South Pine Touch Football

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 8^th 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 – 8^th 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.