Rules and Regulations

The following information will be printed in your Sports Directory available when you register at the Labor Club on arrival
CONDITIONS FOR TOURNAMENT PLAY
This competition will be played in accordance with Rules of Tennis and Code of Conduct as approved by Tennis Australia and Tennis ACT.

· The Tournament will be conducted over 5 consecutive days, commencing Monday 3 November at 9am. Saturday will be available should inclement weather interrupt the flow of play.
· The Tournament Committee reserve the right to place a player, or team, in a category other than the one entered.

Category Definition: Open · All registered Tennis Veterans.
· All players who have played Pennant with a State/Territory Member Association or represented their State/Country.
Recreational · Social or Club players - may have played a club championship or could be member/non-member of a club and just play occasionally.

Age Group Determination: · The age is determined by players' age as at 31 December 2003, eg. If 49 as at 31 December 2003 then 45+ age group.
· In a Doubles Event, if two players are different in ages, the entry is in the age group of the younger player, e.g. 57 and 63 years, play in the 55+ age group.

Combined Age Events: These are mixed and same gender Events.
Combined 100 (min age is 35, hence, partner must be min 65 years.)
Combined 110 (min age is 40, hence, partner must be min 70 years.)
Combined 120 (min age is 45, hence, partner must be min 75 years.)
Combined 130 (min age is 50, hence, partner must be min 80 years.)

People who do not qualify for the above events due to age can play Ladies and Men's Doubles as well as Mixed Doubles Events.

Tournament rules. · All players must report to the Tournament Office 15 minutes prior to their scheduled match.
· Should any player/pair fail to report to the designated court location within 5 minutes of the scheduled start, a forfeit shall be declared.
· The Tournament Committee reserves the right to combine Age Groups in respective categories, should entries be insufficient to conduct a Round Robin Event.
· All Age Group Events shall be conducted as Round Robin e.g. best of 9 games.
· The round robin winner will be the player who wins the most matches.
· Where there is a tied winning score, the winner will be determined by applying the count back system (i.e. if an individual or pair finish with the same score, the winner will be determined by who won the match when they played each other.)
· Where required, an Age Group shall be played in 2 pools with a semis and final. (In this instance a bronze medal will be awarded to both losing semi-finalists.)
· Should any dispute arise on matters not included in these conditions and not left specifically to the Referee, the matter shall be referred to the Tournament Director, whose decision shall be final.

TWILIGHT TEAM EVENT:
· All team captains must report to the Tournament Office 30 mins before the Event commences to collect balls and result form.
· A team will consist of up to 5 players with 2 pairs playing each match.
· Captains must exchange teams and fill out result forms prior to commencement of play.
· Before play can commence, Captains must toss and the winner will choose serve or ends.
· All matches will be played on two courts.
· A whistle will blow to signal start and finish of matches.
· All matches must cease immediately except that a point in play may be completed.
· A match will consist of 2 first to six tiebreak doubles sets against each opposing pair. The tiebreak will be a 12 point tie break, commencing at 5 games all.
· The winning captain is responsible for return of balls and result form to the Tournament office.

Method of Scoring: · Teams will be allocated points for their results in each individual match, and the top team in each category will be determined by the total match points earned over the 3 days of the competition.
· A match shall consist of a total of 8, first to 6 game sets, with a tie break being played at 5 all.
· Matches are to be decided on the number of sets won, if sets are equal then the number of games won will decide the winner.
· Winning teams shall receive 2 match points and losing team shall receive 0 match points and 1 point shall be allocated for each set won.
· If a match is tied, each team will receive 1 match point and 1 point is allocated for each set won. (Sets and games, won by each team, are to be clearly indicated on result forms.)
· A team forfeiting a match will not receive any points for games, set or match.
· Two opposing teams, failing to play a scheduled match will not receive any points for games, set or match.

In the event of wet weather or other stoppage, the following will apply:
· A cancelled match is one in which there is no play at all. In this case, both teams receive 1 match point, 4 sets and 24 games towards the final result of the round robin competition.
· An incomplete match is one where a decision has not been reached; each team will, therefore, receive 1 match point; sets and games they have won plus 0.5 of a set credit for each incomplete set and 3 games credit for each unplayed set.
· If incomplete, but winner is determined, winner shall be awarded 2 match points, and each team 0.5 credit for each incomplete set. Loser receives 0 match points.

