1) The name of
the Association shall be 'The Seaham & District Primary
Schools' Football
Association'.
2) The
object of the league shall be the mental, moral and physical
development and improvement of the children of the schools.
Every child who participates should be able to take part in an
enjoyable and safe environment and be protected from abuse.
This is the responsibility of every adult involved in
football. The Seaham & District P.S.F.A. recognises its
responsibility to safeguard the welfare of all children by
protecting them from physical, sexual or emotional harm and
from neglect or bullying. It is determined to meet its
obligations to ensure that the Seaham P.S.F.A. and affiliated
schools providing football opportunities for children do so to
the highest possible standard of
care.
3)
The league shall consist of clubs
selected from the schools in Seaham & District. All teams
should preferably be under the control of a fully qualified
teacher but any team may also be under the ultimate control of
either a) a retired teacher, or present or
past employee of the education service who has received direct
approval in writing from the Seaham P.S.F.A. to undertake such
responsibilities; or b) a person who has direct approval in
writing from the Seaham P.S.F.A. as an 'Adult
Other Than Teachers' ('A.O.T.T.'). To play any fixture or take
part in any football tournament a team must have present a
teacher or teaching assistant from its school.
4) The management of the league shall be
in the hands of a Committee consisting of the officers of the
league and at least one representative from each
school.
5) The Officers of the league shall
consist of a Chair, Vice-Chair, Treasurer and Secretary.
Officers shall be elected at the annual general meeting. The
Chair's term of office lasts for one year after which the
Vice-Chair becomes
Chair.
6) Cup secretaries may be appointed with
responsibilities for organising individual cup competitions
and
tournaments.
7) The league shall consist of two
divisions with schools providing a maximum of one team per
division. Children in Years 5 or 6 are eligible to play in
Division A. Children in Years 4 or 5 are eligible to play in
Division B. A player may not play in both divisions. Any
school that provides only one team must adhere to the age
restrictions set for that
division.
8) The laws of the game shall be
those of the Football Association except
that:-
a)
the size of the
ball should be number
3;
b)
the length of the game shall be a maximum of 15 minutes each
way;
c)
size of pitch and goal to depend on those
which are available and sanctioned by the
Committee;
d)
there shall be
no
off-side;
e)
each school shall select squads of
no more than ten players per
side, seven of whom will form a team, the
others being
substitutes;
f)
a substitute is allowed to replace a player for any
reason (a substituted player may return to
the field of play at a later stage in the
game for any
reason).
9) Each club shall play in
distinctive
colours.
10) All referees shall be mutually agreed
upon by the opposing
clubs.
11) No coaching is allowed by referees
during play.
12) Bad language, refusing to obey the
referee's decision or dangerous conduct on the field of play
shall be reported by the referee to the Committee. The referee
shall then follow the disciplinary procedures established by
the Durham County
S.F.A.
13) The home club shall report the
results of fixtures completed up to that date at meetings of
the Association approved for that
purpose.
14) In the league all teams in Division A
and Division B will play one match against each school in that
division. Points shall be allocated as follows:- three points
for a win, one for a
draw.
15) In order to qualify as league
champions or runners-up a school must have completed all of
its league
fixtures.
16) At the end of the season the team having scored the
highest number of points in their league shall be declared
the winner of that
league. In the event of two or more clubs being equal
on points, a play-off match (or
matches) may be played on a
neutral ground. However, the position of league winner
(or runner-up) may be shared if both or all
interested parties consent.
17) The first half of the league fixtures should be completed, where
possible, by the end of the Autumn Term and all
fixtures must be completed by the final General League Meeting in
May.
18) Teams from Division A are eligible to
compete in the Harry Page Cup and Barry Sutherland Cup competitions.
Teams from Division B are eligible to play in the Ian Gustard
Cup and Turns Family Cup competitions. At the beginning
of each season the Committee shall fix dates and venues for pairs of
round robin tournaments for each cup competition. The two
winners shall play each other in the final of the corresponding cup
competition at a date set by the Committee.
19) All schools wishing to compete in the
league or cup competitions must have a representative present
at the Association Annual General Meeting, exceptional
circumstances
notwithstanding.
20) The Committee shall have the power to
order any match to be played at such a time and place as they
determine or to award a
tie.
21) The Committee shall have the power to
deal with any matter not provided for in these
rules.
22) No
alteration shall be made to these rules except at the annual
meeting of the league or a general meeting to be specifically
convened for that purpose. The Secretary shall give 14 days
written notice of the annual meeting to be held
not later than 30th June each year and any proposed alteration
of rules must be sent to him/her in writing within seven days
of the receipt of the requisition by the
Secretary.
23) A special general meeting shall be
called at any time on receipt of a requisition signed by six
clubs, such special general meeting to be held within seven
days of the receipt of the requisition by the
Secretary.
24) An annual affiliation fee of £50,
along with an additional £5 per Co. Durham competition
entry, shall be paid at or before the first meeting of a new season
by all schools who are members of the
Association.
25) At the first meeting of a new season
a list shall be made of schools that are willing to host cup
finals. When the finalists for a particular cup competition
are known a suitable neutral venue for that final shall be
chosen from the
list.
26) If the final of the Harry Page, Ian
Gustard, Turns Family or Barry Sutherland cup competitions is
drawn, extra time of 3 minutes each way shall be played. If
the score remains equal, the trophy shall be
shared.
27) The winners of each trophy shall, at
their own expense, return the trophy cleaned and suitably
engraved to the appropriate League or Cup Secretary in the
ensuing season. Failure to have the trophy suitably engraved
will result in that school being disallowed from entering the
same competition in the season following the return of the
trophy.
28) In order for a child to be eligible
to play he/she and his/her parents must agree to adhere to the
Durham County S.F.A. Code of Practice. The pertinent forms
must be signed by both parties and returned to the child's
school.
29) Pre-match and half-time team-talks are the sole
responsibility of the person/s in charge of the team;
parents or other spectators must play no part in any
such
team-talks.
30) Fixture Cancellations:
This rule does not apply to mutually agreed cancellations
owing to the weather or the condition of the pitch
-
a)
A school that fails to fulfil a mutually appointed
fixture with another school without giving the opposing
school any notice, or cancels a fixture
without giving the opposing school at least one day's notice,
shall forfeit the
game.
b)
A school that cancels a mutually appointed fixture with
another school, and where no rearrangement is possible before the play-by date for that fixture,
shall forfeit the
game.
c)
A school that has been compelled, at the request of the
opposing school, to cancel a mutually appointed fixture on two
or more occasions has the right to claim the game, even if the play-by date for
that fixture has not
expired.
31) A
school which fails to play half or more of its league fixtures
shall have all of the results from the games which
they have played declared null and
void. A concession of a game to another school shall be deemed
not playing a game.
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