1. TITLE:



An IC Week shall be played no more than once a year under the auspices of a host International Club ("the Host IC") agreed by the Council of International Lawn Tennis Clubs ("the Council") during such a period and at such a place as shall be agreed by the Council. Having regard to the substantial expenses of running an IC Week, the Council will not encourage IC Weeks to take place in consecutive years except in exceptional circumstances.



2. COMPETITIONS:



During an IC Week, the Host IC will stage the “Windmill Trophy” with at least 16 different ICs participating and a "Mercelis Trophy" with at least 8 different ICs participating

The Host IC may stage other team competitions recognized by the Council of ICs such as the “Columbus Trophy” or the “La Carreta”.



3. TROPHIES SPECIFICATION



1. The Windmill Trophy, presented by the IC of The Netherlands in 1948, is the official Men's team competition of the Council held during the IC Week. It is a knock-out competition for four playing members, two of whom must have reached the age of 45 during the calendar year of the competition, and two players under 45. Teams may have a non-playing Captain, or one of the players may act as a Captain.





2. The Orsini Trophy, presented by the IC of Italy in 1974, is a consolation event organized for the teams which lose in the first and if applicable, second rounds of the Windmill Trophy.



3. The Mercelis Trophy, presented by the IC of Belgium and Christiane Mercelis, a former international Lady player, is the official Ladies' team competition of the Council held during the IC Week. It is a knock-out competition for two playing members, one of whom must have reached the age of 40 during the calendar year of the competition, and one player under 40. Teams may have a non-playing Captain, or one of the players may act as a Captain.



4. The Winnie Wooldridge cup, presented by the IC of Great Britain, is a consolation event organized for the teams which lose in the first and if applicable, second rounds of the Mercelis Trophy.



5. The precise requirements for team composition and format are contained later in these Rules.





4. RULES TO BE OBSERVED:



IC Week competitions shall take place in accordance with the Rules of Tennis adopted by the International Tennis Federation ("the ITF") and the relevant Codes of Conduct issued by the ITF (for veterans the Veterans Code of Conduct and for players the Grand Slam Code of Conduct), except as may be modified by the IC Council or its Executive Committee.



5. FORMAT:



1. The Windmill Trophy and the Mercelis Trophy shall be competed for by individual teams representing ICs.

Two ICs may combine as a team; each combining IC team must be represented by at least two playing team members in the Windmill Trophy and one playing member in the Mercelis Trophy.



2. The competitions shall adopt a knock-out format with a consolation event being organized for the teams losing in the first and possibly second rounds depending on the number of entries.



3. A qualifying competition may also be held at the discretion of the Host IC, if the number of entries exceeds sixteen.



4. No IC may enter more than one team for each competition.

Should the draw have an odd number of teams, the hosting IC may provide a second team to avoid a bye in the first round.



5. Unless otherwise approved by the Council:

- for the Windmill Trophy each tie shall consist of two singles and one doubles under 45, and two veteran’s singles and one veteran’s doubles.

- for the Mercelis Trophy each tie shall consist of one ladies’ singles under 40, one ladies veteran singles, and one doubles with two players, one of which shall be veteran.



II. MANAGEMENT



6. CONTROL OF IC WEEK COMPETITIONS:



1. The competitions shall be managed by a committee appointed by the Host IC ("the Organizing Committee"). A representative of the Host IC shall be Chairman of the Organizing Committee and shall attend Council Meetings before and after the event to report thereon and to obtain advice and direction.



2. A representative of the Council shall be a member of the Organizing Committee ("the Council's Representative"); he shall be kept informed of and consulted about the organization of the IC Week.



3. The Organizing Committee shall appoint a Referee who will make the seeding in agreement with "the Council's Representative".



The draw shall take place at the Captains meeting.

"The Council's Representative" must be consulted about all decisions and disputes arising from the competitions.



4. The Chairman of the Organizing Committee shall coordinate the Host IC's work, enforce its decisions and supervise the organization of the IC Week and its competitions in accordance with these Rules and with any other rules and guidance laid down by the Council.



5. The Organizing Committee shall keep the Council, the ITF Veterans Committee and the Host IC's National Tennis Federation informed of the arrangements for an IC Week.



III. ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE COMPETITIONS



7. FUNDING AND SPONSORSHIP:



1. The Host IC shall meet all the costs relating to the staging of the IC Week with the exception of team travelling expenses and such accommodation expenses as the Organizing Committee shall notify to other ICs in advance. In the interests of reducing the Host IC's expenses, teams should:

- for the Windmill Trophy, be no larger than six in number, excluding a non-playing captain.

