REGULATIONS FOR THE CONDUCT OF OFFICAL TOURNAMENTS APPROVED BY TENNIS IRELAND SECTION 1 – General 1.1. General Conditions 1.2. Definitions 1.3. Powers of Tennis Ireland 1.4. Tennis Ireland Grading System SECTION 2 – Application for Permit 2.1. Application for Tournament SECTION 3 – Entry Form and Prize Money 3.1. Prospectus 3.2. Entry Form 3.3. Prize Money SECTION 4 – Powers & Duties of the Tournament Committee 4.1. Tournament Committee 4.2. Tournament Accounts 4.3. Referee & Umpires 4.4. Tennis Ireland Pass SECTION 5 – Rights & Obligations of Competitors 5.1. Competitors 5.2. Fair Play 5.3. Code of Conduct 5.4. Draw to be Public 5.5. Warm-Up 5.6. Clothing 5.7. No of matches & Player Rest 5.8. Injury time 5.9. Toilet Break 5.10. Matches with no umpire 5.11. Complaints 5.12. Right of Appeal Complaints 5.13. Other Competitions SECTION 6 – Courts and Balls 6.1. Court Surface 6.2. Court Equipment 6.3. The Ball SECTION 7 – The Draw 7.1. Seeding the Draw 7.2. Method of Draw 7.3. Omissions 7.4. Division of Events 7.5. Score in a game 7.6. Playing of advantage, tie break or short 7.7. Alternative scoring methods 7.8. Procedures in case of adverse conditions 7.9. Handicap matches SECTION 8 – Appendices 8.1. Qualifying and Main Draws 8.2. Definitions 8.3. The Rated Draw 8.4. Rules for Under 9 and Under 10 Tournaments 8.5. Handicap regulations 8.6. Code of Conduct 8.7. Withdrawals and Code of Conduct Offences 8.8. Referees Report Form 8.9. Withdrawal Form 8.10. Prize Money Distribution 8.11. Guidelines on use of Photographic and Filming Equipment at Official Events and Practice Sessions 8.12. Junior Tournament Categories Requirements 8.13. Irish Junior Ranking Points- SECTION 1: GENERAL 1.1. GENERAL CONDITIONS The Rules of Tennis Ireland, the Rules of Tennis and the Regulations hereinafter contained, shall be observed in all Tournaments in respect of which an official permit has been issued by Tennis Ireland. 1.2. DEFINITIONS Except where otherwise is stated, every reference in these Regulations to the masculine includes the feminine gender, to a competitor or player includes a pair, and to an entry includes the entry of a single competitor or a pair. “ITN” (International Tennis Number) is a description of playing standard based on assessment and/or results against other players. It gets updated according to the ITF Calculation Formula (04-2004) at the end of the season (November). “Player Ranking” in 12 & Under, 14 & Under, 16 & Under, 18 & Under and Senior (18+) age groups is determined by the best 6 tournament results over a rolling 12 month period. Results are processed on Tuesday following the final publication of the tournament using TTP (Tennis Tournament Planner). “Tournament Category” Tennis Ireland sanctioned tournaments are Categorised, ( Irish Championships being the highest) and count towards a player rankings and ratings (ITN).Tournament Categories are published on www.tennisireland.ie. They are reviewed at the end of the year and modified accordingly. 12 & Under is the age designation for players who are 11 or under on the 31st of December of the previous year. Similar age definitions apply for 14 & Under, 16 and Under and 18 and Under. 1.3. POWERS OF TENNIS IRELAND If a tournament is in breach of these Regulations it is liable to disciplinary action by the Provincial Branch or Tennis Ireland. This action may include the imposition of a fine, downgrading or refusal of a permit for the Tournament or any other action that the Branch or Tennis Ireland deems appropriate. Tennis Ireland reserves the right to modify the rules and regulations at any time. 1.4. TENNIS IRELAND GRADING SYSTEM All tournaments that run Graded events shall do so in accordance with the regulations herein pertaining to the Tennis Ireland Grading/Rating system or –ITN (International Tennis Number) SECTION 2: APPLICATION FOR TOURNAMENT PERMIT 2.1. TOURNAMENT APPLICATION 2.1.1. Any affiliated organisations wishing to hold an Official tournament shall make application to the Honorary Secretary of the relevant Provincial Branch no later than 31st August in the preceding year. Late applications may not be accepted. 2.1.2. Such applications shall be on the form duly prescribed for the time being, which form shall be circulated by Tennis Ireland or its affiliated Provincial Branches to each affiliated organisation not later than 31st July. 2.1.3. After 31st August in each year, the Provincial Branch shall draw up a Provincial schedule of tournaments for the succeeding year and shall forward these to Tennis Ireland Competitions Convenor no later than 30th September. 