WEST

GIPPSLAND

HOCKEY

ASSOCIATION Inc.

(A004426X)

P.O. Box 376

Drouin 3818

BY-LAWS

2009

As far as practicable the West Gippsland Hockey Association Inc. (WGHA) shall follow the Rules of Hockey as

provided by the International Hockey Federation. Where there is a conflict between the Rules of Hockey and these

By-Laws, then these By-Laws will prevail.

Changes to these By-Laws shall be by way of resolution at an Annual General Meeting of the WGHA (Refer Rule

12.4.4). However the Committee of the Association shall be empowered to make interim amendments to these By-

Laws. Any such amendments shall be subject to ratification at the following Annual General Meeting.

WGHA has adopted Codes of Behaviour which will be publicised to all players and clubs. Players and clubs must

adhere to the Codes of Behaviour. WGHA puts the responsibility on all clubs to counsel their players, members

and representatives in the correct Code of Behaviour. Penalties may be imposed by the WGHA to clubs and / or

individuals who do not adhere to the Codes of Behaviour (see By-Law 33).

1. There shall be 3 General Meetings in each calendar year, one of which shall be the Annual General Meeting

which shall be held in October. The General Meetings shall be held in February and May on a date determined by

the Committee.

The Committee may, whenever it sees fit, convene a Special General Meeting of the Association and, where, but

for this sub-clause, more than fifteen months would elapse between Annual General Meetings, shall convene a

Special General Meeting before the expiration of that period.

2. At least one member of each Sub-Committee and each Club of the Association must attend each General

Meeting or Special General Meeting of the Association in order to report and liaise between their Sub-Committee

or Club and the Committee.

3. If a Club is not represented by at least one delegate at any General Meeting or Special General Meeting the Club

will be penalised (see By-Law 33. (a) Penalties)

NB. Members of the Committee may not serve as Club delegates. The Committee shall consist of the President,

Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer/Public Officer and the Convenors of Match and Fixtures, Umpires, Grounds

and Equipment, Press and Publicity and Development Sub-Committees (total 9 people).

4. Each team shall have distinguishing uniforms which must be registered and approved by the Committee.

(a) Skirts or shorts may be worn in women's competition, providing that these be in Club colours and of a style

specified by the Club. Bike shorts may be worn under a skirt providing they are the same colour as the skirt or a

flesh colour.

(b) Shorts are to be worn by males. The style is to be decided by the Club and approved by the Committee.

(c) Shin-guards are compulsory.

(d) Mouthguards are strongly recommended.

(e) Shorts are to be optional for girls in mixed teams. The style is to be decided by Clubs and approved by the

Committee.

(f) Uniform socks are to be worn.

Players not in complete and correct uniform by Round 3 will not be allowed to take the field. (See By-Law 33. (b)

Penalties).

5. Any person umpiring fixtures and finals should be of an appropriate standard at the discretion of the Umpires’

Convenor.

6. (a) Clubs must supply umpires as rostered to umpire matches at the venues stipulated. Umpires shall wear the

West Gippsland Hockey Association umpires shirt or jacket or approved umpires uniform.

In the event of a Rostered Umpire not attending their umpiring commitments their Club will be penalised as

specified. (See By-Law 33. (c) Penalties).

In the situation of a rostered umpire arranging a substitute who fails to meet the commitment, any penalty will be

applied to the club of the rostered umpire.

(b) Clubs may satisfy a scheduled umpiring commitment by organising for a substitute umpire from outside their

Club provided that umpire is suitably badged and/or experienced. Clubs may choose to pay umpires provided they

are suitably badged and/or experienced, subject to approval by the Umpire's Convenor.

7. The umpire's decision is final and no discussions will take place on the field of play. The captains of the teams

concerned must enforce this By-Law.

8. (a) The Match Book.

Each team manager/captain will be supplied with a Match Book.

It is the responsibility of the captain or their representative to ensure this book is completed correctly, legibly and

signed by both captains and umpires and includes the correct scores for the game.

