BL OFFICE CENTRE ESSEX

MERIT TABLE RULES

1. The full title of the competition shall (unless amended at an Annual General Meeting of the member clubs) be the “BL OFFICE CENTRE ESSEX MERIT TABLE COMPETITION”. Clubs are expected to honour their sponsorship obligations by referring to the competition by its full title.

2. All matches in the competition shall be played under the Laws of the Rugby Football Union and shall comply with the byelaws, resolutions and regulations of the RFU.

3. The management of the competition shall be vested in a committee, elected annually by the member clubs. Officers to be elected as follows: -

(i) Chairman

(ii) Secretary

(iii) Treasurer

(iv) Team Secretary

(v) One representative from each club in membership, irrespective of the number of sides that club has in the competition.

In addition there shall be the following honorary posts: -

(i) President - normally the sponsor

(ii) Vice-Presidents (Elected by the AGM in respect of outstanding service to the competition)

4. Only clubs affiliated to the Essex County Rugby Football Union shall be eligible to enter the competition. Only bona-fide playing members of participating clubs may play in competition matches. Where a player changes clubs, he may not represent his new club in the competition until 30 days after he last played for a club in a competition match.

5. The number of teams in each division shall be limited to ten (10), save that the committee shall be empowered to adjust the numbers of the highest division and the two lowest divisions if numbers should warrant it. The number of teams in a division should not be less than five (5).

6. The positions of teams in a division shall be established by awarding three points for a win and one point for a draw. Bonus points (1) shall be awarded for an away win or draw. A deduction of one point shall be made for crying off a fixture. In the event of equality of competition points, positions will be determined on the basis of match points scored. A team with a larger difference between match points scored and match points conceded shall be placed higher than a team with a smaller points difference. If the points difference should be the same then the team scoring the most points will be placed higher.

7. Each team must play both home and away against every other team in it’s division. The Chairman and Secretary will determine the dates of each game and report back to each fixture secretary before the end of May. Competition games may be played as double headers, e.g. where teams are due to meet in a game in another competition that game may also be counted as the competition fixture.

8. Where a competition match is not played or is abandoned before no-side (i.e. less than 60 minutes), it must be re-arranged and the new date notified to the Secretary by both clubs within seven (7) days of the date of the original fixture. Failure for doing so will result in a 0 – 0 defeat recorded against both sides.

9. Where a competition match is not played and is not re-arranged, this must be notified to the Secretary by both clubs within seven (7) days of the original fixture. The match score shall be taken as 15-0 and the points will be awarded to the team not responsible for the fixture cancellation. Where matches are cancelled e.g. due to inclement weather, the matches shall be re-played. If the match is not played, whatever the reason, the committee shall be the final arbitrator. Again the secretary must be informed within seven (7) days. Failure for doing so will result in a 0 – 0 defeat recorded against both sides.

10. The referee shall be of the normal standard provided for the home team’s games. Where an appointed referee fails to arrive or to complete the match another may officiate with the agreement of both captains. Each team shall provide a touch judge.

11. One team from each division shall be promoted and relegated. No club shall have two teams in the same division. If any club team qualifies to be promoted into a division where there is already a team from that club. Such promotion shall not be made and the next highest team may be promoted instead. The original winners however shall be entitled to receive such prize as is awarded for winning the division. If any team qualifies for relegation into a division where there is already a team from the same club then the lower team shall also be relegated into the next lower division and the team otherwise due for relegation shall remain.

12. Any club, which is affiliated to the Essex County RFU shall be entitled to apply to enter the competition, but may only join at the beginning of a season. Application must be made in writing to the Secretary on or before the 30^th April for the following season. If accepted any club or team new to the competition shall be placed in the lowest division, although the committee shall be empowered to place teams in a higher division. Clubs may enter as many teams as they wish, but the senior team of the club shall always be the team in the highest division.

13. Having nominated a team the club shall ensure that such team shall consist of players who would normally be expected to play for that team. If, in the opinion of the committee, any club fields an un-representative team in a competition match, the points in that match will be awarded to the opposition, with a nominal score of 15-0. If the opposition won the game anyway, that result will stand but the offending club will have two competition points deducted.

14. If a club resigns from the competition before it completes all its fixtures for the current season, then all its matches shall be considered void and all points scored and conceded shall be cancelled.

15. In the event of new teams joining or teams resigning the committee shall be empowered to adjust the numbers of promotions and relegations to restore the division’s balance.

16. Both teams are responsible for informing the Secretary of the results of competition matches by noon of the Monday following the match, by whatever means. Failure to do so and the result shall be deemed a nil-nil defeat for both sides.

17. Bona fide players from teams in the competition shall be eligible for selection for the competition’s representative side, which shall play celebration games against affiliated clubs and, as early as possible in the season, a Championship Match against the previous seasons Division One champions at the ground of the champions.

18. All competing clubs shall pay an annual subscription - fixed annually at an AGM - to cover the costs of the competition. All subscriptions are payable by the 1^st of September.

19. The number of substitutes shall be limited to five unless by prior arrangement agreed by the two captains and communicated to the referee before the game.

20. In the event of any dispute, the decision of the committee is final.