The Host IC may limit the number for whom they pay to a lesser number; the recommended number for whom the Host IC should pay is four playing team members and a playing or non-playing captain;

- for the Mercelis Trophy no larger than three in number, excluding a non-playing captain.

The Host IC may limit the number for whom they pay to a lesser number; the recommended number for whom the Host IC should pay is two playing team members and a playing or non-playing captain;



2. The Host IC may appoint sponsors to the IC Week under terms and conditions laid down from time to time by the Council.



3. If the funds available so permit, the Host IC may contribute towards team expenses provided there is no preferential treatment between teams and team members.



8. PRIZE MONEY AND EXPENSES:



1. No prize money shall be awarded.



2. Whilst ICs may defray the actual expenses of their team members in participating in an IC Week, in accordance with Rule 7 # 3 and 8 # 1 above, they may not pay inflated expenses or offer any financial inducement.



9. REPORT:

Within one month of the completion of the IC Week the Organizing Committee shall send to the Council, to the ITF and to the Host IC's National Tennis Federation a completed programme with detailed results together with general comments and observations.



IV. ENTRIES



10. ELIGIBILITY:



1. The competitions shall be open to one team from every IC affiliated to the Council.



2. A maximum of two ICs may combine forces to make a team in order to participate in the competitions, according to Rule 5 # 1.



3. Save as expressly provided for in this paragraph a team member shall not be eligible to compete unless he has been elected a member of his national IC at least prior to 1 January in the year of the IC Week. If some team members have been elected full ordinary members after 1 January in the year of the IC Week, they will be eligible to play in the competitions if their captain can show that the newly elected member has prior to the IC Week represented his or her country in one of the following competitions such as: The Davis Cup, The Federation Cup, The King's Cup, The European Cup; any international team competitions recognised by the ITF; other IC team events recognised by two or more ICs; and such other international competitions as the Executive Committee of the Council shall from time to time approve. Team members may represent their IC if they are under the age of 18 provided they are associate junior members or full members of their national IC prior to 1 January in the year of the IC Week. If some junior members have been elected associate junior members after 1 January in the year of the IC Week, they will be eligible to play in the competitions if their captain can show that the newly elected member has prior to the IC Week represented his or her country in one competition recognised by the ITF, Tennis Europe or the Council of the ICs.



4. Veteran men competing in the Windmill Trophy must have reached the age of 45 during the calendar year in which the competition is held.

Veteran Ladies competing in the Mercelis Trophy must have reached the age of 40 during the calendar year in which the competition is held.



11. ENTRIES:



1. Details of the arrangements of an IC Week once approved in principle by the Council must be sent to each IC at least four months before the date of the IC Week.



2. Entries must be accepted and sent to whomever the Host IC appoints three months prior to the start of the IC Week together with the entry fee in such amounts as shall have been approved by the Council or if the Council has delegated the matter to the Organizing Committee as shall have been approved by the Organizing Committee. The entry fee will be forfeitable in the event that an IC withdraws its entry.



V. TEAMS AND NOMINATIONS



12. COMPOSITION OF TEAMS:



1. Each team for the Windmill Trophy shall consist of a maximum of six men of whom at least two shall be veterans and a playing or non-playing captain.

If the captain is a playing member of the team, the maximum number in the team shall be six.

Each team for the Mercelis Trophy shall consist of a maximum of three ladies of whom at least one shall be veteran and a playing or non-playing captain.

If the captain is a playing member of the team, the maximum number in the team shall be three.



2. Details of the teams in each of the two respective categories (player and veteran) must be received by the Host IC not later than the date specified in the details of the arrangements sent out by the Host IC.



3. The captain of a team may be asked to certify the order of merit according to the National Ranking, and give information regarding the eligibility of team members pursuant to Rule 10.

The Order of Merit may be confirmed and/or amended by the Organizing Committee at the Captains' meeting which shall take place before the draw.

The team shall then become final and no change shall be made thereafter to the order of merit throughout the competitions except with the permission of the Organizing Committee, according to Rule 15 # 2.



13. DRAWING AND SEEDING:



1. The draw will be made by at least two members of the Organizing Committee in the presence of the Referee and of the Council Representative on the organizing Committee, just after the Captains meeting, the day prior the commencing of the event, and in the presence of the captains.



14. NOMINATION OF PLAYERS:



1. Before each round the Captain shall nominate the singles players playing such round following the order of merit given at the time of the draw.



2. However, if the No 1 player or No 1 veteran is not selected, the No 2 in each case shall take his or her place for the round and the No 3 player will move up into the No 2 position.

