Seventh edition of the season released 23rd Jan 2012

Hi everyone,

The next Delegates meeting is on Monday 6th February, but I'll let you have an agenda for that evening a bit nearer the time. Here are the
Latest Hand Book Amendments; -

Northwick Vale: New secretary = Michael Twining
The Railway Train: New joint secretaries; -
1. Ryan Malpass - Responsible for finances, correspondence, pitch hire
2. Martin Isaac - Responsible for referee marks, results, team sheets, contacting opponents
Wychbold RBL: New mobile no. for Alex Riordan
The Bell: New home venue = KGV Droitwich
St Georges: Correct home telephone no. for Joe Eaton

Results/Referee marks: I'm afraid we haven't got off to a very good start this year with ref marks - 7 clubs have been fined £10 each in the last two weeks for missing the 5.00 p.m. Wednesday deadline !
And yesterday 4 clubs failed to ring in their results which means 'lives have been lost' !

I'll re-iterate to you all once again - ring, text or e-mail your result/referee mark straight after the match before you forget, otherwise it's going to cost you a tenner !!

Pitch inspections: A couple of weekends have been hit by the frost and we've had a few postponements, although nothing like last year. Wayne tells me that 54% of the Sunday League programme has been completed compared with 35% at this time last year. We're also 13% up on Saturdays, so at this moment in time we're not looking at too many evening matches, if any - I know, famous last words !, we'll probably get 6ft of snow and a month of floods now I've said that !

Can I remind you of the correct procedure for calling off matches. Unless it's a private ground you play on and the relevant authority has told you you're not playing ! - the match referee is the only person authorised to call a match off. He may well ask a local referee to do an inspection on his behalf and will only ask for a decision from a club secretary if it is obvious that there is little chance of playing - i.e 6ft of snow or extensive flooding. You cannot just call a match off without consulting the match referee first please !

The other thing to consider if a pitch is frozen, is whether you may be able to play the match by waiting 20 minutes or so. Often pitches are playable by 11 a.m. on a Sunday morning, so if everyone is happy to hang around until then, you may well get the match played. In other words, don't call it off too early when there may be a chance of playing with a slightly delayed start.

Eligibility for Internal Cup Competitions: The semi-final line-ups for the internal cups competitions are now known (**see below for full details) and now is a good time to remind you of the registration rules concerning the qualification of players eligible to play in these semi-finals; -

'For a player to be qualified to play in a semi-final or final of any of these Cup Competitions, a player must have played in not less than 4 League or internal League Cup games in the appropriate competition during the season. No exceptions will be made to this rule.'

' Not less than 7 days before the semi-final game is due to be played, each club shall submit for approval to the Registration Secretary, a list of all players each club considers are eligible to play. The Registration Secretary will inform each club of any players who are not eligible to play.'

The full rules concerning Internal Cup Competitions can be found on pages 77/78 of the League Hand Book and I would suggest that all clubs who are still in the cups read these rules carefully.

More on Fixtures: A request from Wayne - would clubs who play on Worcester City Council pitches please play on the pitch number that is given on the website although you may have been allocated a different number by the Council. Apparently this helps with his fixture generation so who am I to argue with the No. 1 computer expert !!

The other thing he has asked me to mention is that if clubs spot an outstanding fixture that can be played, then don't hesitate to contact him with your suggestions. Also, we don't mind where you play your fixtures - if both teams are happy to play on an opponents ground if it's free - then go ahead !

** Draw for cup semi-finals; -

Baylis Cup - To be played on Saturday 11 February

University of Worcester v Powick
VBL Sports v Worcester Raiders

Phipps Cup - To be played on Saturday 11 February

Worcester Rangers v Worcester Anchors
Tenbury Colts v Northway

Katherine Rayer Cup - To be played on Sunday 18 March

AFC Heenans v KGV Worcester
Upton Snodsbury v VBL Sports

Southam Trophy - To be played on Sunday 18 March

AFC West Midland v St Georges
WCT Sports v Wychbold RBL

Bernard Finnegan Cup - To be played on Sunday 18 March

Worcester City Wanderers v Worcester Lynx
The Bell v Hylton Road Rovers

That's all for now folks !

Regards,

Tim

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