1.1 The match-play season will commence in the first full week of October each year. The season is normally deemed to be concluded at the end of April, and every effort should be made to complete all League fixtures by that time.
2.1 The league structure shall be decided at each Annual General Meeting.
2 points will be awarded for a win, and 1 point each will be awarded for a drawn match.
The winner of any division is the team with the most points at the end of the season.
If points are level between teams in any league position, the team finishing in the higher position will be determined by the following, if two teams are tied on the same points:
(a) The better head to head results between those teams.
(b) The team that has a higher total games won minus total games lost.
(c) The team that has a higher total game points won minus total game points lost.
The above list will be stepped through in order until a winner is clearly determined.
If there are more than two teams tied on points, (b) and (c) only will be used, in that order. If two teams are still tied in this situation, point (a) can be used to determine the higher placed team.
If after the application of the above, we still have teams tied, the tie may be broken by drawing lots, or the toss of a coin.
2.2 Teams should endeavour to complete all fixtures before the end of April. Where this has not been possible unplayed fixtures must be scheduled, agreed by the home and away teams, and passed to the League Secretary before the end of April.
Where a team is unable to complete their fixtures, the committee will take a decision on how it affects the final league standings based on how many matches they missed and why they missed them. Options available to the committee include a walkover and offering a rescheduling extension.
If a team fails to complete more than 50% of their fixtures they shall be withdrawn from the league. Their results will be completely expunged from the league table and no games or points secured both for and against in those completed fixtures will count toward the final standings.
3.1 A team from a club will consist of four gents and two ladies.
4.1 Players are eligible to play for only one ELBA club in any one season. All team players must be playing regularly at an ELBA affiliated club to be eligible to play for a team.
4.2 In the eventuality that a player is a regular playing member at more than one ELBA club, they can play for either club, but once they have played a match for one club in the ELBA League during any season, that will be the only club they can represent for that season.
4.3 Where a club is entering multiple teams in the league they must register the names of four gents and two ladies, that will form their recognised first choice team, for every team other than their lowest ranked team, e.g., if they are fielding 3 teams in the league, this registration is required for all but the third team. This registration must have been lodged with the League Secretary prior to each team’s first match. Failure to register a team under the above ruling will result in the forfeiture of any matches played prior to such registration. So, no registered player is allowed to play down for a lower ranked team than the one they have been registered for.
4.4 For clubs with more than one team in the ELBA league, players can only play one match for the team above per season. Once a player plays a second match for the team above they become ineligible to play for the lower team. Effectively, this means once a player from a lower team plays a second match for the team above they are locked into the higher ranking team for the rest of the season.
4.5 If an ineligible player is fielded for any match, the club fielding that ineligible player will forfeit all games in which that player has participated.
If a club cannot field a full team for a match without using an ineligible player, but still wants to play a fixture, that is acceptable if:
(a) Permission is sought and granted by the opposing team prior to that happening.
(b) The League Secretary is informed.
If points (a) and (b) are adhered to, the games played by the ineligible player are still forfeit, but that player would be exempt from any further ineligibility that would otherwise be applied from rules 4.1 – 4.4 inclusive.
5.1 A match shall consist of nine games, four mixed, four mens doubles and one ladies doubles. Each team will play a home and away match against every other team in their division.
The official match scoresheet should be available to download on the ELBA website, but can be otherwise obtained from the League Secretary.
6.1 A game shall consist of two sets to 21 points each, with setting, with a half point awarded for each set won.
7.1 Local rules shall apply in respect of a ‘let’ and/or ‘fault’ due to lights, rafters, or other obstacles.
8.1 Each league game may be umpired if either team requests it.
9.1 The home team to provide shuttles for a match.
9.2 All First Division matches should be played with feather shuttles. Yonex Aerosensa 30 shuttles or their equivalent should be used. The actual shuttles used are at the discretion of the home team, but the shuttle type should be agreeable to both teams. Second Division can use alternate types of shuttles, i.e. non-feather, on agreement by both teams.
10.1 A provisional fixture list will be drawn up following the AGM and a meeting of all Match Secretaries arranged as soon as possible after the AGM. The fixture list is published as a guide for Match Secretaries. It is acceptable for matches to be arranged on any date and at any venue that suits both teams.
10.2 As far as possible each team will have an equal number of home and away matches , but should a ‘home’ match be played at a venue other than the normal home venue, the nominal home team will provide shuttles and cover the costs of hiring the venue as if it were a home fixture.
10.3 If two teams from the same club are in the same division then these matches must be played before the 31st January each season. Failure to comply with this rule will result in these matches being declared void and no points awarded.
11.1 All teams must have at least one pair/couple ready to play at the appointed starting time for a match. Any team failing to comply with this rule will forfeit the first game of the match.
11.2 Teams must ensure that all six players are ready to play no later than half an hour after the appointed start time. Any players not ready for play at this time will forfeit their first game and their second game in the order of play, if not present in the hall when required to play.
11.3 Unless agreed by both teams, the order of play must be strictly adhered to.
11.4 It is the home team’s responsibility to ensure that all games are finished on a match night. Any that remain unfinished are forfeited by the home team. The one exception to this rule is if games remain unfinished due to the away team arriving late and the application of rules 11.1 and 11.2 still do not allow the remaining games to finish. In this case the away team will forfeit unfinished games.
11.5 Should any club fail to meet its obligations in respect of any match, the League Secretary must be informed immediately.
The completed and signed scoresheet with the results of each match shall be sent electronically to the League Secretary by the team captain of the home team within 3 days of the match being played. Failure to submit a scoresheet will result in the match being declared a walkover to the visiting team.
All information on the scoresheet should be completed, i.e.:
(a) Date and venue of match
(b) Name of players in each team (both forename and surname)
(c) Match winners
(d) Number of games won by each team
NO ALTERATION SHALL BE MADE TO THE CONSTITUTION AND RULES EXCEPT AT THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AND ONLY IF SUPPORTED BY AT LEAST TWO THIRDS OF THE MEMBERS PRESENT.
The above Constitution & Rules were unanimously accepted at the Annual General Meeting of the Association on 30/09/2026.