COMPETITION REGULATIONS
These regulations form part of
South Pine Touch's terms and conditions. Edition 12, 17 July 2023.
INTRODUCTION
The aim of the South Pine Touch
competition is to provide touch players and families with an opportunity to
participate in an enjoyable, low cost, team sport at a local suburban sports
facility. The benefits of such a competition include a social participation
whilst gaining a level of fitness and family fun for all levels.
1.
PURPOSE
1.1. These regulations govern
the management of South Pine Touch's competitions and tournaments and should be
read and applied in conjunction with the Touch Football – Laws of the Game,
Codes of Conduct and 8th Edition
rules. Teams nominating and participating in a competition are deemed to
agree to abide by the competition regulations and laws of the game and codes of
conduct.
2. NOTICES
2.1.The South Pine Touch committee
will issue notices by any one or a number of the following methods - email,
telephone (including text), the association's website and Facebook page and
using whiteboard notices which will be located in the clubhouse on competition
nights. Email will be the primary method and team managers are required
to provide an email address and at least one telephone number for this
purpose. Notices issued by the committee will be deemed to be received by
team captains and the South Pine Touch committee will not accept responsibility
for teams not being advised of information in those notices.
3. LAWS OF
THE GAME
3.1. All competition games will
be played, administered and governed by Touch Football Association– Laws of the
Game – 8th Edition Playing Rules, and any local rules that
the South Pine Touch committee determine, from time to time. Team captains and
players should read and understand these laws.
4.
COMPETITION NOMINATIONS
4.1. South Pine Touch will
accept registrations from teams, groups and individuals. Registrations
are to be on the prescribed team and/or player registration form, signed and
submitted in the manner outlined by the committee, prior to the nominated
close-off times and with the required payments/deposits. Acceptance of registrations
is at the discretion of the South Pine Touch committee and conditional on
applicants agreeing to pay the prescribed deposits and fees.
4.2. For both the senior Monday
and Thursday night competitions, registered players must be a minimum of 12
years of age turning 13 in the current year to be eligible to participate in
the South Pine Touch competitions (proof of identity may be requested at the
discretion of the committee and failure to provide proof of age will prevent
such person from participating in the competition).
4.3. Late registrations may be
accepted at the discretion of the committee. A late fee may apply.
4.4. A team or
individual can have their registration withdrawn and be ejected from a
competition on disciplinary grounds or failing to follow competition management
directions.
5. TEAM
NAMES
5.1. Proposed team names must
be included on the registration forms. Names deemed to be offensive or in
poor taste will be rejected by the committee. If duplications occur
priority will be given to the team that previously used that name. If
this situation does not apply priority will be given to the nomination received
first.
6. TEAM
MANAGER/CAPTAINS
6.1. Teams are to have a
designated team captain and/or manager whose responsibilities include:-
1. Checking for and receiving notices and advising team
members of relevant information in those notices
2. Checking wet weather notices
3. Ensuring team fees are paid by the due dates
4. All team members complete a player registration form
before playing their first game
5. All team members sign the game registration sheet, each
week, before taking the field. This covers players for both end of season team
qualification and insurance
6. Ensuring all team members abide by laws of the game,
regulations and codes of conduct
7. Checking the draw on game day for changes
8. Represent players, supporters and officials in
communications with South Pine Touch committee.
7. TEAM
FEES
7.1. Deposits and payments are
to be made to the South Pine Touch treasurer. Committee members are not
normally able to accept payments unless special arrangements have been made by
the competition president.
7.2. Team captains/managers and
individuals are to ensure that deposits and payments are made by the due dates
specified by competition committee. If payments are not made by the due
dates those teams may be prevented from participating any further in the
competition until such payments are made. Deposits are required before
taking the field in round 1, regardless of whether a team has a bye or not, and
full balances are required by round 4, or as stipulated by the competition
committee if a pre-competition meeting is held.
7.3. If a team withdraws prior
to the commencement of a competition a full refund of payments received will be
made. If a team withdraws after the commencement of a competition but before
round 4 is played it will be entitled to a proportionate refund less the
competition deposit. Withdrawals after round 4 in a competition may
attract a refund at the discretion of the competition committee.
7.4. If a team is ejected after
the commencement of a competition a proportion of paid fees less the
competition deposit may be refunded at the discretion of competition committee.
7.5. The South Pine Touch
committee may offer discounts to loyal teams in accordance with policies in
position at that time.
