season 2019 - 2020 newsletter volume 4

All, Season Update No 4

Please find attached this week’s updates and reminders for your review, consideration and action (where appropriate!).

Fine Amnesty – FINAL REMINDER
This coming Sunday will see the last fine amnesty for team administration, so I would like to remind clubs of the below requirements:-

• confirming the venue / kick off time of the game with the match referee after 9pm on the Tuesday prior to the Sunday
• confirming the venue / kick off time of the game with your opponents after 9pm on the Tuesday prior to the Sunday
• not completing your online match report form by 9pm on the Tuesday following the game

However, from the start of October, fines will begin to be issued for these offences. So please ensure that your administration is in order as this makes things so much easier for everyone! A list of teams who have not been completing their administration has been circulated. However on an on-going basis it really only does take a few minutes after each game to update the details of your game on Full-time!

Please note that non-fulfilled fixtures will still be liable to disciplinary action during September and hence fines will be issued accordingly.

Kick Off Times / Alterations to Match Locations
This continues to be an issue and needs to be addressed. Unlike other leagues, who allow teams to choose their kick off times and even which day they wish to play, the CYFL operates a clear kick off policy:-

Under 11, 12, 13 and 14 age groups kick off on Sunday AM, with 10.30am as the default kick off time 
Under 15, 16, 17 and 18 age groups kick off on Sunday PM, with 2.00pm as the default kick off time

In instances where teams pitch share, we do allow kick off times to be flexible, but they must always be either AM or PM (depending on age group) and if teams do not agree, then kick off times will revert to the default time as listed above.

I would also ask that if a kick off time that is different to the default is decided upon and or the location of the game is changed, Tony Gee and Steve Chamberlain MUST be advised of this ASAP ahead of the day. We need to ensure that the match referee is considered in any changes so that they are able to attend at the alternate kick off time or location. And please note that we have Committee Members who go our each Sunday to watch games to check behaviour, player registrations and offer support to teams. If the Committee Members arrive at a game to find that either it is kicking off at an alternate time or location, any costs incurred may be charged to both teams, so please avoid this by dropping a simple message to our Officers to advise them of the change.



October Half Term
Please note that fixtures for all age groups will be scheduled on the Sundays either side of half term in October (whatever dates that maybe for your local Council area). Therefore, if you require a free Sunday, you will need to request one ASAP to ensure that it is submitted in accordance with League Rules! Refusal often offends, and to be fair and consistent to all teams, any requests not received with a months’ notice of the date will be refused. So please ensure that you canvas parents and players in the next week and make the request in a timely manner.

PLEASE NOTE THAT IT IS NOW TOO LATE TO REQUEST A FREE SUNDAY ON SUNDAY 20th OCTOBER – YOU HAVE HAD OPPORTUNITY TO REQUEST ONE! – AND AS SUCH ANY REQUESTS RECEIVED FOR THIS DATE WILL NOW BE REJECTED AND ANY GAMES SCHEDULED WILL BE EXPECTED TO BE PLAYED.

IF YOU REQUIRE A FREE SUNDAY FOR 27th OCTOBER, YOU STILL HAVE 48 HOURS TO MAKE THAT REQUEST TO TONY GEE!

Club Agreements – FINAL REMINDER
Now that the confirmed rules have been circulated (in the CYFL Handbook), I am able to circulate the Club Agreement for Season 2019 / 20. Could you please complete and return to me by Monday 30th September.

I am happy to receive either completed and signed copies via email (Scanned) or via post. Please note that any club who does not complete and return their agreement by this date will be liable to a fine and will be disqualified from playing CYFL fixtures until the form is returned, as per Rule 10.

PLEASE NOTE THAT ANY CLUBS WHO HAVE NOT SUBMITTED THEIR CLUB AGREEMENT BY THE END OF 30th SEPTEMBER WILL BE NOTIFIED THAT THEIR CLUB WILL BE DISQUALIFIED FROM PLAYING FIXTURES – PLEASE AVOID THIS!

