Winter Paddle Ladder -- Organization & Rules

GENERAL

• The Winter Paddle Ladder is a rank order list of teams.  A team consists of two Park Lakes members.  Gender is irrelevant.  Teams may consist of two men, two women, or one of each.
• You may be a member of as many teams as you wish.  But, as described below, you must play all matches within one week of when the challenge was issued so being on many teams will make your schedule difficult.  Also remember you won't be able to play against yourself.
• If you'd like to play on the ladder but don't know anyone, send an e-mail to the Ladder Coordinator () and they will attempt to find someone for you.
• The ladder will be published on the Web site along with match results.  E-mails will go out to all participants reminding them of the url.
• Ladder play will start on Dec 1 and continue until April 1.

REGISTRATION

• To register your team, send an e-mail to the Ladder Coordinator () with your and your teammate's name and contact information.
• The initial ladder will be published in late October.  It will contain the teams who have registered up until then. The initial ladder order will be the Ladder Coordinator's best guess.
• Teams that register after the initial ladder is published will be added to the bottom of the list.

CHALLENGES

• You may challenge other teams up to 4 places above you or 4 places below you on the ladder.  Teams in the top three may challenge up to 6 places below them.
• If the winners of the match are ranked below the losers, the winners will be moved to one position above the losers on the ladder.  If the winners are above the losers, no changes in position will take place.  With this mechanism, the better teams will migrate toward the top and over time the ladder will be ordered by ability.
• To issue a challenge, simply contact one of the players on the other team.  It is your joint responsibility to confirm that the challenge is valid by checking each team's position on the current ladder on the Web site.
• The date and time of the match is at the option of the players.
• Teams must accept valid challenges from other teams or accept a loss by default.  However, you are not required to accept a challenge from a team you have defeated within the past two weeks.
• Each match must be held within one week of the challenge unless extenuating circumstances prevent it.  If it is not held within this time limit, the challengers will be declared the winner by default.  Extenuating circumstances include: sickness, injury, or out-of-town.  They also include the challenged team having 2 or more outstanding challenges not yet played.

MATCHES

• Matches will be 2 out of 3 sets (6-game sets, 7-point tiebreaker).
• Standard APTA rules apply.
• Each team must provide a new ball.  One ball is used for the match.  The winners get the unused ball.
• Park Lakes limit of one-hour on the court if others are waiting will be suspended for ladder matches.
• If a match cannot be completed because of the weather, the match should be suspended and rescheduled and played within seven days, picking up where it left off.  Teams should attempt to complete suspended matches before they initiate or accept new challenges.
• If a team retires from a match for any reason, the winner of the match will be determined as if all remaining games were won by the non-retiring team. For example, if Team A is leading Team B 5-0 in the first set and Team A retires due to an injury or broken equipment, Team B wins the match 7-5, 6-0.

INCENTIVE TO PLAY

• The objectives of the Paddle Ladder are to play often and have fun.  This objective is thwarted if some teams don't issue challenges regularly or don't respond promptly to challenges from others.
• To discourage this, any team that does not play at least one ladder match during a calendar month will be moved down one position on the ladder.

REPORTING RESULTS

• The winning team is responsible for reporting the results.
• Results are reported using the form on the Park Lakes Web site.  Be sure to fill out the form completely.

TIPS FOR GREATER ENJOYMENT

• For many, the importance of the ladder will be competition -- to see how high you can rise and who is at the top. But even if you are not at the top, you'll get in a lot of great matches with people you might not normally play and have fun. If you are low on the ladder, accept it and have fun playing against others around you.  You'll have good paddle games and a good time.
• Initially, you may find that the matches played on the ladder appear to be mismatches in terms of skill levels.  Don't be discouraged -- as the season progresses, the ladder will sort 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 individual matches.  This can give you a further clue to the levels of other teams and which teams you may wish to challenge.

So don't just sit there -- register for the Ladder!  Like you, the other members of the ladder are eager to play.  And, regardless of your frequency or level of play, there are paddle matches waiting for you!