Players who are listed on the team sheet but did not play must be crossed off the list.

Completed Match Book Sheets must be placed in the container provided in the clubrooms at the end of the game.

(See By-Law 33. (d) Penalties).

(b) The Most Valuable Player Votes.

Both umpires are to jointly complete a Voting Form for the three Most Valuable Players in the game they umpire.

(3 Votes to Most valuable player, 2 votes to next most valuable etc)

This responsibility determines the accuracy of the outcome of the award and should be considered carefully.

Most Valuable Player votes shall be recorded from the MVP Voting Slips.

A player who receives a yellow or red card shall not be eligible to receive MVP votes in that match, with the

exception of the captain of a team who receives a yellow card for spectator or team misconduct).

A player who is suspended from WGHA competition for one or more matches by the Disputes Committee shall be

ineligible for any WGHA awards for the season in which the incident leading to the suspension occurred.

Suspensions arising from incidents in the finals will render that player ineligible for awards the following year.

In Junior Grades, excepting Under 9, awards shall be presented to the Most Valuable Male Player and the Most

Valuable Female Player (and to the male and female runner-up MVP at the discretion of the Committee).

(c) Press Report.

Each team is responsible for completing their team's Press Report, to be emailed to the Press and Publicity Officer

(reports@wgha.asn.au) in a timely manner and in the required format as requested by the Press and Publicity

Officer.

9. Each Club will appoint a Committee which shall be responsible for:

(a) keeping a list of names, addresses and telephone numbers of Club members. Where appropriate the age and

gender should be recorded.

(b) transfers and clearances.

(c) obtaining the consent of each player (or a parent/guardian of a player under 18) for his/her photo to be displayed

on the WGHA website or other media. This consent (or non consent) should be obtained by requiring the signing

of the following or similar statement, which could be included on the Club’s Registration Form:

“I do/do not give consent for my son/daughter/myself to have photos displayed on the WGHA website or other

media for publicity purposes.”

The names of all players for whom consent was given are to be passed on to the Association Secretary.

(d) annually forwarding to the Association Secretary all players' names, the team they are playing for, media

consent, and where appropriate, the age and gender, no later than the meeting after the player's first game.

(e) ensuring the Club is represented at Association General Meetings.

10. (a) In the event of wet weather, the Grounds and Equipment Officer (in consultation with the WGHA Umpire’s

Convenor if available) shall be responsible for inspecting the grounds at approximately 8.00 a.m. on match day and

making any recommendation to the Executive that the grounds are unfit for play. If the recommendation of the

Grounds Convenor is endorsed by the Executive, Executive members shall be responsible for notifying all team

contacts and umpires that matches scheduled for that day have been cancelled.

(b) In the event of a deterioration of weather or ground conditions during the day such that player safety is

becoming seriously compromised, the Umpires Convenor (in consultation with the Grounds and Equipment

Officer, scheduled umpires, team captains and available Executive) shall be empowered to temporarily halt or

totally abandon matches.

No points shall be awarded to any team for matches cancelled due to wet weather. In the event of a cancelled game

causing an uneven number of byes or matches played, refer to By-Law 13.

11. (a) Matches must be played as arranged in the fixture card, except in special circumstances a match may be

played at another time or place by mutual consent of the teams concerned, and with the approval of the Match

Committee and Executive.

(b) If a team cannot field six players at the beginning of a match, the offending team must forfeit the match (subject

to By-Law 11 (c)). If a team starts short, the missing players may join in at any time subject to the rules of Hockey.

The umpires must be notified.

Should a team be reduced to 5 players the match shall be abandoned with the score being resolved according to By-

Law 13.

(c) If a match is not commenced at the appointed starting time, a penalty of one goal per 5 minutes will be awarded

against the offending team. If a match is not commenced within 15 minutes of the stated time, the team unable to

proceed shall forfeit the match.