7.6. If prescribed fees have
not been paid on time, the South Pine Touch committee may apply an additional
late fee.
8. TEAM
REGISTRATION
8.1. Each team member is to
enter the required details on the team registration form before playing in the
competition. Teams playing unregistered, non-financial players or higher
graded players will lose points gained as a result of that game.
9. GAME
REGISTRATION
9.1. Each player is required to
have completed the online MySideline individual player registration for each
team in which that player wishes to participate. On every competition
night, they must also sign their name, next to their listed name on the
pre-printed competition night game registration sheet, prior to taking the
field. The game registration sheet is located at tournament
administration and will be removed at half time. The sheets for the next
games will be made available for signing.
9.2. Teams playing unregistered, incorrectly registered or non-financial
players may lose points gained as a result of that game.
9.3. Players are not to sign on
if they are not playing in that game - refer
to FAIR PLAY RULE 10.1
9.4. The South Pine Touch
committee members or, referees may request photo identification for any player
wishing to participate in finals games.
9.5. Players must be registered
and have played a minimum of five (5) competition games, refer to FAIR PLAY
RULE 10.1, with their registered team/s to qualify to
play in finals with that team (qualification for finals will be taken from the
weekly team sign-on sheet). Round games that are cancelled during the season
due to the weather, will count towards a player's game count. Byes and forfeits
received will count towards a player's game count. Forfeits given by a
team DO NOT COUNT toward a player's game count.
10. FAIR PLAY RULE
10.1. A player
should not sign on for a match if they do not intend to have a regular and
genuine involvement, as part of the rotation of players subbing on and off
the field, over the full course of the match.
10.2. The intent of the Fair Play rule is
to stop players intentionally taking the field, for an insignificant amount of
time or to only have a token involvement in a match, for the purpose of
accruing a game played for any form of game eligibility, in particular finals
eligibility. The intent of the rule is not to disallow players, who suffer an
injury during a match or due to other extenuating circumstances are forced to
leave a match early, from signing on and having the match counted as a game
played for finals eligibility purposes.
10.3. Where a breach of this rule has
occurred, the player will be deemed not to have played the match for
eligibility purposes, and other penalties may be imposed including a loss of
points, fine or other penalty as deemed appropriate by SPTA.
11. PLAYER
QUALIFICATION/ELIGIBILITY
11.1. As South Pine Touch
facilitates family members and friends being able to play touch together, it
does allow players to play in more than one grade, but no more than 2 grades on
any one-competition night. Players
may only play for one team in any one grade. If
players do play in two grades on the same competition night, they may not
fill-in for any other teams on that night. A bye/forfeit in any particular
grade that a player may play, counts as a game played for that night. The
maximum number of games a player can play is 2 per competition night (this
includes byes and forfeits).
11.2. Players, playing in two
different grades will be deemed to have a primary team, being the higher
graded team that the player plays in, and a secondary team, which is the team
in the lower grade. Players must meet the grading
criteria to play in both teams in the same season; that
is they must
participate in 75% of the grading games, in the lower graded team, ie
they have played at least 3 of the first 4 round games in the lower graded
team. This must be evidenced by the player signing the team sign on sheet for
each round played.
Bearing this
in mind, if a team is re-graded into a grade that the player already plays in
(i.e. their primary team), that player must then make a decision, for that
season, as to which team they will remain in. Players cannot play in two teams in the same grade.
If you do play in multiple
teams, and these teams make the semis/finals series, then you may be faced with
the situation of having to choose which team to play for. South Pine
cannot make any guarantees that it will be able to organise games to prevent
clashes; this is not always possible.
11.3. The maximum number of
players that may play together in two teams of various grades is three (3). No
more than three players from any one team may play together in another grade on
the same competition night. Teams cannot use anymore than the three (3) players
from the one team as fill-in players, if any of the three (3) players who now
play in two teams is unable to play on any competition night.
12. FILL-IN
PLAYERS
12.1. A player (from another
registered team in the same competition) may fill-in for another team from time
to time, however, they can only play a maximum of 2 games per competition night
(this includes their regular team game). They can only fill-in if they play in
an equal or lower grade and only
if the team they are filling in for is short on the night ie C
grade player may play for a B grade team. An A
grade player can only fill-in for another A grade team.
12.2. Fill-in players (from
other teams) may not make up more than the number of players the opposition
team has.
