Colchester Netball League Handbook

COLCHESTER NETBALL LEAGUE HANDBOOK

CONTENTS

Page
Executive Committee / 3
Constitution / 4
Rules:
Senior League
Knockout Competition / 10
19
Summer League Rules
Code of Conduct / 22
23
Senior League Teams / 24
Senior League Fixture Lists / 25
Team Contacts:
First Division / 27
Second Division / 28
Third Division / 29
Fourth Division / 30
Fifth Division
Sixth Division / 31
32
Umpires List / 33
Team Colours / 35

COLCHESTER NETBALL LEAGUE

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 2016-17 SEASON

This handbook contains email and telephone details of the Executive Committee, Team Captains, Vice Captains and Umpires. These are for netball purposes only. Please do not use personal details for any other purpose.

Honorary Life President
Gillian Rumney /
01206 546314
6 Ash Grove, Colchester, CO2 0AH
Chair
Linda Gaine /
07963 733486

Vice Chair

Donna Parker /
07715 282328

League Treasurer

Carolyn Isom /
07568 150022
League Secretary
Nicola Rees /
07775 744291

Minutes Secretary

Steph Higgleton /
07788 887923

Fixtures, Membership and Cancellation Secretary

Kim Watson /
07788 887923
EN Affiliation Secretary
Donna Parker /
07715 282328
Knockout Competition Secretary
Amy Longhurst /
07712 585614
Rally Secretary
Jules Scales
Hannah Hummerstone /
07966 933950

Umpiring, Youth League and Development Secretary
Kim Watson /
07788 887923
Linda Gaine /
07963 733486
Safeguarding Secretary
Hannah Hummerstone /
Website and Publicity Secretary
Lorraine Adams /

East Essex Representatives

Kim Watson

Linda Gaine

COLCHESTER NETBALL LEAGUE

CONSTITUTION

1.NAME

The Organisation shall be called the Colchester Netball League (hereinafter referred to as the Organisation).

2.AFFILIATION

The players, umpires, coaches, Executive Committee members and officials participating in Senior League netball must be affiliated to the England Netball and to East Essex County Netball Association.

3.PURPOSE

The purpose of the Organisation shall be to provide netball leagues at youth and senior levels as per 4.8, providing equal opportunities for all to participate in the game of netball in a competitive and friendly manner.

4.MEMBERSHIP

4.1.The Organisation shall consist of the officers and the members.

4.2.Membership of the Organisation shall be open, and not unreasonably restricted on the grounds of sex, race or of political, religious or other opinions, to any person in the area who is prepared to accept and support the purpose of the Organisation.

4.2.1.In accordance with 4.1 of Official Netball Rules England Netball, the game is designed for single sex competition.

4.3. a.Players, umpires, coaches, Executive Committee members and others with a specific role in the Organisation shall be considered as “Members”. For voting procedures see 9.

b.“Associate Members” shall consist of others willing to offer support and encouragement to the Organisation in any way.

4.4.A formal partnership has been established between the Organisation and Colchester Borough Council (CBC), Highwoods Sports Centre, in accordance with 4.3.b.

4.5.In accepting membership a person agrees to abide to the constitution of the Organisation and the rulings of the Organisation’s Executive Committee.

4.6 Members from school years 3-11 will be eligible for the youth league with years3 to 6 recommended to play ‘High Fives’. All members from school age of year 10 and above can be considered senior players.

4.7.All player members shall compete in their appropriate age groups except in the following circumstances:

i)A player in school years 3 to 6 is recommended to play ‘High Fives’.

ii)an exceptionally skilful player aged 13 years who, by Executive Committee agreement, will be permitted to play in a higher age-group from youth to senior league;

4.8.A Senior and Youth League will be provided by the ‘Organisation’. (Both ‘High Fives’ and 7 a side competition.

5.MEMBERSHIP FEES

5.1.Annual membership fees shall be set by the Executive Committee. They are payable to the Organisation’s Treasurer by way of cheque (A/C payee only) or by BACS.

5.2.Payment by “members” shall be stipulated in the rules of the respective leagues.

6.EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

6.1.The management of the Organisation shall be vested in the Executive Committee.