(d) Time lost at the commencement of a non-finals match due to a late start shall not be made up by extending the

match beyond its scheduled finishing time. The timing of all non-finals matches will start and finish with the siren

(though the ball shall still be ‘live’ until the umpire’s whistle is blown to signify the end of play).

(e) In all preliminary and grand finals, time will be kept by the umpires. Time will be stopped according to the

Rules of Hockey eg: penalty strokes, substitution of goalkeepers, and where appropriate for serious injury,

warnings, lost ball etc.

12. Any team failing to play three consecutive matches shall withdraw for the remainder of the season, unless a

satisfactory explanation can be provided to the Committee.

13. Premiership points will be allocated from the Score Cards.

4 points shall be awarded for a win.

2 points for a drawn game.

1 point to the losing team.

0 points for a forfeit

For a forfeit, a 3-0 win shall be recorded for the team present.

In Age Groups where there are an uneven number of byes (caused by the number of teams in the fixture or by

cancellation of matches) finalisation of the ladder at the end of the season shall be done as follows:

To decide the final position on the ladder, teams which have played fewer matches than other teams at their

level will have added to their points total the average number of premiership points they scored per matches

played for each match they are in deficit.

Example: A team which scored 36 premiership points over 11 rounds and has played one match less than the

maximum played by a team in that competition will have an extra 3.27 points ( 36 ÷ 11) added to their season’s

points tally.

In abandoned matches (caused by weather or serious injury etc), the score shall remain as on the score card

provided the match has extended beyond 5 minutes into the second half. Matches that are discontinued for any

other reason (or abandoned before 5 minutes into the second half) will be referred to the next Committee Meeting

for decision as to the result to be recorded.

14. Teams shall:

(a) Provide an approved match ball (as per Rule Book) when they are the first-named team.

(b) Carry a basic First Aid Kit.

15. Goalkeepers:

(a) Each team (apart from Under 9) must have a goalkeeper on the field at all times during play. It is compulsory

for goalkeepers to wear protective headgear except when taking a penalty stroke. A helmet incorporating fixed full

face protection and cover for the entire head and throat is Compulsory. Goalkeeping Helmets MUST NOT be worn

in general play beyond the 25-yard line.

It is recommended that goalkeepers in Men’s and Women’s matches also wear full protective equipment.

It is compulsory for goalkeepers in all Junior matches (apart from Under 9) to wear, as a minimum, the following

equipment: chest protector, hand protectors, leg guards, and kickers. Additional protective equipment for arms and

thighs is also recommended.

An incapacitated or suspended goalkeeper must be replaced by another goalkeeper or field player acting as a

goalkeeper. During the suspension of a goalkeeper, the team concerned has one less field player.

(b) Any dangerous ball in the circle shall be penalised in Under 13 grades and below (the intent is that the

goalkeeper is not “fair game”).

(c) The “tomahawk” hit is banned in all matches.

16. Coaches in Junior Matches.

U9 One coach allowed on any part of the field at any time.

U11 One coach allowed on the field at any time for the first 8 rounds but not inside the

attacking 25-yard area.

U13, U15, U17 No coach allowed on the field at any time.

17. (a) The method of playing finals in the Winter Competition shall be as follows:

Semi Finals: 1 V 2 & 3 V 4

Preliminary Final: Winner 3 V 4 V Loser 1 V 2

Grand Final: Winner 1 V 2 V Winner of Preliminary Final

(b) The Winter Season should be at least 15 weeks to ensure a minimum of 12 rounds are played.

In the compilation of the WGHA Draw for the winter season, an “Extra” week is to be allotted after the Grand

Final to allow for “Washouts”.

I. Semi Final Cancellation:

Games to be re-scheduled for the following week and remaining finals to be put back a week.

In the event of further “Washout” Games, Team 1 shall play Team 4 and Team 2 shall play Team 3 with the

winners progressing to the Grand Final.

II. Preliminary Final Washout:

(i) If a spare week is available re-schedule the final to the following week.

