Premier League

Governance

Each competition will be overseen by a committee, which consists of

• National Competitions Chair
• Team Managers

Committee

The committee shall meet at least three (3) times per season (beginning, middle, end)

Purpose

The purpose of the committee is to organise the competitions, maintain smooth functioning, and collaboratively identify opportunities for improvement.

Team Entry

Entry to the competition is via promotion and relegation.

Clubs already in the competition are automatically entered for the following season, unless relegated.

Clubs may withdraw from the next seasons competition without penalty, if they send written notice of withdrawal to the Competition Committee by 30 June, prior to the new season.

Clubs may enter a team into the competition in collaboration with one or more clubs from within their region, subject to the approval of the Competition Committee.

Players in that grade from collaborating clubs shall be considered as from one club in that competition.

An invoice for the team entry fee tand deposit for match official costs will be issued annually, in the 1st week of July.

Player Registration

There is no maximum squad size, but the minimum is five (5) players, and a Team Coach and Team Manager, who must hold the necessary association accreditation.

A player can only be registered to one team in the competition during a season, unless transferred or loaned.

Transfers & Loans

Players can only be transferred with the agreement of both teams involved and the player, within the following Transfer & Loan Window, open twice a season.

• 1 August to 30 September.
• 1 February to 31 March.

In exceptional circumstances, such as enabling a competition to go ahead or addressing a club losing a significant number of players, the National Competition Committee may give approval outside of the Transfer Window.

Players renewing a registration from the previous season must do so within a Transfer Window and are not considered new players.

Newly registered players may participate in the competition at any point of the season.

League Phase

Each team in the competition shall play each other team once at home or away, as scheduled by the Competitions Committee.

When a competition has six (6) or less teams, they shall play each other twice, and no other phases will be contested.

Qualification to the Finals Phase shall be determined by league table position at the end of the phase.

Finals Phase

Groups

Premier League 1: 1st to 6th place.

Premier League 2: 7th to 12th place.

Home & Away

Teams in the Group shall play each other team in the Group once at home or away, as scheduled by the Competitions Committee.

Every effort will be made to ensure that where a team played the other Away in the League Phase, they play at Home in the Finals Phase

The highest placed team shall be Group Champions.

Only results of matches from this phase of the competition shall count.

Relegation Play Off.

The highest ranked non Premier League clubs in each region league, shall be invited to play off against positions 13 to 15 in the League Phase, to gain any unallocated places in next seasons competition.

Teams in the Group shall play each other team in the Group once at home or away, as scheduled by the Competitions Committee.

Match Rules

All matches shall be conducted per the WorldSkate Rules of the Game, with variances per association Bylaws.

Match Officials

All competition matches shall be officiated by referees appointed by the Competition Committee.

Referee Expenses

Referees will be reimbursed expenses in accordance with the published association Expenses Policy.

Teams in the competition will equally share the cost of reimbursing the association as follows:

• Entry Deposit: 40% of the estimated cost of referees.
• December Top Up: 40% of the estimated cost of referees.
• June Payment: Actual Cost less payments received.

Timekeepers

All Matches must be presided over by at least 2 Table Officials, ideally 3, being.

Host clubs are responsible for providing at least 2 Timekeepers of required accreditation to officiate. Away teams have the right to provide a Timekeeper, but not the obligation.

No expenses shall be reimbursed by the association and are the responsibility of each club.

Code of Conduct

All teams and officials are expected to uphold the highest standards of conduct both on and off the rink.

Failure to abide by the association code of conduct can result in disciplinary actions, including fines, suspensions, or bans.

Disciplinary

Any player receiving a red card in a match will be suspended for the following match and the Disciplinary Committee will determine if any additional sanction is to be applied, per Bylaws.

In addition to the Rules of the Game, match and team officials have a duty to report any witnessed act of abusive or threatening conduct toward any match participant, including before, during or after a match. Including if such is directed toward them.

Referees are directed to issue an immediate Red Card to any match participant that threatens or swears at a Match Official before, during, or after a match.

Scheduling – Region League

The Region Competitions Committee shall issue Team Managers with the match schedule within 14 days of entries closing.

Team Managers are required to confirm the venue of each home tournament date as booked to the Region Competition Committee within twenty-one (21) days.

Host clubs may seek an alternative date, from the dates assigned to the competition in the National Planning Calendar only, and upon gaining the agreement of the clubs involved, propose the change to the Region Competition Committee to determine.

Failure to agree a change with the other teams will require the original date to be fulfilled, with Forfeit declared against the Home team should the tournament not occur.

Subsequent alteration of the tournament/match schedule is only permitted in situations of ‘Force Majore’ and exceptional circumstances relating to venue availability and is at the sole discretion of the Region Competition Committee to approve.

The ability of a club to field a team on a scheduled date shall not be considered valid grounds to reschedule a match. This includes player unavailability due to ‘Playing Up’ or ‘Playing Down.

Any match dates that remain unconfirmed will be determined at the sole discretion of the Region Competition Committee.

Scheduling – National League Finals

The National Competitions Committee shall issue Team Managers with the match schedule within 7 days of qualification closing.

Subsequent alteration of the tournament/match schedule is only permitted in situations of ‘Force Majore’ and exceptional circumstances relating to venue availability and is at the discretion of the National Competition Committee.

The ability of a club to field a team on a scheduled date shall not be considered valid grounds to reschedule a match. This includes players unavailability due to ‘Playing Up’ or ‘Playing Down.

Venue and Equipment

Region Competition

The host club is responsible for providing the venue and match equipment, ensuring at least 2 suitable match balls for each match.

National Finals

The National Competitions Committee is responsible for providing the venue and match equipment, ensuring at least 2 suitable match balls for each match of the tournament.

Match Procedure

Team lists must be submitted to the organiser.

• Online: 24 hours before the match
• Timekeepers: 30 minutes before a match if changes are required.
• After the match, the tournament host must report match results and information online within 3 hours.

Spectator Fees

Tournament hosts are encouraged to charge a fee for spectators.

Players and Officials of teams competing in any tournament shall be exempt from any charge, so long as they are identified on the official Team List published by the association.

No team may have more than five (5) Officials and ten (10) players.

Sponsorship and Advertising

Teams are responsible for adhering to association guidelines related to sponsorship logos and messages on team kits.

Broadcasting

Matches may be broadcast or streamed live, subject to the Associations media and broadcasting policies.

The tournament host is responsible for coordinating and ensuring all necessary facilities and access are provided.

Should a host not be broadcasting a match, the attending teams shall be permitted to do so.

Tournament hosts are strongly encouraged to arrange for the recording and streaming online of all competition fixtures, providing the Competition Committee with a link to enable publicity.

End-of-Season Awards

At the end of each season, awards will be given for region and national top goal scorer, best goalkeeper, player of the season, coach of the season, and match official of the season.

The awards will be decided by the Region and National Competition Committees respectively.

Grievance Process

Any team or player may lodge a formal complaint or seek review of a decision made in the competition or the disciplinary committee. The process for doing so is defined within the association Bylaws.

Fan Behaviour

All fans are expected to uphold the same standards of sportsmanship and respect as the players and teams.

Clubs may be held responsible for the behaviour of their fans and face penalties for fan misconduct.