6.2.The Executive Committee shall act for the members. Liabilities incurred shall fall upon the membership (provided they act in accordance with the constitution, in honesty and good faith).

6.3.The Executive Committee shall comprise of Chair, Vice Chairman, Secretary,

Treasurer and such officers and Executive Committee members as determined by the AGM.

6.4.All members of the Executive Committee (6.2) shall be elected annually by a vote at the AGM.

6.5.The Secretary shall convene meetings of the Executive Committee and the Executive Committee shall meet at least 4 times a year, with dates of future meetings being arranged at the previous meeting.

6.6.The quorum for the transaction of business at Executive Committee meetings shall be 50% of Executive Committee members.

6.7.At an Executive Committee Meeting, all appropriate matters shall be determined by a majority with every member having one vote. In the event of a tie the Chair of the meeting shall have a casting vote.

6.8.The interpretation of the Organisation constitution shall be vested in the Executive Committee, who shall decide all questions relating to the Organisation.

6.9.The Executive Committee shall be responsible for considering any application for membership and shall decide if this application should be accepted. This decision shall be in accordance with a non-discriminatory policy specified in 4.2.

6.10.In the event of a resignation from the Executive Committee for both a named officer or general committee member “officers named or otherwise” the Executive Committee are empowered to appoint from within the Executive Committee or co-opt from the general membership.”

6.11. Only three members of the same club allowed on the Executive Committee during a year to ensure balance and equality.

6.12. The Executive Committee will be copied in on all correspondence that is sent by the Executive Committee to all the teams.

7.FINANCE

7.1.All monies raised by or on behalf of the Organisation shall be applied to further the objects of the Organisation and for no other purpose.

7.2.The Organisation’s Treasurer is responsible for the finances of the Organisation.

7.3.The financial year of the Organisation ends on 30th April each year.

7.4.Proper accounts shall be kept of all sums of money received and paid out by the Organisation.

7.5.An audited statement of accounts up to and including this date (7.2) shall be presented at the Annual General Meeting of the Organisation.

7.6.The funds of the Organisation shall be lodged at a bank or building society in an account in the name of the Organisation, and all cheques, drafts etc. drawn on these accounts shall be signed by any two of the three nominated members of the Executive Committee.

8.ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AND OTHER MEETINGS

8.1.Every member is entitled to attend all General Meetings of the Organisation.

8.2.The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Organisation shall be held every year after the end of the winter league when the annual report of the Executive Committee and the audited statement of accounts, up to the end of the financial year, will be presented.

8.3.Not less than 6 weeks’ written notice of the date of the AGM shall be given to all members by the Secretary.

8.4.The AGM shall elect such officers of the Organisation as it may determine in accordance with 6.2.

8.5.The Secretary shall receive written nominations for officers, not less than 4 weeks prior to the AGM. Nominations can only be accepted from persons eligible to vote at the AGM and shall require a minimum of 2 named nominees. No nominations shall be accepted from the floor of the meeting.

8.6.This constitution shall be reviewed on an annual basis.

8.7.Amendments to the constitution shall only be agreed at an AGM or at an EGM (Extraordinary General Meeting).

8.8.Additions to, or alterations of, the constitution or league rules shall be submitted to the Secretary up to 4 weeks before the date of the AGM, or with a request for an EGM of Organisation members. No resolution involving an amendment to the constitution or league may be proposed or amended from the floor of a meeting.

8.9.In the event of a proposal for amending the constitution being submitted, the Secretary shall inform the membership of the proposed motion not less than 3 weeks before the AGM.

8.10.Any alteration to the constitution shall require a two-thirds majority of members present and voting.

8.11.In the event of any question or matter arising, which is not provided in the constitution, such question or matter shall be dealt with by the Executive Committee, whose decision shall be final.

8.12.The Chair will call an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) upon the written request of at least 50% of members of the Executive Committee to discuss and vote, if necessary, on major decisions concerning the league.

8.13.An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) can also be called by an application in writing to the Secretary signed by not less than 25% of members.

8.14.The quorum for all General Meetings (AGM and EGM) shall be 50% of the existing membership.