(ii) If no spare week available call an Emergency Meeting of Committee.

III. Grand Final Washout:

(i) If a spare week is available re-schedule the final to the following week.

(ii) If no spare week available call an Emergency Meeting of Committee.

(c) Drawn Games in Semi-Finals and Preliminary Finals.

In the event of a drawn game, extra time of two halves of 5 minutes each shall be played. If the result is still a

draw, the match will be awarded to the team higher on the ladder.

(d).Drawn Games in Grand Finals.

In the event of a drawn game at full time, after 3 minutes,

(i) change ends and play two Extra Periods (with no interval except to swap ends at the completion of

the first period), unless

(ii) either team scores a goal and then the match shall be deemed at end and the team that scores the

goal shall be declared the winner.

Extra Period means:-

Open-Age and Over-Age Matches:- seven (7) minutes and thirty (30) seconds.

Under-Age Matches:-five minutes.

If the match is still drawn, the competition shall be decided as follows:

Under 11: If the match is still drawn, both teams be named as joint winners.

Under 13, Under 15, Under 17, Women and Men: by Penalty Strokes:

Penalty strokes to be played according to the Rules of Hockey current at the time.

(e) Summer competition.

The method of playing finals (if any) is to be determined by the organising committee.

18. Grades and Team Composition.

play in Under 13 competition.

Exceptions to these gradings and team compositions can only be made by PRIOR permission of the Committee (or

Executive). (See By-Law 33. (g) Penalties).

(a) Winter Competition.

Open Women (Women only - open age)

Open Men (Men only - open age)

Age Groups for the Junior Competition will be determined by the Committee from time to time.

Teams in Junior Competition are of mixed gender, with on-field gender requirements as follows:

NOTE: No player may play in more than 2 matches on any one day.

NOTE: The Committee will consider individual applications for Junior players to play in younger age groups based

on their merits. Applications in writing must be received by the Committee prior to the commencement or during

the season as required.

(b) Summer Competition.

19. A player receiving a red card during a WGHA match shall not be permitted to play a second match in the same

round.

20. Players may only move up and down the grades in their own Club. Players may not move up or down more

than one age group, with the exception of Under 15 players who may play up in either the Under 17 or senior

grade.

Where there is no appropriate grade in their own Club, a senior team may apply for Executive permission to draw

substitutes from another Club which has no senior team. Junior players may only fill in for one Club.

Where clubs have 2 teams in an age group, players who play regularly at that age group or play up from a younger

grade must be allocated to one of those teams after round 4.

Games played up to and including Round 4 for either Club team are combined with games played after round 4 for

the allocated team to determine the player’s eligibility for finals.

21. Transfers.

No player desiring to transfer from one Club to another shall play a match for their new Club until they have

obtained a written clearance from their former Club and permission from the Committee (or Executive). (Penalty -

see By-Law 33. (e)).

The former club can withhold permission if there are outstanding fees owing by the player

The former club cannot withhold permission when:

The player has not played in the WGHA winter competition for 2 seasons OR

The player has only played at the Under 9 level.

22. No player shall take part in a final or semi-final match unless they are registered in the Match Book as having

played in at least one third of matches played by their team in the current season. (eg: If 15 rounds they must play a

minimum of 5; if there is a bye and if 12 rounds are played they must play a minimum of 4 games). Where there

are wet weather cancellations, these would be counted as matches played if the player played in the match they

occurred immediately prior to the washout after the first match in which the said player participated. In the case of

forfeit, players in the forfeiting team shall not have their names recorded as having played. Players in the

nonforfeiting team shall be recorded as playing a game. Any emergency cases shall be decided by the Committee.

The Executive shall have the power to act.

23. A player may play in more than one grade in the final series provided that the eligibility conditions as set out in

By-Laws 18 (a), 20 and 22 are met for each of the grades. Note: Maximum 2 WGHA matches can be played in the

one round.

