches.

One of the teams (with 15 players) frequently defaults the entire team match. They have been Habitual Defaulters for as long as I have played. So far, they have defaulted 2 of the 5 matches they have played this season, which means they couldn't find just 4 people to come out and play.

In our league, captains must post a deposit ($100 or so) as security against defaults. Each time you default a court, you lose a portion of your deposit ($30, I think). If you notify the opposing captain and league coordinator 48 hours ahead, however, you are not charged at all.

I'm getting a little irritated about this one team that keeps defaulting. We played them already and won, but we gave up some games. Other teams have won against them by default, thereby giving up no games or sets. This really does affect the standings because sets lost and games lost are the tiebreakers. It is annoying to see another team blast ahead of you in the standings without even lacing up their tennis shoes.

Personally, I think the league should allow a team two team defaults per season. After the second, all of their scores should be converted to double bagels across the board and they should be barred from playing matches for the remainder of the season.

Does any league have a different way of handling this?

Entire Team defaults are not allowed here. If you cant field enough players you have to reschedule within 2 weeks (or the end of the season) and if you dont manage to do that you can be suspended from league play next year.

Also in the rescheduled match, you lose 1 out of 3 matches, or 2 matches out of 5. In the 5 match format, the other team gets to decide which 3 matches are getting played (if it's singles or doubles)

Team defaults are very rare here. It happened once or twice that I can remember and it's the reason they made this rule.

Also our matches are always played on a particular night, so that lessens the reasoning for a default. (if you signed up to play on a "Thursday" night league, you are apt to be more available on Thursdays then in a league where you dont know what day you are playing on)

The monetary penalty is interesting. I suggested that to our coordinators this year (because individual defaults by certain teams is getting common), but Im not sure it will ever go anywhere.

I hate even individual defaults, they are bad for league play, especially when certain teams have a habit of always doing it. (there was one team this year that started the season with only 9 players total, they were pretty much asking for defaults, so it makes me wonder if it's even a big deal to them if they happen to default a match)

 

[JavierLW]

^^ We live in a era where tennis is declining in popularity. Therefore, USTA is trying to do everything it can to promote and help tennis grow everywhere possible. So they or even local official leagues will not put in too harsh of punishment for teams that default. You yourself may have to talk to their captain and see what is really going on there, take a more pro-active approach instead of just complaining. this is what leaders do. Ask them what you can do to help them. Maybe you can integrate their team to yours and mix them in once in a while and maybe they are perfectly happy with that since they have chance to play on a good team even though they don't play that much? So be a leader and see what you can do to help.

If the USTA is looking or worrying about their tennis popularity, and by doing that they are trying to be nice to people who are defaulting, this is another example of how they are looking at it the wrong way.

If they want people to get interested in league play then they should be doing whatever they can to make sure their product is fun for everyone.

Defaults (especially entire team ones), hurt the value of their product, and lowers the tennis experience for everyone else.

They could lose far more customers that way, then worrying about the few people who obviously dont have much of an interest level anyway.

It's not Cindy's job to step in here. She's a customer and she's already stepped up and created her own team. There are people who get PAID to be leaders in the USTA, it's their job to do something about this.

(and maybe you would like to argue they dont get paid a lot, but they certainly make more than us captains do, we usually lose money in the process.)

 

[Fedace]

^^^ USTA and local officials are interested in getting as many of people involved as possible and they are willing to overlook few defaults here and there, even though Cindy's case is pretty extreme, team that only shows up 30% of the time is not common occurrence. Dallas is a pretty good example, as far as i remember, they never picked on teams that had few defaults here and there. Now they have 15-20 teams in each level which is a excellent job getting people involved in the league.

 

[JavierLW]

^^^ USTA and local officials are interested in getting as many of people involved as possible and they are willing to overlook few defaults here and there, even though Cindy's case is pretty extreme, team that only shows up 30% of the time is not common occurrence. Dallas is a pretty good example, as far as i remember, they never picked on teams that had few defaults here and there. Now they have 15-20 teams in each level which is a excellent job getting people involved in the league.

