LDDNL Rules

1.            GOVERNING BODY 

The Luton, Dunstable & District Netball League is responsible at all times to the Bedfordshire County Committee and therefore governed by the Constitution of the Bedfordshire County Netball Association.  Teams in the Luton, Dunstable & District Netball League will be governed by the England Netball rules as stated in the official Rules Book.

 2.            THE LEAGUE                                      

 This League will be called the Luton, Dunstable & District Netball League.  The League Committee shall consist of elected representatives from the Luton, Dunstable & District Netball League.  In the event of committee members resigning through the year, up to three members may be co-opted to fill vacancies.  Five members will form a quorum at committee meetings.

The structure of the League is decided by the League Committee in accordance with the Luton, Dunstable & District Netball League Constitution.  The constitution will only be changed through agreement by majority vote at an AGM or EGM.     Additions to, or alterations of the constitution shall be submitted to the Secretary not less than 14 days before the date of the AGM or EGM, or with a request for a special meeting of League members. No resolution involving an amendment to the constitution may be proposed or amended from the floor of a meeting.           In the event of a proposal for amending the constitution being submitted, the Secretary shall inform the membership, in writing, of the proposed motion within 14 days of the AGM.  The Constitution shall be reviewed on a regular basis.

The following Rules will remain in force for two years (end of 2025 playing season), when they will be reviewed.

The League Committee reserves the right to amend or incorporate a new rule during that time if it is to benefit the game and members of the League.

3.            TEAMS 

a)       All teams must be affiliated to the England Netball except as allowed in Rule 5 (Guest Players).  There is no limit to the number of players under 15 years who can play for any one team, but they must not be younger than 13 years (school year 9). 

b)      A new team entering the League may not have four or more affiliated players from another team that has played in the League the previous season other than at the committee’s discretion.

c)       No team can take the name of an existing team in the League unless there are at least four existing members remaining.

d)      Players wishing to change from one team to another during a season MUST give the Match Secretary seven days’ notice.

e)      Any Team Secretary registering a player from another team must advise the Team Secretary in writing seven days before the first date of play of the intention to re-register one of her players, with a copy to the Affiliation Secretary.

f)        Any Team Secretary registering a new player must advise the Affiliation Secretary and affiliate (see 3e) the player and advise the Affiliation Secretary/Match Secretary at least 24 hours in advance of her playing.

g)       Any team joining or re-joining the League after withdrawing shall be placed in the division considered appropriate to their ability (if known).  No other team’s individual divisional position will be affected.

h)      A team must play at least half their games per season.  If this is not done, a team wishing to enter the following season will start in the lowest division.

i)        All teams entering the League should have at least two names and telephone numbers for points of contact.

j)        At the end of the season teams are promoted and relegated as appropriate.  The teams are arranged in rank order and placed into divisions for the next season. 

k)       All club must provide qualified and active umpires (IO or C at the appropriate level for their division) where they have completed one playing season in the league:

• Clubs where 1 adult team are entered must provide 1-2 qualified umpires in their club.
• Clubs where 2 adult teams are entered must provide 2-3 qualified umpires in their club.
• Clubs where 3 adult teams are entered must provide 3-5 qualified umpires in their club.
• Clubs with over 4 adult teams must provide at least 1 umpire per team entered.

 All umpire entered must be current and actively participating in the league fixtures in an umpiring capacity.

 All umpires must be declared and listed on the leagues Umpiring records as active and affiliated.

 This rule is subject to deviation only by special arrangement from the Committee. Requests to deviate from this rule must be put in writing and be confirmed by the committee.

 l)        When teams affiliate, they are responsible for advising the affiliations secretary of any player in the team that play in regional games. Teams left with less than 7 players due to higher representation must provide 4 weeks written notice to the Committee to be permitted an open postponement that must be played on first available Reserve date.  Teams that have 7 or more players affiliated, after higher representation taken into consideration, whether they are all available or not, will not be permitted an open postponement.

4.            MULTI-TEAM CLUBS

 a)       All players must specify at the beginning of the season to which team they are to be registered and the Club must specify the ranking of the teams.

b)      Multi-team clubs may re-register players up and down in one season, but the Match Secretary must be notified of the change at least seven days in advance, either in writing or by telephone with a letter to follow.  Any player wishing to re-register up must do so before 1^st April.

c)       In any one game a maximum of two players may be used as ‘played up’ or                                        guested’.  A player may only play Two Matches for a higher placed team in a season, she must re-register seven days before she wishes to play for them again.

d)      Any player who changes her register to a lower placed team may only re-register up again during that season, with the Committee’s approval.

e)      In the instance of more than one team being in the same division, higher placed is equivalent to higher ranking (see a).

