In general terms, the EUC Tennis will employ the technical rules of the International Tennis

Federation (ITF).

The following items may differ from these rules as detailed below:

1.) Entry / Composition of teams

(1.1) Maximum / Minimum number of athletes per team:

· there can be a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 4 players by team.

(1.2) Maximum / Minimum number of officials

· a maximum of 1 official and 1 trainer per 4 athletes from any one NUSA.

(1.3) How many athletes per university / per NUSA

· Each NUSA may participate with a maximum of four (4) men and four (4) women.

· Each NUSA may enter a maximum of two (2) universities in men and two (2)

universities in women.

(1.4) Special requirements for entry procedure

· All players and partnerships must be listed in order of merit

· The organising NUSA has the possibility to enter one more men team and one more women team with the Organising Committee and Technical Delegate approval.

(1.5) Nomination of teams

· Nominations of individual players in order of merit for singles, and the non-playing captain, must be received by the EUC at least one month before the scheduled first day of play for the competition.

(1.6) Change of nominations

· A NUSA may change its nomination up to fourteen days prior to the scheduled first day of play for the competition. Thereafter nominations may only be changed for reasons of health, injury or bereavement up to but not later than the Heads of Delegation Meeting to be held the day prior to the draw, when notification must be given to the referee. Thereafter no change may be made.

(1.7) Change to Order of Merit

· The Order of Merit may be changed up to fourteen days prior to the scheduled first day of play for the competition. Thereafter no change may be made to the Order of Merit. Any player nominated after this date is automatically placed at the last position in the Order of Merit for singles.

2.) Playing scheme

(2.1) Competition format

The Championship will include 2 events:

· One team competition for men

· One team competition for women.

Each tie shall consist of 2 singles and 1 doubles and shall be played consecutively on the same court

(2.2) Maximum / Minimum number of teams / athletes:

· The minimum number is 6 men teams and 4 women teams.

· The maximum number is 48 athletes ( men + women)

· The maximum number could be subject to change.

(2.3) Playing mode

· ACCORDING to the number of teams, each event should be played in single elimination format or first round in pools (round robin format (all play all) events, see 7.3 below) .

· the winners of the two semi-final matches, in both singles events, advance to the

final, while both the losers receive bronze medals

· the matches in will be played the best of 3 sets

· the tie-break will be used in all sets

· play shall be continuous under the terms of rule 30 of the Rules of Tennis. No rest shall be allowed after the second set in a three sets match. A maximum of 20 seconds will be allowed between points. When changing ends (except after the first game in each set) and at the end of each set, 90 seconds may elapse.

· if it is necessary to save time, the first two rounds will be played in a pro-set (The 'pro-set' is exactly the same as a normal tie break set except that it is played to 8 games instead of 6) The set has to be won by two clear games or play a tie break at 8 games all).

(2.4) Conciliation rounds / third place:

· wherever possible a plate tournament for the losers of the first and second rounds

will be organised

· no matches for third place will be held in any events.

(2.5) Games per day / per championship / rest day:

· The Championship will last a minimum of 5 playing days

· a rest day may be used

· if it is necessary to schedule two ties for a team in the same day , the athletes will (unless it is a singles match followed by a doubles match), be given

the following minimum rest period:

o played less than 1 hour - ½ hour rest

o played between 1 hour and a 1 ½ hours - 1 hour rest

o played more than 1 ½ hours - 1 ½ hours rest

· if play has been interrupted for less than thirty (30) minutes, match time would be

considered continuous from the start of the match.

(2.6) Order of Play

· The order of play shall be singles N° 2, followed by singles N° 1, followed by the doubles. When a result has been obtained after the singles matches, the doubles match shall still be played to obtain the full score except in exceptional circumstances when the Tournament Committee may waive this requirement.

(2.7) Interval between singles and doubles

· There shall be no interval between the singles matches. There shall be a minimum interval of 30 minutes between the singles and the doubles matches unless decided otherwise by the referee.

(2.8) Notification of singles players

· The referee shall receive from the captains, no later than 30 minutes before the scheduled start of play each day, the names of the singles players.

(2.9) Notification of doubles players

· Any two members of the team may play the doubles matches and the captains must give their names to the referee at least 20 minutes before the doubles match begins.

(2.10) Substitutions

· In the event that a player is unable to play his/her match due to health or injury following notification of his/her name to the referee, a substitution may be made by the captain from the final nominated team providing the official competition doctor/trainer is in agreement that the player’s case is legitimate and the referee authorises such a substitution. In all cases, the referee’s decision to grant or not to grant substitution is final.

In any case the order of merit must be respected.

(2.11) Injury rule

· If a player retires from a match due to illness or injury, the referee has the authority, supported by medical advice, to withdraw the player from the other event. Alternatively, such player may continue in the other event only if a doctor certifies the player’s condition has improved to the extent that he/she may function at a sufficient level in his/her next match, whether that be the same day or a later day. Further, the Injury Rules currently adopted for the ITF shall apply.

