Preface: These rules have been written to attempt to ensure that all Connemara residents have an equitable opportunity to play tennis on the Connemara courts in the amount, and in a manner, that they find most beneficial and enjoyable.
It is intended that these Rules shall be updated and revised from time to time as the need arises. However, it would be impossible to anticipate, and make a rule for, every conceivable situation or conflict, which may arise. It is, therefore, incumbent upon each resident to not only follow the written rules, but to attempt to resolve questions and conflicts not covered by a rule in the most fair, courteous and neighborly manner possible. If the preceding is not achieved there will be an opportunity to appeal to the Tennis Committee for resolution.
- A. GENERAL COURT RULES
A1. Players. Play on the Connemara courts shall be open to all Connemara residents and their guests. Guests of the Connemara residents must be accompanied by, and playing with, a Connemara resident.
A2. Attire. Tennis players shall wear appropriate tennis attire at all times when playing on the Connemara courts. Connemara residents shall ensure that their playing guests, if any, also wear appropriate tennis attire at all times.
A3. Prohibited Materials. Only regulation tennis playing equipment and accessories may be taken onto the Connemara courts. Food, glass containers, strollers, skateboards, bicycles, roller-blades, roller skates, fireworks, paintball guns and any motorized vehicles or toys are strictly prohibited on the courts.
A4. Players Only. Spectators, children, and other persons not playing tennis shall not be permitted on the tennis courts during play. Pets or other animals shall not be allowed on the tennis courts.
A5. Hours of Operations. The Connemara tennis courts shall be open and available for play between the hours of 7:00 A.M. and 11:00 P.M.
A6. Repairs and Maintenance. The Connemara tennis courts and related facilities may be closed for maintenance and/or repair, from time to time at the discretion of the Connemara Homeowner’s Association Board of Directors.
A7. Player Conduct. All Connemara resident tennis players and their guests shall conduct themselves in a sportsmanlike manner at all times. Loud, and/or quarrelsome conduct and profanity is prohibited.
A8. Playing Time. Play on any individual court shall be limited to 1.5 hours for doubles play, 1 hour for single play, and 30 minutes for individual practice if other residents are waiting for the courts.
A9. Infractions or Non-Compliance. Infractions of, or non-compliance with, the Connemara Tennis Rules, which cannot be resolved by the players involved or by the parties observing the infractions or non- compliance, shall be reported in writing to the Connemara Tennis Committee. The Connemara Tennis Committee shall have the responsibility for interpretation of the Rules as applied to the reported infraction or non-compliance, and for taking whatever actions it deems appropriate under the circumstances to correct the infraction or non-compliance.
- B. COURT RESERVATIONS
B1. Advance Reservations. Courts 1, 2, and 3 may be reserved for play in advance. Court 4 may not be reserved in advance, except as provided for in Rule C (5).
B2. Sign-In Sheets. Reservation sign-in sheets shall be available at the tennis courts at all times. Reservations are made by a member writing in his or her name in the time slot they wish to play.
B3. First Come. Reservations shall be made on a first come, first serve basis, except as provided for in Rules C (4) and (8).
B4. 48-Hour Rule. Playing time may be reserved on Courts 1,2, and 3 no earlier than 48 actual hours in advance, except as provided for in Rules C (4), (8) and (19).
(Example: Court 2 may be reserved for play at 8:00 P.M. on a Thursday no earlier than 8:00 P.M. on preceding Tuesday)
B5. Multiple Reservations. An individual player, or group of 2 to 4 players, may reserve advance court time no more frequently than once per 24-hour period.
B6. Court 4 Sign-Up. Court 4 may not be reserved in advance of the time when play on Court 4 actually begins, except as provided in Rule C (5) & (18). This court must remain available for open play. Players wishing to play on Court 4, must write their name in the appropriate time slot in the sign-up book at the beginning of play.
Players waiting for others player’s matches on Court 4 to end may indicate that they are next in line for the use of Court 4 by signing in on the waiting column of the reservation sign-in sheet. Players signing—in on the waiting column must remain in the immediate vicinity of Court 4 while waiting, and must sign in the appropriate time slot when play actually begins.