2.1.4. By the 31st October the Tennis Ireland Competitions Committee will have reviewed each Provincial Calendar and draw up the National Calendar and sent this to each Provincial Branch for comment. 2.1.5. By 15th November each Provincial Branch shall have returned any comments to the Competitions Committee. 2.1.6. By 30th November, the Competitions Committee shall arrange for the publication of the tournament Calendar for the succeeding year and shall arrange for the circulation of this list to those affiliated organisations which have applied for such tournaments. At the same time the Provincial Branch will issue official permits to the affiliated organisations which have been granted dates in the succeeding year’s calendar. 2.1.7. In making application for the holding of a tournament, each affiliated organisation must pay to its Provincial Branch the permit fee for the time being in operation in respect of the category of Tournament which it is proposed to hold. 2.1.8. Tennis Ireland shall have power to prohibit the holding of any tournament which has not been sanctioned in the manner herein before described. SECTION 3: ENTRY FORM, PROSPECTUS AND PRIZE MONEY An entry form, incorporating a prospectus, shall be issued by the Committee of every Official Tournament, which prospectus shall specify the conditions of the Competition. A copy of the entry form shall be sent or a Word or[MK1][MK2] pdf file Version shall be e-mailed forthwith to the Honorary Secretary of the Provincial Branch and, in the case of a Tournament which is being held for the first time, a proof of these documents to such Honorary Secretary for approval by the Provincial Branch prior to its issue to the Public. 3.1. PROSPECTUS The prospectus shall include the following particulars: 3.1.1. The name, dates and full address of the tournament site with the telephone number of the tournament or the Referee’s office, and the name(s) of any sponsor(s). 3.1.2. The Internet web address where the draws will be published. 3.1.3. The Category of the tournament and that the Tournament is sanctioned by Tennis Ireland and will be conducted under the Rules of Tennis and the Rules and Regulations of Tennis Ireland and that the Tennis Ireland Code of Conduct will apply. 3.1.4. The names of the Tournament Committee and Referee. 3.1.5. Players are prohibited from entering more than one Tournament taking place during the same period. (See rule 5.1.2) 3.1.6. The amount of entrance fees per event, per player and that no entry may be accepted without the appropriate entry fee. 3.1.7. The value of the prizes for each Open event subject to Section 3.3.1 3.1.8. The place of receiving, and the date and hour of close, of entries. 3.1.9. The days and dates, in full, and the hours of commencement of play and, where relevant, the earliest date of commencement of play in specific events. 3.1.10. The date, time and place of the draw, which will be open to accepted entrants. The deadline by which a player may withdraw without penalty. 3.1.11. The number and description of the courts available for use. 3.1.12. The ball to be used, which must conform to the Rules of Tennis. 3.1.13. A list of all events to be included, together with any restrictions on entry (such as age), any maximum numbers in any event, and if the holding of an event is conditional on the size of the entry, the minimum number of such entries required. 3.1.14. Any maximum number of events that players are allowed to enter, together with any restrictions on combinations of events. 3.1.15. Restriction as to clothing to be worn. (See also 5.6.) 3.1.16. That all competitors are either registered members of Tennis Ireland (TI PIN) or agree to become so at the tournament. A player or Tournament Organiser can register online at https://ti.tournamentsoftware.com/ 3.1.17. That no complaint in connection with the conduct of the Tournament can be entertained by the Committee unless made in writing and lodged with the Tournament Committee within 48 hours of the occurrence of the cause of same and no application for leave to appeal against any decision of the Committee can be entertained by the Provincial Branch unless made in writing and lodged with the Honorary Secretary of the Provincial Branch within ten days of the receipt of that decision. The Tennis Ireland Complaint, Objection and Disciplinary Rules and Procedures will be followed. 3.1.18. For events containing an Irish title, application for leave to appeal should be lodged with Tennis Ireland within 10 days of the Tournament Committee decision. 3.1.19. The number and type of sets, whether Advantage or No Advantage games are to be played, and if a match tie- break may be used instead of an advantage final set in each event.