CTTC

By-Laws Approved November 29, 2010 or (pdf)

Charleston Table Tennis Club

Articles of Organization and By-Laws

Article I

Name

The name of the organization shall be the “Charleston Table Tennis Club”

Article II

Purpose

The purpose of the Club shall be to promote table tennis in the Kanawha Valley through fellowship and good sportsmanship at a competitive level for people regardless of race, creed or sex and the transaction of any and all lawful business of the this organization.

Every organization needs a set of standards to which members are expected to adhere. Without such regulations and their fair enforcement, each player will set his/her own standards and some will be unacceptable. Therefore, any overly aggressive effort to put winning a match over the Club purposes will be considered un-sportsmanlike and shall be dealt with by Club officials. Blatant misconduct may result in a recommendation of dismissal from the Club and requires a two-thirds majority vote of the board of directors.

Article III

Fiscal Year, Membership and Dues

The fiscal year shall be July 1 to June 30. Members of this Club shall include people having a genuine interest in playing table tennis, who abide by the rules of the Club, and who pay the annual dues. The amount of dues shall be established by the membership at an amount sufficient to carry out the Club’s purposes.

Article IV

A. Meetings

The Club shall hold its annual meeting in the spring on a night of regular league competition and may meet at other times at the call of the president. Those members present in good standing will represent a quorum.

B. Organization, Format of League Play, Teams, Substitutes

1) The president will organize the Club at the beginning of the playing year. A meeting will be called to determine format of ‘league play’. A choice for a Round Robin or Team format will be decided upon by a majority vote of members in good standing and on a regularly schedule league play date. If the resultant vote is for team play format, then the following criteria found in Section (B) subsections (2 through 14) shall apply. If the resultant vote is for a Round Robin format of play then Section (B) subsections (15 through 21) shall apply.

2) If the resultant vote is for Team play; teams will be assembled based on the previous year’s individual ratings as to promote a fair distribution of competitors and carry out the Club’s purpose. (Ref. Article II) It will be the responsibility of the elected officials to present the team player alignment to the membership for a vote prior to the start of league play. In the event the membership does not approve the proposed team configuration, a second, and only one, proposed team alignment may be presented by the membership for approval at the next club meeting for a vote. If once again, the membership does not approve the proposed team alignment, then the decision falls solely to the discretion of the president, and his decision will be final.

3) A team will consist of three players. The number of teams will be limited by availability of equipment (tables), space, and time constraints (ref.: Article IV, sec.B, subsection 12) for the completion of a practical number of matches finalized by evenings’ end.

4) A match shall consist of nine singles matches to be played best three out of five games. The team winning the five matches of the scheduled nine matches wins the team match for that evening.

5) A player who misses three consecutive nights of league play is subject to being replaced. The president will document the numbers of nights missed and contact the player to determine his or her intentions. The president may recommend the player be replaced with another qualified player based on his or her skill level, interest and longevity with the Club.

6) A substitute player may be used if a team has less than three players present providing that the substitute meets Club requirements: (a) He/she may play in any position equal to or higher that his/her assigned position as determined by the majority of league officers that are present. (b) He/she may play a maximum of three matches per evening a maximum of one match against a #3, #2, or #1 player. (c) He/she may play these three matches on different teams.

7) If a team fields only two players, it forfeits three matches. If a team fields only one player it forfeits six matches. If both teams field only one player then both teams forfeit six matches with no winner for that scheduled match.

8) The win-loss records of teams and individual players will be tallied each week by the secretary and the up-dated records will be posted on the following night of league play. Team standings shall be compiled on the basis of the total number of team matches won and lost with the total number of individual matches won or lost breaking any tie.

9) Matches will be scheduled in round robin style until each team has played one another completing the cycle. The cycle will be repeated until the playing season is concluded. Club officials or designated members shall adjust the number of rounds as Club needs dictate.

10) Matches shall be played according to USATT rules and enforced by Club officers or designated members. Certain USATT rules may be waived for Club purposes as agreed by majority vote of the membership. Protest of any match must be brought to the president or ranking officer by the affected team captain at the earliest possible moment. A decision shall be rendered by the president or other elected officer depending on the individual case as determined by the ranking officer.

11) Each team captain will be responsible for his/hear team’s observation of the rules including diligence in seeing that (a) Club equipment is not abused; (b) tables and nest are moved into the equipment room at the end of each night’s play; (c) balls are returned to equipment chairman or storage area; (d) seeing that dark colored clothing and lettering that conforms to the rules, is worn. Shirts closely matching color of balls being used are unacceptable; (e) seeing that the service rule is observed.

12) Club play is to begin at 6:30 pm with no warm-up since play must end promptly at 8:50 pm. Any match in progress at 8:50 pm will become null and void regardless of the score with no winner for that match. The opposing teams will add team won/loss scores and if neither team has won five matches, then neither team wins for that night. Practice time begin at 5:30 pm and will be limited to five minutes per table if other players are waiting in order to allow others to practice. Players wishing to ‘warm-up” should arrive prior to 6:30 pm.

13) Due to the limited time the Club has for completing each night’s matches, 7:00 pm will be the cut-off time after which a default may be invoked. If a player has not arrived for his/hers scheduled match by 7:00 pm the opposing captain may declare a default of the individual match. However, since playing the game is the primary purpose of the Club, defaulting a match is discouraged. Playing matches out of order our utilizing a substitute is preferred.