9.VOTING PROCEDURES

9.1.For voting procedures on the constitution: at each level of membership all teams within the Organisation shall appoint, when affiliating, an adult individual to represent their team. This nominated person shall be entitled to one vote and shall have equal voting rights.

9.2.For voting procedures on rules and regulations: the nominated person in 9.1. can only vote on changes relevant to their respective youth or senior level.

9.3.A motion shall be carried by a simple majority of those present and voting, except when the motion is a constitutional amendment, which shall require a two-thirds majority.

9.4.The Chair shall have a casting vote.

10.PROPERTY AND STAFF

10.1.Responsibility for all property owned or leased by the Organisation and for the employment of paid staff and volunteers rests with the Organisation.

11.CORRESPONDENCE

11.1.All correspondence to the Executive Committee should be submitted to the League Secretary, in letter or email form.

11.2.The Executive Committee will not recognise anonymous correspondence and will therefore immediately dispose of any received.

12.DISCIPLINE AND APPEALS

12.1.The Executive Committee shall have the power to take appropriate disciplinary action against any member and shall have the authority to terminate the membership of any member guilty of conduct deemed to be to the detriment of the Organisation.

12.2.There shall be the right of appeal to the Executive Committee, against any decision made by an officer of that Executive Committee of the Organisation.

12.3.The appeal should normally be considered within 14 days of it being received by the Secretary, by a specific appointed appeals committee, which shall not contain any representative individual of the team appealing.

13.COMPLAINTS

Any complaints should be submitted to the League Secretary in letter or email form, within one week of the “incident”; failure to comply with this criteria will result in the complaint not being considered by the Executive Committee.

PROCEDURE

• Complaint letter or email to be received by the League Secretary within 1 week of the incident
• The League Secretary to send acknowledgement of complaint letter or email within 7 days of receipt
• The League Secretary will investigate the complaint which may involve contacting other teams, umpires, etc
• The complaint and the investigations findings will be discussed at the next Executive Committee meeting, unless it is too serious to wait until then. In this instance, the Executive Committee will convene an extraordinary meeting, either face-to-face or by email/telephone.
• The League Secretary will write to all concerned with 1 week of the Executive Committee’s decision to advise the outcome.

14.SAFEGUARDING POLICY

14.1.The Safeguarding Policy will be reviewed on an annual basis.

15.CODE OF CONDUCT

15.1.The Code of Conduct will be reviewed on an annual basis.

16.DISSOLUTION PROCEDURES

16.1.A proposal for the dissolution of the League must come from a unanimous vote of the members. In the event of the Organisation ceasing to exist, the Executive Committee would remain in place until debts, liabilities and assets are discharged. Any such assets shall then be transferred to an Organisation for netball develo ent within North East Essex, as agreed and voted by the Executive Committee.

16.2.The Organisation may be wound up on a resolution of the members, passed by a two-thirds majority at a special meeting convened for that purpose upon the request of the Executive Committee. At least 21 days’ notice of the meeting shall have been sent to all members of the Organisation.

16.3.In the event of the passing of the resolution to wind up the Organisation see paragraph 16.1 for the distribution of assets.

COLCHESTER NETBALL LEAGUE

RULES FOR SENIOR LEAGUE

1.REGISTRATION AND FEES

1.1Every player, umpire, coach, Executive Committee member and official must be affiliated to England Netball and East Essex Netball Association by 1st September of each year. All teams must provide a copy of the England Netball Club Membership Receipt, with all members listed by 5th September 2016 and send it to the League EN Affiliations Secretary.

Penalty

If the Affiliations Secretary has not received the ENCMR by 5th September 2016 teams will not be permitted to play in the first match of the season and any subsequent fixtures until the ENCMR has been received.

1.2.At present all those members affiliated to England Netball are covered by Personal Accident and Civil Liability insurance BUT ONLY IF:

• The club is affiliated.
• All members are affiliated.
• New players who are not affiliated, and therefore not insured, are however allowed 3 trial sessions. If after 3 trial sessions they wish to continue playing, they MUST affiliate otherwise the insurance of the other players in the team is affected. (Insurance is not affected during these trial sessions provided that the remainder of the players in the team are affiliated).
• The period of affiliation and therefore insurance, is 1st September to 31st August, so if players are not affiliated you are in effect uninsured.

