Registration of Players
If you are a "new" player (never signed on for any team in the Torfaen League) you must first provide 2 x passport size photos and complete two green or yellow cards. This will be done by your manager, he will also require £2.00 cash to cover the cost of registration to the Gwent FA.
The cards and £2.00 are sent off to the Gwent FA Registration Officer, one card is retained by Gwent FA the second is returned to the Club. The licence card is then sent to the Torfaen League Registration Officer, together with a white registration form, again your manager will have one of these for you to fill in. This having been done you will be registered to play within the Torfaen League, but only on return of your registration card. This process can take up to a couple of weeks dependant on the postal system etc. it is important that you make every effort to complete these documents accurately and as quickly as possible.
The card colours are different and distinguish between Mini Football Players from Competitive Players, GREEN for Mini's & YELLOW for Competitive, you will need to change your card the same time you move from Junior School to Comprehensive School, I hope this makes the process a little more understandable?
Match Reports
The home team is responsible for supplying the match report and making sure that it is completed and mailed to the league.
Clubs must ensure that the match report is completed in full (as far as possible) before the kick off. After the game the home team fills in the result and hands it to Kevin Middle, to enable him to get it to John Edmonds to arrive no later than three days after the match referred to.
If you are the away team and you are not presented by the home club with a match report to complete then please ensure that you report this to the club manager when you phone in the result.
If you are the home team and the away team simply hands over a list of players to you please tell them to complete the report themselves. If the away team does not complete the report please make a note of this on the form before giving it to the secreatary.
Home clubs not submitting a match report will be fined and both clubs may be fined if the report is not completed correctly.
Results
Results must be phoned in by 7pm for Saturday games and by 9pm for midweek games. BOTH TEAMS MUST PHONE IN THE RESULT.
Postponements
If you want to apply for a postponement please make sure you do so in accordance with the rules via Secretary
Use the postal service not email for this.
You cannot ‘agree amongst yourselves’ not to play a game on a particular Saturday and play it later in the season. Games not played on the scheduled day will be treated as broken fixtures.
Remember children tend to go on school trips during the half terms and Easter holidays – these things are not arranged at the last minute they require weeks if not months of preparation by the school so there is no excuse for not applying correctly.
Bad Weather
If you call off a game due to inclement weather please make sure you tell your opponents and also phone it in instead of the result.
Sometimes Torfaen Council make a 'blanket' decision to call of all games on their pitches. This used to mean that all games in the league were off but, following an appeal by a member club last season, this is not now the case. Some clubs have control of their own pitches and they are responsible for making the decision regarding pitch fitness. Do not assume a game is off without checking with the home team.
Under 14 and Under 16 Divisions
The competition will consist of two phases. In phase one each team will play all of the other teams once. For phase two the divisions will be split into two or three sections based on league position at the end of phase one. The top teams from phase 1 will go into section A The teams in each of the smaller sections will then play each other again (venue reversed from the phase one fixture)
The winners and runners up in section A will be declared the division champions and runners up – there are no prizes for the winners etc of the other sections.
As things stand there will be around 19 fixtures in the Under 16 division and around 22 in the Under 14 division. This is similar to last season when games were played right up to the end of April.
Under 12 Division
This is the more traditional format where each team plays each of the others on a home and away basis.
End of Season
Fixtures must be completed on or before 30 April 2010
www.torfaenleague.co.uk
Key principles at the club:
·To provide a safe and enjoyable environment in which football is played.
·Demonstrate a model of best practice in line with FAW guidance.
·Promote ethics and high standards throughout the game.
·To ensure that all those involved in football at the club are aware of their responsibilities in the protection of children and young people.
Aims of the Policy:
·To establish an effective system to ensure that all children and young people are able to enjoy football in as safe an environment as possible.
·To ensure that all involved are aware of the procedures relating to the protection of children and young adults.
·To promote and ensure high standards of behaviour by all those involved with the club.
·To ensure that everyone involved is protected from physical, verbal and sexual harassment.
To establish an effective system to ensure that those in a position of trust do not put themselves in situations where allegations of abuse can be made.
All adults involved will:-
·Treat all players equally, with respect and dignity.
·Put the welfare of each player first, before winning or achieving goals.
·Build balanced relationships based on mutual trust, which empowers children to share in the decision- making process.
·Promote fair play.
·Involve parents/carers wherever possible.
·Give enthusiastic and constructive feedback rather than negative criticism.
·Avoid excessive training.
Secure parental consent in writing to act in loco parentis, if the need arises, to give permission for the administration of emergency first aid and/or other medical treatment.
Request written parental consent if club officials are required to transport players in their cars.
