DEREHAM & DISTRICT TABLE TENNIS LEAGUE RULES
GENERAL
1. (a) The League shall be called the 'Dereham & District Table Tennis League' and shall play under the
laws and rules of Table Tennis England.
(b) The league shall be constituted to the best available format from the team entries, at the General
Committee’s discretion.
(c) Each team will play all other teams in the same division at least twice, once at home and once away.
Playing for double points shall not be permitted.
2. The Committee shall consist of a President, Chairman, Secretaries and Treasurer, with an Executive
Committee consisting of as many or as few deemed necessary by the General Committee.
3. (a) An Hon. Auditor shall be appointed annually.
(b) League funds shall be deposited at any recognised bank or building society.
4. Membership to the League shall be limited to clubs whose venues are within a radius of 20 miles for
the top division and 15 miles for all subsequent divisions.
5. Should any dispute arise, the decision of the General Committee shall be final and binding on all
parties. The Committee shall have power to deduct 15 points from the offending team in cases of
infringement.
6. Every team, club or player has the right to a personal hearing in front of the Executive Committee in
the event of a complaint being lodged against him, her or them, but may not vote on any proposal
affecting such complaint.
7. In the event of a written complaint re-playing conditions, the Committee shall appoint an official to
inspect the conditions and shall have power to require reasonable improvements to be made.
8. Trophies shall be held for 12 months and shall be returned in good condition to the Secretary at least
two weeks before the date on which they are to be presented. If any trophy is lost, damaged or
damaged beyond repair, the holder or named responsible person at the Committee’s discretion shall
be liable to pay for the repair or replacement of that trophy.
9. All protests to be in writing and must be sent direct to the League Secretary, and all matches once
started must be completed.
10. All points not covered by these Rules will be dealt with by the Executive Committee.
11. Any team withdrawing from the League during the playing season, or failing to fulfill two-thirds of
their fixtures, their results shall be deleted from the League.
12. All alterations to rules should be handed to the League Secretary 15 days before the Annual General
Meeting. Amendments to propose new rules and alterations can be made from the floor at the AGM.
Officers to be elected at the AGM.
13. Agenda of Annual General Meeting to be sent to all clubs 14 days before meeting.
TEAM REGISTRATIONS
14. League entries to be handed to League Secretary before 30th June, together with weekday nominated
for playing home matches.
15. At start of the Season, teams should be registered in order of playing strength with the ‘A’ Team the
strongest.
PLAYER REGISTRATIONS
16. A list of names, Table Tennis England individual membership numbers, and contact details for all team
members must be registered with the League Secretary in time for the League formation committee
meeting, as posted on the website. Registration during the season of any new players will be allowed,
provided 48 hours’ notice is given to the League Secretary. No new registrations will be allowed after
31st January. Failure to provide all the aforementioned details giving the appropriate notice will result
in games being null and void.
17. No player may be registered for more than one club in the League at any time.
18. Any player moved to a higher or lower team on more than three occasions will be permanently
transferred to that team and a maximum of one player may be moved from a higher division to a lower
division per fixture.
19. No player may play for more than one team in the Craske Cup and may only play for the team for
which he is registered.
20. No player may play for more than one team in any one week. Matches to count according to the week
numbers only of the fixtures in the handbook, the dates on which they are actually played being
irrelevant in this context.
21. Should a club with more than one team demote a player from a higher team, either the number one of
the lower team may be promoted or the club must have signed a player of a higher standard than the
one demoted.
22. Players may be transferred from one team to another by permission of the Executive Committee.
FEES
23. A fee of £1 per player, with junior players at 50p, shall be collected by each team captain at all League
matches and competitions organised by the League. The team captain shall be responsible for his
team's match fees only and a full sum due to be paid to the Treasurer in all circumstances. The
appropriate sum due shall be delivered to the Treasurer at the half-way stage of the League
programme and the remainder within seven days of the last match of the season. Fees outstanding at
the end of the season will be doubled and if not paid by the beginning of the next season the team(s)
will be disqualified from the League. Teams not having paid their first half-season match fees within a
month of the due date shall be fined £5, with a further £5 fine for each additional month the fees are
left outstanding.
