COMPETITION RULES for 2010 / 11 season

1. Registrations & Nominations

1. A player is deemed to be registered with a club once he/she has played a league match with that club.

2. Each season, clubs shall forward to the relevant Registrar to arrive not later the 3 days before the commencement of the relevant league competition, a list of the full names of 11 bona fide playing members of each team, called nominated players.

a. Clubs with two teams in Division 1 shall nominate 13 bona-fide players for their first team.

b. Clubs need not nominate players for their most junior team.

3. Players nominated on a given team shall be ineligible to play for a lower team.

4. For clubs with two or more teams in a particular division, players can only be listed on team sheets for one of those teams in the same division on any given weekend (Friday to

Sunday) except where the player is making up a full team for the bottom team in a club.

5. The list of nominated players may be altered by 2 per team by giving 3 days notice in writing to the relevant Registrar. Where a team has altered its nominations, no further

alterations shall be allowed for 4 weeks, other than dealt with in rules 6 & 7.

6. Where it is clear that a player will miss 4 or more consecutive matches through absence (except for International or Interprovincial duty), injury or suspension, clubs shall remove the player in question from the nominations immediately.

7. If a player does not play for their nominated team, or above, in any period covering 4 consecutive matches (except due to International or Interprovincial duty), the club shall be obliged to give a written explanation to the Fixtures Committee and replace the player in question prior to the next match.

8. Where a player is removed from a clubs nominations due to injury, absence or suspension (including across seasons): on their return, they may play no lower than one team below the team where they were originally nominated.

9. Nominations for a season may not normally be altered after 1st March.

10. Cup nominations shall be those applying to the league 3 days prior to the first match that the team plays in the cup.

11. Each member of a team competing in a Cup competition shall be a bona fide member of the club represented.

Additionally for cup matches which are played after 15th November in a season, they shall have played in at least two league matches at the same standard or lower than the standard of the cup. Exceptions may be granted by the relevant branch registrar where the player has been recently transferred or where the player is returning from injury or absence. In these cases the branch registrar must be satisfied that the player’s standard is not at a level that is higher than the level for the cup competition.

12. Players can play for only one team in each cup competition.

13. Teams in breach of rule 3, 4, 8, 11 & 12 shall have the match awarded to the opposition. For league matches the team will also be deducted 1 point. Additional defaults by the same team will carry an increasing penalty, which shall be an increment of one added to the deduction of points for each consecutive offence.

14. Teams in breach of rules 2 & 7 shall be dealt with by the Fixtures Committee.

15. The Fixtures Committee shall reserve the right to veto any Club’s nominations and may impose conditions on certain nominations with a view to ensuring fair competition.

2. Transfer of Players

1. No player shall play for more than one club during the season in Branch competitions without the consent of the Fixtures Committee.

2. When a player wishes to transfer from one IHA affiliated club to another at any time of the season or between seasons, the club which the player wished to join shall make an application for the transfer in writing to the relevant Registrar. The application shall include a letter from the club which the player is leaving, stating that the player in question has discharged all his/her liabilities to that club. Additionally, where the transferring player is under 18 years of age, the transfer must be accompanied by a letter from the players parent (or guardian) stating that they are satisfied that the transfer may take place.

3. The club which the player is leaving shall not cause any unnecessary delay in the process of the transfer. The Fixtures Committee shall deal with such clubs as they see fit.

4. An application for a transfer shall not normally be necessary if the player has not played in Branch competition for one whole season or more.

5. If a club plays a player before he/she is properly transferred, the Fixtures Committee may award the points of all such matches to their opponents or as otherwise decided by the Fixtures Committee.

6. A player may only play for one club in any Branch Cup Competition.

7. Transfers shall not normally be approved after the 1st of January in any season. Exceptions may be allowed by the relevant registrar for cases involving the inter-county change of residence of the player involved.

Note: Please refer to IHA rules for the IRISH HOCKEY LEAGUE and Irish Cup competitions and to IHA/EHF rules for International transfers where qualification for European competition is involved.

