Winter League – Bowe Dental
Date/Time
11 Oct 2026 - 7 Mar 2027
12:00am
Categories
Winter League 2026-2027
STARTING: SUNDAY, 11 OCTOBER 2026
FINALS: Friday, 5 March 2027
Teams and Schedule
Rules
Rule 1 – FEE: 20 Euro per person
Rule 2 – PLAYING FORMAT: A Team Match shall consist of two doubles matches.
Rule 3 – PAIRINGS: There are two Pairings. Players 1 & 2 play each other; Players 3 & 4 play
each other. Pairings will be determined using World Tennis Numbers (WTN).
Rule 4 – ROUND-ROBIN SCORING: Matches will be First to 11 Games. Play the
Advantage Rule as per normal. Team Captains must send a completed Score Sheet at the
conclusion of each match using the appropriate Group WhatsApp and showing all substitutes
used. (A permanent replacement is not considered as a substitute).
Rule 5 – QUALIFICATION FOR THE KNOCK-OUT STAGES: The top four teams will
go through to the Semi-finals of the Winter League Cup. The First-placed team will play the
Fourth-placed team; the Second-placed team will play the Third-placed team. In the event of
two teams being level on points, the winner of the match between the two teams shall be
deemed to be placed higher. If that match had ended in a draw, then the Winner of the
Player1/Player2 match shall be deemed to be placed higher. If that was drawn, the team with the
fewer subs over the course of the WL shall be deemed higher.
Rule 6 – The 5th & 6th teams will go through to Winter League Plate Final. Rules as above for
teams on equal points.
Rules 7 – SCORING IN THE KNOCK-OUT STAGES: Each match will consist of the best
of three tie-break sets, with the third set a Championship tie-break instead of a full set. The team
that wins both the #1/#2 and the #3/#4 is the winner. If these matches are shared between the
two teams, then the #2 and #3 from each team (#1 and #3 in Section D) will decide the winner
in a Championship tie-break.
Rule 8 – WHAT TO BRING: Each player needs to bring a new Tretorn Plus ball for each
match (except Finals where they will be provided).
Rule 9 – SUBSTITUTIONS: Players make their own substitutions. Men sub for Men.
Ladies sub for Ladies. The Substitution Lists & Substitution Procedure are posted on the
KBTC website: www.kbtc.ie (follow the link on the opening page). If a sub is needed work with
the Team Captain to ensure there will not be a penalty applied. If the Substitution Procedure is
not correctly followed, a three-point penalty will be applied to the team. Pairings that use either
one or two substitutes can only get a maximum of 8 games added to their team’s score. It is
essential that the captain knows who the substitute will be. In the Knock-Out Stage, there is
no penalty for subbing but there are greater restrictions on choosing a sub. Follow the
usual substitution rules as well as the following restrictions:
League Semi-Finals – from the bottom four teams or go to a lower Section.
Plate Finals – from teams that were knocked out of the Semis, the bottom two teams or go
to a lower Section.
League Finals – from any other team.
Please note: All substitutions in the Knock-out stages must be approved by the
Competition Organiser with the aim that a team should not be strengthened by the use
of a substitute.
Rule 10 -INJURIES: If a player is injured and has to drop out, work with the Team Captain
and the Competition Organiser to consider identifying a permanent replacement.
Rule 11 – If a match has to be abandoned due to an injury to a player, the opposing team takes
full points and the injured player’s team keeps the number of points it had acquired up to the
time of the injury.
Rule 12 – MATCH SCHEDULE – No walkovers. All matches must be played as
scheduled. If a player or players do not show up for a match it must be rescheduled and the
offending team has 3 points subtracted from its score. Inclement weather is generally the only
legitimate reason for rescheduling a match (see Rule 14). However, opposing captains may ask
the Competition Organiser, to authorise the rescheduling of a match. Offering to play the match
outside of the prime weekday 7:30pm and 9pm slots, as well as a high percentage of player
unavailability will be important factors in authorising a change. If this rule is not correctly
followed, each team will have 3 points subtracted from its score. However, when the Knock-out
Stage is reached, Semi-finals can be rearranged once both captains agree. Rearranged matches
must be played before the Final and the Competition Organiser must be informed and agree to
the changes.
Rule 13 – INCLEMENT WEATHER OR SLIPPERY, FROSTY COURTS: The two Team
Captains will decide whether conditions make a match unplayable. If it is decided that a match
must be postponed, then the match should be played by 11pm the following Saturday. If team
captains and their teams decide that they wish to play a match but the match has to be
abandoned due to a deterioration in the weather conditions and the courts become unsafe, the
score of the match will be picked up from where it was left off when the match is played out.
Rule 14 – ISSUES: The Competition Organiser (Juli) and the Club Captain (Jermi)
will make the final decisions on any issues that arise in the course of the Winter League.