Divisions
Initially two divisions: Men's Singles and Women's Singles
If these are successful, and there is sufficient interest, Mixed Doubles, Men's Doubles, and Women's Doubles may be added in the future.
Participation
Ladder is open to all Tributary residents, with all skill levels actively encouraged to participate (the ladder is specifically setup to accommodate participation by players from very beginners to very experienced).
Non-residents that participate on a Tributary ALTA roster may participate as well; however, they can only challenge and be challenged by Tributary residents (i.e. a non-resident cannot play another non-resident, as neither player has the right to play on the Tributary courts).
All matches are to be played on Tributary courts, and court time must be reserved for the matches. It is the responsibility of the challenged player to reserve the court (when they accept a proposed time from the challenger).
Challenging
Challenger can challenge any of the three higher ranked players above them in the ladder rankings at time of issuing the challenge (e.g. if a player is currently ranked 16, they can challenge the 15th, 14th, or 13th ranked players).
To issue a challenge, player must send an email or leave a vmail with the player they wish to challenge, including 3 "legal" proposed start times for the match over the next 7 days.
If a challenged player already has a ladder match scheduled with another player within the next 7 days, they can (but don't have to) refuse the challenge. To refuse the challenge, they must respond to the new challenger, letting them know when their existing match is currently scheduled.
Challenged player must respond (accepting or refusing) to the challenge within 48 hours of the challenge. If they do not respond, the challenging player can record it as a forfeit and move up (this is not punitive, just gives the challenging player a way to access additional players to challenge).
Players cannot challenge for a rematch for one week (unless it was a loss by forfeit, in which case losing player can challenge immediately)
Scheduling
The challenging player must provide 3 "legal" start times for which they are available to play over the following 7 days from the time of the challenge.
Legal match START TIMES are defined as 5:30pm-7:30pm Mon-Fri, 9am-4pm Sat, 2pm-4pm Sun
Matches can be scheduled outside of the "legal" start times if both players agree, but to fulfill the requirement of providing 3 start times, only ones in the "legal" windows count.
The challenged player can choose any of those times when they accept the challenge, or can suggest 3 "legal" alternative times if none of the suggested times are tenable.
If either player is unable to offer 3 legal times over the course of the week, they lose by forfeit (again, this is not meant to be punitive, rather it ensures that the other player has new opponents to challenge that are available for play).
If each player suggests at least 3 legal times but no consensus can be reached, the match is a no-contest and rankings do not change.
The challenged player reserves the court when they accept the challenge. If courts are not available during that time, they should contact the challenging player immediately and another time/date should be agreed upon.
Match rules
The challenging player provides a can of new balls for the match
All on-court USTA and ALTA rules are in effect
Matches are best of 3 sets, with tie breakers if players reach 6-6 in a set. If both players agree, a single tie-breaker can be played in lieu of a 3rd set.
Disputes
Attempts should be made to resolve any on-court disputes amicably and civilly. This is just a game and we're here to have fun.
If a dispute cannot be resolved on court, the match should be immediately suspended and the issue reported to the ladder organizer.
Continuing to play a match after a dispute is treated as both sides agreeing, and the agreement cannot be reversed by organizers (i.e. you either stop the match and report the issue/disagreement or continue playing and give up the right to reverse the on-court agreement -- you can't accept an on-court agreement and then go to the organizers if you lose).
Any players consistently having problems with on-court disputes will be removed from the ladder.
New Player Rankings
New players entering the ladder will be started at the bottom of the ladder.
Initial matches may be non-challenging for some, but the nature of the ladder is that everyone will be sorted into a better order after a few matches. Given this, please do not lobby or argue for a different initial placement. Just play a few matches to get into a more appropriate ranking.
In rare cases, players may be seeded as high as the 50% rank at the discretion of the ladder organizers. This will only be invoked if the ladder has grown to a large number (30+?) and starting an experienced player at the bottom would likely result in many lopsided matches before the player could get into a more appropriate rank.
Initial rankings for a new ladder will be mostly random (very loosely seeded) by ladder organizer -- within a few matches you should be at an appropriate level.