14) At the end of the season the teams with the best win/lost record will be declared Club champion. The top four teams (or more at the officers’ discretion) will participate in a team tournament to be played the next playing night following the last nigh of scheduled play. No substitutes will be allowed except in the case where both opposing teams involved have a player unable to play. In that instance, both teams may appeal to Club officers and if it is decided it is in the best interest of the tournament, as substitute for both teams may be allowed. If a team cannot field more that one player, the officers shall replace that team with the team having the next best win/loss record.

15) Weekly Round Robin league play shall begin with Open Practice and Registration for the League play from 5:30 to 6:20 pm. Round Robin competition is from 6:30 to 8:45 PM. Table assignments will be determined by a member’s current league rating, (carried over from last year’s rating at the start of the season) and the prior week’s play. Subsequent table assignments are adjusted by table tennis software to reflect league performance throughout the season.

16) A round robin match will consist of the best three out of five games. A score sheet will be provided at the start of the league play session, it will indicate the competitors assigned to compete in a group determined by ratings & prior week’s table winners. The sheet will be the official record of games played for all of the matches for that group and at the conclusion of the league play for that session, be recorded and verified using the round robin table tennis software. A forfeit will be granted to the higher rated competitor with the exception that the higher rated competitor is determined to be the cause of the match not to be completed. This shall be determined by the ranking club official on hand.

17) Pre-match warm up time will be limited to not more than two (2) minutes. If the number of participants and time restraints require that the pre-match warm up time be adjusted in order to facilitate completion of all matches for that evening’s league play, the time may be reduced to not more than one (1) minute.

18) Matches shall be played according to USATT rules and enforced by Club officers. Certain USATT rules may be waived for Club purposes as agreed by majority vote of the membership. Protest of any match must be brought to the president or ranking officer by the affected competitors at the earliest possible moment. A decision shall be rendered by the president or other elected officer depending on the individual case as determined by the ranking officer.

19) When all scores from all groups have been entered and verified, the league session will be closed to calculate table winners and rating changes. Results and individual performance statistics will be posted on the CTTC web site before the next league session, preferably before midnight of that day.

Table winners will be determined weekly and will advance to the next higher table for the following week league session. Performance records will be posted on the CTTC web site following each Monday’s league play.

20) For club members to be included in the specific table group appropriate for one’s current rating, they have to be registered in the CTTC software scoring program prior to 6:20 pm of the current day’s session. If a member anticipates he/she will arrive after 6:20 pm, they must contact a club official and/or the designated member responsible for that evening’s round robin session data entry via a cell phone or text messaging. (Preferably text messaging) Arriving to participate in league play after the table grouping has been determined, may result in a player being assigned to table not appropriate to fit their skill level or rating, higher or lower. The contact numbers will be communicated to the club members at meetings prior to the start of the season and posted on the Club’s web site.

21) A league championship will be held in May of the tournament year. To qualify for participation in the end of the season’s League Championship Tournament, a registered member must have participated in a minimum of 70% of league play during the year, (from membership registration date through to the Championship Tournament registration date.) The member must have assisted in the set-up and storage of equipment process during the league year and is a member in good standing. The League Championship Tournament will be a single elimination round robin format to establish a ‘Table Champion’ and/ or, ‘Ratings Champion’; to be determined by the officers to best suit the Club’s purpose. (ref.: Article II)

Article V

Officers and Board of Directors: Election: Terms of Office

The officers of the Club shall be a president, vice-president and secretary and /or treasurer. The Board of Directors may be comprised of the Club officers and the team captains, appointed by the president and approved by the membership, during a Team format play year. During a Round Robin format play year, two (2) or more but not to exceed four (4), members in good standing; may be appointed by the president’s at his/her discretion. Terms of officers and board members shall be July 1 to June 30, and shall serve until new officers are elected.

The officers herein named shall be elected in the spring at the Club’s annual meeting approximately two evenings before the final night of scheduled play. A majority of votes of members in good standing shall be necessary for the election of officers.

Generally, at the beginning of a new playing year, team captains shall be determined by last year’s final individual standings, if the league play format is team play. League officers may need to adjust this method of determining team captains depending on the talent of players available. If the league play format is Round Robin, there will not be the need for team captains for that year. An appointed board of directors can be formed at the president’s discretion to serve the need of the Club purpose.(ref.: Article II; Article V, paragraph 1).

Article VI

Duties of the Officers and Board of Directors

The president, vice-president, secretary and/or treasurer shall perform the usual and customary duties of their respective offices. The vice-president shall preside in the absences of the president. An appointed board of directors may assist the officers with policy matters in operation of the Club.

Article VII

Funds

Club funds shall be in the custody of the secretary and/or treasurer and shall be disbursed only for usual Club operations as determined by the officers and approved by the general membership. A special committee appointed by the president shall audit fund accounts from time to time.

Article VIII

Amendments

These Articles of Organization and By-Laws may be amended by a majority vote of the membership at any time provided the proposed amendment are presented for reading at two consecutive league play nights prior to the vote.

Adopted Date: November 29, 2010

President: Signature on Original Document

Vice-President: Signature on Original Document

Secretary/Treasurer: Signature on Original Document

Approved November 29, 2010