PREFACE—APPEALS TO CHALLENGE BOARDS

If you have any problems with the following rules please contact Lee Rhodes

1.  The G.A.C.C. Challenge boards are for the purpose of playing tennis.  Forfeits should not be taken personally as the constant delaying of play ties up the entire board.  Any and all problems with regard to rule's interpretation should be reported to the Tennis Challenge Board Chairperson. 

2.   Should a team/player disagree with a decision of a challenge board chairperson, that team /player may appeal the decision to the Tennis Committee Chairperson.  At this point of an appeal, both teams/players involved will be frozen (as if they were both turned over).

3.  Teams/players will be frozen throughout the appeal process.

4.  Appeals must be submitted in writing, stating the rule and/or incident in question, teams/players involved, and the date of occurrence.

5.  The decision of the Tennis Committee Chairperson will be final.

6.  The G.A.C.C. Board of Directors will NOT consider or rule on challenge board appeals.

G.A.C.C. CHALLENGE BOARD RULES

1.  Proper tennis attire is required to be worn at all times on courts and spectators are to stay off the court surfaces, and please be respectful of all CLUB, TENNIS, AND CHALLENGE BOARD RULES.

2.  Any player wishing to get on the challenge board must submit their name to the Challenge Board Chairperson.  Players must be ineligible for JR. JCCA for the doubles board and be over 15 years of age for the singles board.

3.  New teams can get on the board in September -- one (1) day before the board opens for existing teams. 

4.  A new team is defined as one that did not play together during the last challenge season.

5.  All players can reserve 2 hours of court time for a doubles challenge match on the challenge courts (courts 1 and 2) 72 hours in advance at 6:00 p.m. on weekdays, and 12:00 p.m. on weekends with one phone call.  Only one person of the match must sign the book in the office.  The person that makes the court reservation is placed responsible for the court and any fines incurred due to any rule violations.

6.  To place a challenge, a team/player must notify the Challenge Board Chairperson by phone only.  The challenging team/player has 24 hours to contact their opponent or his/her spouse.  At this time, the challenged team/player has 48 hours to give possible dates the challenge can be played.  If the challenging team has not heard back from the challenged team within 48 hours, the challenged team must notify the Challenge Board Chairperson in order to be re-issued another challenge.  The challenged team will be put on a loss from that date.  If the challenging team is unable to be issued another challenge they will resume the same grace period they had at the time the challenge was issued.  Teams are encouraged to call both team members when issuing a challenge, especially if they are unable to talk with the initial person they try.  Teams are  encouraged to stay in contact with their own team members during challenges, just because they did not call you, doesn’t mean they didn’t call your partner.

7.  Failure of the challenging team/player to notify the Challenge Board Chairperson within 72 hours of not hearing from the challenged team/player within 48 hours constitutes a relaxation of the rules on your part, at which time you must try to work something out with the challenged team to complete the challenge.

8.  Men’s and women’s board players may challenge from 1 to 4 positions up.

9.  Any team/player withdrawing from the challenge board may not challenge back for a period of 30 days of active board play.  Turning Over – Whenever a team requests this status, it must be due to the following reasons only:  a) illness  b) injury.  Any other requests for “turning over” must be sanctioned by the Tennis Committee Chairperson.  Any team member becoming inactive from the board due to pregnancy has 90 days leave of absence.  Any extension must be approved by the Tennis Committee Chairperson.  Partners of these players remain eligible for tournament and league play.  The injured player cannot play tournaments or league play sanctioned by G.A.C.C.  All teams/players returning from inactive status return on a loss for a period of one week.  The minimum turn-over time is 7 days and the team automatically returns on a loss.

10.  If a team/player has a forced inactivity, such as illness or injury, they may remain on the board for a period of 30 days.  After 30 days they must return to active status on a 7 day loss.  At which time, if challenged, they must play or forfeit the match or withdraw from the board.  Any team not playing a match in 90 days must appear before the Tennis Committee Chairperson.

