All captains are expected to be familiar with the CALTA Rules and must comply with the rules for:
- roster submission (Rule II)
- dues collection (Rule III)
- recording of match results (Rule IX)
- rescheduling of matches (Rule XII)
It is the responsibility of the captain to ensure that each of her players:
- is listed in the roster on MatchTime as paid before playing her
- satisfies her tennis center's eligibility rules for team play and retains legitimate status at her tennis center throughout the CALTA season
CALTA's Rules state that when a specific on-court situation is not covered by CALTA Rules then USTA Rules/Code will apply. As a social league CALTA has some rules and expectations that are different from USTA -- and captains are asked to make sure that their players are familiar with them. Click here for an explanation of the differences.
Captains are requested to encourage their team members to visit the CALTA website throughout the season.
It is each team captain's responsibility to ensure that the four courts required for her team have been booked well in advance and are available for CALTA play as scheduled. This is also very important for makeup matches.
New members can be added at any time during the season. Captains will add the new player's name and email address to the team and invite that person to sign up on MatchTime.com. The new player will have access to the team going forward in MatchTime.
When determining lineups captains should use MatchTime to create lineup so she can see who is available and is PAID. MatchTime will not allow a non-paid player to be used in a lineup nor entered in scores – therefore to eliminate any issues – use MatchTime to create and print lineup or view roster to ensure you only play paid players.
In the event of a captain's absence the following applies to the co-captain or to the team member designated as the captain's representative for the match. If a captain or co-captain is not available for a specific match it is their responsibility to ensure that the contact information for the team member designated as their representative for the match is communicated well ahead of time. Wherever "captain" appears in the following it should be read to include "co-captain" and "team member designated as representative for the match" in the event the captain is not available.
Weekly Responsibilities
On a weekly basis once match play commences the captain's ongoing responsibilities are as follows:
- The host team captain should make every effort to contact the captain of the visiting team no later than the day prior to the scheduled match. If contact is by e-mail it should be initiated several days in advance and should request a confirmation. If no confirmation is received follow up by telephone. This will help ensure a minimum of mix-ups.
- If the host club does not provide water the host team should provide drinks as well as inform the visiting captain to remind her players to bring their own drinks.
- On the morning of the match if the weather is questionable the host team captain should contact -- by telephone -- the visiting team captain before 8:00am and both captains should follow the guidelines in Rule XII.
- If a team has to forfeit one or more courts the team captain should inform the opposing team -- by telephone -- no later than 8:00am the day of the match (unless there is an emergency). A forfeit should be communicated the night before if known. In the case of a "mutual forfeit" (i.e. both teams needing to forfeit one or more courts) it is permissible for the captains to reschedule the match(es).
- Captain should be available by phone at all times on the morning of a match in case an emergency arises with one or more of her players or with the opposing team (see note below re "emergency"). If the captain or co-captain will not be available she should inform the other team of the contact information for the team member who is the designated representative for the match. The captain should inform her players that no one should leave the house without knowing how to contact her on the way to a match and the captain should be reachable on her cell phone until all her players have arrived.
- Captains should exchange line-ups no later than 9:30AM (whether or not all players have arrived) and should follow the schedule in Rule VI. The 9:30 line-up exchange time will be strictly enforced -- and captains should ensure that their players are ready to start warm-up promptly at 9:30. If a club has both hard and soft courts the home captain shall let the visiting team know which positions will be playing on which surfaces before line-up exchange. If this information is not shared before line-up exchange each captain has the option of changing her line-up. A default will be in effect if a team is not ready to commence play by 9:45AM. Only if an emergency has occurred on the way to the match can the deadline be extended until 10AM. See note below for clarification of what constitutes an emergency. No match will begin after 10AM due to late arrival.
- After line-ups have been exchanged the captain should ensure that each of her players knows which position she is playing on which court and the names of her opponents and she should ask her players to confirm with the opponents prior to the start of warm-up. If a position is switched (e.g. if the team listed second on one line-up plays in the third position) the match will stand as played. If the switch is discovered during play the match should continue.
- The home team will organize light refreshments.
- The home team will supply appropriate balls (see Rule IV). It is advisable for each captain to carry an extra can of new balls in case of need.
- The home team captain is responsible for entering the scores in MatchTime. Once scores are in an email is sent to both teams’ captains and co-captains. The scores can be edited by either team for 48 hours. If either team captain edits the scores another email to captains and co-captains is sent. No official confirmation needed if scores are fine as reported. This email after scores are submitted will be the only place full scores show for the purpose of both captains to agree. Points per line are what will show in MatchTime.
Each captain should ensure that all her team members are familiar with the CALTA Rules and the CODE. Each captain is requested to communicate with the Board immediately if she becomes aware of a conduct problem with a team or an individual.
Note re: "emergency" deadline:
In general getting lost or running into normal heavy traffic is not considered an "emergency". It is expected that ladies traveling some distance will allow time for getting lost or a bridge opening or heavy traffic -- and still be on the court by 9:30AM.
If someone does run into an unexpected verifiable public situation (major accident road closed traffic re-routed) and she communicates with her captain (or team member designated as representative) and the captain is able to communicate the situation to the other captain by 9:30AM and the late player is able to stay in communication as she drives and be on the court by 10:00AM -- in that case the 10:00AM extension should apply. 9:45AM remains the default time for any other circumstances.
When the emergency extension is applicable the home team can either hold the visiting team to the 10AM deadline or choose to play whenever they arrive. In either case when the visiting team informs the home team about the situation the home team captain must communicate clearly to the visiting team what the case will be.