expectations, hints, tips and more...

These guidelines have been created to help you understand your roles as an individual and as a team member within the playnetball.com league.

Have Fun - This is definitely the most important thing!! Playnetball.com is a social league that understands that netball isn't just about netball! For whatever reason you’re involved in netball - to keep fit, have fun, stress release, fitness - we want to make sure you’re happy. We want your views and opinions on how we can make any aspect of the playnetball.com league better. And by all means, if you’re not able to approach us, the please feel free to approach one of the social committee with your comments, concerns, feedback, praise or suggestions.

Positive Sporting Behaviour - This is a social netball league and the aim is to have fun. Whilst netball can at times get quite competitive, there is never any need for dangerous or unsporting behaviour. Should this occur it will not be tolerated and will be addressed through your captain. The code of conduct may be commenced at the managers’ discretion. Please refer to www.playnetball.com for more information.

Umpires - Must be respected at all times. Should you have any queries for the umpires, this should be expressed via your captain at quarter time breaks. All our umpires are happy to discuss any decisions/calls they have made to help your understanding of the game.

Umpires are there to maintain safety on the court as well as control of the game. Your umpire is capable of providing coaching tips during the game to help you/your team with a rule or skill. Should there be something you are continually being called for, please ask the umpire for clarification at quarter time, so you can work on it for the rest of the game.

Scores will be announced at the end of each quarter and captains are responsible for signing off the scorecard at the end of each game.

There should never be any back-chat, derogatory comments or abuse made towards your umpire; they are there to help you enjoy the game of netball and without them you wouldn’t have a game to play! If you have a complaint regarding an umpire you are requested to discuss this with the competition organiser/site manager and not with the umpire directly. You may be asked for a written description of the complaint.

Payment - This is required by the end of week 1 and should be co-ordinated by your captain. Team fees are £615 per season and can be paid on-line, in cash or by cheque to the managers.

Minimum Number of Players - Each team must field at least 5 players listed on their team proforma for each game. If less than 5 members of that team are available the league table points will automatically be awarded to the opposing team with a goal difference of 25 -0. This is the same for Semi Finals and Grand Final matches although of course the game will still go ahead! A player may only be registered on two team proformas on each night during a season.

Fill-ins - All teams are required to field a full team for the whole of the season. There is a reserves list made up of individuals from other teams wanting to pick up extra games, as well as new comers to the competition who wish to join a team. Should you be unable to make a game, please let your captain know as much in advance as possible so they/you can organise a fill in to play for you. In extreme circumstances, you can contact the managers to help you find a fill in player.

Fill-ins can only play for teams in their grade, the grades above or one grade below (i.e. Mixed and A Grade players cannot play in C Grade games). When a player is filling in for a team in the grade below they must play out of position (i.e. defenders can only play centre court or attack, centre court players can only play attack or defence and attack players can only play in centre court or defence). The team will also be penalised 5 points for each (higher grade) fill in. In any circumstance where a player is filling in for a team, it is at the umpires / competition managers’ discretion to request that that player plays out of position or leaves the court if it is considered that they are having a disproportionate influence on the game.

For finals, you are allowed to play registered players who have played a minimum of 3 games for the season or accept a penalty of 5 points per unregistered player.

Team Forfeits - are unacceptable and teams who do so will lose their first preference to return to the competition for the next season. A team that forfeits will also be required to reimburse their opponents their payment for that game which must be fully paid to the competition organisers ahead of the team taking to the court in their subsequent game. If a team forfeits two games in a season, their place in the competition will be removed immediately and a team from the waiting list will take their place. In this situation, there are no refunds paid to the forfeiting team.

Starting games - The games are timed centrally and start at 6.20, 7.00, 7.40 and 8.20 each night. There are four quarters with a minute break each quarter. To start the game you will need a minimum of five players on court. For each minute that the game cannot start because your team does not have at least 5 players you will be penalised one point up to 5 minutes. At this point the game is awarded to the opposition with a score of 25-0. At this point, the teams can swap players where necessary and a scratch match will take place.

Please ensure you arrive with plenty of time to change, cut nails, remove all jewellery, allocate positions and if need be, recruit additional players.

Check the fixture sheet to find which court you will be playing on. When time is called for the end of the previous game, head to your court and distribute the bibs. Be ready to play once time on is called.

For the last game of the evening, the umpires will ask for a volunteer from each team to store the goal posts and bases. Your umpire will be responsible for bringing the bibs and ball back to the kit bag.

Fixtures & Changes to fixture list - All fixtures are posted on-line for the whole of the season at www.playnetball.com. Weekly updates will be sent by Thursday of each week with any new information as well as the following weeks fixture details. Changes may occur in exceptional circumstances and any teams affected will be notified a minimum of 3 days prior to the competition night.

Additional information for captains

Your role as the team captain is very important and we thank you for accepting management of your team effectively so that we can all enjoy the game of netball each week!! There are, however, some things that we, as competition managers, expect of you and should also help you to understand your role.

Before the season starts:

1)You will need to co-ordinate the information on the pro-forma that is submitted to us each season. This needs to be submitted, completed accurately, before the start of each season and updated and resubmitted during the season if necessary.

2)Co-ordinate the signing of the waiver before taking the court at the start of the season. Ensure this is updated if new players / reserves play for your team.

3)Manage the payments for you team. A deposit is required to secure your spot in the competition and the remainder is required before you play in week 1. If paying by cheque it should be made out to Welstralian Ltd.

During the season:

1)A full team is required to take the court each week. We suggest you have a minimum of 9 players registered for your team. This makes it easier in the event of holidays etc. Please be aware of the information regarding reserves shown above.

2)Report to the umpire prior to the commencement of the game to do the toss (to determine first centre pass and goal ends), as well as signing off the scorecards at the end of the game.

3)You are the voice of your team!! Please raise any questions, concerns or suggestions that you or your team may have. Should there be any umpiring queries these should be directed through you towards the umpire at quarter time. If there is any additional feedback in relation to the game, umpiring etc that you would like to raise with us, then please get in touch, otherwise we will never know and won’t be able to improve!

4)Keep your players under control! We understand that the game of netball can at times get quite heated, but should any of your players start to step out of line (ie. back-chat, comments to players) then you need to bring them back into line. Sometimes they are completely unaware that they are doing it, so a quick word at quarter time (or when you can) generally makes them aware and get on with just enjoying the game!