12.3. Fill-in players are not
to play anymore than five (5) games in another team (whether equal or higher
graded). If a player plays more than 5 games for a higher graded team, they
will be deemed to be a permanent member of the higher graded team and will no
longer be able to play for the lower graded team for the remainder of the
season. This clause excludes players who have complied with the grading
criteria - see clause 10.2.
12.4. Fill-in players, who play
in their own permanent team, are not eligible to assist other teams during the
finals series, if their own team does not qualify for finals.
12.5. All fill-in players must
sign the team sign-on card for the team they have filled in for. This
responsibility rests with both the individual player and the captain of the
team the player is filling in for. Penalties may apply where these
regulations are not followed.
13. PLAYER
TRANSFERS
13.1. A player may transfer to
another team in a higher grade during the season by submitting a written
request to competition committee together with the approval of both team
captains/managers concerned. Such transfers will be approved only if they
are to take place before the fourth last game prior to finals for that
competition.
13.2. A player from a higher
grade may not transfer to a lower grade team during the season.
14.
TEAM CAPTAINS
14.1. Team captains are the
only players who can communicate with referees during the course of a
game. The course of a game includes a period of time before commencement
of play when players are gathering in preparation and a period of time after
the conclusion of play when players are dispersing - refer to South Pine Touch's Zero Tolerance Policy.
Team captains are responsible for:-
1. Participating in the coin toss
prior to commencement of play
2. The
conduct of all team members during the course of the game
3. Signing
the score card at the completion of play
4. Giving
the identity of players when requested by the game referee.
15.
PRE-COMPETITION INFORMATION
15.1. Pre-competition
information may be distributed to team captains/managers prior to the first
round game of each season. This information may highlight a number of the
association's rules and will refer team captains and their team members to the
website to reference the association's competition regulations, the Code of
Conduct and the terms and conditions of the competition. The appropriate
means for all members to contact
the executive committee will also be outlined in this information.
The information may include but
will not be limited to :
1. Season fees
2.
Grading
3. Game
start times
4. Player
registration
5. Player
qualification
6. Player
eligibility for finals
7. Forfeits
8.
Wet weather procedure
9. Any
variations to the previous season's regulations or the laws of the game.
15.2. At the start of the year
each team will be provided with a competition touch ball to be used for both
the autumn and spring competitions.
16. TEAM
NOMINATIONS/PLAYER REGISTRATIONS
16.1. Teams and individuals
will not be eligible to compete unless their nomination/registration has been
completed online and accepted and approved by the competition committee and
deposits/fees have been paid by stipulated dates.
16.2.
Acceptance of all team nominations is at the discretion of the South Pine Touch
Association (SPTA) management committee. The SPTA committee reserve the right
to refuse a team's entry or an individual player's entry to the competition, if
circumstances permit.
16.3. A player must have
completed the online player registration through MySideline, signed the game
registration sheet and played at least five (5) rounds in the competition in
their registered team/s to be eligible to play with that team in finals games.
16.4. A registered player who
has not played enough games to qualify for finals games may be given an
exemption on medical (injury or ill-health) or employment transfer grounds if a
relevant certificate is supplied to the competition committee. Documentation supporting such
circumstances should be provided to the committee at least five (5) days before
the competition game in question. A player seeking such an
exemption must have played at least four rounds in that competition for that
team.
16.5. If a team is unable to
compete in finals games because of insufficient player numbers as required by
the Rules of the Game that team may be permitted to use replacement players
from the player pool nominated by the committee to make up the minimum number
of players required to take the field. If the opposing team
captain/manager agrees the number of players may be made up to a full
complement without reserves. Any reserve player must not play in a higher
grade in the same division on the same night/day in that competition.
16.6. Captains/managers seeking
permission to use additional players from the player pool must make a written
submission to the competition committee at least five (5) days before
competition game and are to includes details of why replacement players are
required.
17.
DRAW and CHANGES
17.1. The South Pine Touch
committee are unable to accept requests from teams for specific game times due
to the volume of teams registered in the competition. An equal and fair
rotation of game times for all teams will be applied.
17.2.
Competition draws for each grade will be published on the South Pine Touch
website and MySideline. Draws will be published by 5pm on the Sunday
prior to the Monday night competition and 5pm on the Wednesday prior to the
Thursday night competition.
17.3. South Pine Touch may need
to make changes to the draw from time to time for various reasons. All changes
will be updated on the respective draw page of the South Pine Touch website and
via MySideline. If
changes are made after 5pm on the Sunday, prior to games for the Monday night
competition, or 5pm on the Wednesday prior to games for the Thursday night
competition, team captains/managers will be advised by
text/telephone from the competition administrator. Where a contact number for a
team is not recorded, then an email will be sent to the team captain.
