2.1 AUTHORITY FOR ORGANISATION

2.1.1 The title "Commonwealth Championships", referred to hereafter to as "Championships", shall be bestowed by the BGM on the championship events at a tournament organised by an Association entrusted with the task.

2.1.2 The Championships shall be held biennially where possible in tandem with the World Championships. They shall not be held in the same year as the Commonwealth Games, provided that table tennis is included within those Games. The Championships shall be organised by such one of the member Associations as may be decided upon by a majority of member Associations. In assigning future Championships regard shall be paid to the intended venue of World Chmapionships during the same season and to any other factors which may facilitate the desired objective of maximum opportunity for participation of member Associations.

22.1.3 An Association wishing to organise the Championships shall send a written application to the Honorary Secretary at least four months prior to the next General Meeting.

2.1.4 The written application is to include the following basic information:

2.1.4.1 Playing venue and facilities

2.1.4.2 Hotel accommodation

2.1.4.3 Sponsorship

2.1.4.4 TV coverage

2.1.4.5 Services

2.1.4.6 Visa and health requirements

2.1.5 The guidelines outlined in the "ITTF Organisation of Championships Handbook" may be used to provide information at the discretion of the Classification and Technical Committee.

2.1.6 The Executive Committee will review the applications received and present their findings to the Management Committee which will make the appropriate recommendations to the General Meeting.

2.1.7 Any option granted will take account of Rule 2.1.2

2.1.8 In the event of the venue for a World Championships being cancelled or changed, after the granting of an option for a Commonwealth Championships, the Executive Committee is empowered to take appropriate action if necessary to ensure Rule 2.1.2 is observed and to advise the Management Committee

2.1.9 After the granting of an option to an Association to organise the next Championships, the Association must officially confirm in writing to the Honorary Secretary, within three months of the BGM at which the option was granted, details of the preparatory organisation, appointment of committees, and such information to ensure that plans for the Championships have been commenced. In addition regular reports updating such information, are to be forwarded each three months following the date of the first report.

2.1.10 If the Association which has been granted the option to host the next Championships, does not comply with the conditions as outlined in Rule 2.1.9, the Chairman and the Honorary Secretary are empowered to investigate and if necessary seek an alternative venue.

2.1.11 All communications forwarded from the Organising Committee to member Associations must also be sent to members of the Executive Committee and the Chairman of the Classification & Technical Committee at their home addresses.

2.1.12 When an Association has been granted an option to organise the next Championships, they must appoint an Organising Director immediately, whose name and address is to be forwarded to the Honorary Secretary.

2.2 HOSPITALITY

2.2.1 The Organising Association shall provide accommodation and meals from the evening before the Championships begin until the morning after the Championships end for:

2.2.1.1 not more than eight players, including playing or non-playing captains, nominated by an Association competing in both Men's and Women's team events;

2.2.1.2 not more than four players, including playing or non-playing captain, nominated by an Association competing only in men's team events;

2.2.1.3 not more than four players, including playing or non-playing captain, nominated by an Association competing only in women's team events;

2.2.1.4 not more than two players nominated by an Association not competing in either of the team events;

2.2.1.5 one delegate to the BGM from each Association if not already included in the nominated players listed above;

2.2.1.6 CTTF Officers, Management Committee and Classification & Technical Committee members;

2.2.1.7 Personal Honorary Members;

2.2.1.8 International match officials from other Associations invited to officiate at the Championships;

2.2.1.9 If the business of the CTTF extends outside the period of the Championships the period of hospitality for those entitled to participate in such business shall be extended correspondingly.

2.2.2 The Organising Committee Association shall provide transport of its choice between the place of accommodation and the playing venue.

2.2.2.3 The Organising Association shall request its national authorities to waive visa charges for all participants.

2.3 ENTRIES

2.3.1 Eligibility

2.3.1.1 Only an Association which has paid all membership fees up to and including that for the year preceding the Championships shall be eligible to receive entry forms and to enter teams or individual players in the Championships.

2.3.2 Fees

2.3.2.1 The entry fee shall be 4 units for each entry in a team event, 2 units for each entry in a doubles event and 1 unit for each entry in a singles event, each unit being a currency figure approved by the Management Committee and equivalent to about GBP 5.50.

