USA Racquetball Rules: 12 - National Masters Racquetball Association (NMRA)#

In general, competition will follow the standard rules governing racquetball established by the USAR, except for the modifications that follow. Consult the NMRA President regarding any changes after this publication. The NMRA President or other designated person will resolve all NMRA rules questions or disputes.

Players at least 40 years of age are eligible to compete in an NMRA event. Competition is offered at 5-year age increments. Players must play in their proper age group as determined by their age on the first day of the tournament. You must be a current member of the USAR as of the first and last day of the tournament to compete.

All NMRA events are played as round robins. If there are more than 12 players/teams in an age bracket, then it will be split into pools. The top finisher from each pool will play a single elimination playoff to determine the champion. When there are only two flights, the top three players/teams are selected for the playoff. Playoff matches are two games to 15 points with a tiebreaker game to 11 (if necessary).

Games will be played to 15 points. A match consists of two games. Ties are possible.

Each player/team receives credit for every point scored during the match. They also earn two added points for each game they win, plus 4 additional points if they win the match by scoring more overall points than their opponent. However, if each player/team wins a game and the scores are the same, then there is no match winner and the match is recorded as a “tie”. A “tie” match results in each player/team earning 2 points for the game they won, plus 2 more points, i.e. one-half of the 4 additional points usually earned by the winner of the match.

The finishing positions of the players/teams are determined based on who earned the highest average number of points (total overall points earned divided by total number of games played).

If a tie exists between two or more players/teams after considering who had the highest average number of points, then the winner of their "head-to-head" match or matches will receive the higher place of finish.

If a tie still exists between two or more players/teams, then the higher place of finish goes to whichever player/team had the lowest average of points scored against them. Forfeits will not be considered for this calculation.

Should a tie still remain between two players/teams, then a "Tiebreaker Game" played to 11 points will determine the higher place of finish. If there are three players/ teams still tied after applying the preceding paragraphs, then the player/team with the higher seeding shall get a bye and play the winner of the 11-point “Tie-Breaker Game” played by the two other “tied” players/ teams. By mutual consent of ALL tied players/teams involved, a singles coin flip can be substituted for playing a "Tiebreaker Game".

The basic USAR forfeit rule (Policy B.5(d)) applies with the added provisions that follow. Since it is the goal at the multi- day NMRA events to play a lot of matches, some flexibility is possible. If a player or team must forfeit a match, the tournament director can decide to forfeit the team out of the tournament or allow subsequent matches to be played. Medals will not be awarded unless all matches are played. If a team/player forfeits a match, they receive zero points for that match and their opponents receive the maximum total points for the match.

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