Junior Team Tennis League

RULES & REGULATIONS

1.0. Definitions
1.1. TIES:  A "tie" is used to describe the weekly contest between two teams. For example Team Purple vs. Team Blue on 15th September is a tie.

1.2. MATCHES:  Within each weekly "tie" there are six "matches". Two doubles matches (Doubles #1 and Doubles #2) and four singles matches (Singles #1, #2, #3, #4). Each player will be guaranteed two matches each tie - once singles and one doubles.
*unless your manager chooses to play more than 4 people each week, in that case the 4 singles and 2 doubles will be shared amongst players.

1.3. SCORING: 
For 12/U, 14/U, 17/U matches will be played as 2 short sets of first to 4 games. Should any set reach 3 games all (3-3) then a short tiebreak to 5 points will be played (1 deciding point at 4 points all). If sets are tied at 1-1 at the conclusion of the second set, a standard Match Tiebreak (first to 7 points, two point advantage at 6 points all) will be played to determine the winner. 

For 10/U matches will be the first to 6 games with tie breaker at 5 all (standard Match Tiebreak first to 7 points, two point advantage at 6 points all). Sudden death deuce for all matches (no advantage). When it is deuce the receiving team chooses which side to return from. There will be two doubles and four singles per tie. For doubles the only rule is that the highest ranked player playing doubles must play the number 1 doubles. With singles 1 plays 1, 2 plays 2 etc.

All JTTL formats play with Lets. Let – a serve is called a let when the ball hits the net cord but still lands in the service court. Such a serve is not considered a fault and the server may repeat the service attempt. A ball that hits the net cord but lands outside the service box is still a fault.

2.0. Age Group Eligibility
2.1. All junior players (boys and girls) are eligible. The age groups and divisions for 2023 league are as follows:

• 10 & U (Born on or after July 1st 2012)
• 12 & U (Born on or after July 1st 2010)
• 14 & U (Born on or after July 1st 2008)
• 17 & U (Born on or after July 1st 2005)

2.2. Written permission from JTT Management must be provided in order to play above your age group

2.3. No player is allowed to play up two age groups.

2.4. You are only allowed to register for one Team/Age group.

2.5. If a A category team win or come second place in their age group and wish to play up they need to play up in the A category.

3.0. Roster
3.1. Launch Day: All individual entries placed into a team and new teams must attend Launch Day.

3.2. Your team manager is your point of contact for the league. The team manager will be in charge of rostering players for each tie. There are 5-8 players in your team and each player should play a minimum of 4 ties during the season. If you are unable to make your scheduled week, please contact your team manager as soon as possible. DO NOT contact him/her on the day of the match. It is important to give your team manager enough time to find a replacement. Your manager will do their best to roster you on again to ensure you get your allocated matches. Should your team not be able to compete on any given week, JTT will give you the option of contacting the opposition to propose an alternate time/day. In such a case the courts and schedule becomes the responsibility of the two teams involved. Should the opposition not agree to a reschedule then the original date scheduled by JTT will remain the official date.

3.3. Times of Play. There will be 6 weeks of rostered matches. *Some divisions will only play 5 weeks of rostered matches due to the format of the draw.

• 10/U and 12/U will play all matches on Sundays. *Some teams will have 1 or 2 matches on Saturday due to court restrictions.
• 14/U and 17/U will play all matches on Saturdays.

You will be told your draw at the start of the season. Your time slot will vary each week but the day will stay the same*. 

*The above schedule is subject to change depending on court availability.
**There will be only a limited number of matches played on Saturday morning.

3.4. 4-8 players must be rostered to play each week. Players cannot play out of order of rank, e.g. if you have your number 2, 3, 5, 7 playing that day then the number 2 becomes number 1 for that day and so on, with the number 7 playing number 4.

3.5. There will be two doubles and four singles per tie. The only doubles rule is that the highest ranked of the 4 players you choose to play doubles, must play #1 doubles. The remaining 3 players can play any order in the doubles. If your number 1 ranked player is playing singles, there is no obligation for them to play doubles as well. With singles the players must play in order of ranking. A player can play either a singles or/and a doubles. 

*Please find below examples of how the rostering system can work for a team of 8 players.

4.0. Team Make Up and Player rankings
4.1. All players must be ranked in order of ability (from #1-8) on the entry form. Team make up, player rankings within the teams and picking the correct grade for each team; will be done by each club, school, coaching group or team manager. This can be done by either the coaches (if available), challenge matches, STA rankings (or a combination of all three). Alternatively, JTT management is available to assist.