3. League Rules

1. League points are awarded as follows:

a. Win = 3 points

b. Score Draw = 2 points

c. Scoreless Draw = 1 point

d. Defeat = 0 points

2. Competition hockey shall end according to the Fixtures Book or on the instruction of the Fixtures’ Committee.

3. On completion of the League Competition,

a. the team with the highest number of points shall be the winning team in each Division

b. Promotion & Relegation will apply in the following way:

i. The teams that win their respective divisions are promoted and shall replace the

team which finishes bottom in the next highest division.

ii. Ladies’ Division 1 & 2: The bottom team from Division 1 will be relegated and the top team from Division 2 shall be promoted. In the event of the top team in Division 2 having a representative in Division 1, the second placed team will

qualify for promotion in a play-off against the bottom team in Division 1. In the event of the first & second placed teams in Division 2 having a representative in Division1 there shall be no promotion or relegation except under iii below.

iii. In all divisions below Division 1, the top 1st team of a club in the division (provided that they are not already promoted and that they finish in the top half of their division) shall be granted the opportunity of a challenge match against the lowest non-relegated team from the division above. Should they win the playoff then they shall be promoted and their opposition shall be relegated. If the challenge match is a draw or if the challenging team loses the challenge match, then there shall be no promotion or relegation.

c. When calculating which teams should qualify for IHA competitions from Division 1, the results of matches against 2nd teams shall not count.

d. In the event of 2 or more teams achieving the same number of points for a position that impacts winning the league, qualification for an IHA competition, promotion or

relegation there will be a play-off for the position in question.

e. Playoffs for league position shall be organised by the Fixtures committee and shall be organised in line with Cup Rules below.

4. In the event where a team eligible for promotion does not wish to be promoted, the club can apply to the Fixtures Committee providing details of reasoning.

5. A newly formed team may apply to the Fixtures’ Committee for the Division they wish to play in, based on the players’ ability

6. In the event of a club withdrawing a team from competitive hockey the team to be withdrawn should be from the lowest level unless otherwise approved by the Fixtures’

Committee. All matches played by the team in question shall be declared null & void

7. The Fixtures Committee can alter the format of each Division as required, subject to approval of the Management Committee

4. Cup Rules

1. The drawing and organising of Cup Competitions shall be the responsibility of the Fixtures Committee. All cup draws shall be open draws without seeding.

2. Matches shall be played on the ground of the team whose name is on top.

3. The dates and venues for all finals shall be the responsibility of the Fixtures Committee. All finals shall be played on synthetic surface.

4. Umpires for cup finals shall be appointed by the MHUA.

5. The duration of all cup matches shall be 70 minutes. In the event of a draw and provided that the umpires decide that the conditions permit, the sides shall play for an extra period of 2 x 7 ½ minutes. The extra-time shall cease once a team has been awarded a goal. That team shall be the winner of the match. If after this extra time there is no winner the teams shall decide the result by a penalty stroke competition as per F.I.H. regulations.

5. Branch Trophies

1. All Branch trophies shall be perpetual challenge trophies and cannot be won outright

2. All Branch trophies shall be signed for using the MBIHA Trophy Receipt form.

3. All Branch trophies shall be returned to the Branch Hon. Secretary, clean & engraved, not less than 15 days before the date fixed for the final of cup or completion of league.

4. Clubs failing to adhere to this rule may be subject to a €50 fine.

6. Fixtures

1. Fixture lists for the season shall be drawn up by the Hon. Fixtures Secretaries.

2. All league matches between teams of the same club shall be played before 31st January each season

3. Matches shall be started no later than ten minutes after the time specified, unless previously notified to the opposition and the umpires.

4. A match cannot take place without two umpires officiating. In the absence of umpire(s), it is the responsibility of the captains to agree umpire(s), from their panel if necessary.

5. All division 1 and division 2 league and cup matches shall be played on synthetic pitches.

6. All division 1 (mens and ladies) matches shall be scheduled to start between 12.30pm and 3:30pm. For matches to be played outside these hours (including midweek matches), a written application must be made at least ten days prior to the date of the fixture to the appropriate branch fixtures secretary and written approval from the appropriate branch fixture secretary must be obtained. Failure to comply shall be dealt with by the MBIHA fixtures committee.

