TABLE TENNIS (Official ITTF Site)
Rules
For the “Laws of Table Tennis,” see page 34 in the ITTF Handbook.
The following general rules are guided by the ITTF International Rules.
General Rules
All rules apply to all age groups.
Team
Each team will consist of 6 players and 1 optional substitute player.
Teams can be mixed gender and be made up of any combination of male and female players, including all males or all females.
League Play
Each league fixture is comprised of two events, singles and double matches
There will be six singles matches and three doubles matches between the two competing schools.
Prior to the fixture, each player must be seeded from 1-7 with the number one seed being each school’s top player and team captain, and seven being their substitute.
Rankings may be adjusted throughout the season, but this must be communicated to the opponent’s AD/DoS one week prior to the fixture.
Match pairings are done by seed rankings, for example in singles, school A’s #1 seed play school B’s #1 seed. In doubles, school A’s #1 & #2 seeds play school B’s #1 and #2 seeds.
Substitute players may play against each other, however, no points are accrued.
All single matches are completed first, then doubles after.
In singles and doubles matches, the winner is awarded one (1) point.
The winner of the league fixture is the school that has accrued the most points.
In the event of a tie, the team captains of these teams will play a singles match to break the tie.
After the completion of the fixture, both teams shake hands.
Game Play
A game shall be won by a player or pair first scoring 11 points unless both players or pairs score 10 points, when the game shall be won by the first player or pair subsequently gaining a lead of 2 points.
Match Play
A match shall consist of the best of 5 or 7 games agreed upon by the two competing schools.
Tournament Play
The tournament comprises two events, singles and double matches.
Each school participating in the tournament will play all other schools in both events. There will be six singles matches and three doubles matches between each school.
Prior to the tournament, each player must be seeded from 1-7 with the number one seed being each school’s top player and team captain, and number seven being their substitute.
Each team will submit their team’s ranking to the Tournament Director (TD) 1 week prior to the beginning of the tournament. This is to allow for rankings to be posted when the tournament officially begins.
Team seedings can only be changed at the pre-tournament coaches meeting, before the event, and ONLY in the event that a player does not travel, is injured, or is sick.
Rankings are to be in effect for the completion of the entire tournament.
Match pairings are done by seed rankings, for example in singles, school A’s #1 seed play school B’s #1 seed. In doubles, school A’s #1 & #2 seeds play school B’s #1 and #2 seeds.
All single matches are completed in the first half of the tournament, and doubles in the second half.
If a player has an injury, or is incapable of playing, then the substitute player joins the team, in the lowest seed position, and other players seed ranking are adjusted accordingly i.e. all players move up a position and the substitute goes to seed 6 position. The tournament coordinator must be notified to re-pair any affected subsequent matches.
In singles and doubles matches, the winner is awarded one (1) point.
The winner of the tournament is the school that has accrued the most points.
In the event of a tie either for first or second place, then the team captains of these teams will play a singles match to break the tie.
After the completion of the tournament the trophy ceremony is conducted and all school teams shake hands.
Game Play
A game shall be won by a player or pair first scoring 11 points unless both players or pairs score 10 points, when the game shall be won by the first player or pair subsequently gaining a lead of 2 points.
Match Play
A match shall consist of the best of any number of odd games (i.e. 3, 5 or 7), decided by the tournament director. This will be dependent on the number of teams competing in the tournament.
Officials
All league play matches will be scored and umpired by the players themselves.
Should a disagreement occur, a player may ask for a neutral official to assist with the problem.
Coaches need to be proactive in monitoring the calls made by their own players and the opposition, if there are issues the coaches are to contact the TD to possibly assign a neutral umpire.
It is recommended to have officials for the championship final matches,
Awards
Trophies for Champions only - per age group.