Player Transfers
Please note that from 1st October 2019, the Transfer Window opens and players will be able to transfer between teams. I attach with this update the transfer form and instructions.

Please note that although the registration for the players is transferred using the WGS & Full-Time, ALL transfers must be completed in accordance with The FA’s guidelines around transfers. This means that the necessary transfer form must be FULLY completed by both clubs and the player concerned and submitted along with the administration fee.

TRANSFERS WILL NOT BE COMPLETED WITHOUT THIS MANDATORY REQUIREMENT HAVING BEEN FULFILLED.

Referee Contacts 
Accompanying this update is a list of referees who are registered with the Bedfordshire Football Association for the 2019 / 20 season. I have been asked to circulate this to member clubs by the Bedfordshire Football Association and at the same time remind clubs that for data protection purposes, this is not permitted to be publicised on social media, league websites, Full Time etc.

Pre-Season Full Council Meeting Presentations
Those of you in attendance at the Full Council Meeting held on Monday 2nd September will have been aware of the 2 presentations delivered on the evening by Mike Desborough (Referee Development Officer, Bedfordshire Football Association and CYFL Management Committee Member). These were on the areas of Temporary Dismissals (Sin Bins) and changes to the Laws of the Game for the 2019 / 20 season.

These presentations are now available to be viewed and downloaded from the Bedfordshire Football Association website, via the attached link:-

http://www.bedfordshirefa.com/news/2019/sep/06/sin-bins-and-law-of-the-game

Amendments
I will be looking to update the online / virtual handbook in October, so would appreciate you notifying me of any changes to contact details by 10th October please.

Online Handbook
I have been made aware that some people are still experiencing issues accessing the online version of the CYFL handbook using the links in the email that I sent out. It would appear that some people are still viewing the Club Directory for the 2018 / 19 season (last year) as opposed to this season. I have double checked and the second version I sent out is the correct one for this season and having checked with the publisher, it would appear that the issue maybe caused by a slight technical issue.

If you are seeing last season’s version of the handbook, it may well be a cookie issue. It is likely that your laptop or pc is pulling through the old version as your cookies are set to do this; basically to improve page loading time. If you go to your browser settings and clear cache - that should do the trick

Communications
Please remember that it is courteous (as well as within the rules!) to confirm fixtures with the opposition and the match referee in a timely manner. And ensure that you have received confirmation that the messages have been received and acknowledged. And if you are the away side, you should actively seek confirmation if it is not made by 9pm on the Tuesday. Please do not assume that there is no game if confirmation is not made as some teams have done already!

Other league matters should be communicated through the relevant league officer, copying myself in where appropriate.

All Fixture Related Issues (including Free Week Requests) Tony Gee
AM Referee Appointments & Queries Steve Chamberlain
PM Referee Appointments & Queries Tony Gee
Player Registrations Pamela Johnson
Fines / Pitch Fees Jane Brown
All other Issues (Complaints, General Queries, Amendments, League Administration, Transfers) Jonathan Brown

Please use email for these - do not send messages via Full-time or Facebook if you require a time sensitive response. And complaints regarding incidents in fixtures need to be made within 3 days of the date of the game.

County Cup
A little reminder that County Cup fixtures have now been published and we would ask that those teams who are not Bedfordshire affiliated and playing in other County Cups, keep us updated as to their progress and the dates of subsequent rounds. We do not always unfortunately get notified of results and draws, so as County game take precedence over CYFL we need to know to keep the fixtures up to date.

This coming weekend sees the first round of County Cups in Bedfordshire and as such these fixtures take priority over CYFL fixtures, which means that referees will be allocated to those ties first. This may impact our referee coverage for this coming Sunday.

Enjoy match day 4 and please ensure that this communication is circulated to your managers and administrators.

Cheers

Jonathan Brown
General Secretary
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