Note: When Irish competitions are being played these matches will take precedence.

7. Postponements, Rearrangements & Forfeited matches

1. Teams involved in Irish Competition (Irish Senior Cup, Irish Junior Cup, May Costley Cup, Irish Club Championships, Irish Universities) on a particular weekend shall have their Munster fixture on that weekend postponed.

2. All applications for postponements in Ladies Divisions 1, 2 and 3 and Men’s Division 1 must be made in writing using the official postponement form which shall be sent to the relevant Branch Fixtures Secretary. The latest deadline to make an application for a postponement is 1.00pm on the Friday at least 8 days before the scheduled date, and forwarded to the relevant Branch Fixtures Secretary who shall decide whether to grant the postponement or not.  Applications for postponements are valid only if both clubs have specified an agreed date on which to play the fixture. No application may be made unless this agreement is recorded in the application. Branch Fixtures Secretaries will normally refuse to grant a postponement, even if both clubs agree, if in his or her opinion the reason for the application is inadequate. Once a decision is made on a postponement application, the Branch Fixtures Secretary shall notify the Hon Fixtures Secretaries of both clubs involved in the application. If the club seeking the postponement does not secure the agreement of the opposition club, the game must go ahead as scheduled. If the game does not go ahead, the branch Fixtures Committee will normally award the points against the team that sought the postponement.

3. Branch Fixtures Secretaries shall not grant postponements if applications are not made before 1.00pm the Friday week prior to the date on which the fixture has been arranged (except under 7.9 below). In these cases, rearrangements should be sought (see rule 5 below).

4. Where a match otherwise is not played, the two clubs shall attempt to find a mutually agreed date to play the fixture and shall notify the relevant Branch Fixtures Secretary of that date within ten days of the postponed fixture. Where the two clubs fail to provide a suitable, mutually agreed date, the Branch Fixtures Secretary shall decide on the new date for the fixture.

5. Notwithstanding the postponement rules above, a team that does not play in Ladies Divisions 1, 2 and 3 or Men’s Division 1 may request a rearrangement of a fixture with an opposing club.

a. The opposing club may decline the request for a rearrangement in which case the match shall take place on the original scheduled date.

b. If the opposing team agrees to the rearrangement then within ten days of the original fixture, the two teams shall notify the Branch Fixtures Secretary of the rearranged date which shall then become the new official date for the fixture. It is important that rearrangements shall not result in a delay of the league or cup. Therefore the rearranged date shall be before Christmas for matches originally scheduled before December and shall be before Easter for matches originally scheduled in December or after.

c. Where the teams fail to provide a suitable rearranged date within ten days of the original fixture, the relevant Branch Fixtures Secretary, depending on circumstances, may decide that the team requesting the rearrangement has forfeited the match or that both teams have forfeited the match.

d. Where teams fail to play a rearranged match on the rearranged date, the relevant Branch Fixtures Secretary, depending on circumstances, may decide that either one or both teams have forfeited the match.

6. Where a team does not play its scheduled match on the given week-end, without prior official postponement or agreement to rearrange the match with their opposition, they shall be deemed to have forfeited the match.

7. The sanctions against a team forfeiting a match are as follows:

a. The opposition is awarded a win in the match;

b. For league matches they shall be deducted one extra point for the first offence in a season, two for the second offence and three for the third offence.

c. They shall lose home advantage for their next league or cup match against the opposition they failed to play, carried over to the next season if necessary.

d. As decided by the fixtures secretary, they shall be fined €250 for the first offence in a season and as decided by the fixtures secretary for any subsequent offence in a season.

e. They shall be liable for justifiable rent for the forfeited fixture.

8. Teams that forfeit more than three matches in a season shall be deemed to have brought the game into disrepute, and the matter reported to the Management Committee who shall deal with the matter in accordance with article 27 – Discipline of the Branch Constitution.