Define a few? If you allow "a few" to occur it can easily turn into too many.

Besides when you are the home team, you should be reimbursed for that court, it only makes sense. As it happens now I end up charging my own players for it (the ones who won via default) because someone has to pay for it. (so they didnt get to play, and they still get to pay for it)

That's the reasoning behind the monetary penalty.

I think defaults (any defaults) are bad for the league and should be avoided at all costs. Sometimes in some of our leagues we only have 8-10 matches in the entire season, which means I may have players who are only going to get to play a handful of times. If those turn out to be default matches, that sucks for them.

Ive rarely seen any team that had "occasional" defaults. Occasional like maybe once every 3 years or so (Ive had one in 4 years and it was due to a player not showing up at the right location). But most of the time it's the same teams that have 2 or 3 a year (which is way too many).

Also the general reasoning for it is the reason why it has to be treated as an undesirable practice. Many times a losing team's players will lose interest and they will stop showing up to matches. Especially some of those bottom teams. That's just unacceptable behavior.

(Ive seen teams that are in the running one year never have a default, where the next year they are out of it early and they average a default a week if not more)

 

[Cindysphinx]

This is my fifth season as a captain.

We suffered two individual defaults when I was a 2.5 captain. One of my players was pregnant and things started to shift inside sooner than anyone expected and we decided it wasn't safe for her to play her last matches. At the 2.5 level, teams are limited to 12 players (with 5 needed per match), we had only 11 so we couldn't help it.

We have had just one default for the other four seasons, due to a player being 20 minutes late because of traffic.

I think it is likely that this captain doesn't put out a schedule. If you have fifteen players, you ought to be able to find 6 for any given match.

 

[tennis-n-sc]

It is true here and probably elsewhere that the local league determines the policy for defaulting entire team matches along with enforcing the policy. It isn't USTA. I would be highly annoyed if a captain called me and wanted to postpone a match because he couldn't field a team on the scheduled day. That is no excuse. That penalizes my team to have to rearrange their personal schedule to accomodate a team that doesn't care enough arrange their time and availibility to play on match day. I can see defaulting a line from time to time, but never the entire match.

 

[cak]

Perhaps the reason NorCal can be so strict is we don't have a limit on team size. So if you need a roster of 30 to cover the season you have a roster of 30. If you can't get any team member to cover the game this weekend you can recruit another player (even from a team in a nearby area) and add them to the roster that morning. So in Cindy's example, once the pregnant teammate couldn't play anymore they could just find another player, and add them to the team, even for just the last match.

 

[Cindysphinx]

I think we had a recent rule change that allowed adding to the roster up until the last match. Before then, you had some arbitrary deadline. I have no idea whether we were past that deadline when my player's pregnancy went nuts.

It wouldn't have mattered. It is wicked hard to find a 2.5 player in a pinch. A lot of beginners don't even want to attempt league tennis, let alone with an existing team in the middle of the season. Then if you're asking them to join USTA for $25 (newbies often aren't members) *and* pony up $27 to register *and* pay court fees of $11 per match -- no way can you find anyone to join up as a sub for just one or two matches.

We do have roster limits, but frankly, I think they should be abolished. The team I am complaining about only has 15 players, compared to my 19 players. I know that captain put out an open call to everyone on the available players list, but she didn't get anyone.

On account of how their team is so very bad, I'm guessing, and few people will jump at the chance to play on the worst team out of 18.

 

[catfish]

It is my understanding that every USTA league is required to follow USTA National Regulation 3.03M unless their District or Section has an alternative rule in place.

3.03M Scoring of Team Defaults. If a team defaults an entire team match for any reason during round robin play, then all matches of that team played or to be played, shall be null and void. If all teams in contention for the Championships have already played the defaulting team in good faith, the matches stand as played. The section may impose further sanctions or penalties on said team.

 

[JavierLW]

I think we had a recent rule change that allowed adding to the roster up until the last match. Before then, you had some arbitrary deadline. I have no idea whether we were past that deadline when my player's pregnancy went nuts.

