CNPL Rules v1.05 06APR24

BEFORE A MATCH

The team designated as the away team will decide their lineup for mixed doubles no later
than 15 minutes before the match. The team designated as the home team will then counter
with their lineup for mixed doubles. 5 minutes before the match begins the team captains
will meet the referee(s) at the court to set the scoresheets.

WARMUP

Each team will have a two-minute warmup period prior to each game. Players are expected
to practice on a court nearby and be ready to play all matches including their first match, fully
equipped. Additional warmup courts and times will be determined on a case-by-case basis,
depending on the day’s immediate format and scheduling needs. Players should not expect
additional warmup time after team matches have started.

STARTING A MATCH

The team designated as the away team will make the choice for a coin flip. The winner of the
coin flip will choose the order of games to be played in the match OR the side they start on
and the loser will choose the other. The home team will serve.

MATCH STRUCTURE

Each CNPL event format and order will be determined by the league officials. For the 2024
season each game will be played with standard rally scoring to 21 points, win by 1, with any
winning point to be scored on a teams own serve. There will be four games played each
match in the order selected by the winner of the coin toss. Teams will change ends between
games. This order and format are subject to change by the CNPL officials. In rally scoring,
players do not switch serving (playing) sides after each point. Players may only switch playing
sides during a time-out.

FREEZE

A team being frozen means they can only score their remaining point(s) in the game on their
own serve. The first team to reach 20 points will freeze and will reduce the freeze threshold to
19. If the trailing team is not at 19 points, they will continue to score rally points until they
reach 19 points and will then be frozen.

PLAYER INITIATED TIME-OUTS

Teams will each be allowed 2 time-outs per game and up to one-minute each time. Players
must call “time-out” directly to the referee who will acknowledge and commence setting a
timer. The referee will say “time-over” when the one-minute is up.

NON-PLAYER INITIATED TIME-OUTS

Additional time-outs may be called by the CNPL officials and/or referees for purposes of
livestream and/or broadcast, to address equipment issues, or for any other reason deemed
necessary by CNPL or the Commissioner.

Time-outs are also permitted to be called for referee, fan, equipment operator, or player injury.
Non-player time-outs should be held to a maximum of 15-minutes unless otherwise
determined at the discretion of the Commissioner. The 15-minute timer will start when
medical staff have arrived at the court side.

COACHING & LINE CALLS

Sideline coaching by non-playing players, coaches, and general managers is permitted when
the match is not in play providing that it does not interrupt or disrupt the opposing team in
any way. Official line calls must come from the players on court directly, immediately, and
with no influence from others. Once a call has been made by the referee there are no further
challenges allowed on the play.

TEAM SUBSTITUTIONS

Team substitutions can be made prior to a match commencing and not during a match.
Teams are not allowed to substitute a player during a live match and must wait until the
match is over, only then can a team substitute for an alternate to be used in subsequent
matches to follow.

If a player becomes injured, ill, or required to leave for emergency personal/family events the
team must forfeit the current game and any subsequent games in the current match the
player would have played. A player that does not finish a match will be ineligible for the
remainder of that day. If a player is substituted off for an injury and is subsequently recovers
from that injury the next day their return will be at the discretion of the medical staff.

REFEREES

Assessed referees will be provided for all matches. On the court will be one lead referee and a
second referee. The CNPL may include additional tracking methods at a later date. Based on
the availability of referees and at the discretion of the Commissioner games may be played
with only one referee.

REVIEWS

There will be no live instant replay of results for the purpose of review. We will not rely on
technology for the purpose of reviews or challenges. All reviews and challenges will be at the
discretion of the referee(s).

CHALLENGES

Teams may appeal to a referee about a line call. If a referee is able to overturn a blatantly
incorrect line call a technical warning shall be issued. As is standard, a second overturned call
and subsequent second technical warning will result in the loss of a point to the player (team)
who made the incorrect call. It remains in the referee’s power to issue a technical warning for
repeatedly appealing line calls.

TIE BREAKERS

In the event that each of the two teams win two games within a match, those teams will
compete in a head-to-head rotational singles match. Each member of a team will play 3
points until a total score of 21 is reached. The teams will switch sides of the court when one
team reaches a score of 11. Normal freeze rules will apply to tiebreakers.