FHTC Doubles League Tournament Rules
- The Draw:
Players signed up as teams or as individuals. Players who signed up individually were randomly paired up with another individual, names were pulled out of a hat. As well the positioning of where each team is on the draw was random with teams picked out of a hat and numbered and then placed in the draw in that order from top to bottom.
It’s a double elimination tournament, you can still win the championship if you lose your first match, but once you will lose 2 matches or if you lose in the finals your team is eliminated.
- Scheduling
For each draw there is a timeframe and schedule for you to complete your match. It is your responsibility to get in touch with your opponents to set up a day and time for your match. Please contact your opponents as soon as you know who you are playing to set up your match. By signing up to the tournament you made the commitment to play about 1 match per month, and a minimum of 2 matches.
Each match has a time window for it to be completed. This window is approximately 25 days in length, For example from June 1st to June 25th, during this time each team should contact each other to set up a good time for their match. If after 25 days the match has not been played, then the tournament commissioner will contact each team to try and set up a date for the match. Both teams will be given an additional usually 8 day window to get their match in. During this 8 day window the tournament commissioner will set a day and time for their match based on response from the 2 teams. If both teams show no effort in trying to get their match in, then both will forfeit. (Read double forfeit rules below) If one team is able to set up a date or dates for a match and the other team cannot play at all, then the team that cannot play will forfeit and the other team will advance.
There are some exceptions with the time windows, and the tournament commissioner will let you know if your match has to be completed by an earlier time based on the draw, and will let you know if you have a shorter time window. The tournament Commissioner will be flexible but has the final say regarding any scheduling conflicts or forfeit situations that arise.
In the event of a double forfeit where both teams are not putting an effort in to get the match in.
1st round: Coin Toss to determine who is winner and who is loser
Losers bracket, 2nd round and beyond: Both teams are recorded as a loser and both teams are eliminated from the tournament as neither team advances forward, regardless if it’s your 1st or 2nd loss.
Here is a general rough breakdown of how the draws will work in terms of dates. (It can vary)
1st round June
2nd round July
Semi finals August
Finals September or October
- Tournament set up
Each draw has its own set up based on the amount of teams in each draw. Team names were picked out of a hat to set the draw. Each tournament is a double elimination tournament, meaning you are not eliminated till you lose 2 matches, or if you lose in the finals. This way each team is guaranteed a minimum of 2 matches. If you lose your first match then you go to the loser’s bracket, but then can win all your matches and work your way back up to the finals.
- Match Length
10 minute warm up for matches are highly recommended to ensure you finish your match in time.
All matches are to be played using regular tennis rules, except that instead of playing a best of 3 sets (to keep game times reasonable), games will be decided on a “FIRST to win 8 games” basis. If the match score is tied at 7 games to 7 games, then play a regular style tie breaker up to 7 points to determine the final winner (1-2-2-2, etc). This will help us keep games under 1 hour or around 1 hour in length.
- Scoring
Matches are up to 8 games. First team to win 8 games wins . Please email your scores to Michael at fhtcleague@hotmail.com
For Doubles league play, matches are up to 8 games, however the rule is if you get removed from the court due to a future reservation or your time is up on the court, then the 4 players should finish the match on the next available court that day. If the 4 players do not have time to finish the match, due to rain, darkness or any other reason then the doubles match should be continued and finished another day with the match continuing on the new day with the exact score that was present at the time the match was stopped.
- Other basic rules
a)Coin toss or up or down on racquet or voluntary consensus to decide who serves first
b)Change sides after every odd game in the match, and after every 6 points in the tiebreaker
c)All other standard tennis rules apply
- Team Changes:
There can be no changes to any of the players playing on each doubles team’s roster. Only the 2 players listed may play the match, there are no exceptions for vacation or injuries. However, before a team plays their first match in the draw, they may contact the Tournament Commissioner to change a player in the doubles team. But once any 2 members has played one point in the particular doubles draw, no roster changes can be
made for that season. All players playing must be F.H.T.C members.
- Injuries:
If one player gets injured during a match (e.g., tweaked ankle, knee pain), each team is allowed one medical time out per match which is no longer than ten minutes. If after ten minutes the player cannot continue to play, then his or her team will have to forfeit the match.
All other rules or situations that will arise can be asked to the Tournament Commissioner at fhtcleague@hotmail.com. He will make the final decisions in case of any problem or discrepancy.