It wouldn't have mattered. It is wicked hard to find a 2.5 player in a pinch. A lot of beginners don't even want to attempt league tennis, let alone with an existing team in the middle of the season. Then if you're asking them to join USTA for $25 (newbies often aren't members) *and* pony up $27 to register *and* pay court fees of $11 per match -- no way can you find anyone to join up as a sub for just one or two matches.

We do have roster limits, but frankly, I think they should be abolished. The team I am complaining about only has 15 players, compared to my 19 players. I know that captain put out an open call to everyone on the available players list, but she didn't get anyone.

On account of how their team is so very bad, I'm guessing, and few people will jump at the chance to play on the worst team out of 18.

I usually just offer to pay a sub's league due's if they are signing up just to play one or two matches.

But that's up to me, it's far better than defaulting a match.

Many teams like you said obvioulsy dont have enough players so when they have to default matches it becomes unacceptable. (especially if you can still sign up some players)

Although 15 is a lot here. (too many for my league) You probally need more than 15 because your league is played on all diffrent days of the week. I think if they are going to do it that way, then there definately should not be a roster limit.

In our league though we can afford the "luxury" of having a roster limit since it's only usually used by those sandbagger teams so they can hide players.

When your roster gets to be more than 3 times the size of the amount of players who play every week you have to wonder why...

We also dont get as many matches though either, so it would be even harder to keep a team happy with 18 players.

 

[JavierLW]

It is my understanding that every USTA league is required to follow USTA National Regulation 3.03M unless their District or Section has an alternative rule in place.

3.03M Scoring of Team Defaults. If a team defaults an entire team match for any reason during round robin play, then all matches of that team played or to be played, shall be null and void. If all teams in contention for the Championships have already played the defaulting team in good faith, the matches stand as played. The section may impose further sanctions or penalties on said team.

That may be true, but that's not enough of a deterent.

It's rare that a team in contention is giving up a whole team match. Usually it's your team that either joined "for fun", or is not doing very well that does this and at that point they dont care about the standings anymore.

Because you have losers who have this attitude, you have to make the punishment more severe. The worst thing you can have happen to any league is to have people who just start not showing up or bailing as soon as they find out they are losing or they cant compete.

If someone does this, they shouldnt be allowed to captain next season. (which is the case here, team defaults simply are not allowed)

 

[Cindysphinx]

It is my understanding that every USTA league is required to follow USTA National Regulation 3.03M unless their District or Section has an alternative rule in place.

3.03M Scoring of Team Defaults. If a team defaults an entire team match for any reason during round robin play, then all matches of that team played or to be played, shall be null and void. If all teams in contention for the Championships have already played the defaulting team in good faith, the matches stand as played. The section may impose further sanctions or penalties on said team.

Is this round robin play?

 

[tennis-n-sc]

Is this round robin play?

That's my question as well. I wouldn't think so. And I'm not sure it applies to Combo league.

 

[tennis-n-sc]

Well, it is round robin play, I suppose. If your team plays all the other teams in the pariticular division you are in, it is round robin.

 

[tennis-n-sc]

11. Defaults. A minimum of 6 team members who were on the final roster of their local league team at the conclusion of local league play must be available and eligible to compete at the State and Sectional Championships. The Tournament Committee can reduce that number to not less than four. A team may default a maximum of one position in a match without defaulting the entire match. Said position shall be the No. 3 doubles.

Scoring of Individual Defaults: Defaults will be scored as a 6-0, 6-0 win for the player (doubles team) receiving the default and a 6-0, 6-0 loss for the player (doubles team) that defaulted the match. In the event of a default by both opposing players (teams), both sides will be given a 6-0, 6-0 loss and neither receives credit for a win.

NOTE: If a double default results in a tie, the tie-break procedure shall be the same as listed above in order to determine a winner of that team match.

Scoring of Team Defaults. If a team defaults an entire team match for any reason during round robin play, then all matches of that team played or to be played, shall be null and void. If all teams in contention for the Championships have already played the defaulting team, the matches stand as played. The section may impose further sanctions or penalties on said team.

This is from the Southern Section Combo Rules. The USTA doesn't govern combo play but the rule reads the same.

