Ping Pong Championship Rules

Pandemic Champ

The pandemic champ is @philmadden83. Which makes him the longest reigning champ.

Article 1 - Committee Rulings

1. Any additional rules must be voted on and win by a 2/3 majority in order to be ratified.
2. In order to be a voting member, a player must meet one of the following requirements:
   1. Contributing member to the ping-pong-champion-rules git repo.
   2. Won a championship title at some time in the past.
   3. A current Vivid Seats employee that has seen the movie Balls of Fury
3. Founding members may never have their voting rights revoked. The founders are Tom Mackenzie, Phil Madden, and Joshua Naylor.

Article 2 - Obtaining Championship Status

1. Championship matches are played best 3 out of 5, 2 serves each to eleven points as per the ITTF Handbook.
2. Serves must follow the rules defined in Section 2.6 of the ITTF Handbook.
   1. Starts with the ball resting freely on an open palm
   2. Toss ball vertically upwards, without imparting spin, so that it rises at least 16cm (approximately 6in)
3. If a player bests their opponent in each of the first three games, they are required to offer a 'winner takes all' round. The winner of the 'winner takes all' round becomes the CHAMPION.
4. If during any championship match a player is beaten 11-0, skunk rules go into effect which automatically make the winning player the CHAMPION.
5. If it's your birthday and there is no current champ then you become the champ 🍰.

Article 3 - Immunity & Forfeiture

1. If a player challenges the CHAMPION, the CHAMPION may do one of three things:
   1. Accept the challenge and place the title on the line. Backing out of an accepted challenge results in a forfeit.
   2. Defer the challenge. The current CHAMPION may defer a challenge until the next working day. It is up to the challenger to re-initiate the challenge at a mutually agreed upon time. If a time cannot be agreed upon or work duties prevent the match from occurring, the CHAMPION retains Championship status. Note that if the CHAMPION is out of office (OOO) the next day and has accepted a challenge, the CHAMPION relinquishes Championship status and rule #3 of this section may go into effect.
   3. Forfeit. Forfeiture immediately bestows the rights and privileges of CHAMPIONship status to the challenger.
2. Any non-CHAMPION challenges are called 'Exhibition Matches' and do not bestow any rights or privileges to the participants.
3. If the existing CHAMPION is OOO for 2 working days then they relinquish their Championship status at the time they leave the office. At this time, any two players can escalate an 'Exhibition Match' to a Championship match.
4. If the existing CHAMPION leaves the state of Illinois for a period which will extend beyond 2 working days, they immeidately relinquish their Championship status upon crossing state lines.