17.4. Requests
by team captains/managers for changes or specific date considerations with draw
planning should be submitted to the competition committee seven days prior to
the relevant competition game.
18.
FORFEITS
18.1. If a team cannot take the
field with the minimum required number of players to commence a game as per the
programmed start time they will be penalised one try for every
minute that passes (eg
three minutes late equals 0-3 score), up to maximum of five minutes (5) minutes, when the
game is then deemed a forfeit. That team will lose the game by forfeit and the
non-offending team will be awarded the win with a 5-0 score.
18.2. If neither team is
eligible to commence the game the result will be entered as a draw.
18.3. If a team is not at the
field at the time of the toss, the attending team can be awarded the winning of
the toss.
18.4. If a team notifies
competition committee by 4pm on the day of the scheduled game that it must
forfeit the game it will be awarded 1 point for the loss. If a team does
not advise of the forfeit by 4pm on the competition day it will receive 0
points and if the team does not advise the competition organisers at all they
will be debited 3 competition points from the table.
18.5. If a team forfeits three
or more games in a competition it may be ejected from that competition by the
South Pine Touch committee.
18.6. During
Finals - If a team forfeits any game in the finals series, they
will be disqualified from taking any further part in the finals competition.
19.
DISCIPLINE
19.1. Zero Tolerance Policy
South Pine Touch has adopted a
zero tolerance policy to abuse, which includes sledging, and the use of profane
language, both on and off the field. This includes swearing, cursing and
the use of vulgar and lewd words. This policy includes:
1. Zero tolerance to abuse and swearing between
players/teams on the field
2. Zero tolerance to abuse and swearing from the sideline
(from players, coaches, supporters/spectators etc)
3. Zero tolerance to referee abuse and swearing directed
at the game officials. As part of this, there is a 10 minute cool down
period immediately after the game. Players should not approach the referee
within this 10 minute window to discuss game situations/referee decisions etc.
19.2. A player may be
disciplined by a game referee for an infringement or attempted infringement of
the Rules of the Game. A game referee has control over players and team
officials on or off the field during and after the course of a game in
accordance with the Rules of the Game.
19.3. A player sent from the
field of play can take no further part in that game, cannot be substituted and
will receive an automatic two match suspension from all games in that
competition and any affiliated competitions. A suspended player may
submit a written request to competition committee to review the application of
such two match suspensions. Competition committee may vary the suspension
on grounds such as an erroneous application of the Rules of the Game or the
player is involved in multiple divisions, nights and/or competitions.
19.4. The game referee is to
complete an incident report for any player sent from the field of play.
19.5. An incident report is to
be completed by a game referee, committee member or South Pine Sports official
for serious breaches of discipline, including players sent from the field whose
infringement could attract more than a two match suspension by the disciplinary
panel.
19.6. Serious breaches of
discipline may be referred to the disciplinary panel who will deal with them in
accordance with the Report, Disciplinary Panel and Appeals procedure. The
player/s will be required to attend a disciplinary panel hearing. If the
player/s choose not to attend the hearing then the player/s remain ineligible
to take part in any competition conducted by South Pine Touch until the matter
is finalised. Should the player/s refuse or decline to attend a convened
disciplinary hearing the matter may be dealt with in their absence. All serious breaches of the Code of
Conduct will be referred to Queensland Touch Association.
19.7. A player who has been
sent off by game referees on more than two occasions may be ejected from the
competition.
19.8 Competition committee may
eject a team from a competition for unacceptable breaches of discipline or misconduct.
19.9. Any suspension means a
player is suspended from all sanctioned and affiliated games and competitions
for the duration of the suspension.
19.10. The South Pine Touch
committee will process complaints, give warnings and take action on any
matter involving unsportsman-like behaviour or any matter that denigrates the
reputation of the sport, competition or management.
19.11. A player who has been
forced-sub by a game referee may continue to take part in that game for the
night, however, they must leave the field at the time they are directed to do
so by the game referee. There is no time limit on how long they are to remain
off the field. A forced-sub player may be replaced by another player.
When a player is forced-sub, the game does not stop for them to leave the
field. The player must leave the field as quickly as possible, making it
to the sub box, before the replacement player is allowed on the field.
20.