B7. No-Show Rule. Failure to appear and begin play on a reserved court within 10 minutes after the beginning of the reserved time slot will result in the forfeiture of the reservation. At that point, the particular court is considered to be an open court and is available for play as outlined in Rule B (8).
B8. Non-Reserved Courts. Any court which has not been reserved at any present time shall be deemed to be an open court and may be used by any players present at that actual time, regardless of whether they may reserved court time later in that
24-hour period. Players must sign-in the use of an open court at the time that actual play begins.
- C. CONNEMARA-SANCTIONED LEAGUE TEAMS (CSLT)
Preface: Connemara supports the formation, continuation, and play of neighborhood teams in the ALTA (Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association), USTA (United States Tennis Association), and Team Tennis leagues (hereinafter, all collectively referred to as CSLT). The following set of rules have been devised in order to balance the desires of Connemara residents to participate fully in these leagues, the need to comply with the rules and regulations of these leagues, and the desires of the Connemara resident tennis playing population in general.
C1. Team Captains are Committee Members. The Captains of all CSLTs are considered members of the Connemara Tennis Committee for the duration of their captaincy.
C2. New CSLT. No new CSLT shall be formed without the express written consent of the Connemara Tennis Committee, which consent must be obtained at least 10 days prior to the deadline date for the submission of a team roster to the particular league.
C3. Number of Teams Limitations. No more than 4 teams of any individual league shall be approved for play during any particular league season.
C4. Court Reservations/Team Matches. Courts may be reserved by the Tennis Coordinator for all CSLT regularly-scheduled and playoff home matches as soon as the dates for these home matches are known.
C5. All Courts Reservable. In the event that 2 CSLT have home matches scheduled for the same date, all 4 courts may be reserved for these matches, as outlined in C (4) above.
C6. Reservation Times. The reservation time for a CSLT match shall begin 30 minutes prior to that team’s scheduled match time, and continue until the completion of that match. No CSLT may reserve more than 2 courts for a match.
C7. Unused CSLT Match Court. Should the use of a court which had been previously reserved for a regularly scheduled CSLT match become unnecessary for the completion of the match, that court shall be deemed open and available for sign-up and use by any Connemara resident, with the exception of a CSLT practice or a private coached lesson. Practice or lessons shall be delayed until the completion of the entire match.
(Example: An adult ALTA team has scheduled courts 1 & 2 for a regularly scheduled ALTA match. Positions 1, 2, 3, and 4 have completed their match, the position 5 match is underway, or about to become underway, on court 1. Court 2 has, therefore, become an open court and is available for sign-up and use by any Connemara resident.)
C8. Team Practice. All adult CSLT may schedule one 1.5 — hour practice session per week, and all Junior CSLT may schedule one 1-hour practice session per week, in advance, beginning no sooner than 3 weeks prior to that team’s scheduled first regular season match, and ending the day that team has played it’s last regular season or playoff match, No CSLT may reserve more than 2 courts for a practice.
C9. Team Practice – Large Roster Juniors (12 and under) Teams. As a safety consideration, any junior (12 and under) CSLT which has a minimum of 16 players on its roster may schedule one 1.5-hour practice session per week provided that:
(a) Practice court time is available (not already scheduled by another CSLT)
(b) The 1.5-hour team practice period is divided into two 45-minute sessions.
(c) No more the 50% of the players on that CSLT roster practice in either of these 45-minute sessions.
C1O. Limitations on Team Practices. No team practices shall be scheduled on Friday evening, Saturdays, Sundays or a holiday.
C11. Practice Time Scheduling. The scheduling of CSLT practice times shall be conducted under the guidance, and with the approval, of the Connemara Tennis Committee.
C12. Team Membership Eligibility. Membership on any CSLT shall be open to any Connemara resident who qualifies for playing in a particular league, according to that particular league’s rules and regulations. Connemara residents are defined as those who are living in a house in this neighborhood. No Connemara resident may be denied membership on any CSLT until that particular team’s membership roster has reached 2 times the number of players necessary to play a regularly scheduled match. Non-Resident Family Members will also be allowed to play on CSLT teams. Non-Resident Family Members are defined as parents, children, grandchildren, and former resident ex-spouses of dues paying Connemara residents. Non-Resident Family Members who do not pay association dues will be subject to a fee that is 50% of the current Non-Resident fee (C 14).
