NEWS AND VIEWS – Winter 2023
16 Mar 2023 by Belinda Whetters
WELCOME TO WINTER 2023 and happy 90th Birthday SAUCNA.
ALL OF SEACLIFF’s MATCHES WILL COMMENCE ON SATURDAY 1 APRIL.
GRADING
Regrading will return to after 4 rounds and will take place on Sunday 7 May.
Every year many teams are concerned about the grade/division they have been placed in. The grading process is undertaken meticulously. Please understand SAUCNA strive to provide every team with a competitive season, that is always the goal.
SCORE CARDS
ALL score cards for Open and 17/U matches are to be left in the club rooms at Association Courts after the matches. Fines will apply for clubs that do not comply.
Score cards for suburban court matches can be dropped at Denise’s house straight after the game (33 Myrtle Road, Seacliff.
MATCH TIMES
Match times will change to 12:00pm, 1:30pm and 3:00pm. This change allows for the possibility of 4.30pm games if the competition continues to grow.
Matches will have 15-minute quarters and intervals of 3 mins (1⁄4 and 3⁄4 time) and 5 mins (1⁄2 time).
All matches are to be timed individually with the home team responsible for timing the quarters and the away team responsible for timing the breaks.
The grace period will return in Season 2023 at all venues along with injury time.
REGISTRATION
All players must be registered online before matches begin. Anyone who fills in during the season will need to register online themselves through PlayHQ.
ALL Fill in players MUST be registered prior to the match by themselves or a parent and if they have an existing profile in Play HQ they MUST use this profile. Players found to have registered and played for more than one club during the season will cause their team to be disqualified for the match in which they play and a normal forfeit score will be applied.
CHANGE IN PLAYING CONDITIONS
– FINALS QUALIFICATIONS
The board has approved the following change in the playing conditions – Players who play three games for a certain TEAM will qualify to play the major round (finals). No longer will they be allowed to play finals for playing three games for the CLUB. Permission may be sought from the Winter Subcommittee if players need to play up in a team they have not played in during the season.
FORFEITS
Clubs are encouraged to NOT forfeit unless all avenues have been exhausted. You are able to utilise players from other teams and age groups (cannot play below age) and players are able to play 2 games on the same day.
You cannot use players from other Clubs if they have played that Season. Forfeits will be monitored closely this Season.
At this stage teams that need to forfeit MUST advise the opposition secretary, SAUCNA Winter secretary (wintersaucna@gmail.com) and the Association Registrar (saucnaregistrar@gmail.com) by Friday 6pm before the game. A fine of $80 will be incurred if notification of forfeit is received after this time.
TEAMS & SPECTATORS AT ASSOCIATION COURTS
If asked to move by an official PLEASE do so without argument.
FIRST AID
First Aid will be available every Saturday at Association Courts. Our first aid officer is a trained medical professional so please adhere to their advice. They are not there to provide strapping before games. Clubs should use their own first aid kits initially. Please ensure your first aid kits are fully stocked and remain stocked throughout the Season.
POLE COVERS
At Suburban courts it is the responsibility of the home team to have correct pole covers.
At Association courts the home team for the first match is to put them on the court and the home team is to put them away after the last match on that court.
Check the notice board by the clubrooms. A fine of $55 will be charged if they are not returned.
INTEGRITY FRAMEWORK
A new Integrity Framework will be implemented within the next 12 months. It will cover things like abuse of team officials, abuse of players, cyber bullying, umpire abuse and general bad behaviour. Sanctions that will be discussed range from loss of points to ineligibility for finals.
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