4.2. Ranking Players: You are responsible for making sure your players are ranked in order of ability, based upon your knowledge of their tennis skills, from #1 (highest performing player on the team) to #6 (or #8 if applicable).  If you are uncertain, please enquire with JTT management and/or the onsite coordinator. All teams will be listed in order of ranking. 

You can make changes to the rankings within the first two weeks only (before the start of week 3). Team managers are able to update the rankings online. You can also email the new rankings to jtt@ufit.com.sg. Any changes of the player rankings must be updated online or officially acknowledged by the JTT Management by Thursday before match start.

4.3. A team consists of minimum 5 players and maximum up to 8 players. You can add players to your team up until 3rd week of competition starts.

5.0. On-Site Coordinator
5.1. There will be an onsite coordinator at every match, employed by JTT. This person will be your teams point of contact for each tie (other than your team manager). All issues or conflict during the tie will be managed by the onsite coordinator. 

6.0. JTTL Project Manager
6.1. Communication regarding the roster and weekly matches should be with your team manager. Other communication regarding the JTTL please email jtt@ufit.com.sg.
For all queries on the weekend please contact the Head Onsite Coordinator directly - Goran Ahlstrand (9646 5703) / Angela Lim (9005 0455).

7.0. Team Sheet and Balls
7.1. The onsite coordinator will have all balls and team score sheets at the site. Each tie will have 6 new balls (3 for each court). If you lose a ball the onsite coordinator will have extra balls. All balls must be returned to the onsite coordinator at the end of the tie. Managers do not need to bring or fill out separate team sheet. 

7.2 Division 10/U will use Green dot balls and 12/U-17/U will use normal balls.

8.0. Match Day
8.1. Timeliness is critical. Please arrive at the courts at least 20 minutes before your scheduled time. You may warm up on court if not in use. Also, the manager/representative must arrive 10-15 minutes early to give the line up to the onsite coordinator.

9.0. Rules of Tennis
9.1. All matches are to abide by The International Tennis Federation Rules of Tennis (https://www.itftennis.com/medi...). We also follow the United States Tennis Association guidelines "Guide to Fair Play and the Unwritten Rules of Tennis".

9.2. 10/U SERVING: All 10B players are allowed to do an underarm serve on the second serve only (and must still land in the correct service box) - This can be either on the full or bounce and hit. 10A players must serve as per normal. 

9.3. No coaching and interference from anybody outside the court. Managers/parents are not to sit court side (at change of ends).  

10.0. Scoring / Self-Umpiring
10.1. Players will call their own lines and keep score. It is important that lines are called honestly, and to make any call that is in doubt in favor of their opponent.

10.2. The coordinator has the right to overrule if he/she sees an obvious error. 

10.3. Should players continually disagree over line calls the player recognizing the problem should immediately stop the match. The player should walk to the net and raise their hand to ask for assistance of the coordinator. The onsite coordinator may go on court to umpire or oversee. The players should continue to score however the coordinator will only intervene where necessary. NO PARENTS OR MANAGERS MUST BE ON COURT OR INVOLVED IN ANY WAY WITH LINE CALLS. We understand players make mistakes or are unsure, but that is part of tennis and learning.

10.4. Scoreboards should be provided on each court where possible. Players need to make clear calls or use hand signals to indicate a ball which is out of play or a ball that landed in play.

10.5. 10/U: We want to encourage the players to do their own scoring, the more we encourage them to do it the quicker they will learn. They will make mistakes, that’s part of learning. The coordinator will be the person to decide if the children need assistance. If this happens a parent can go on the court to assist. They will call out the score and only overrule a line call if it is obviously wrong. This parent MUST NOT BE a parent of either child playing. The coordinator will allocate. The coordinator will not go on court to score.

10.6. Obvious foot faults, when observed by the players, should be brought to the attention of coordinator by the player who suspects a foot fault has been committed. The onsite coordinator will then observe the match.

10.7. Score Dispute. In any disagreement over score, players are to go back to the last score they agreed on, and resume play from that point. Help establishing the rules/solving disputes is the role of the coordinator. No managers/parents to be involved.

10.8. Disputes. If there are any disputes on or off court this must be settled by the coordinator. The coordinator will report to management any unsportsmanlike conduct from managers/parents. Management reserves the right to deduct points or default matches on a case by case basis.

10.9. Players will change ends after the 1st, 3rd, 5th, etc game and continue play as soon as possible. Water breaks are permitted in this changeover.