Even though there is no requirement to do so, captains of all CSLT are encouraged to accept all players indicating a desire to play, regardless of the size of their roster.
C13. Non-Resident CSLT Members. A CSLT may reach the minimum roster size (Rule C17) plus two, using non-resident players. The total number of nonresident players on a roster cannot exceed 50% of this minimum number plus two. For example: The minimum number of players for a Connemara sanctioned USTA team is 10. The team would, if necessary, be able to use a maximum of 6 nonresident players on its’ roster.
A CSLT may use non-resident players provided that:
(a) The addition of the non-resident player is necessary to reach the minimum roster size as specified in Rule C 17.
(b) The CSLT seeking to include non-resident players on its’ roster has made every effort (as defined below) to reach the minimum roster size with Connemara residents but has been unsuccessful in recruiting a sufficient number of Connemara resident players.
Every effort shall include, as minimum, the performance of both of the following:
(1) The posting of a flyer (which includes the league and season in which the team proposes to play the name and telephone number of both the team captain and the chairperson of the Tennis Committee) at the Connemara tennis courts for a period of 10 consecutive days, beginning at least 10 days prior to the league roster submission deadline date.
(2) A notice on the signboard for 7 consecutive days, beginning at least 10 days prior to the league roster submission deadline date.
C14. Non-Resident Fee. Non-residents included on the roster of a CSLT shall pay a $30.00 non-resident fee prior to the first regularly scheduled team match. This fee shall be payable to the Connemara Homeowners Association and shall be collected by the team’s captain and given to the Tennis Committee Chairperson. A non-resident may elect to pay an annual fee of $50.00 prior to the first season of the year as opposed to the $30.00 per season fee. A Non-Resident Family Member fee will be one-half of the fee established for a non-resident (current fee will be $15.00). Non-resident players are part of the roster on a season by season basis only and must comply with all Connemara tennis rules.
C15. No Membership Denial. No Connemara Resident may be denied membership on a CSLT that has a non-resident member, regardless of the size of that team’s roster.
C16. Minimum Roster Size. The minimum number of players required for a Connemara sanctioned ALTA team is 12. A Connemara sanctioned USTA, Team Tennis or Non-League team’s minimum number is 10.
C17. Out of Neighborhood Teams (ONT). If Connemara courts are available for play from out of neighborhood teams they will be permitted to do so with a fee of $200.00 per team per season with the following restrictions.
The team must receive permission from the tennis chairperson prior to each season. This permission will be granted only if there is one team (or less) per league currently using the facilities. All CSLT teams take precedence over ONT teams.
A Connemara resident must be the captain of the ONT. The captain is responsible for all captain duties as stated in C20.
C18. CSLT Make-up Matches.
(a) CSLT matches, which are rained-out on their regularly scheduled match day, may reserve future court time for a make-up match with no 48-hour limitation.
(b) Court 4 may be reserved in advance for the purpose of scheduling a CSLT make-up match.
(c) CSLT make-up matches may not take priority over, or bump any court time, which has been previously reserved.
(d) Any CSLT which, at the request of another CSLT, voluntarily surrenders its reserved practice time, or any portion of this time, to accommodate a make-up match, shall be permitted to reserve time for an additional practice session in the week immediately following the week in which their reserved practice times would have ended. Any such additional practice session shall be reserved on the same day of the week, and at the same time, as the regularly scheduled practice sessions.
C19. Practice Matches. Each CSLT shall be permitted to reserve advance court time for 1 practice match each league season, this practice match shall be played on the same day of the week, and at the same time, that CSLT’ s regular season matches are played. A practice match, if so scheduled, shall be played within the 3-week period immediately preceding the first regularly scheduled match.
C20. CSLT Match Day Responsibilities. Each CSLT playing a regularly scheduled home match, home playoff match, home practice match, or home makeup match shall have the responsibility to:
(a) Unlock the pool gate and men’s and ladies bathroom doors.
(b) Ensure that both bathrooms are properly supplied with hand soap and paper products.
(c) Ensure that both bathrooms are clean(ed) and properly (re)supplied at the conclusion of the match.
(d) Re-lock the bathroom doors and pool gate.
(e) Clean the tennis courts and grounds at the conclusion of the match, including emptying the Tidi-Court trash cans.