Cindy, look up the rule for your particular section. It should read the same or close to the same. Quite frankly, I've never seen it enforced.

 

[Islandtennis]

It is my understanding that every USTA league is required to follow USTA National Regulation 3.03M unless their District or Section has an alternative rule in place.

3.03M Scoring of Team Defaults. If a team defaults an entire team match for any reason during round robin play, then all matches of that team played or to be played, shall be null and void. If all teams in contention for the Championships have already played the defaulting team in good faith, the matches stand as played. The section may impose further sanctions or penalties on said team.

Catfish,

Did you notice that 3.03 heading says:

"3.03 AREA, SECTION AND NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS.
In all championships after local league competition, the following shall apply:"



3.03M refers to the area championship level or higher. It does not apply to regular league play only to area, district, sectional, or national playoffs.



Tennis N, from the "USTA SOUTHERN SECTION REGULATIONS for USTA League Tennis
Adult, Senior, Mixed Doubles, & Super Senior Divisions League Year 2007" the following is listed.


3.01H(2) Team Match and Scoring. States may decide how to handle team forfeits at the local level.


Reading the reg. you mentioned, it also appears that reg. 11 applies to the district and sectional championships since the heading of 11 and the reg's right before it refer to the State and Sectional Championships.

 

[JavierLW]

^^^^^


Whoops.

 

[catfish]

National Regulations apply to all leagues. Take a look at the annual Q&A rule interpretations. I copied and pasted below:

12/3/99Updated9/1/02 Regulation 3.03M Championship Scoring a Team Forfeit states: “If a team forfeits an entire team match for any reason during round robin play, then all matches of that team, played or to be played shall be null and void. . . .”Is the local league required to follow this regulation if no alternative rule is in place at the section, district or local level?

Yes. If the section, district or local league does not have a specific rule in place to cover a full team default it must follow the national championship regulation. Remember, the objective is to play the match. The Section is encouraged to put a procedure in place. If they elect to use the championship rule, they should be aware that if all teams in contention have played the defaulting team – those scores will stand.

Also, according to National Regulations, all USTA league play is a round robin.
See National Regulation 3.01H under Local League competition:

3.01H(1) Round Robin. Each NTRP level within a local league shall play at least one round robin competition wherein every team plays every other team. Any NTRP level may be divided into flights and each team shall play every other team in its flight. The flight winners may enter a playoff structure to establish a local league champion for that NTRP level. Any NTRP level with only two or three teams is required to play a minimum of three matches.

 

[Islandtennis]

Once again though, All of Section 3.03 applies to Championships, not regular local league play. The main question will be whether or not Cindy's Section or State has any regulations..

You are right in that local rules cannot contradict national rules. Having a local rule for team defaults wouldn't contradict USTA since 3.03M refers to championships.

 

[Cindysphinx]

I'm glad you guys sorted this out.

I wrote an e-mail to our level coordinator describing the problem and asking what is to be done.

I will let you know when I get a reply. Stay tuned . . .

 

[catfish]

Once again though, All of Section 3.03 applies to Championships, not regular local league play. The main question will be whether or not Cindy's Section or State has any regulations..

You are right in that local rules cannot contradict national rules. Having a local rule for team defaults wouldn't contradict USTA since 3.03M refers to championships.

Take a look at the beginning of the USTA QA Rule Interpretations. It states that Championship rules do apply to league play unless Section or District rules state otherwise. I copied and pasted below:

If a Section, District or Local League does not have a regulation in place to handle an issue and there is a national Championship regulation on that issue, the Section, District or Local League must follow the Championship regulation.


I'm pretty sure that Cindy is in the same District and Section that I am. Our District and Section do not have any rules regarding team defaults.

Cindy, I suggest you read the USTA Rule Interpretations. It's easy to find on the USTA website under Adult Leagues. Click on Regulations and you'll see a link for Interpretations. It will answer a lot of your questions. All captains should read this.

 

[catfish]

That may be true, but that's not enough of a deterent.

It's rare that a team in contention is giving up a whole team match. Usually it's your team that either joined "for fun", or is not doing very well that does this and at that point they dont care about the standings anymore.

