North of England Men’s Lacrosse Association
RULES OF FLAGS AND CUP COMPETITIONS
A. Organisation
1. The competitions shall be as follows:
a. Senior Flags – to be contested by all teams in the League, Premier 1.
b. Junior Flags – to be contested by all teams in the League, Premier 2.
c. Stockport Cup – to be contested by all teams in the League, Premier 3.
d. David Beesley Cup – to be contested by all teams in the League, North 1.
e. Nigel Wayne Trophy – to be contested by all teams in the League, North 2.
f. Lancashire Cup -
2. The initial rounds and semi-finals of each competition shall be established by the Management Committee by means of a draw, and each competition shall proceed on a knockout basis, culminating in a Final.
In the event that the preliminary rounds are played in a round robin format, final standings in each group when teams are tied on points at the end of the rounds shall be calculated as follows:
Should two or more teams be equal in points in any competition, the placings will be determined as follows:
(i). Matches conceded will be taken into account. The teams that have conceded more fixtures over the course of the rounds will be awarded the lower group placing. If the teams concerned are still equal, then
(ii). The competition’s records of the specific matches between the teams in question will be examined, i.e. if two teams have equal points, the records of two games will be examined; if three teams have equal points the records of six games will be examined, etc.
The relevant match records will be reviewed as follows, stopping as soon as a team establishes an advantage over the other team(s) involved in the tie: Fewer matches conceded, best goal difference, highest number of away goals scored, highest number of home goals scored, lesser number of away goals conceded, lesser number of home goals conceded.
If all the above options have been exhausted and the teams involved are still equal, the process will be repeated using the entire competition round’s programme.
3. The competing teams shall be drawn in pairs, the first drawn team in each case being the home team.
4. For the Senior Flags draw, the teams which occupied the top four positions in the League Premier Division 1 at the close of the previous season shall be seeded.
5. The Final of each competition shall be played on a neutral ground, unless otherwise agreed by the Management Committee.
6. A trophy for each competition shall be provided, and the winning team shall have its name inscribed thereon. The team shall be entitled to hold it until seven days prior to the Final in the following season, when it must be delivered to the General Secretary of the Management Committee upon request. The holders shall in each case be held responsible for its safe custody and preservation.
B. Bona-fide Status of Players
1. All players must, in the opinion of the Management Committee, be bona-fide playing members of the competing teams. If players are determined by the Management Committee to be non bona-fide, their team(s) shall be liable to be expelled from the competition and their opponents shall be awarded the match. In the case of both teams in any match fielding non bona-fide players, the match shall be declared null and void, both teams shall be liable to be expelled from the competition, and the Management Committee shall award a bye to the team which the winner of the match would have played in the next round, if appropriate. In the case of both teams in a Final fielding non bona-fide players, the match shall be declared null and void, both teams shall be liable to be expelled from the competition, and the losing teams from the semi-finals shall play for the relevant trophy.
2. Players must not have played for any other club in any of the previous rounds of a competition.
3. Players must not have played in a match in any higher competition in the current season.
4. Players must have played in a minimum of three League matches prior to the preliminary rounds (if applicable, otherwise first) of a competition, and six league matches prior to the Final, for the relevant or a lower team in the current season.
5. Dispensation from Rules B 3 and B 4 above may be granted by the Management Committee, subject to applications in writing being received by the General Secretary of the Management Committee a minimum of two days prior to any match.
C. Referees
1. It shall be mandatory for each team in all competitions to provide one referee, except for their semi-finals and finals.
D. Expulsions
1. Any player being given an expulsion foul by a Basic Award referee (or higher) shall be automatically suspended from playing in the next match in which he would otherwise play (defined as League matches, Flags and Cup Competition matches, Under 19 League matches, Under 19 Cup and Shield Competition matches, or any combination thereof).
2. The referee concerned shall notify the Secretary of the Disciplinary sub-committee in writing with details of the match, the player expelled, his club and the offence.
3. In all cases following expulsions in circumstances which a referee may consider to be best dealt with by the Disciplinary sub-committee he shall submit a written report to the Secretary of the sub-committee, which shall then be dealt with by that sub-committee.
4. In the case of an expulsion foul given by a referee below the Basic Award level, the referee concerned shall submit a written report to the Secretary of the Disciplinary sub-committee, which shall then be dealt with by that sub-committee.
5. The Secretary of the Disciplinary sub-committee shall confirm in writing the suspension to the Secretary of the player’s club.
6. The Secretary of the player’s club shall confirm in writing to the Secretary of the Disciplinary sub-committee the completion of the suspension as soon as possible, detailing the matches missed.
E. General
1. No-one under sixteen years of age shall be allowed to play in matches.
2. When a club, for whatever reason, is unable to fulfill all its fixtures on the officially appointed date, preference must be given to the completion of its scheduled matches, thereafter in order of seniority of its teams.
3. No fixture shall be postponed on account of a participating team having one or two players engaged in an International, Territorial or other representative game.
4. Clubs shall notify the results of all matches to the Fixtures’ Secretary by midnight on the day of the match.
5. Clubs shall record the names of all players selected and played for all teams, and shall make such records available to the Management Committee upon request.
6. Teams involved in a Final shall be granted dispensation from playing in League matches on the day immediately prior to the Final.
7. No team shall be numerically stronger on a particular day than any of its club’s more senior teams.
8. No team may have more than three substitutes.
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14 May 2015 (AGM).