11.  A new team/player may initially challenge in at any open position.  If this new team/player loses, forfeits, or withdraws the challenge, they automatically drop to the last position on the board and may challenge up as soon as they wish or wait 30 days and challenge anywhere on the board.  If the match is not played because of challenged team/player, the challenged team/player will draw a loss and shall be prohibited from league play for a period of 14 days.  The new team/player will be placed back on the waiting list to be issued another challenge anywhere on the board.

12.  If a team/player is on the waiting list cannot be reached within a 24 hour period, they will retain their position on the waiting list and the next team/player in line may be issued the challenge.

13.  Challenges are not automatic.  When a team on the list chooses not to challenge the first team/player available, they retain their position on the waiting list.

14.  The challenged team/player will select a minimum of three dates and times for the challenge match to be played.  The challenged team/player cannot specify the hour of the match; they can only state morning (before noon), afternoon (prior to 7:00 p.m.), or evening (after 7:00 p.m.).  One night time week date and one weekend date must be given.

15.  If rain causes the match not to be played on the challenge dates given, each team is obligated to play the match on the days remaining in the challenge.

16.  In no event will the challenge time be extended beyond 14 days.  Failure to complete the challenge within the 14 days will result in a double forfeit, a loss to both teams.  Any team may forfeit their match to the other team provided that it is undisputed.  The team forfeiting the match will receive a loss, while the other team will receive a win.  If the challenging team receives a forfeit from the challenged team, the challenging team will move ahead of the challenged team on the board.

17.  The 15 minute default rule applies as do all other USTA rules.

18.  The challenging team/player will be required to reserve the court and furnish a NEW can of USTA approved yellow tennis balls.

19.  All matches will consist of the best 2 out of 3 sets.  At 6-games all, a 12-point tiebreaker will be played.  A twelve (12) point tiebreaker must be played for the third set if the two teams split sets and there is less than 15 minutes of court time left and no other court or court time is immediately available.

20.  The winning team/player is responsible for reporting the results to the Tennis Board Chairperson within 24 hours of their win.  Failure to do so will result in a loss to all teams/players involved.

21.  The winning team/player cannot be challenged for a period of 10 days from the date of the win.

22.  The losing team/player cannot issue a challenge for a period of one (1) week from the date of the loss except when a new team/player goes to the bottom of the board

 

CHALLENGE BOARD RULES HIGHLIGHTS

3.   The challenged team has 48 hours to give possible dates the challenge can be played.

4.  Men’s and women’s board players may challenge from 1 to 4 positions up.

5.  A new team may initially challenge in at any open position.

6.  Challenges are not automatic.  You do not have to challenge a team if you don’t want to.

7.  The challenged team will select a minimum of three dates and times (morning, afternoon, evening) for the challenge match to be played.

8.  One night time week date and one weekend date must be given.

9.  If rain causes the match not to be played on the challenge dates given, each team is obligated to play the match on the days remaining in the challenge.

10.  In no event will the challenge time be extended beyond 14 days.  Failure to complete the challenge within the 14 days will result in a double forfeit, a loss to both teams.

11.  Any team may forfeit their match to the other team provided that the forfeit is undisputed.

12.  The 15 minute default rule applies as do all other USTA rules.

13.  The challenging team will be required to reserve the court and furnish a NEW can of USTA approved yellow tennis balls.

14.  All matches will consist of the best 2 out of 3 sets.  At 6-games all, a 12-point tiebreaker will be played.

15.  A twelve (12) point tiebreaker must be played for the third set if the two teams split sets, there is less than 15 minutes of court time left, and no other court or court time is immediately available.

16.  The winning team is responsible for reporting the results to the Tennis Board Chairperson within 24 hours of their win.  Failure to do so will result in a loss to all teams/players involved.

17.  The winning team has 10 days' grace from the date of the win.

18.  The losing team has a one (1) week (7 days) penalty from the date of the loss except when a new team goes to the bottom of the board.