Rules revision meeting held at 7.30pm on Wednesday 23 November 2022 at United Services
Present:
President F Warburton, Chairman G Dixon, Secretary R Kavanagh, and delegates from all clubs except Humphrey Park, Legh Arms and Oughtrington. The treasurer J Fletcher had sent his apologies.
Approval of the minutes of the inaugural general meeting
The
minutes of this meeting (held on 3 March 2022) were available on the web site. They were taken as read and approved.
Proposals for rule changes
Player registration
Rule 2.7: Players to be registered by the day before playing, and no registrations accepted after 31 July.
Proposed by the management committee
The secretary explained that there was currently no cut-off date for registrations. Having one would avoid suggestions of last-minute ringers. It would also simplify preparation of end of season invoices. Many leagues had a similar rule; in some it was even earlier, which did cause problems.
Proposal passed with no votes against.
Qualification for entry to individual and pairs competitions
Rule 4.5: new rule – entrants to individual and pairs competitions must have played in four league matches at the closing date for entry.
Proposed by the management committee
This year one of the competition winners had not played in the league, and this did not seem right. A similar rule was typical in many leagues, and an omission from our rules.
Proposal passed with no votes against.
Practice in team knock-outs
Rule 3.7: new rule – no practice allowed before knock-out matches.
Proposed by the management committee
Another omission from the current rules.
Proposal passed with no votes against.
Promotion and relegation
For the 2023 season, three teams to be promoted and relegated between the Wednesday divisions.
Proposed by Trinity Moor
Trinity Moor explained that the idea was to get teams to the right level. At the merger it had not been possible to compare teams exactly. There was discussion as to whether the change should apply to the 2023 season only, or indefinitely. Some favoured promoting and relegating four teams. Others felt that even three was too many, and in any case teams had competed on the basis of two-up two-down. It might be considered unfair to change this retrospectively.
The consensus was that any change should be for the 2023 season only, and would be reviewed again for future years.
Proposal passed with no votes against.
Colour of jacks
Rule 2.2.1: add at end: “Black jacks shall be replaced by the more visible yellow jacks.”
Proposed by Davyhulme Social
Davyhulme Social said that some players, especially with ageing eyesight, found a black jack difficult to distinguish from a small bowl. There were many views on this – some prefer black jacks, especially under floodlights. The potential cost of buying a new set of jacks was also mentioned.
Proposal withdrawn.
Qualification for playing in team knock-out matches
Rule 3.6: reduce qualification for knock-out matches from five to three league matches.
Proposed by Flixton Cricket and Urmston Mens
The current requirement to have played five league matches had caused problems, with some clubs not being able to field a full team, even in the finals.
Proposal passed with two votes against.
Presentation of trophies
The trophies had been engraved with winners’ names and were handed out.
Next meeting
The next meeting would be the AGM in January. Venue to be decided, partly depending on the availability of the United Services club.
The meeting closed at 8.30pm.