10.10. At the end of each match, the players will report the score to the coordinators and the score will be recorded.

11.0. Division/Play Offs tie-breakers
11.1. Should there be a draw in a division the following will be used to break the tie:

Head to head result (2 team tie)
Total ties won among tied teams (tie between more than 2 teams)
Total matches won among tied teams
Total games won among the tied teams

11.2.  Should there be a draw (3-3 in matches and a tie in games) in a 3rd/4th Play Offs, Semi Finals or Finals the following will be used to break the tie:

The number one players will play a Super Tie break first to 10 points. If 9-9 you have to win by two points. 

12.0. Injuries During The Tie
12.1. There shall be no substitution of players once the singles of a tie has started. Should a listed player become sick or injured during the doubles then the singles lineup can still be altered. Players still must play in order of rank.

12.2. If a player defaults or retires during a match the score is counted as 8-0 or 6-0 for 10U regardless of how many games the retiring player has won. In case a player needs an injury time out he will have 5min to decide if he can continue the match or not.

13.0. Match Defaults
13.1. It is the responsibility of the team to field a full team. JTT is not responsible if a team defaults matches or ties. After all attempts have been made to field a full team and the team still needs to default matches or default ties the team needs to inform the JTT management.

14.0. Late Arrival/Not Enough Players/No Show
14.1. DUE TO SOME PLAYERS ABUSING THIS GUIDELINE, STRICT RULES AND CONSEQUENCES WILL APPLY IF YOU ARE LATE (all timings are monitored by the coordinator). Between 1 - 15 mins late from the time your match is called by the official coordinator is a grace period. 15 mins and one second you are down 2-0 and no warm up. At the stroke of 30 mins the Doubles match is defaulted or Singles match, if applicable. 

14.2. If a manager/players are aware a player is coming but will be 25 minutes late, he/she can ask the coordinator 15 minutes prior to the tie starting to change the match schedule and put singles on instead of doubles. This decision is at the sole discretion of the coordinator and must be done prior to the tie starting.

14.3. If a team arrives for a match with an insufficient number of players and are not expecting a full team, they must default matches from the bottom of the lineup, i.e. A team arriving with only three players must default the teams fourth singles and second doubles. All attempts will be made to ensure all players get matches, and therefore if playing with 3 players, some players will be expected to play more matches, to give the other team all matches. (scores will not be counted for points).

14.4. It is possible to play with 3 players. You default the bottom singles and doubles (4th singles and 2&4 doubles). You lost 2 points for those two ties only. You then play all matches, and extra matches to ensure the other players from the other team gets their matches, although only the 1,2,3 singles and 1&3 doubles point will count.

15.0. Match Interference
15.1. No racket or verbal abuse or unsportsmanlike conduct will be tolerated at any time. The coordinator will be on site monitoring at all times. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) penalty system is strictly enforced during all matches - for match interference, verbal abuse, and/or coaching during matches this penalty system calls for: 
In order a) verbal warning, b) point penalty, c) game penalty, d) default. This rule is applicable for playing participants and managers/parents/coaches/spectators/alike. 

16.0 Snacks and Drinks
16.1. It is the players' responsibility to provide their own beverages and snacks for each of their matches. There are water fountains on site. Remaining hydrated is critical. Please ensure your player has an adequate supply of water and/or sports drink with them on court during their match.

17.0. Attire
17.1. Appropriate tennis attire and non-marking shoes must be worn at all times. We strongly recommend that caps are worn at all times during sunny weather.

18.0. Warm Up and Breaks
18.1. You will have a 5-minute warm up with your opponent prior to starting your match. No toilet breaks during matches unless an emergency. Coordinators have the right to limit the warm up as well as the break in between the matches as necessary. A player must be prepared to play his/her next match with 5 minutes of rest  (to refill water or/and quick toilet break).

19.0. Order of Play
19.1. Doubles will be played first followed by the singles as players become available. Players who are not playing doubles may be called as courts become available, so we recommend all the players to arrive at the start of their time slot. Coordinators have the right to call upon matches as courts and players become available.

19.2. During a tie in the case of one or both of the teams having 5 players or more. The singles matches will be rostered on based on ranking of the players from the lowest to the highest.

20.0. Ranking of Players
20.1. All players must be ranked in order of ability (#1-8) on the entry form. Four players are rostered to play each week for however your manager can chose to play everyone each week with some playing just one singles or one doubles.

20.2. Players cannot play out of order of rankings, e.g. if you have your number 2, 3, 5, 6 playing that day then the number 2 becomes number 1 for that day and so on, with the number 6 playing number 4. If there is a dispute or concern over the ranking you receive, it can be officially challenged by team managers and adjusted by JTT any time before the 3rd week of competition. Please discuss with your manager and/or onsite coordinator.

