1. Title – “THE LINCOLN NETBALL LEAGUE”

 

2. Membership – All teams in the Lincoln Netball League shall be members of England Netball. Membership is renewed from August each year. Payment must be made before the start of the Winter League. Non-payment will result in disqualification from the League.

 

3. Play – All competitive play shall be in accordance with the rules of England Netball

 

4. Administration – A Committee is to be elected annually, which shall consist of:-

• Chairperson
• Vice-chairperson
• Secretary
• Treasurer and Registration Secretary
• Fixtures and Tournaments Secretary
• Press and Publicity Officer
• Umpiring Secretary
• County Representative
• Divisional Representatives
• Appeals Chairperson
• Web manager
• Safeguarding officer
• Complaints secretary

 

These committee members shall be empowered to:-

• Make any decisions concerning the rules of the League
• Oversee conduct of members
• Administer financial control
• To co-opt additional committee members, who will have full voting rights.

 

5. Extraordinary General Meeting – This may be called by the Committee or by one quarter of the teams playing in the League.

 

6. Voting – At Annual General Meetings and Extraordinary Meetings each member team may cast one vote. At Committee meetings each committee member may cast one vote. The majority will decide voting with the Chairperson having the deciding vote in the event of votes “for” being equal to votes “against”.

 

7. Finance – Accounts are available if needed. The year’s accounts are to be presented in full at the AGM. Accounts are to be audited if possible. Any monies remaining on the disbanding of the League should go to Charity. The treasurer shall have online and telephone access to the League bank accounts. 

 

8. Registration – There is a cap of 15 players that each team are able to have registered aged fourteen and over. If a team has 15 players registered from the start of the season and wants to add more players as the season progresses then some players will need to be removed from the teams’ registration to allow the new players to join. All players must be members of England Netball, this includes players joining partway through a season or between seasons.

 

9. Annual General Meeting – An Annual General Meeting shall take place each year around the start of the Winter League. Each team must have a representative present or face incurring a fine.

 

10. Structure – The Committee reserves the right to structure the league and the number of seasons at their own discretion based on the number of teams entering. The aim will still be to play as much netball as possible but will also take into account spare weeks where matches can be replayed if the weather has been inclement. The seasons will operate continuously.

Teams playing in the League shall be in divisions in a promotion and relegation basis. The Committee should decide where to place returning teams based on previous positions, time lapsed etc. No existing teams would be disadvantaged as a result of this system with all promotions earned being honoured in accordance with the rules of the League. New teams will join in the lowest division. All teams must have at least one umpire who fulfils the required criteria needed for that Division (see umpiring section of the League rules.)

 

11. Disciplinary Issues – All disputes and complaints must be put in writing. This should be emailed, posted or handed to a Committee member within seven days of the incident. Complaint forms can be found in the white box as you enter the court area. All concerned parties are required to submit a report and may subsequently be required to attend a meeting to discuss the dispute or complaint. These will be requested by the Complaints secretary upon receipt of the complaint.

For disciplinary matters it was decided that:

1. • First Offence – Conduct warning
   • Second Offence - Points deduction
   • Third Offence - Eviction from the League

A team or individual that have been evicted from the League for receiving 3 complaints in a 2 year period cannot re-enter for 2 years. If a team has been evicted from the League twice they may not re-enter for a third time.

 

Individual players from an evicted team may be allowed to join another team at the Committee’s discretion, in which case a written request must be handed to one of the Committee members for consideration at their next meeting. The individual player may not play any League matches unless/until the Committee agree to this.

 

If a complaint involves members of the committee then they and other members of their team or club will not be allowed to be present at the hearing.

 

12. Transfer of Players– Written transfer requests between teams must be from all parties involved – i.e. the player and both teams. The request must be given in writing and handed or emailed to the Treasurer and Registration Secretary. From the date of receipt players must allow two calendar weeks cooling off period before they can play for the new team. Teams and players will be advised of the date the player can commence for their new team. No notice is required to change teams within a Club. However once you have played down for a lower team you cannot transfer back up until the next season. You can keep transferring up to the highest placed team. And you can keep transferring down to the lowest placed team. Players from teams which have withdrawn from the League can transfer to other teams immediately.

 

13. Match Cancellation – If you have to cancel a match you must still fulfil your umpiring and duty team responsibilities as well as those of your opponents. You must telephone the Fixtures and Tournaments Secretary, opposing team and umpires to inform them of the cancellation. Failure to give 24 hours’ notice to your opponents and the Fixtures and Tournaments Secretary will result in a fine which will be collected by the Fixtures and Tournaments Secretary.

 

14. Duty Team Responsibilities – Failure to undertake Duty Team responsibilities will result in a fine for the first offence but thereafter offences will incur points deductions as well as a fine. The Duty Team should arrive five minutes before the start of matches. If you experience any problems contact the Centre staff or a Committee Member.

 

15. Withdrawing from the League – When a team has withdrawn from the League, all points and goals scored etc from matches are to be removed from the League Tables. If a team withdraws from the League with outstanding debts and then 50% or more of that team re-joins, they must pay all outstanding debts before being allowed to re-join. If a team re-joins the League with 4 or more of their previous team then they will be entered into the League where the previous team played subject to availability due to numbers within the League.

 

16. Insurance – Insurance is provided through your England Netball membership, this includes Public Liability and covers members of the Committee, umpires, clubs and individuals. The cover is valid in others areas of the country.

 

17. Qualified Umpires – No team shall be promoted to the Premier Division unless they have or can provide a named qualified umpire graded “C” or above. All umpires within our League are required to have reached the standards necessary for insurance purposes (see umpiring section of the League rules.

 

Disclaimer – All players and umpires participate in the Lincoln Netball League at their own risk.