Because you have losers who have this attitude, you have to make the punishment more severe. The worst thing you can have happen to any league is to have people who just start not showing up or bailing as soon as they find out they are losing or they cant compete.

If someone does this, they shouldnt be allowed to captain next season. (which is the case here, team defaults simply are not allowed)

Javier, the rule is in place not necessarily as a deterent, but as a way to keep teams in contention from benefitting from a full team default. There are always a few teams in our local league (usually men's teams) that defaut full team matches at the end of the season if they are not in contention. The teams that they default to should not benefit from the default. The round robin is really not complete if there is a full team default in the standings. The idea is to play all of the matches. That's why the team results are removed from the overall standings. No one benefits, but no one is hurt. And again, if all teams in contention played the team that defaulted, then you leave the overall standings alone. TennisLink has a feature that DQ's a team from overall standings but leaves all individual matches in TennisLink.

I can't figure out a good way to deter teams from defaulting full team matches at the end of the season. Quite often the captain makes every effort but they can't get anyone to play. I don't think the captain should be punished. Every situation is different, but many times the captain is not at fault, and many captains are very dedicated and want to do the right thing. They can't always get their players to cooperate.

 

[Cindysphinx]

I think if a captain knew she would be suspended for defaulting team matches, her players would turn out.

I think if she could prove she tried very hard and couldn't get anyone, the suspension could be waived but she wouldn't be permitted to captain again for a year.

 

[tennis-n-sc]

Take a look at the beginning of the USTA QA Rule Interpretations. It states that Championship rules do apply to league play unless Section or District rules state otherwise. I copied and pasted below:

If a Section, District or Local League does not have a regulation in place to handle an issue and there is a national Championship regulation on that issue, the Section, District or Local League must follow the Championship regulation.


I'm pretty sure that Cindy is in the same District and Section that I am. Our District and Section do not have any rules regarding team defaults.

Cindy, I suggest you read the USTA Rule Interpretations. It's easy to find on the USTA website under Adult Leagues. Click on Regulations and you'll see a link for Interpretations. It will answer a lot of your questions. All captains should read this.

Catfish, the USTA published booklet on the rules and regulations for league tennis specifically addresses adult,, senior, super senior and mixed. It never mentions Combo league, that I can find. Therefore, I believe one would have to refer to Sectional, State and Local rules and regs, which are specifically adressed regarding Combo.

 

[tennis-n-sc]

Catfish,

Did you notice that 3.03 heading says:

"3.03 AREA, SECTION AND NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS.
In all championships after local league competition, the following shall apply:"



3.03M refers to the area championship level or higher. It does not apply to regular league play only to area, district, sectional, or national playoffs.



Tennis N, from the "USTA SOUTHERN SECTION REGULATIONS for USTA League Tennis
Adult, Senior, Mixed Doubles, & Super Senior Divisions League Year 2007" the following is listed.


3.01H(2) Team Match and Scoring. States may decide how to handle team forfeits at the local level.


Reading the reg. you mentioned, it also appears that reg. 11 applies to the district and sectional championships since the heading of 11 and the reg's right before it refer to the State and Sectional Championships.

Island, from what I have read, I'll have to disagree with you that the sectional rule I pasted applies only to champioinship. I think it applies to all play in the southern section. Read it carefully and see if you don't get the same interpretation I do.

 

[catfish]

Catfish, the USTA published booklet on the rules and regulations for league tennis specifically addresses adult,, senior, super senior and mixed. It never mentions Combo league, that I can find. Therefore, I believe one would have to refer to Sectional, State and Local rules and regs, which are specifically adressed regarding Combo.

Our District Combo Rules (Virginia District) state that the Combo league is governed by 2007 USTA National Regulations. Maybe that's different in other areas.

So, Cindy, it your are in NOVA, the VA District Combo Rules apply and they follow 2007 USTA National Regs.

 

[tennis-n-sc]

Our District Combo Rules (Virginia District) state that the Combo league is governed by 2007 USTA National Regulations. Maybe that's different in other areas.

