The Cal Intramural Sports Tennis Ladder Rules are based on the USTA laws. Some of the more important laws as well as laws unique to the Cal Intramural Sports Program are included herein. All players are responsible for reading this document prior to participating in the Tennis Ladder.
Good sportsmanship is essential in Intramural Sports contests. If there is a sportsmanship problem during a match please report it to the Intramural Sports Office. Players may be suspended if the conduct is verified and determined to be unacceptable within Intramural Sportsmanship standards. While on suspension, the participant is not allowed to participate in any Intramural Sports-sponsored sport, special event, activity, or IFC Sport. Participants suspended for longer than one game may appeal their suspension to the Intramural Sports Council. The Intramural Sports Council meets on an as needed basis. Intramural Sports Council meetings take place at the availability of Council members. Call (510) 643-6822 to schedule an appeal hearing.
The ladder is intended to give players the opportunity to play singles with a variety of players in a competitive, but friendly atmosphere.
Intramural Sports does not provide any Tennis equipment. Players must provide their own racquets and bring tennis balls to each match.
The challenger of the match is responsible for reserving the tennis court. After challenging another player who accepts, both players must find a time that works best for both of them. The challenger may select a time and location of the match; however, the time and location must be mutually agreeable with both players. Then, the challenger is expected to reserve the court one day in advance by calling (510) 642-8345. Players can use Golden Bear, Hearst, or LaLoma. More information about these courts is available at the Department of Recreational Sports Facilities website at calbears.berkeley.edu/facilities
The Tennis Ladder will be open to challenges from Sunday, February 11, 2007 through Friday, May 4, 2007.
To determine starting positions on the ladder, players will be drawn from a hat on Friday February 9, 2007. This ranking will be sent out to all players and will be updated and sent weekly on Mondays. Any players who add after the first week will be added to the bottom of the ladder. The ladder will be open to both male and female players of all levels. If the number of entries is large enough the ladder may be split into two divisions in the future: male and female.
You may only challenge/accept one challenge per week. Challenges should be made by calling or e-mailing other players. Please respond to challenges as soon as possible to allow for more matches to be played. When challenging, you may only challenge within three positions above or below yourself on the ladder. For example, if you are 8th on the ladder, you may only challenge the 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th, 10th, and 11th place players. Invalid challenges may be played, but are not used in adjustment of ladder position. Players must accept the challenge within 3-4 days. If a player fails to respond to a challenge or declines a challenge, they will lose by default. Any player under challenge cannot accept a second challenge until the first challenge is played.
Matches may either be pro set to 8, with advantage scoring, or best 2 of 3 sets. The players will determine before the match which system will be used. USTA rules will govern all matches.
Scores for each week should be sent to ucbim@berkeley.edu by Mondays at 10:00 a.m. Any score reported after that will be counted for the following week. Please indicate the players names and previous ranking, who challenged whom, when the match was played, and the score of the match. The winner should report the score.
When a higher seed loses the winner will replace that individual, and the loser moves downs down one spot. Everyone in between the players will also move down one spot. For example, if player #3 challenges player #1 and wins, then player #3 will take the #1 seed, player #1 will move down to the #2 seed and player #2 be bumped to the #3 seed. If you challenge and lose, no one moves.
The ladder will be updated weekly and sent out every Monday afternoon. If there are any disputes to scores reported, please e-mail or call the Intramural Sports Office as soon as possible. All defaults and disputes will be approved by the Intramural Sports Office.
A new member on a challenge ladder may find that the first one or two matches played on the ladder appear to be mismatches (in terms of skill levels). Don’t be discouraged — as the season progresses, the ladder sorts itself into order. You will soon discover other members with whom you can play comfortably. In addition to the relative rankings, you may find it useful to look at the results of specific matches. This can give you a further clue to the levels of other players, and gives some indication of players that you may want to challenge. So don’t just sit there– join the ladder! Like you, the other members of your challenge ladder are eager to play. And, regardless of your frequency or level of play, there are tennis matches waiting for you!