24. Any three members of the WGHA Committee shall constitute the Disputes Committee, but no member may sit

on a hearing concerning the Club of which she/he is a member. The Committee shall have the power to add

persons from inside or outside the Association if the situation warrants such action.

(Refer to WGHA Rules 10 and 11.)

25. Any complaints or charges made against or concerning any team/s, player/s or official/s of the WGHA shall be

lodged in writing (formal letter) with the Secretary of the WGHA within three days of the alleged offence in

respect of which the complaint or charge is made. A deposit of $20 shall be lodged with each complaint or charge

and shall be forfeited if the complaint or charge is considered frivolous by the Disputes Committee. An umpire

making a complaint or charge concerning the match at which they were officiating shall not be required to lodge a

deposit.

26. Any dispute between Clubs and/or members regarding any infringement of the Rules of Hockey, the WGHA

By-Laws or the WGHA Codes of Behaviour, shall be lodged in writing (formal letter) with the Secretary of the

WGHA within three days of the alleged infringement, stating the subject matter and full circumstances of the

dispute. A deposit of $20 shall be made with each dispute and shall be forfeited if the dispute is considered

frivolous by the Disputes Committee.

27. (a) On receipt of the complaint, charge or dispute, the Secretary shall, with at least three working days notice in

writing:

(i) Forward to the team(s), player(s) or official(s) charged or complained against, or the disputing Club

and/or member(s), all the alleged facts of the complaint, charge or dispute.

(ii) Inform the team(s) and / or member(s) concerned of the date, time and place fixed for the hearing.

(b) Any team or member shall be entitled to request any person(s) to attend the meeting to give evidence on their

behalf.

28. The Disputes Committee shall determine all complaints, charges and disputes. If after an inquiry it considers:

(a) The complaint, charge or dispute is not proven or not substantiated, it shall dismiss the matter and report its

action to the W.G.H.A. Inc. Committee.

(b) The complaint, charge or dispute is proven, it shall reprimand, fine, suspend from participation in WGHA

fixtures for a certain period, expel from membership or take such other actions it deems appropriate. In the case of

expulsion, such member(s) shall forfeit such membership and all interest and benefit (if any) in the Association and

the funds thereof.

(Refer to WGHA Rule 40.)

If during the course of the hearing, it is proved to the satisfaction of the Disputes Committee that action should be

taken against any team(s), player(s) or official(s) complained against, such action may be taken. The disputes

committee shall refer to the schedule of penalties (By-Law33) when determining an appropriate penalty.

29. The Secretary shall, in writing, inform all parties to the hearing of the decision of the Disputes Committee as

soon as possible.

30. (a) Should any party to the hearing be aggrieved by the decision of the Disputes Committee, that party shall,

within three days of being notified in writing of the decision of the Disputes Committee, lodge in writing with the

Secretary a Notice of Appeal.

Refer to Rule 40.

(b) Such an appeal shall be heard by the Committee at its next meeting.

(c) The decision of the Disputes Committee shall stand until such time as the next Committee Meeting passes a

resolution gaining two-thirds majority of the members present entitled to vote, amending it.

31. Umpiring Courses.

Representatives from each club, equivalent to the number of teams (Under13 and higher) within the club, shall

attend any official WGHA Umpiring Instruction session or course and sit any theoretical or practical test as and

when arranged by the Umpires Convenor. At least half of such Club representatives shall be senior men or women.

(See By-Law 33. (h) Penalties)

32. Duty Club.

Duty Clubs must supply personnel to mark fields, put out and retrieve flags, set up goals and nets, clean and sweep

the clubroom, toilets and concrete surrounds, time-keep, tidy up at the end of the day’s play, lock the pavilion and

assist in the kiosk throughout the whole day's competition when rostered.

A complete list of tasks will be provided by the Committee at the start of each season.

(See By-Law 33. (f) Penalties).

