SENIOR GRADING POLICY – NOVEMBER 2021

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Background Information

• Alstonville & District Football Club Inc. (The Club) is a grassroots football club that promotes participation, inclusiveness, fairness and positive behaviours.

• Players are responsible for their online registration in Playfootball.com.au and for payment of their fees. Players must be registered in Playfootball.com.au as early as possible to allow timely formation of teams.

• Payment of registration fees can be made at the time of Registration in Playfootball.com.au or later by Club accepted payment methods. The Club adheres to a “No Pay, No Play” policy and accordingly fees must be paid in full prior to competing in any pre-season or normal season fixtures.

• Players register to play for The Club and not a particular team. Player placement as determined by the Senior Grading Committee is final and must be respected by playing members.

• All members, including registered players, must adhere to the Codes of Conduct and other Club policies, such as the Member Protection Policy.

• The governing body, Football Far North Coast (FFNC), seeks Club grading nominations for a divisional structure from Premier Men and Women to the lowest senior men and women’s League.

• Grading nominations as lodged to FFNC by The Club may not be accepted as submitted. FFNC reserves the right to change Club grade nominations to suit its competition structure. Top placed teams may be promoted and bottom teams relegated based on the previous season results.

 

The Senior Grading Committee

• The Senior Grading Committee shall consist of the following members:

  • President and/or Senior Vice President

  • Senior Registrar

  • A representative from each senior team from the previous season. It is not mandatory for the Technical Director or the Premier Coaches to be involved, however, they may provide valuable insight.

• To ensure an equitable formation of teams, team representatives on the Senior Grading Committee shall not exceed two (2). That is, if the President and Senior Registrar are from the same team, no further team representatives can be a member of the Senior Grading Committee.

 

The Framework

• Playfootball.com.au is open for registrations in late January but no later than 1 February each year. Registrations close 30 June.

• Registrations are accepted on a “first in” basis until the FFNC team nominations for the Pointscore Competition are due, typically early March, or until player numbers are sufficient to support potential team nominations. This will result in a “wait list” being applied or advertising for additional registrations.

• Pre-season competitions, ANZAC Day Cup and Callan McMillan Shield, nominations are usually due early February and squad lists due to FFNC two (2) weeks later.

• To participate in the pre-season competition players must be registered, paid in full and have a coach/manager who will attend to the organisation of the team and ensure there are sufficient interested players to commit to the competition.

• Nominations are usually Premier, Open A, B, C for men and Open A and B for women.

• Prior to the FFNC point score grade nomination due date, the Senior Grading Committee is to assess potential team numbers and where they should be nominated in the FFNC divisional structure.

• Team nominations are made to FFNC by the due date and should be accompanied by supporting factual information to justify the grade nominations. This information may impact FFNC’s decision to move grade nominations up or down.

• Following this team Formation can then occur. Pointscore squad lists are usually due mid-March.

• Every player is given the opportunity to play for The Club within the framework of the team nominations to FFNC and maximum numbers allowable for each team.

• The maximum number of players per team is 16 players with 18 players allowed in the lowest nominated men and women’s league. Permission must be sought from FFNC to exceed these numbers. Permission may be sought when all teams are full. In all other instances the Senior Grading Committee should try and balance player registrations across nominated teams.

• The point score league squad lists must be submitted to FFNC on or before the due date. Players are made “active” in Playfootball.com.au prior to this date if their fees have been paid in full.

• Summer Youth League (SYL) is an end of year competition from October to December for both male and female under 20’s. Coach applications and appointments generally occur in September. Player trials, usually September, and team selections followed by registration and payment are completed by early October.

 

Team Formation – The Senior Grading Process

• Men’s Premier League, Men’s Championship League, Women’s Premier League and the next highest women’s team will be selected at trials by the Committee appointed coaches/selectors. The coaches/selectors must make player selections in a timely manner to facilitate the movement of players to lower divisions, as appropriate.

• Following the finalisation of the above teams, lower League Men and Women’s teams (League 1 to League 7) are determined by the Senior Grading Committee. The Senior Grading Committee may wish to seek feedback from Team Managers (if available) and appropriate personnel from the previous season to assist with their player placement decisions.

• The Senior Grading Committee will consider pre-organised Social Football Leagues (proposed Leagues 4 to 7) under the Social Football Leagues guidelines outlined below.

• When teams are finalised and confirmed by the Senior Grading Committee, they can be released to individual players and team managers by email. The team list convention should be first initial followed by surname as there may be minors in each team. For this same reason, team lists are not to be published on social media.

• FFNC regulations may impact player placement and team nominations and the Senior Grading Committee must be aware of this. For example, a player can only move two (2) grades lower than where they were previously registered (regardless of a break in playing).

• The Senior Grading Committee should take into consideration the level of skill and fitness of players to ensure appropriate team placement. This will ensure the credibility of the process and the grade nominations and ensure teams have a reasonably competitive and enjoyable season. The Club has a sound history of nominating grades to FFNC accurately and this should continue.

• No registration can be rejected by the Senior Grading Committee unless agreed upon by the Executive Committee.

 

Social Football Leagues (League 4 to 7)

• The Club recognises football as a social activity in our local community accordingly pre-organised teams in the social football grades may be considered and conditionally accepted by the Club.

• To nominate a team in the social football leagues the following criteria must be met:

• The Team must have a registered Manager in place

• The Manager shall be the sole correspondent with the Club and its representatives

• The Manager must be a registered official with the Club in Playfootball

• All prospective players must be registered with the Club in Playfootball and fully paid

• The club may support pre organised social teams to choose the division that the nominated team will compete in, but it must be appropriate for the FFNC divisional structure.

• Players acknowledge that this opportunity is at the Club’s discretion and is a privilege not a right. Players agree to conduct themselves appropriately towards opposition and match officials, and that failure to do so may nullify their opportunity to reapply in future years.

 

Team Management

• It is preferrable for a team to have a Coach and/or Manager in place by the time teams are formed and announced. In particular, both Premier Men and Women’s teams should have a coach and manager, as well as an appropriate Duty Officer(s). The Coach and/or Manager will be the point of contact for the team and The Club.

• Coaches and Managers must be registered in Playfootball.com.au as a Team Official to be listed on the match sheet and permitted in the technical area.