REFEREES
20.1. The South Pine Touch
referee's director will appoint game referees. Team captains/managers
will have no input to the allocation of referees. During a competition
game the game referee is the sole judge of interpretation and application of
the Rules of the Game.
20.2. If a team captain/manager
wishes to lodge a complaint about refereeing an Incident Report form is to be
obtained from the South Pine Touch secretary the same night and submitted to
competition management as soon as practicable.
21.
SCORE CARD
21.1. The game referee/s will
enter results on a game score card. Both team captains are to sign the
score card at the completion of the game as an indication that the scores are
correct. A team manager may enter a protest about the recorded scores to
competition committee only if the captain has not signed the score card.
21.2. Captains/managers are to
check the results on the website to ensure the scores have been entered
correctly.
22.
ABANDONED GAMES
22.1. After the start of play a
game may be abandoned by competition committee or game referee in consultation
with the president. A decision to abandon a game will be made considering
the safety of players and officials or serious misconduct on the part of teams
or team officials.
22.2. A game abandoned in the
first half of play may be re-scheduled by the competition committee or declared
a draw. A game abandoned after the completion of the first half will be
declared with the scores as at that time.
22.3. Any games abandoned as a
result of serious misconduct or breaches to the Code of Conduct will be
reviewed by the committee and competition points will be awarded at the
discretion of the committee.
23.
POSTPONED GAMES
23.1. Games may be postponed
prior to the scheduled start time because of weather conditions, unavailability
of grounds or any reason deemed appropriate by the competition committee, the
facility manager or local council. If a postponed game cannot be
reasonably re-scheduled it will be cancelled. Team captains/managers will
be advised in accordance with the notification process contained in these
regulations.
24.
RE-SCHEDULED GAMES
24.1. In addition to abandoned
and postponed games a game may be re-scheduled if both team captains/managers
agree and competition management can reasonably make other arrangements.
If a game cannot be re-scheduled it will be cancelled.
25.
CANCELLED GAMES
25.1. Games which have not been
commenced and subsequently cancelled will be either re-scheduled where
possible. If not, they will be recorded as a draw with a scoreline as
advised by competition committee at the pre-competition meeting.
26. DISPUTES
26.1. A team captain can lodge
a dispute during a game with the game referee about a refereeing decision or
opposing team player attire. The team captain must lodge the dispute as
soon as practicable during the game. The game referee must determine the
dispute immediately. A dispute about the attire of a player who has been
on the field with that attire during the first half of the game will not be
accepted after the half time break.
27.
PROTESTS
27.1. A team captain/manager
can lodge a protest after the completion of the game in relation to the score,
player eligibility or any incident deemed to have affected the outcome of the
game. Protests must be submitted in writing on an Incident Report form
obtained from the committee the same night/day. The report should be
lodged within twenty four hours and will be determined by competition committee
before the next round of games.
27.2. Games which are the
subject of protests may be declared by competition committee as a forfeit,
drawn game or be re-played.
28. INSURANCE
28.1. Touch is a fast-moving
and energetic sport. Players participate at their own risk and
competition committee accepts no responsibility for injuries sustained.
Claims on insurance will be accepted only if the following requirements have
been fulfilled: -
1. The injured athlete was registered in the MySideline
online registration system prior to
playing in the game that caused the injury. The registration must have
been completed by either the individual or a parent/guardian. A link to the
player registration process can be found on the homepage of the association's
website (all information entered must be true and correct).
2. The game referee has been advised of the injury and
noted details on the score card and
3. The injured athlete must report the injury to the
insurance provider - Sportscover, ideally within 30 days. Marsh (TFA’s
insurance broker) advise you have 120 days after your accident or injury
occurring to lodge your claim. Injured athlete’s will be required to complete an Insurance Claim Form Request.
29.
APPLICATION OF REGULATIONS
29.1. These regulations may be
varied for any particular competition by the South Pine Touch committee and
where variations occur during a season team captains/managers will be advised
by the South Pine Touch committee using the communication means outlined in
item 2. It
is the designated team captain/manager’s responsibility to review the
competition regulations at the commencement of every season.
29.2. These regulations may
also from time to time incorporate local playing rules as determined by the
South Pine Touch committee.
30.
FORCE MAJEURE
30.1. The competition committee
will be relieved of its obligations under these regulations if it cannot
operate by reason of a Force Majeure event. Such events include but are
not limited to the following:
1. Act of God;
2. War
or terrorism;
3. Riot
or civil disturbance;
4. Any
other event beyond the reasonable control of competition management.