Best practice principles for adults involved at the club.
·Avoid spending too much time alone with one child away from the others
·Never take a child to their home where they will be alone with the child
·Never take part in rough, physical or sexually-provocative games, including horseplay.
·Never allow children to use inappropriate language: always challenge this behaviour
·Never make sexually-suggestive comments to a child, even in fun
·Never reduce a child to tears as a form of control
·Never allow allegations made by a child go unchallenged, unrecorded or not acted upon
·Never accept bullying, rule violations or use of prohibited substances
If any of the following occur, it will be reported to a colleague immediately and recorded appropriately. The child’s parents/carers will be informed:
·A member of Club Official accidentally hurts a child.
·A child seems distressed in any way.
·A player misunderstands or misinterprets an action.
Recruitment procedures
The club will endeavour to ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to ensure that unsuitable people are prevented from working with children. The following checks will be made when adults volunteer their services to Cwmffrwdoer Sports Club:
·All volunteers/Club Official will complete an application form and a self-disclosure about any criminal record.
·Consent will be obtained from an applicant to seek information from the Criminal Records Bureau.
·Applicants must provide the Club with proof of identity (passport photo or driving licence with photo).
Cwmffrwdoer Sports Club will fully support and protect anyone who, in good faith, reports concerns regarding the welfare of a child. Any allegations will be taken seriously and will be responded to quickly and in a sensitive manner.
If concern is considered to be about poor practice, the Child Protection Officer and club Management Committee will deal with it as a misconduct issue.
Any suspicions that a child has been abused by a member of Club Official, a volunteer or another child should be reported to the Child Protection Officer immediately, who will take such steps necessary as to ensure the safety of the child.
Advice will be sought from Social Services and the child’s parents will be contacted as soon as possible.
Should the Child Protection Officer be the subject of any allegations, the club Chairperson will be informed and appropriate action will be taken.
Cwmffrwdoer Sports Club will not tolerate any form of bullying and in this respect all Club Official/volunteers will:
·Take all signs of bullying very seriously.
·Encourage all children to speak and share their concerns with someone in authority.
·Investigate all allegations and take action to ensure the victim is safe.
·Provide reassurance to the victim.
·Keep written record of what is said and action taken.
·Report any ongoing concerns to the Child Protection Officer.
·Talk to the bully/ies regarding the consequences of the behaviour and seek an apology for the victim.
·Inform parents of all children involved.
·Hold meetings with the families to report on progress.
·Inform management committee of action taken.
CONFIDENTIALITY
Every effort will be made to ensure that confidentiality is maintained for all concerned. Information will be handled and disseminated on a need to know basis only. This will include:
·The Club’s Child Welfare Officer
·The parents of the child
·The person making allegations
·Social Services and police (if appropriate)
·The FAW representative
·The alleged abuser (and his/her parents if another child is involved).
·Information will be stored in a secure place with limited access to designated people, in line with data protection law.
Cwmffrwdoer Sports Club reserve the right to expel anyone, adult or child, who fails to act in accordance with this and associated policies
As stated under FAW Welfare Policy Procedures and Practice.
Parents - General
·Encourage your child to play by the Laws of the Game
·Avoid pressurising players about winning or losing
·Support and encourage all players including the opposition
·Never publicly criticise your child or other players
·Do not question decisions made by the officials.
Parents - Conduct within Club/League
·Focus on the effort and performance rather than the winning or losing recognise that the coaches are following a long-term programme of development for your child
·Do not coach from the sidelines: the only information to the players should com from the coaches
·Remember that children learn best by example. Applaud good play by both teams
·Support all efforts to remove verbal and physical abuse from sporting activities
·Show appreciation of volunteer coaches, officials and administrators. Without them, your child could not participate
·Discuss any concerns with the Team manager/Leader so that they can address them directly.
·Do not contact the league secretary or the area association secretary direct.
Players - General
·Show respect and fair play to your opponents
·Play within the rules of the game
·Encourage, support and co-operate with your team mates
·Respect the officials and accept decisions without question.
Players - Conduct within the Club/League
·Never argue with the Official. Concentrate on the game, you will not be able to effect a bad decision; do not let it affect you.
·Control your temper. Verbal abuse of officials or other players, deliberately distracting or provoking an opponent is not acceptable or permitted in any sport
·Work equally hard for yourself and/or your team. Our teams’ performance will benefit so will you
·Be a good sport. Applaud all good plays whether they are by your team or the opposition
·Treat all players as you would like to be treated. Do not interfere with, bully or take unfair advantage of another player.
·Co-operate with your coach, team mates and opponents. Without them there would be no competition
Play for fun, and not just to please parents and coaches