So, Cindy, it your are in NOVA, the VA District Combo Rules apply and they follow 2007 USTA National Regs.

That may be, Catfish, but the 2007 USTA League Regulations never mentions Combo League tennis.

 

[catfish]

That may be, Catfish, but the 2007 USTA League Regulations never mentions Combo League tennis.

tennis-n-sc - I know what you're saying. Don't ask me why, but the VA District Combo rules say that Combo is governed by 2007 USTA Regs for Adult mixed.

 

[Raiden.Kaminari]

It is my understanding that every USTA league is required to follow USTA National Regulation 3.03M unless their District or Section has an alternative rule in place.

3.03M Scoring of Team Defaults. If a team defaults an entire team match for any reason during round robin play, then all matches of that team played or to be played, shall be null and void. If all teams in contention for the Championships have already played the defaulting team in good faith, the matches stand as played. The section may impose further sanctions or penalties on said team.

This is correct for National leagues. Unfortunately, combo league is a local Section league and follows LLAR instead of ULR.

 

[tennis-n-sc]

tennis-n-sc - I know what you're saying. Don't ask me why, but the VA District Combo rules say that Combo is governed by 2007 USTA Regs for Adult mixed.

Gets confusing, doesn't it. One reason I wish all sections were more in conformity with each other.

 

[Islandtennis]

You are right Catfish. This is all the more reason for Cindy's local league to have a regulation in it. Every year we have to add a new regulation to our local rules because of something like this. I knew that the rules reverted to National rules unless there was a local provision, but that is the only area that I am aware of that they use reg's from playoffs.

We had to rewrite our rule to cover the very situation that Cindy mentioned when the Southern Section determined that having less than 50% of your team playing resulted in a team default. For instance, having only two courts show up in a five court match results in a 5-0 team default regardless of the scores on the two courts.

Tennis n, that is a good point about the Combo rules. I still read it as only applying to the State and Sectional Championships. I'll ask Patsy her interpretation the next time I see her.

 

[catfish]

You are right Catfish. This is all the more reason for Cindy's local league to have a regulation in it. Every year we have to add a new regulation to our local rules because of something like this. I knew that the rules reverted to National rules unless there was a local provision, but that is the only area that I am aware of that they use reg's from playoffs.

We had to rewrite our rule to cover the very situation that Cindy mentioned when the Southern Section determined that having less than 50% of your team playing resulted in a team default. For instance, having only two courts show up in a five court match results in a 5-0 team default regardless of the scores on the two courts.

Tennis n, that is a good point about the Combo rules. I still read it as only applying to the State and Sectional Championships. I'll ask Patsy her interpretation the next time I see her.

Islandtennis, the situation you mention above is also covered in National Regulation 3.03L. There is a similar rule in place for Senior and Adult Mixed, which only play 3 doubles. The idea is that it's a full team default if you don't play 3 positions in Adult league or 2 postions in Senior or Mixed. Our Combo Leagues use the National Adult Mixed rules to govern play. This is also a "Championship" regulation, but as mentioned in previous posts Championship procedures must be followed unless the Section, Districts, or Local league states otherwise.

3.03L Team Defaults. A team must have a minimum of four eligible players available for play in each match or the entire match must be defaulted. A team may default a maximum of two positions in a match without defaulting the entire match. In such cases, defaults shall be determined by the team captain in accordance with the following:
The rule then goes on with the order or defaulting matches from the bottom up.

Maybe I'm wrong, but it appears that a large number of Area League Coordinators, their Level Coordinators, and team captains are not too familiar with USTA National Regulations. You really don't have to put too many local league rules in place if you follow National Regs, along with Sectional and District rules. I admit, there are an awful lot of rules and no one knows all of them by heart, but it certainly helps to be familiar with them. The annual National Reg Q&A Rule Clarifications is also an extremely helpful document. But it doesn't seem that many have ever read it or heard of it.