The same procedure shall also apply if the No 2 Player or No 2 veteran is not selected.



3. The same procedure shall apply prior to any subsequent round and the Captains must notify the Referee of their nominations at least 30 minutes before the round is scheduled to begin.



4. If any player is thereafter selected, he shall resume the same position of the final order of merit according to Rule 12 # 3.

Should a player or a veteran withdraw in any given round due to injury or unavailability, he shall be replaced respectively by the player or veteran holding one of the next positions, according to the Captain's nomination, and other team members will move up respecting the order.



5. The captains must give the names of their double pairings to the Referee either one hour after the last singles is over or 30 minutes before the doubles is scheduled to begin, whichever is the shortest period.



15. LAST MINUTE REPLACEMENTS:



1. In the event that at the time of the draw any IC having entered the competitions has less than the minimum required team members for a competition due to injury or last minute withdrawal of one or more of its members, the Organizing Committee shall have the power to appoint replacements chosen from members of the Host IC or with the consent of the captain concerned among those members of other teams who have not played in the competitions.



2. Should a team be reduced to below the minimum number of players required due to injury or forced withdrawal after a competition begins, the Organizing Committee shall have the power to consent replacements chosen by the Captain of the reduced team from members of other ICs, with the consent of the captain of the concerned IC, among those members who have not played in the competitions, provided that the elected player is member or honorary member of such IC.



3. Such replacements will no longer be eligible to play for their own IC team nor in any further IC team during the week.



VI. CONDUCT OF THE COMPETITIONS



16. FACILITIES:



The Host IC shall provide sufficient court facilities for the competitions to be completed between four and seven days, depending on the number of entries, and shall see to it that a sufficient number of new balls are provided for each match except for the consolation events.

The Host IC shall possibly also provide medical service, stringing service, massage and practice courts.



17. ORDER OF PLAY:



1. Unless the Chairman of the Organizing Committee, the Council Representative and the Referee decide otherwise, singles in each round shall be played in the morning, beginning with veterans, and followed by players.



2. Doubles should be played with a gap of one hour, after the singles, and must take place whatever the outcome of the singles.

Both cases have to be agreed by both captains if it's desirable to divert from this.



18. THE SCORING SYSTEM:



The tie-break scoring system shall operate when the score reaches six games all in any set. For veterans there shall be a ten minutes rest after the second set in singles and doubles events in accordance with the ITF Rules for Veterans team competitions unless the captains concerned and the Referee agree otherwise.

The organizing Committee may decide to let play a ten point Tie Break instead of the third set in case of bad weather forecast, lack of courts or any other reason.

Such decision must be taken before the beginning of the Competition if the rule applies to the full Competition, or before the beginning of each day of the Competition, and must be comunicated to each Captain at the time he nominates his team for the day.



19. PLAY-OFFS:



In the Windmill Trophy (or its consolation event, the Orsini Trophy) in the event of a tie being equal in matches, sets and games, the tie shall be decided by a play-off doubles match comprising the best of three ten points tie-breaks only, the doubles teams being composed of at least one veteran selected at the discretion of the respective team captains.



20. TROPHY:



1. The Windmill Trophy shall be presented on each occasion to the winning teams. The winning ICs will have the Trophy inscribed at its own expenses and will see to it that the Trophy is returned to the Council of International Clubs in London as soon as possible after its inscription.



2. The Orsini Trophy shall be presented on each occasion to the team winning the consolation events. IT shall be returned to the Council of International Clubs immediately after the presentation.



3. The Mercelis shall be presented on each occasion to the winning teams. The winning IC will have the Trophy inscribed at its own expenses and will see to it that the Trophy is returned to the Council of International Clubs in London as soon as possible after its inscription.





4. 2. The Wooldridge cup Trophy shall be presented on each occasion to the team winning the consolation events. IT shall be returned to the Council of International Clubs immediately after the presentation.







5.Souvenir prizes shall be presented by the Host IC to the members of the winning teams and the runners-up in the Windmill Trophy and the Mercelis Trophy.



6. Souvenir prizes to others participating shall be at the discretion of the Host IC.



VII. MISCELLANEOUS



Any matter not covered specifically by these Rules shall be decided upon by the Host IC and where applicable in accordance with Rule I # 4 and any other standing rules or regulations from time to time issued by the Executive Committee of the Council.











RECOMMENDATIONS



Should the hosting IC enter a second team in any of the competitions played during an IC Week, according to Rule 5 # 4 the recommendations are:- the second team cannot have a bye in the first round;

- the second team shall be placed in the same half of the draw as the first team, to avoid a final between two teams of the same nation;

- the second team cannot be seeded.