24. Any player not having registered with the League in the last season shall be eligible to play for free for
the first season, i.e. the League to pay Table Tennis England fees along with all League fees, other than
fines.
25. Entry fees for tournaments will be notified on entry forms. Entries will be accepted by post or email
with any relevant fees (currently £2 per event for over 16’s, free entry for under 16’s), to reach the
Secretary by the closing date.
MATCH FORMAT
26. Before commencement of each match the opposing captains shall simultaneously exchange lists of
their players in order of playing strength and this order shall in no circumstances be altered. Games to
be played in a pre-fixed order as printed on scorecard.
27. Each team should consist of 3 players per team (in all competitions), however a fourth player may
participate in the doubles. Each player playing each other plus one doubles, any player combination.
No player may play more than four games, three singles and one doubles.
28. A 15 point system to be awarded as follows: One point per game won, two additional points if a team
wins or one additional point for each team if a draw. Three points to each team for playing the match
on or before the correct fixture week. Any team cancelling a fixture shall not jeopardise their
opponents claim to those three points. Fixture reversal shall not jeopardise the claim to three points
by both sides.
29. The result of each match must be sent by the home team to reach the Fixture Secretary within 5 days
after the completion of the match. A £2 fine will be imposed on home teams upon failure to comply.
This result must be on the official card and must be signed by the captains of both teams.
30. Matches shall commence at 7.30pm unless otherwise specified in the handbook.
31. No player may play in a white outer garment unless an orange ball is used.
32. Any ITTF approved ball must be used in all matches. New balls must be supplied by the home team for
each match.
33. Any player arriving later than one half hour from the commencement of the match shall forfeit his
games, unless the two captains agree before the beginning of the match that any particular player or
players may be late.
34. This rule shall also apply for the Knock-out Tournament.
35. A fixture may only be postponed with the agreement of both teams. An alternative date for the fixture
will be arranged within 14 days of the postponed match, the team postponing to contact their
opponents with a revised date.
In the event of the match not being played, the offending team (i.e. the team that postpones the match)
loses the points and pays to the League their match fee (currently £1 per senior player and 50p per
junior player) and likewise those of their opponents.
If a match fixture is postponed and re-arranged for a later date, the club calling the game off is
responsible for contacting the Fixture Secretary to inform him of the postponement, the reason for it,
and the new fixture date.
36. All league and cup matches must be played within 14 days from the end of the last fixture week
published in the handbook. Failure to comply will result in fines levied as stated in Rule 26 and points
disputes will be covered by Rule 14.
CUP COMPETITIONS
37. The draws and handicaps will be sent to all teams before the 1st round. It is not compulsory for clubs
to enter these events.
38. No player registered after the draw has been made for the Handicap Cup shall be eligible to play in this
event. By the use of a handicap adjustment table, all handicap matches should be played as best of 3
games up to 21 points. A suitable table will be circulated to all clubs.
HOW TO USE YOUR FIXTURE LIST
1. Turn to your own divisional list of clubs and find your own team number.
2. Turn to the fixtures for appropriate half of the season and find the week you require.
3. Find your own number and see what number you are playing, noting if the match is home or away
(home teams are always in the left hand column).
4. Turn back to the divisional list of clubs and see which team has the number you are playing against.
This team is your opponent.
5. If you have an away match, the day of the week on which your opponents play is given next to their
name. Look at the calendar and see the date this falls on in the week concerned. You should now have
club, day, date and whether home or away.
6. The day of the week for your own home matches is given next to your club name.
TOURNAMENT RULES
To qualify for entry into all events except handicap in the Annual Championships a player must have
played in at least 50% of his/her registered teams league/cup matches up to the date on which entries
are due in. The Committee may use their own discretion regarding acceptance. The tournament is only
open to registered players of the League.