Late Arrival: · Should 2 or 3 players of a team fail to appear at the designated playing venue within 5 minutes of the scheduled starting time of the match - any 2 players of that team must commence the match.
· Should the missing players arrive later, they may participate as follows, depending on the stage the match has reached.
o If the first set between the players initially present has commenced, the missing players can only play one set of their first doubles, the first set being forfeited.
o If the second set between the players initially present has commenced, the missing players forfeit the first 2 sets.
o If the second set between the players present has concluded, the missing players shall not be entitled to play. The remaining 6 unplayed sets are forfeited. The team receiving the forfeit shall be awarded 2 match points and the other team, 0 match points.

Substitution: · A player may be replaced during the course of a match, due to injury, or emergency, but not during the set in progress. This set is forfeited.
· Another registered Australian Masters Games player may replace the injured player in subsequent sets, provided they are of the same, or of a lower standard.
· The injury must be reported on the result form.
· If a team introduces an ineligible player to allow a match to be played, this fact and the ineligible player's name, must be recorded on the result form so that the match can be scored appropriately.

NON UMPIRED MATCHES
(a) Each player is responsible for all decisions in his/her half of the court. He/she should be completely honest on all `calls' but, if in doubt, he/she should give his/her opponent the benefit of the doubt and play the ball as good. You should not play a let
(b) It is your obligation to call all balls on your side, to help your opponent make calls when the opponent requests it, and to call against yourself (with the exception of a first service) any ball that you clearly see out on your opponent's side of the net.
(c) Any `out', `let' or `fault' call must be made immediately (ie made before either an opponent had hit the return or the return had gone out of play); otherwise the ball continues in play. `Calls' must be verbal and clearly audible to the opponent, followed by a signal if necessary. `let' may be called by any of the participating players.
(d) On all court surfaces except clay (see g below) if a player incorrectly calls a ball `out' and then realized that the ball was good, the point should be replayed on the first occasion (involuntary hindrance) and the point lost on each subsequent occasion (deliberate hindrance). In the case of a point winning shot, a let would not be played.
(e) In doubles, when returning service, the partner of the receiver should generally call the service line for him/her. The receiver should generally call the center and side service lines.
(f) If players cannot agree on the score, they should calmly discuss the points/games that are the areas of disagreement. If they cannot reach agreement they should replay only the points or games in question. All points or games which the players agree on stand. eg Two players cannot agree on whether the score is 40-15 or 30-30, but agree on the winner of the first, second and fourth points. Therefore only the third point needs to be replayed.
(g) Players are prohibited from checking the mark of the ball on their opponent's side of the court, unless invited by their opponent to do so. Ball mark inspectors are only permitted on clay courts. On clay courts if a player incorrectly calls a ball `out' and then realized that the ball was good, the player who called the `out' loses the point.
(h) Where a ball interrupts play, either by rolling/bouncing onto the court, and/or creating a visible interruption behind the court a let should be played.
(i) If a player hinders his/her opponent it can be ruled involuntary or deliberate.

(i) When a player has created an involuntary hindrance (ball falling out of pocket, hat falling off etc) the first time a `let' should be called the player should be told that any such hindrance thereafter will be ruled deliberate.

(ii) Any hindrance caused by a player that is ruled deliberate will result in the loss of a point.

ETIQUETTE
(a) When ballpersons are not available, all balls on your side of the net are your responsibility to pick up and, where appropriate, return directly to the server.

(b) The receiver should not return the first service if it is an obvious fault - let it go by or ground it.

(c) Do not enlist the aid of spectators, including friends, coaches, etc in making line calls or attempting to determine other on court matters.

(d) To avoid controversy over the score, the server should announce the game score before starting a game and the point score prior to serving for each point.

(e) Wait until a point is over before walking behind a court where a match is in progress.

(f) To retrieve a ball from another court or to return a ball to another court, wait until the players have completed a point.

(g) Do not stall, complain nor practice gamesmanship.

(h) All clay courts must be `bagged' at completion of each Match.

(i) Synthetic Grass courts must be `bagged' at the completion of each Event.