33. Penalties.

The WGHA and delegated committees have the right to impose penalties on clubs and / or individuals for nonadherence

to By-Laws or other offences as deemed as appropriate. Whilst it remains at the descrestion of the

disputes committee, the following penalties are recommended as guidelines:

By-Law / Code Offence Penalty - Club Penalty - Individual

3. Non-attendance of at least one delegate from each Club $20

not be permitted to

participate in any game

until they are in

complete and correct

uniform (subject to

special permission from

the Executive)

6. Non-supply of umpires as rostered $20

8. Incomplete score card $20

21. Playing a player who has not obtained a transfer or

clearance

forfeit of the

match by the

offending team.

32. Failure of the Duty Club to fully complete their duty $20

18. Playing the incorrect team composition forfeit of the

match by the

offending team

31. Non-attendance of representatives at WGHA umpiring

instruction sessions or for Umpire's badge testing

$20 per player per

club not in

attendance

Non adherence to WGHA Code of Behaviour to be implemented by the disputes committee only.

Suggested penalty

a) Bringing hockey into disrepute $100 2 weeks

b) Swearing / abusive language $10 2 weeks

c) Threatening behaviour / intimidation $50 4 weeks

d) Play endangering player safety $200 4 weeks

e) Dangerous play causing physical injury $200 12 months

f) Striking / physical assault causing injury $300 12 months

g) Threatening behaviour / intimidation of an umpire $200 4 weeks

h) Striking / physical assault of an umpire causing

injury

$300 24 months

34. Treatment of Players Who Are Bleeding.

The following recommendations are based on the “Infectious Diseases Policy” put out by the Australian Sports

Medicine Federation Ltd. and Monash University’s current Occupational Health and Safety Policies on Human

Blood and Body Fluids and Hepatitis B Immunisation:

point is expected).

plastic bag.

1:10 solution household bleach). Gloves should be worn during the cleaning process.

blood or has blood splashed onto their face or damaged or broken skin, should seek medical advice (as

protection against Hepatitis B can be instituted if treatment starts within 72 hours).

35. Pregnant Players.

Pregnant players are advised that there may be risks involved in playing when pregnant. Participants are

encouraged to obtain and act on professional medical advice with regard to pregnancy and sport.

36. Life Members.

The Association shall have the power to elect honorary life members. Such membership to be awarded to persons

who have rendered exceptional services to hockey in the West Gippsland area over a number of years.

The election of life members may only take place at the Annual General Meeting by a two-thirds majority of

those present and entitled to vote.

Nomination of such membership shall first be approved by the Committee.

Refer to WGHA Rules: 3.1.4, 4.2, 4.2.1, 4.2.2 and 4.2.3.

37. Spectator misconduct.

In the event of a spectator's behaviour being judged by an umpire to be detrimental to the spirit of the game, the

following procedures shall apply:

(a) The Captain of the team (or Coach of junior team) who the offending spectator is supporting will be required to

request of the offender that the unacceptable behaviour be discontinued.

(b) In the event that the unacceptable behaviour continues the Captain of the team will be penalised with a yellow

card.

38. Representative matches.

the primary aim of enabling those selected to enjoy and benefit from the experience of representing the

Association with players from other WGHA clubs. To this end, all selected players shall receive “field time”

of no less than 50% of total available time during the course of the competition or championship, other than

due to illness, injury or some other unforseen circumstance.

(b) Selection criteria.

consideration (unless suspended or for other disciplinary reasons), and shall be given the opportunity to indicate

their interest in being selected.

winter season, however some allowance shall be made by the selectors on a case-by-case basis for players who

have not played regularly in the current WGHA winter season due to injury, illness, or some other reasonable

limitation.

players meeting such criteria have indicated availability for a particular team. Additionally or alternatively,

where a particular team has insufficient available players, consideration may be given to combining with

another hockey Association rather than deny those available the opportunity to participate.

Development Sub-Committee, with the power to co-opt additional selectors as considered appropriate and/or

due to the unavailability of any member of the Development Sub-Committee.