2.3.2.2 The entry fee shall be paid to the Organising Association and shall become its property; these fees shall be due in full at the time of entry or a deposit of GBP 75, whichever sum is the greater.

2.3.2.3 Entry fees or deposit shall be forfeited if an Association withdraws a team after the date of the draw, except that the Management Committee may authorise the refund of all or part of the fees or deposit paid where an Association is prevented from participation in the Championships by circumstances outside its control.

2.3.2.4 The CTTF shall levy the sum of GBP 85 on each Association taking part in a team event. This levy is in addition to the entry fees and payable at the same time.

2.3.3 Submission

2.3.3.1 Entries shall be submitted on an entry form provided by the Organising Association and based on a standard form approved by the Executive Committee.

2.3.3.2 The closing date for entries shall not be later than six weeks before the commencement date of the Championships.

2.3.3.3 An Association wishing to enter a team or individual event shall notify the Organising Association on or before the closing date, sending one copy of the entry form to the Chairman of the Classification & Technical Committee and one copy to the Honorary Secretary, both copies to be sent by FAX.

2.3.3.4 An Association wishing to enter a team event shall nominate not more than five players for the men's team event and not more than five players for the women's team event, and may nominate also a non-playing captain for the team; if a non-playing captain is not appointed for a team one of the team players shall be designated as a captain.

2.3.3.5 An Association wishing to enter players or pairs in individual event shall list its nominated players or pairs in each event in order of playing strength at the time of entry.

2.3.3.6 All players and non-playing captains nominated by Association must be eligible to represent that Association

2.3.3.7 The Organising Association may accept only entries which are received properly signed by a responsible representative of the nominating Association, on or before the closing date, in no circumstances shall it accept entries other than formal nominations by an eligible Association

2.3.4 Modification

2.3.4.1 Additional or modified entries may be accepted by the Organising Association, if notified by a responsible representative of the nominating Association at any time up to the date of the draw.

2.3.4.2 The nominating Association may change the composition of a team by notifying the Organising Association up to ten days before the start of the Championships, but thereafter only with the unanimous consent of the Jury and in no circumstances after the start of the event.

2.3.4.3 As soon as he arrives at the Championships, the representative of an Association requesting a change in the draw in consequence of any error or absence shall notify the referee or his deputy or confirm any change already notified on a form provided for the purpose.

2.3.4.4 A request for modification of an entry cannot be considered unless it is made or confirmed by the representative of an Association immediately on arrival, other than a request based on the subsequent absence, illness or injury of one player of a doubles pair which shall be made as soon as the contingency arises.

2.3.4.5 A player entered in a team event may be allowed to pair with the partner of an absent, ill or injured player in a doubles event, provided he is not already entered in that event with a partner who is present and fit to play.

2.3.4.6 All alterations that are authorised shall be notified immediately to team captains and, where appropriate, to Association representatives.

2.3.5 Obligations

2.3.5.1 The entry form shall contain a statement to be signed by a responsible representative of the nominating Association on behalf of all its nominated players and captains, that all persons entered herein are eligible to represent their Association in accordance with Rule 1.14, that they understand and accept the conditions of the Championships and that they are prepared to compete against all other teams and individuals participating; no entry shall be valid unless accompanied by this declaration.

2.3.5.2 In individual events all entrants are accepted as individual competitors; they shall be bound do their utmost to win events which they are entered, irrespective to whether other entrants from the same Association have been accepted to take part, and shall not withdraw except for reasons of illness or injury.

2.4 JURY

2.4.1 Matters of appeal within the jurisdiction of the tournament management committee, and the authorisation of team changes requested by rule later than ten days before the start of the Championships, shall be the responsibility of the Jury

2.4.2 The Jury shall consist of The Chairman of the Classification & Technical Committee as the Chairman, and two others appointed by the Management Committee. The Referee may attend with the right to speak but not to vote.

2.4.2.1 The Chairman of the CTTF shall appoint some other person(s) to the Jury to replace any of the members if there should be a conflict of interest regarding an appeal.

2.4.2.2 Any Association directly affected by a matter under consideration at a Jury meeting shall be entitled to be represented at that meeting.