 5.            GUEST PLAYERS (i.e. a player NOT affiliated to a Club in L, D&DNL)

 a)       During a season a team may use a total of six Guest Players.

b)      In any one game up to two guests may be used.

c)       A player may guest only twice within the League during the season, and if she is to play again for any team within the League, she must first be affiliated.

d)      The Match Secretary must be informed if a guest player is used.

e)      To affiliate – Payment to England Netball must be sent to England Netball before the player can play. Written notification must be sent to the League Affiliation Secretary at the same time.

f)        No players may be affiliated to the league after 1st April in each playing season, i.e. all players wishing to play in the season 2023-2024 must be affiliated by 1st April 2024.

N. B. A team using a Guest Player must ensure that she is eligible, i.e., she has not played twice as a guest player.

 6.            DRESS

 Club colours and bibs must be worn.  If there are two teams from the same club in the same division, one must change colour.

 7.            UMPIRES

 a)       An Umpire must be provided by both teams at every match.  All umpires must be registered to England Netball via a club or county. The game cannot commence with only one umpire.

b)      In order to umpire in the League an umpire must have passed the England Netball Into Officiating Umpiring Award at least.

c)       No person may play and umpire at the same time.

d)      Once an umpire has commenced to umpire a match she must umpire the complete match.  An umpire is not permitted to be a reserve for a team UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.   She must not replace an injured player.

e)      Umpires of all standards should be paid a rate of £10.00 per match at the beginning of the match as a contribution towards travelling expenses.

f)        All Premier Division games are to be umpired by England Netball ‘A’ Award or ‘B’ Award umpires.  However, where this is impossible England Netball ‘C’ Award umpires may be used.

g)       Match cards with the team information must be handed to the umpires before the start of the game.

THE UMPIRE’S WORD IS FINAL

No player is allowed to argue with the umpire or question his/her decisions at any time.  Only the captains have the right to approach an umpire during an interval for clarification of a rule (see England Netball Rule 5.2.1 and 5.1.1 (v) (b).

Violation of this or any other matter pertaining to discipline will be referred to the County Disciplinary Committee.  Players/Teams in breach of discipline on court will be given a warning and witnessed by the other umpire that she will be reported if her behaviour persists.

h)      All Premier Teams must provide an accredited Scorer for each Match / Inter-Divisional Cup / Plate Game.  Training will be provided by Beds County.  Scorers are not required to be affiliated to England Netball and the minimum age for Scorers is 14 years of age.  Scorers are able to play in the match and change each quarter. Level of expenses offered to scorers to be determined by each Team.

i)        Umpires who have achieved the England Netball ‘Into Officiating Award’ or above, and are 16-18 years old may be permitted to umpire in LD&DNL in Division 1 and 2 provided that the Co-Umpire is over 18.

j)        The requirement for teams to provide a scorer is open to other non-Premier divisions should both teams agree, and each provide a scorer.

k)       All Teams must provide an accredited scorer for all interdivisional cup/plate games.

8.            GAMES

a)       All League games consist of 4 x 15 minutes with breaks of three minutes, five minutes and three minutes.

b)      All games will take place at a central league venue on the dates and times provided in the schedule by the league at the start of the season.

c)       Games will start on the scheduled time and any players arriving after the game has started may only enter the game with the Umpire’s permission AFTER a goal has been scored and ONLY into the vacant position until an interval or stoppage caused by illness or injury when the team may be re-arranged. 

d)      A team with less than five players forfeits the points.

e)      In the event of obvious bad weather, i.e., snow, ice, fog, etc., the Committee will inform teams of a postponement and the match will be played in the first available Reserve date week for Weather Postponements 

f)        All outstanding games must be played before two weeks of the Cup Final Weekend.

g)       If a game is conceded, the conceding team must advise the opposition via the LDDNL Whatsapp group no later than 8pm on the Friday before the match day. It is the responsibility of the team conceded to, to check this platform and confirm.

 9.            FEES

League entry fees cover one playing season.  Affiliations to England Netball must be completed on-line and a copy of the Team List sent to the League Affiliations Secretary no later than 28 August. The League is empowered to decide any alteration in affiliation fees arising from any resolution at the AGM of England Netball Limited or of the Bedfordshire County Netball Association.  No points will be awarded to teams until affiliation fees are paid to England Netball Limited.

10.          RESULTS

a)       Teams must send a photograph of their Match and score cards, correctly completed, via the LDDNL Whatsapp group to the Affiliation/Match Secretary by 7pm on Match Day.

b)      Each card should contain the following information: Match Number, Team Name, Score, Team List and Umpires’ names and signatures. Failure to comply will result in the loss of 2 points.

c)       Points awarded:  There shall be five points awarded for a win, three points for a draw, two points for scoring over half the total of the winning teams' goals and one point for losing as long as the game, or part of the game, actually took place, providing that Rule 8(f) has been adhered to.