 

[Hal]

We also had a few teams defaulting one or two team matches or consistently defaulting individual matches. Here's a solution that our section (Northern) came up with:

3.01H(4)a Defaults (5 Strike/Split Up).
Any team that defaults a total of five (5) individual matches throughout a league season will be required to split up the team the following season with no more than three (3) players remaining together on a team.
​

It's new for this year so we have to see how it works in practice. I think this is still a bit soft on individual matches, but should be a good deterrent for those teams that default a complete team match.

 

[catfish]

We also had a few teams defaulting one or two team matches or consistently defaulting individual matches. Here's a solution that our section (Northern) came up with:

3.01H(4)a Defaults (5 Strike/Split Up).
Any team that defaults a total of five (5) individual matches throughout a league season will be required to split up the team the following season with no more than three (3) players remaining together on a team.
​

It's new for this year so we have to see how it works in practice. I think this is still a bit soft on individual matches, but should be a good deterrent for those teams that default a complete team match.

Good idea. Like Cindy mentioned, there seem to be "habitual offenders" out there in every league. Your Norcal rule may help solve the problem. I mentioned in prior posts that defaults are not always the captain's fault, that they can't get their players to cooperate. Maybe the players will cooperate if they find out they can't have a team next year!

 

[Hal]

Good idea. Like Cindy mentioned, there seem to be "habitual offenders" out there in every league. Your Norcal rule may help solve the problem. I mentioned in prior posts that defaults are not always the captain's fault, that they can't get their players to cooperate. Maybe the players will cooperate if they find out they can't have a team next year!

Just to clarify, this is the Northern section (MN, ND, SD and Western WI), not Norcal.

 

[catfish]

Just to clarify, this is the Northern section (MN, ND, SD and Western WI), not Norcal.

Oops! Sorry!

 

[amarone]

Island, from what I have read, I'll have to disagree with you that the sectional rule I pasted applies only to champioinship. I think it applies to all play in the southern section. Read it carefully and see if you don't get the same interpretation I do.

The rules for Atlanta are:

If a team forfeits an entire team match or forfeits a number of matches greater than or equal to the number of scheduled matches in a season, the team may be removed from competition immediately. If removed, then all matches that team has played, or matches to be played shall be null and void. If all teams in contention for the playoffs have already played the forfeiting team in good faith, the matches stand as played. The forfeiting team may be placed on probationary watch or not permitted to play as a team the following season.

I was involved in two such situations last season. In one, the team was forfeiting a number of individual matches each week. When they reached the limit, they were removed from the league as it was felt that the defaults were affecting the standings of the other teams.

In the second case, a team forfeited the whole match near the end of the season. They were not thrown out, but their results were discounted for determining which teams qualified for playoffs as the forfeit was against one of the teams in contention and that was unfair on the other teams.

 

[tennis-n-sc]

The rules for Atlanta are:
I was involved in two such situations last season. In one, the team was forfeiting a number of individual matches each week. When they reached the limit, they were removed from the league as it was felt that the defaults were affecting the standings of the other teams.

In the second case, a team forfeited the whole match near the end of the season. They were not thrown out, but their results were discounted for determining which teams qualified for playoffs as the forfeit was against one of the teams in contention and that was unfair on the other teams.

That's a good application.

It's been my experience that states and locals can expand sectional and national rules but can't make them any more lenient. I like what you all have done.

 

[Supernatural_Serve]

In the second case, a team forfeited the whole match near the end of the season. They were not thrown out, but their results were discounted for determining which teams qualified for playoffs as the forfeit was against one of the teams in contention and that was unfair on the other teams.

I am not so sure that I agree with this. Its one thing if there was a conspiracy to not show or throw a match (good luck proving that to anyone).

I have seen teams forfeit the last match of the season or simply not complete a rain make-up in every year I've played USTA. In the northeast, there is always at least 1 rain out if not 2 to 3 in the spring/summer league.

Some are material to standings and some aren't.

There are many reasons why forfeits increase near season end. The rain outs, the loss of interest, its now summer people have better things to do, lousy personal experiences on the team that people are fed up with, no impact to their team for winning/losing, vacations, people are playing in tournaments instead of USTA, people like to hose the captain who p*ssed on them and not show, etc.

There shouldn't be special rules for this well known near season end phenomenon.