21.0. Rained out/Long Matches
21.1. Every endeavor must be made in the event of rain to complete the tie on the date set. It is up to the coordinator to decide if the match is to stop due to rain. If at least four of the matches are complete (with two doubles and two singles fully completed) then the tie is considered completed and the final point scores will be calculated. If you are in the middle of a team tie and your team has completed four matches then the remaining uncompleted match/matches will not be rescheduled. The remaining points for matches not completed or not started will be evenly split. If after splitting the points for matches not completed or not started the overall score in the tie is even (i.e. no winner) then the winner of the tie will be the team with the most total games won (a tiebreaker counts a one game), including games won in any unfinished matches. If the overall score is still even after a games count back, then each team will be awarded 4 points.

21.2. Only the onsite coordinator will cancel the tie. Ties that are cancelled and that have not completed four matches will be re-scheduled. JTTL has reserved the following times to reschedule matches: Saturdays 6-8pm and Sundays at 5:30-8pm at UWC Dover. The JTTL coordinator will recommend and work closely with the managers for all teams to agree on the new official time slot. The rained out time slots are subject to change depending on court availability. Only when all attempts are made to reschedule are unsuccessful, JTTL will we award each team 4 points.

21.3. In case that both managers agree on alternative time and date to play or JTTL are not able to provide a rained out time slot at UWC Dover the courts and schedule becomes the responsibility of the two teams involved. Once the new match date and timing is set the teams needs to inform the JTT management and JTT will confirm the new official match date.

21.4. If a team cannot field a team on the new official match day and the other team can, then full points will be awarded to the team that can. If any of the players are not able to play on the new official rescheduled match timing these matches will be forfeited and full points will be rewarded to the other team. 

21.5. If a rescheduled tie gets rained out, with no completed matches, for a second time, the points for that tie will be equally divided (4 points to each team). However all completed matches for that tie will count as points.

21.6. As long as NO matches have started the teams are allowed to change their line up. 

21.7. NB: All participants for the tie are required to go to the site at scheduled starting time regardless of weather. The onsite coordinator will be onsite regardless of weather prior to the tie starting to determine if the courts are playable.

21.8. NB: If a match cannot be finished due to long matches prior and the courts are being used for another tie, and there is not a court to complete the match on at that time, then the tie must stop and the points for that match and subsequent matches not completed will be split between the teams. If the last match to go on is to start with less than 45mins remaining of the time of the tie i.e. 9-12 or 12-3 then the match will be played first to 6 games (for 12/U-17/U).

21.9. If the coordinator foresees issues with rain or other circumstances that may prevent the tie finishing he/she may adjust the match to be played first to 6 games (for 12/U-17/U).

22.0. Haze Policy
We go by the NEA reading. A useful app is NEA My ENV. National Environment Agency (NEA) We will cancel any match if it goes over 100. 

• PSI 24hr NEA Levels
  0 - 100 Matches continue as normal
  >100 All are matches cancelled  

• 1hr PM 2.5 NEA Levels
  0 - 55 Matches continue as normal
  >55 All are matches cancelled

We will be looking at the different regions (North, South, East, West and Central). So for example if you are playing at UWC Dover we will look at the south reading and for the SAS we will look at the north reading.

If a match needs to be canceled we will send out an email one hour before scheduled timing. So for example, for matches starting at 9am the message will go out at 8am if it's canceled. We will contact each team on Monday the following week with the new timing of the reschedule matches.   

23.0. Points System
23.1. One point will be rewarded for each match won. An additional two points will be rewarded for the overall winning team (team with the most matches won). If it is 3-3 in matches then it is a count back of games. If it is a tie in games then each team will awarded 4 points. The points table and full results for each tie will be updated by Wednesday of each week and will be available for viewing at www.jttsingapore.com (click on Match Groups under main menu).

24.0. Results
24.1. Upon completion, team sheets must be signed by managers and kept by the onsite coordinator. The coordinator will communicate results to the Project Director. The winning player must give the results of each match to the coordinator. If you do not have a coordinator or you are playing a rained off match the winning team must scan (or take a picture) and send the team sheet to JTT management - jtt@ufit.com.sg

25.0. Complaints
25.1. If there are any complaints regarding your tie or any other areas, they must be received via email to (jtt@ufit.com.sg) who shall act further if deemed necessary. JTT Management reserves the right to to make adjustments to format, and all decisions if deemed necessary.