d)      When a match is conceded for any reason, the team being conceded to will be awarded an average of their ‘goals for’ and ‘goals against’ throughout the season, to ensure goal difference balance.  The offending team will forfeit the average number of goals scored against them, throughout the season. Two points will be deducted.  A fine may be imposed of £5.00 for the first game conceded, £10.00 for the second game conceded, £15.00 for the third game conceded; this will progress as more games are conceded. If a team persistently offends, then more severe action will be taken at the discretion of the Committee.

e)      Defenders and Goals Cups: Defenders and Goals Cups will be decided on the actual number of games played that season.

f)          If a team plays an ‘illegal’ player, the game will be voided. With the loss of 3 points to the offending team; this includes omitting to add a player to the team list. The opponents of the offending team will be awarded an average of their ‘goals for’ and ‘goals against’ throughout the season to ensure goal difference balance.

g)    Should a team concede their Cup/Plate fixture in the lead up to the fixture date and there is subsequently an open postponement; the conceding is upheld regardless of whether the conceding team can play the rearranged date.

11.          CUP MATCHES

a)       Cup Matches are compulsory.

Each game will consist of four quarters of 15 minutes. The time and date of all Cup Rounds will be arranged by the Committee who will give as much notice as possible of that date.

b)      For all Cup Rounds, teams are to be drawn at random after each round.

c)       No player who has played for one team in a Cup/Plate match may play for any other team in a subsequent Cup/Plate match.

d)      Multi-team Club Players are not allowed to play for a higher or lower placed team in a Cup/Plate round.

e)      No Guest Players are allowed to play in Cup/Plate rounds.

f)        The Plate Competition should include all first round losers of the Cup and should be run in tandem with the Cup Rounds, the Final to be played prior to the Cup Final and on the same day.

g)       If a team has to concede a Cup game, the remaining team automatically goes through to the next round.

h)      In the event of a draw, teams shall play five minutes each way extra time, if there is still no result when the whistle is blown at the end of the extra time, the ball and players shall remain stationary, the game shall be re-started from where the ball was at the end of extra time and the first goal scored will be the winner.

i)        The Cup Final will be umpired by two neutral umpires from outside the League, wherever possible.

j)        Premier teams shall be excluded from the first round of the Cup.

k)       The committee to obtain umpires for all matches in the Cup and Plate rounds.

l)        If a game is conceded in either the Cup or Plate tournament, the conceding team will be fined £20.00 to cover the court and umpire costs.

m)    All teams taking part in the cup / plate tournament must be checked-in and ready to start the game at the allotted time.  The match will be awarded to the non-offending team if their opponent is unable to take to the court at the allotted time. 

n)      Cup/Plate matches will be played throughout the playing season

12.          VIOLATION OF RULES

 At the Committee’s discretion, breaking of League rules may result in loss of points from the League Table.  Matters pertaining to discipline - see Rule 7, final paragraph.

13.          HEALTH & SAFETY

a)       No jewellery, which includes body piercings, dangerous clothing, adornments, gloves or medical aids may be worn which in the opinion of the umpire constitutes a danger to other players.  No jewellery may be taped other than a single wedding band. See England Netball Rule 1.4.3.

b)      Fingernails shall be cut short.  See England Netball Rule 1.4.5.

c)       Players and umpires may take part in match play throughout their pregnancy providing they have not been advised to do so by a medical practitioner. It is their responsibility to ensure they are familiar with the Terms and Conditions of England Netball’s Insurance Policy. INF Rule 5.1.1 refers.

d)      All teams entering the League must have their own First Aid Kit.

e)      Gloves may be worn for medical reasons only, and with the Committee’s approval providing a current certificate from a medical practitioner, clearly stating the member’s name and date of issue, is received by the committee at the start and second half of the season.  Written confirmation will be given to the member who must product this for the umpire’s inspection at each and every match / cup competition or tournament that she wishes to play.  Gloves must be plain, soft leather type, seamless or with internal seams.

14.          COMPLAINTS

All complaints must be in writing and sent to the Secretary of the League Committee.  Complaints regarding discipline during a game must be in writing and received within fourteen days of the match in question by the League Secretary.  Disciplinary matters will be passed on to the County Disciplinary Committee who will decide the course of action.

15.          CHANGES IN TEAM SECRETARY 

The League Secretary, County Treasurer and England Netball must be informed of any change in Team Secretary.

16.          TROPHIES

All trophies presented at the End of Season Awards remain the property of the League and must be returned by Clubs holding them 28 days prior to the AGM. Clubs shall be held responsible for loss or damage to League trophies. The replacement of trophies through normal wear and tear shall be reviewed by the League Committee.

17.          ATTENDANCE AT AGM

At least two representatives from each club must be present at the League AGM to hand in their club’s League entry forms and money.  Including committee members Failure to attend will result in the exclusion of the club from the league.

VOTING:  In accordance with the England Netball Constitution and the Bedfordshire County Constitution, each CLUB will have one vote.  Proxy votes are not acceptable. 

At least one representative from each club must also attend the County AGM.