Knock-Out Cup & Plate Competition Rules

Closing date for entries - September 30th
Entries should be sent to the KO Cup Secretary

The Trophies:

"The David Kelly KO Trophy"
"The Mike Bailey Plate"

The brief Rules

  1. The competition is open to all clubs participating in the TPWDBL (Mixed and FourTwo Leagues).
  2. Teams to consist of 3 men and 3 women.
  3. Players MUST be nominated in advance.
  4. The Committee draws each round and awards each team a hidden handicap.
  5. The aim is to score as many points as possible. Rubbers and games are not important.
  6. The team scoring the most points after addition of handicap is the winner.
  7. First match losers enter a Plate competition.

The full Rules

The team knock-out cup will be played within the format agreed at the 1985 AGM plus the AGM amendments of 1990, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000 and 2001. Handicaps will not be allocated to each team at the beginning of the competition but will be applied to each fixture individually. Each round of the competition will be re-drawn and teams will be unable to tell in advance whom they might meet in subsequent rounds. In addition, a plate competition will be run concurrently with the main competition and will abide by the same rules. The plate competition will be for those teams who lose their first match, whether this be in the first round proper or in a preliminary round. Each knock-out cup and plate fixture will be played with handicapping being concealed until the conclusion of each individual fixture.

The Knock-out Tournament Secretary must be informed of the date and venue for all fixtures as soon as the date has been agreed between the two teams involved. The result sheet should be sent to the Knock-out Tournament Secretary within 48 hours of the match. If the match is played near the end of the period the the Knock-out Tournament Secretary should be informed of the result by phone. It is imperative that the Knock-out Tournament Secretary has all the results by the end of the period as the Executive Committee will be arranging the next round immediately. Failure to play a match in the period will result in the match being forfeited by the home team.

  1. General:
    1. Clubs may enter as many teams into the Knock-out Cup/Plate competitions as they see fit, ranked in order of strength.
    2. Teams shall consist of 6 nominated players (3 men and 3 women).
    3. Nominations must be received by the Knock-out Tournament Secretary not later than September 30th for inclusion in that seasons competition. The nominated players should include one designated as team captain who will be the contact for arranging matches. The captains address and telephone number must be provided. An alternative contact shall be provided in case of the team captains unavailability.
    4. Handicaps will be based on the playing strengths of the nominated players.
    5. A player may be nominated for one cup team only. They may play for another higher ranked cup team for the same club on one occasion during the competition only. The player will not be allowed to play up again. A player may not play for a lower ranked team from the same club, or for any other team in the competition.
    6. If a nominated player is unavailable for any reason a substitute may be played. There will be no limit to the number of substitutes permitted in a match. The Knock-out Tournament Secretary must be informed of any substitutes before the match is played and a failure to do so will be referred to the Executive Committee.
    7. If a substitute is used the Executive Committee may adjust the handicap of the nominated player replaced.
    8. In the event of long term injury or illness a team may change their nominated players during the competition by advising the Knock-out Tournament Secretary in writing prior to the draw for the next round. Handicaps for subsequent rounds will then be based on the new nominated team.
  2. One match is played in each round and all matches must be played within the periods allotted. The responsibility for arranging the match in any round lies with the home team who will be notified of their home draw and opponents immediately following the draw for each round.
  3. The home team must contact their opponents not later than the fifth day within the period to offer a date for the match to be played. Reasonable notice should be given for the date offered and if not acceptable an alternative suggested. Once the date has been decided the Knock-out Tournament Secretary must be informed.
  4. Any team involved in a Knock-out Cup or Plate fixture may postpone a home League fixture in favour of a cup match if 3 or more of their nominated players are registered for that league team. They may not seek to postpone an away League fixture, as this would cause difficulties to their league opponents.
  5. If a team concedes a preliminary or first round fixture then that team shall not be eligible for entry into the Knock-out Plate.
  6. The Executive Committee shall make the home and away draw for the Knock-out Cup and Knock-out Plate Finals. The home team shall provide the shuttlecocks to be used (as per TPWDBL regulations) and the handicaps will be applied accordingly. The TPWDBL will refund the cost of the shuttlecocks used in the final.
  7. Each match will comprise nine rubbers of two games each with no setting. All rubbers will be played using the rally points scoring system.
  8. The winning team is the one scoring the most points after adjustment for the handicap advised for the match. In the event of a tie the team with the more severe handicap will be the winner (e.g. 0 would beat +200). A tie between teams of equal handicap will be decided in favour of the away team.