3.) Qualification / selection of teams or athletes:

· the selection of athletes should be done by the NUSA using the results of its National

Championship as well as the NSF rankings and the ATP/WTA points.

4.) Seeding:

· the seeding system for pools or single elimination format shall be determined by:

o the cumulative total of the singles current ATP/WTA ranking positions of the players in each team. Where the total is the same, the team with the player who is nominated highest order shall be nominated as the higher team

o the first four (4) winners of the previous Cup/Championship

o current national ranking and past performances

· to assist seeding, the nominative entry forms should include details of past

performances and the national rankings.

· wherever practical players from the same country or university shall be placed in

different quarters or halves of the draw

· the draws shall be announced by the referee, the day prior to the start of the

competition.

5.) Technical issues

(5.1) Playing time:

· matches will not start before 9 o’clock in the morning or after 9 o’clock in the

evening.

(5.2) Requirements for venues (competition and practice):

· all venues should fulfil the ITF standards

· if it is possible one venue should be used for competition and practice sessions

· the venue should have at least 4 match courts

· all match courts shall be of exactly the same surface

· in the event of bad weather play may be moved to another surface, either under

cover or not

· practice courts will be preferably of the same surface as the match courts. If they are

not in the same venue transport will be provided

· a venue should have changing rooms, shower facilities, club house, bar with

refreshments and snacks and provide stringing services.

(5.3) Requirements regarding equipment (floor, balls, suits etc.):

· all equipment must be approved by the ITF

· the selected surface of court to be used shall be annouced to the attending NUSAs at least one month prior to the date of the event. Any provision for an alternative surface which is to be used if play has to be transferred due to adverse weather conditions can be decided thereafter.

· in the main draw there will be a minimum of three new balls for each match

· balls will be provided for practice, but it is not obligatory to use new balls

· the selected make of balls used shall be annouced to the attending NUSAs at least one month prior to the date of the event. The make of balls must conform to the specifications in rule 3 of the Rules of Tennis.

· all athletes shall dress and present themselves for play in a sportsmanlike manner

· clean and customarily acceptable tennis attire will be worn

· members of a doubles team shall be dressed in substantially the same colours.

(5.4) Any other special rules different from the concerned ITF:

· the Heads of Delegation Meeting will be held the day prior the start of the

competition

· training times will be allocated at least from the day prior to the start of the

competition and according to the competitive time-table

· busses will be available for transport from hotel to venue(s) and return.

(5.5) Medical assistance

· the organizing NUSA must ensure that a physiotherapist, nurse or suitably qualified trainer is present on site throughout the competition. A doctor must be available on call and be able to be on-site in a short notice. In case there is no doctor on-site when a problem occurs, the physiotherapist can decide to continue the match without calling the doctor.

6.) Referees / Committees

(6.1) Referee/Umpires:

· a referee with a minimum ITF White Badge (if it is not possible, at least International

experience) should be appointed by NSF

· there will be an umpire for each match in the semi finals and finals

· wherever possible, umpires shall be provided for all other matches

· at least four (4) court technical officials (umpires) should be used during the

tournament

· any authorised technical official from the participating delegations should act as

umpires

· players will be expected to act as umpires if requested.

(6.2) Jury of Appeal:

· a five member Jury of Appeal, of which no more than two members shall be from the

same country, will form in the Heads of Delegations meeting to handle any protest

· the Jury will consist of EUSA EC Delegate, EUSA Technical Delegate, a

representative of the OC and two representatives of participating delegations

· the Jury will settle any disputes during the EUC Tennis in respect of any ruling given

by the ITF

· the Referee (where such ruling is appeal-able) in respect of non-ITF rulings.

7.) Any other specifications relevant for that sport

(7.1) Order of play:

· the order of play may have to be altered by the Referee due to any adverse weather

and time conditions. This may result in starting times being altered, resting times

reduced and the format of matches being altered.

(7.2) Coaching:

· athletes should be coached by only 1 captain or coach during matches (including the warm-up) except if referee determine that coach ATTITUDE is in violation with ITF rules.

(7.3) Arrangements for round robin (all play all) events

· Each tie will consist of 3 matches, 2 singles and 1 doubles. If teams in a pool finish level at the conclusion of the round robin, the order shall be calculated as follows

• if 2 teams are equal, the head-to-head result of the two teams in the pool match determines the order.
• If more than 2 teams are equal, the match results of the equal teams shall be calculated and the procedures set out in I), ii) and iii) shall apply :
  i) most number of matches won.in the only matches concerning these teams
  ii) % of sets won of sets played in theses matches
  iii) % of games won of games played in these matches.