Summer Rules

SUMMER RULES 2026

  1. The League shall be known as the East Devon Lawn Tennis League.
  2. The entire management of the League shall be vested in an Executive Committee appointed at the Annual General Meeting. The Executive Committee shall consist of the Chairman, the Hon. General Secretary, the Hon. Treasurer, the Hon. Match Secretary and three committee members. Any dispute of The Rules will be adjudicated upon by the elected Committee.
  3. All clubs must be registered with the Lawn Tennis Association before playing in the League.
  4. The Annual General Meeting and Fixture Meeting shall be held before the 15 April upon fourteen days notice being given. All clubs shall notify the General Secretary of the teams they wish to enter at least seven days before the Annual General Meeting.
  5. Any Club seeking election into the league must: A) Make an application to the General Secretary and B) obtain two-thirds majority at the Annual General Meeting. The Summer League shall consist of such divisions as the Annual General Meeting may decide. All clubs must be registered with the lawn tennis association before playing in the league
  6. One member from each Club shall be allowed to vote at the Annual General Meeting.
  7. The League Subscription shall be set at the Annual General Meeting for each team, payable to the Treasurer, before the playing of the team’s first match of the season. If the subscriptions are not paid before the first match, the offending team will be fined four points for each match played before the subscription is paid.
  8. Summer League matches shall consist of four mixed matches. One home and one away match shall be played between each team, within the same division. Each set shall count as one point.  A rubber shall be the best of three sets.  The tie-break shall operate at six games all in the first two sets.  If a deciding set is required a Championship Tie-break shall be played.  This should be recorded as 1-0 to the winning side.  (A Championship Tie-break is the first to 10 points with a 2 point lead). The visiting team may choose the order of play.
  9. Each team shall submit to the Match Secretary a list of all players to be registered by April 20th, unless a match is played before this date, in which case players must be registered before the first match is played. The list shall clearly show the team and division in which the player is entered. Not more than 8 players shall be initially listed for any one team.  The Match Secretary shall be notified of additional players before the official start time of a match.  When a club has two teams in any one division, no players shall represent both teams in any one season and the club must complete their inter club fixtures not later than the 31st May.  If a club has more than two teams in the same division the committee to decide on pattern for fixtures.
  10. Dates for summer league matches shall be arranged before April 20th in each season.  The full fixture list must be notified by e-mail, on the correct form, to the Match Secretary by April 20th OR before, if your first match is played earlier than that date.  If that date is not met, a fine of two points per day late will be imposed.  After that date, no postponement shall be allowed except for adverse weather.  All matches are to be completed by August 31st.
  11. In the event of postponement due to adverse weather the Home side shall within three days, offer at least three dates to the opponents, arranging a mutually convenient date within seven days of the match and shall then notify the new date to the Match Secretary within nine days of the postponed match. If a team fails to meet this criteria they will be fined two points. If no mutually convenient date can be agreed, the match shall be declared null and void. However, either club has the right of appeal to the Committee.
  12. All players shall be in attendance for matches to commence at 6.30 pm. A five-minute knock up period shall be permitted. The time commenced shall be entered on the score sheet.  In the event of matches being unfinished owing to the late arrival of one of the participating teams, the Committee shall have the power to award unfinished rubbers to the opposing teams.  Details of sets and games to be calculated by the Committee.
  13. A player shall only represent his/her Club in one team in the same section of the League. A player who is a member of a team not in the first division, shall be allowed to play two matches for a team of the same Club in a higher division without being disqualified for playing for his/her original team. If a player plays three matches for a team in a higher division, he/she shall not be eligible to play for a team in a lower division in the current season.  Members may only represent one club in the Mixed League.
  14. Where a club has more than 2 teams in the League, a player who is initially registered in a lower team but who subsequently plays up 3 times to any combination of the higher teams shall, within 7 days, be re-registered  by the club to one of the higher teams that they have already played for. A player can only be re-registered once in a season and shall then be eligible to play for that team only.
  15. In the event of bad weather, rain, or bad light or any other like cause uncompleted matches shall be continued at a later date, with the same players, where they are left off, the Match Secretary to be notified immediately.  An uncompleted match is one in which at least one rubber has been completed.  If no rubber has been completed, the match shall be declared void and may be rearranged with different players. The Home side shall within three days, offer at least three dates to the opponents arranging a mutually convenient date.  If the Match Secretary has not received the new date within nine days a two point fine will apply.  The visiting team to decide on continuation of play with regard to bad light, the state of the courts or adverse weather conditions.
  16. The completed score sheet of all home matches must be received by the Match Secretary within 48 hours of the end of the match. Late score sheets will result in the HOME team being fined two points with an additional 2 points after one week.
  17. The Match Secretary shall report to the Committee, every case of a team playing an unregistered Player in a league fixture. In the event the team shall forfeit the league points involved, such points to be awarded to the opposing team.
  18. Any team without proper reason, failing to be in attendance for a fixture, shall, on the first offence, forfeit the league points involved. A second offence will incur a 4 point fine. A third offence will incur an 8 point fine. Any team found, after the match, to have played a non-paid up club member will also be deemed to have not had a team and the score will be amended to 8 – 0 (see Rule 12). If a team concedes a match on more than three occasions in one season it shall be ejected from the League and must reapply to join.  All its matches in that season will be declared void.
  19. The 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 interest of the League and their decision is final.
  20. At the end of the season, in the event of 2 or more teams tying on sets won, positions in the division shall be decided as follows:
    • highest number of wins.
    • highest number of draws.
    • best sets won against sets lost difference.
    • results between the teams involved.
  21. All balls used shall be new and correspond to LTA standard. Balls used in all divisions shall be current year’s manufacture.
  22. Clubs or individuals holding permanent trophies of the League must provide security for their safekeeping and return when requested.
  23. Any proposed amendment to the Summer or Winter rules must be sent to the General Secretary by the 21st February in any season.
  24. If a Club wishes to withdraw a team from the League, the team withdrawn shall be their lowest ranking team unless the Committee agrees otherwise.
  25. Following the completion of the season the next seasons divisions are decided with the bottom 2 teams of each divisions being relegated and the top 2 teams the division being promoted. This is with effect from summer season 2023 (voted for at AGM March 2023)