2.4.2.3 The Jury shall meet before the start of the Championships to be informed of all draw alterations requested up to that time and decide any outstanding requests for changes in the composition of teams and draw alterations. The Jury shall meet again only when convened by the Chairman of the Jury to consider appeals against its administrative decisions or decisions by the Referee.

2.4.2.4 No changes shall be made to the draw of a team event except with the unanimous consent of the Jury.

2.5 TEAM EVENTS

2.5.1 The basic concept for the team events shall be group play in three stages which meet the following criteria:
(i) Teams to play at least 6 matches
(ii) Teams finishing 1st and 2nd in stage 1 group to go forward to the same level stage 2 groups (i.e. to be still challenging for the title)
(iii) Only teams finishing 1st in stage 2 groups to go forward for the title
(iv) Weaker teams to play more matches with teams of comparable strength
(v) The format to achieve a true final
(vi) No more than three matches per day
(vii) Competition to be completed in three days, except that the Final may be on the 4th day

2.5.1.1 The stage 1 groups shall be seeded in accordance with the seeding list provided by the Classification & Technical Committee. The remaining teams shall be taken in seeding list order, two to six a time depending on the number of groups and drawn into the groups.

2.5.1.2 Details of the approved playing format will be forwarded to the host Association by the Chairman of the Classification & Technical Committee.

2.5 2 Match Procedures

2.5.2.1 Matches between teams in both Men's and Women's teams events shall be played between three players in the following order:
A v X, B v Y, C v Z, A v Y, and B v X. Matches will stop once a winning lead has been established.

2.5.3 Default

2.5.3.1 An Association will be eligible to play in the Championships provided it has paid in full any outstanding annual subscriptions and entry fees or levy due for previous Championships it had entered.

2.5.3.2 An Association whose team is entered in the draw but which fails to compete in the event without adequate justification may be subject to disciplinary action by the BGM.

2.5.3.3 A team may begin, continue and complete a match only with the full complement of players specified for the event, except that the Referee may, at his discretion allow a team to play with one player absent or individual match to be omitted from the sequence where he is satisfied that the absence is due to accident, illness, injury or other circumstances outside the control of the player or Association concerned.

2.5.3.4 An Association whose team begins to play in the event but which fails to compete its schedule of matches, shall be liable to forfeit its entitlement to hospitality for its representatives at the Championships; appeal against such forfeit may be made to the Executive Committee whose decision shall be final.

2.5.3.5 Where a team fails to complete its schedule of matches, its results in any uncompleted stage of the event shall be cancelled.

2.6 INDIVIDUAL EVENTS

2.6.1 Entries for the Men's and Women's Singles shall be limited to 128, for the Mixed Doubles limited to 128 pairs and for the Men's and Women's Doubles to 64 pairs. Any entries in excess of these limits shall be placed in a qualifying competition.

2.6.2 The Organising Association shall have the right to enter up to 16 players in the Men's and Women's Singles events and up to 8 pairs in the Men's and Women's Doubles events plus 16 pairs in the Mixed Doubles. Other Associations shall have the right to enter up to 8 players in the Men's Singles event, up to 8 players in the Women's Singles event, up to 4 pairs in the Men's Doubles event, up to 4 pairs in the Women's Doubles event and up to 8 pairs in the Mixed Doubles. Additional entries may be accepted from any Association at the discretion of the Executive Committee.

2.6.3 The Mixed Doubles shall be a compulsory event.

2.6.4 Matches shall be determined by the best of five games in all events except Individual Singles proper, where they shall determined by the best of seven games.

2.7 CONSOLATION EVENTS

2.7.1 The Organising Association may, with the approval of the Management Committee, add to the programme of events played during the Championships Men's and Women's Consolation Singles. If played, these events shall be open to players defeated in the first two rounds of the Men's and Women's Singles Championships (walkover but not byes counting as a played round) and to all players defeated in qualifying competitions. Consolation event matches shall be the best of five games.

2.8 THE DRAW

2.8.1 The Draw shall be conducted by the Organising Association, using the seeding list supplied by the Classification & Technical Committee, in accordance with the ITTF Regulations for International Competition.