1.3.a. All fees and dates for payment will be set by the Executive Committee.

1. The fee for membership to ensure a place in the League will be set annually by the Executive Committee and must be paid at the AGM.

Penalty

Failure to comply with rules 1.1 to 1.3 will result in:

The offending team to pay a fine of £15 to the Executive Committee, upon request by the Treasurer.

If a game is played, the offending team will forfeit it and points will be awarded to the non-offending team and +10 goals added to the league table.

1.4.Any request for league fees must be paid on presentation of a CNL invoice.

15a. Each individual team will register at least 7 of their members with the Fixtures and Membership Secretary by 31st August and pay the registration fee set by the Executive Committee.

b.All teams should state on their Team Registration Form an appropriate

umpire suitably qualified for their division as per the leagues’ umpiring rules.

Penalty

Failure to comply with rules 1.1 - 1.5 may result in the offending team being excluded from the League.

1.6.A team is classified as one team. A club is classified as either one team or more. If your team is part of a club you must state whether the teams are A, B, or C etc.

1.7.A player may only play for their registered team/club in a League or Cup Match.

1.8.A new player must be registered with any member of the Executive Committee before the start of the match. A Supplementary Player Registration Form must be completed and sent to the Fixtures and Membership Secretary within 48 hours of the fixture. Supplementary Player Registration fees to be paid to the Treasurer on receipt of invoice. (Note no “scrap” pieces of paper/backs of envelopes etc will be accepted.) An updated EN participant list must be forwarded to the League EN Affiliation Secretary each time a new player is affiliated to a team/Club.

1.9.Once a player has commenced a game (i.e. at 7.00 ) with one team, she cannot then leave that game to play for another team within that same time period. However, a player would be able to play at 7.00 for one team and then “play up” at 8.30 for another team, within her registered Club.

1.10.Within a club a player may only “play up” to any of their club teams twice, regardless of which Division they normally play in. On the third occasion the player will become a member of that team and must remain in that team for the remainder of the season.

1.11.Within a club, no player may play for a lower placed team.

1.12.A player may apply to transfer between teams only once in a season. Written application, with notice of release from the team they are leaving, must be given to the Executive Committee for their consideration and decision.

1.13.If a youth player (from age 13) wishes to play in the senior league the following actions must take place before the youth player is allowed to play:

a.The parent/guardian of the youth player must write to the League Secretary giving permission for the youth player to play in the senior league.

b.The Executive Committee will consider the matter and then write to both team and parent/guardian to advise them of the Executive Committee’s decision.

1.14.In accordance with England Netball, no player more than twelve weeks pregnant may play in the League.

Health & Safety. In the interest of fair play/sportsmanship, a player who appears to be at a later stage of gestation may be requested by the Executive Committee to refrain from playing any remaining fixtures.

1.15.A player that was registered with a club/team withdrawing from the League may request a transfer to another team/club. This must be put in writing to the Executive Committee whose consideration and decision will be final.

.

Health & Safety. In the interest of fair play/sportsmanship, a player who appears to be at a later stage of gestation may be requested by the Executive Committee to refrain from playing any remaining fixtures.

Penalty

Failure to comply with rules 1.6 – 1.15 will result in:

a)the offending team

(i)having no goals or points awarded for that match

b)the non-offending team

(i)being awarded five points

(ii)having their “goals for” added to the league table

2.MATCH RULES

2.1.All matches will be played in accordance with the Official Netball Rules England Netball with the exception of:

a)Rule 1. Registered Playing Uniform – All players must wear kit, including a bib, in their registered club colours. Kit may comprise of dresses, shorts, skorts, skirts, trousers and tops. Appropriate securely fastened trainers must be worn. Neck scarves, hooded tops and bobble hats shall not be worn. Jewellery, except for a taped wedding ring, must not be worn. Fingernails must be cut short and smoothed. Gloves must not be worn unless a medical certificate recommending their use is provided. If a leg brace is to be worn, it must be covered by appropriate material. (Players wearing appropriate gloves and leg braces are advised to have personal liability insurance.)