9. Exceptional circumstances may be considered by the relevant Branch Fixtures Secretary.

8. Pitch Unplayable

1. Where a team and/or umpire(s) is to travel more than 50km and if there is any doubt about the condition of a pitch due to weather, the home club

a. shall ring the travelling team/umpire(s) by 9.00am and give a report on the condition of the pitch

b. shall find out what time the travelling team/umpire(s) is due to start the journey.

c. shall ring the travelling team/umpire(s) again before they are due the start the journey and either cancel or confirm the fixture.

2. If the procedure in 1 above is not adhered to and the travelling team arrives and the match is not played, the fixture will be reversed.

3. If the procedure in 1 above is adhered to and the match is cancelled by the umpires or groundsman, the match will be re-fixed at the original venue.

4. If a match is called off by anyone other than the umpires and in the umpires’ opinion called off needlessly, the Fixtures Committee may reverse the fixture.

9. Unfinished Matches

1. In the case of unfinished matches, the Fixtures Committee may, at its discretion, and having regard to the circumstances in which the match remained unfinished:

a. Re-fix the match

b. Reckon the result of the match as per the score at the time the match was stopped.

c. Reckon the match as a draw.

d. Reckon the match as forfeit by either or both teams.

10. Result of Matches

1. Match cards shall be kept of every Branch Fixture which shall include the full names of the players on the panel, the name of the competition, the venue, date & time of the fixture.

The match card shall be completed by both teams and handed to the umpires prior to the start of the match by the Captain of the home team.

2. At the end of the match the umpires shall enter the score, name of scorer(s), mark any disciplinary card(s) used, sign, and return the card to the Captain of the home team.

3. The home club shall send match card to relevant Registrar, within 96 hours of the time of the fixture. For match cards not received within 14 days, the relevant club shall be fined €20 for the first offence by a team & €40 for each subsequent offence.

4. The home club shall communicate the result of a match (or news of its postponement) to Sports Manager and to the relevant Branch Fixtures Secretary as soon as possible. Where news of a match result or postponement is not communicated to Sports Manager and to the Branch Fixtures Secretary by 8:00pm on a Sunday (for weekend results), the relevant club may be fined €50.

5. The match card should be an accurate record of the match played. Any deliberate falsification of entries on matchcards may be dealt with by the fixtures committee who may reckon the match as forfeited by an offending club and may report the issue for further sanction to the MBIHA disciplinary committee in accordance with article 26 – Discipline of the Branch Constitution.

11. Clothing & Equipment

1. Every affiliated club must have two sets of distinguishing colours that are registered with the relevant Registrar.

2. Any change of colours by a club must have prior consent of the Fixtures Committee.

3. Full Club Uniform must be worn by all teams. Where colours are similar the visiting team must change tops & socks. Only bicycle shorts the same colour as the skirts/shorts are permitted, and can only be worn under said skirts/shorts.

4. All Division One & Two League and Cup teams, and all Munster Senior & Junior Cup teams must wear numbered shirts.

5. The Captain of the day must wear a distinctive armband.

12. Discipline

1. Any player who receives a red card in a game shall be have deemed to have brought the game into disrepute. They shall be reported to the management committee who shall deal with the matter in accordance with Article 26 – Discipline -  of the Branch Constitution. They shall serve an automatic one match ban and any additional ban as decided by the management’s disciplinary committee.

2. Any player who receives three yellow cards in a season shall serve an automatic one match ban.

3. The club of any player subject to a ban is responsible for ensuring that the player does not play until the ban is served. If a player plays before the ban is served then additional

sanctions may be applied by the disciplinary committee including increasing the ban for the player and/or deciding that matches played by the team that played the banned player

should be forfeited.

13. Umpires

1. All clubs must register umpires with the Munster Hockey Umpires Association (MHUA). The names, addresses, telephone numbers and affiliation fee should be forwarded to the Secretary of the MHUA.

2. All clubs shall appoint an umpire co-ordinator who will act as a singular contact between the club and the MHUA.

3. All clubs shall annually nominate 5% of its registered playing membership (1 registered playing member for every 20 playing members), who are not already recognised MHUA umpires, to take part in an umpires coaching and development program.