2.8.2 The Draw shall be supervised by the Chairman of the Classification Technical Committee or by a qualified nominee appointed by the Executive Committee.

2.8.2.1 The draw for the team event shall be conducted in a period between 28 days and 4 days prior to the commencement of the Championships.

2.8.2.2 No team will be included in the draw for team events unless they have confirmed the estimated time of arrival at the local airport or playing venue AT LEAST FIVE DAYS prior to the commencement of the Championships.

2.8.2.3 The draw for the individual events shall be conducted on the first or second day of the team event.

2.8.3 Representatives of all Associations whose players are entered shall be entitled to attend the Draw.

2.8.4 The Draw may only be altered by the Jury and in accordance with ITTF regulations.

2.9 SCHEDULING

2.9.1 The team events shall be scheduled to precede the individual events, and shall be completed in not more than three playing days. Prior to the conclusion of these days no individual event matches may be played except for qualifying stages which may be scheduled then only if and to the extent that they involve solely players who are not involved in team event.

2.9.2 The individual events shall be scheduled to be completed in the maximum of three further days.

2.9.3 No player may be called upon to play more than seven matches in individual events in one day or more than three in one session of four hours without his consent, and no team may be called upon to play more than three Championship team matches a day without its captain's consent, except that a refusal to play may be overruled in emergency by the Jury.

2.10 ITTF REGULATIONS

2.10.1 The ITTF Regulations for Restricted International Competitions shall apply to the Commonwealth Championships where not in conflict with these regulations.

2.11 AWARDS

2.11.1 Prizes shall be limited in accordance with ITTF World Championship regulations for the time being in force. This shall not prevent the distribution of souvenirs by the Organising Association if it shall desire, subject to the sanction of the Management Committee.

2.11.2 The permanent Championship trophies shall be:

2.11.2.1 MEN'S TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP - Home Association's Cup

2.11.2.2 WOMEN'S TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP - India Cup

2.11.2.3 MEN'S SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP - Singapore Cup

2.11.2.4 WOMEN'S SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP - Oceania Cup

2.11.2.5 MEN'S DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIP - Hong Kong Cup

2.11.2.6 WOMEN'S DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIP - Canada Cup

2.11.2.7 MIXED DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIP - Guernsey Cup

2.11.2.8 COMTAB FAIRPLAY TROPHY - Donated by the Swaythling Club of India

2.11.2.9 THE KENYA CUP - Donated by Kenya Table Tennis Association

2.11.3 The award of the Comtab Fairplay Trophy shall be made by a panel of three people comprising:

2.11.3.1 One member nominated by the Chairman of the CTTF

2.11.3.2 One member of the Press nominated by the Organising Committee

2.11.3.3 One member nominated by the Swaythling Club of the host country

2.11.4 A representative of the city in which the Championships is held shall be entitled to hold, for the same period as for the Championships trophies, the KENYA CUP, the symbol of the friendship of the Championships.

2.11.4.1 The KENYA CUP shall be handed over at the Opening Ceremony and the permanent trophies shall be presented at a Closing Ceremony to their respective holders for the ensuing period.

2.11.5 The Association whose team or player wins a trophy shall acknowledge its receipt in writing and shall deliver it, at the end of the specified period, to the place and at a time agreed with the Hon. Secretary and within 14 days of formal notification by him.

2.11.5.1 The Association acknowledging receipt of a trophy shall be responsible for its safe keeping including the arrangement of insurance, and the cost of responsibility of engraving will be that of the Organising Association of the current Championships.

2.11.5.2 If a trophy is lost while in possession of an Association, that Association shall be responsible for the provision of a similar replacement trophy.

2.11.6 In both team and individual events the winners shall receive gold medals, the losing finalists silver medals, the losing semi-finalists in individual events and the 3rd and 4th teams in the team events shall receive bronze medals.

2.12 RESULTS

2.12.1 During the Championships, details of results, including points scored, shall be made available promptly to CTTF Officers, members of the Management and Classification & Technical Committees, delegates and team captains.

2.12.2 As soon as possible after the completion of the Championships, the Organising Association shall publish the complete results, including points scored, and circulate them to CTTF Officers, members of the Management Committee and Classification & Technical Committee and all participating Associations.