Club Guidelines and Policy

Below are general guidelines and policies of the club. You can also refer to the following for more details:

• Grading Policy
• Yahoo! Email Group Policy
• Code Of Conduct
• Club Constitution - please contact the club secretary for a copy

Overview

The Flying Bats were established 21 years ago by women who wanted to provide Sydney's sporty lesbian masses a safe and supportive environment in which to play football. The club has thrived over the years enjoying phenomenal success and popularity. We are not exclusively lesbian and welcome any women to come and play football.

We are a non-profit amateur football club with a non-political agenda. Our primary objective is to ensure the continued existence, success and growth of the club. We also strive to ensure that lesbians in Sydney have a fun and relaxed environment in which to play football and socialise.

As an incorporated association we have a Management Committee who organise and run the club. The Management Committee are all unpaid volunteers who devote their free time to maintaining a safe and enjoyable football experience for all our players, as we all have one common belief – that there should be a Flying Bats Football Club in Sydney!

• Play football to the best of your ability!
• Have fun and enjoy yourself!
• Support your fellow team mates, on and off the pitch!
• Display good sportswomanship and respect to all players, supporters, opposition teams and officials!

"... NWSWS is committed to fairness, equity and good sportsmanship in soccer, on and off the field, in order to provide the best possible environment in which its players can excel and in which officials and administrators can discharge their responsibilities. This code of conduct is designed to ensure that appropriate forms of behaviour are adopted and remain the norm for all persons associated with women's soccer in our Association...."

Player Commitment and Conduct

The football season runs from the beginning of April through to the end of August. It is expected that all players make themselves available for every match – i.e. every Sunday for 5 months. Where work, family or other commitments frequently prevent that, the player will advise our registrar at the time of signing up, that they will be a 'part-time' player.

The conduct of players (and supporters) representing the Flying Bats, on and off the pitch, will be exemplary on all occasions. We have worked for and created a good reputation amongst other teams and our Association and we do not condone any actions that may tarnish that.

It is expected that players, where possible, will come to training. But it is not compulsory. If you do not come to training however, it may affect your chances of being selected for a match.

Player Registration Rules

• The normal player registration period is from mid February through to 15th March. The winter season competition usually starts on the first Sunday in April. It finishes at the end of August. There are usually only one or two Sundays without matches.
• Any woman 18 years or over may sign up. We have no upper age limit.
• There is a limit to the number of players we can sign on any one team. We operate on a first come first serve basis. To avoid disappointment please sign up early.
• To ensure fair distribution of players we cannot guarantee which team you will be placed in. Again, if you have a specific request, your best bet is to get in early.
• Players, where possible, will be graded on skill and fitness and placed in an appropriate divisional team. But we make no guarantees of any particular team placement.
• All registration fees must be paid in full before any player will be allowed to play
• Rego fees can be paid in instalments, by mutual agreement with our Treasurer.
• You must make yourselves available to sign the Association Team Rego form. We will not chase you. If you have not signed you will not play.
• The Association does provide a concession rate for Students only. It is intended for those in full time education with no income. Student player insurance cover reflects this. (i.e. there is no compensation for loss of income due to injury) See policy for full details.
• Association registration fees cannot be refunded in any circumstances if your name has appeared on a Match Card. (i.e. if you've played or been a substitute at a game). If you've paid, but never attended a game, we may be able to refund your Association rego fee, but only if the request is made before the 1st of June of any football season.
• The Association accepts player registrations up until 15th May of any football season. But the Club may not, depending on numbers in teams. Please contact the Club Registrar for late player rego information. There is no rego fee drop for late signing players.

Team Selection and Player Grading Rules

• All players will be graded on skill and fitness, where possible. To make it fair on the entire team, we will try to keep the team player ability relatively equal. But we cannot guarantee this in all cases.
• Players will be graded at training. So it is vital that all players attend as many pre-season training sessions as possible to allow us to grade effectively.
• Where a player can't attend pre-season training, we will make a best guess grading, but this will tend to be in a lower division rather than higher.
• Players can be re-graded to a higher division at any time before or during the season, but can't be re-graded to a lower division. Therefore we will tend to grade lower rather than higher as a general rule.
• We will attempt to uphold requests to play with friends or partners providing there is space in that team and providing the player skill level is reasonably comparable to the team.

Club Membership Rules

• In order to play for the Club you must become a full member of the Club (you will have voting rights). There is a small membership fee, $5. You will be requested to read and sign an application form. The Club Management Committee reserves the right to accept or decline any application (based primarily on failure to pay rego fees or misconduct in previous seasons).
• You can become a non-playing Associate member of the Club (with no voting rights). The fee and application process will be the same as for a player. Any non-playing coaches, referees or anyone who has an official role in the Club must become a full Club member.
• Membership is for one year only. Membership can be renewed for any subsequent years on approval from the Management Committee and if the fee is paid.
• We reserve the right to cancel any membership (usually due to misconduct or failure to pay rego fees). Any membership/registration fees already paid will not be refunded to the individual.

General Club Rules

• If you can't make a match please phone your Team Manager and let them know as soon as possible, days in advance preferably. Failure to do so could result in you not being selected for the next game. Repeated failure to communicate non-attendance with your Team Manager could result in you being dropped from the team and possibly your Club Membership cancelled. There will be no refund of rego or Club Membership fees.
• Poor player attendance at matches and/or repeated unreliable communications for game availability could affect your chances of being signed up the following year. We reserve the right to refuse or cancel any registration (and Club Membership) due to unreliability or inappropriate behaviour. Repeated no shows make it very unfair on the rest of the team who do make the commitment - trying to play with 9 players every match is no fun at all!
• Each Team Manager is responsible for the coordination and smooth running of their team. Any player query should be fielded to their Team Manager in the first instance, and if appropriate, to any member of the Management Committee in the second instance.
• The Team Manager has authority over the team and can and will take any disciplinary action they deem appropriate in accordance with club rules. Failure of a player to comply with said action will result in the matter being taken to the Club Management Committee.
• Each Team Manager will keep a tally of game results, goal scorers, any cards issued, any discipline issues and player attendance for each game throughout the season. This information is not confidential but is available to be viewed by any player at any reasonable time. See your Team Manager.
• In the event of bad weather please phone your Team Manager for confirmation about the match.
• Please turn up at least 30 minutes before a match, so an effective warm up, kit change and team tactics discussion can be completed.
• In accordance with the NWSWSA ruling, there is to be NO alcohol brought to or consumed at matches by any player or supporter under any circumstances.
• The Association does provide insurance cover. For details see your Team Manger. Injuries must be reported immediately to your Team Manager and various forms will need to be filled in.
• In the event of bad weather on any Training day, please check your email or phone your Team Manager or the Bat Phone for confirmation. When possible, an email will be sent to all players by mid afternoon advising of cancellation.
• Team photos may be taken and may be placed on our website. If you do not wish your photo to appear on our website, please advise our Webmistress, who will ensure your wishes are adhered to.
• We have an email mailing list, for Club related information. If you do or do not want your email address included on it, please advise our Webmistress.