Guidelines for awarding Sportsmanship Marks

The Management Committee expects that, where teams have concerns about the behaviour of the the adults in the opposing team, be they officals, coaches or spectators, those teams will explain the behaviour on the back of the match return. They may wish to comment, although not a definitive list, on the following:

The efficiency of the club in arranging the fixture; keeping to timescales etc

The quality of the interactions with the opposing management team; home team acting a a host

The behaviour of the adults generally

Unacceptable language

Any threats made

Any failure to respect the officials

Sporting behaviour, as a model for players

Failure to follow the principles of the club code of conduct

The Management Committee will actively investigate comments on the match returns, throughout the season, and take action as required. Where the club secretary specifically raises concerns on behalf of a team, the league will investigate the complaint through its Breach of Rules sub committee, and take appropriate action. All managers are asked to carefully consider the comments they make about their opponents on the match return, and check out their views with other officials or coaches of their team who are present. If in doubt, they should liaise with their club secretary. ((Rule change agreed at Committee Meeting and added in Bold Text 17-09-09)

The Management Committee will actively investigate the reasons why low marks have been awarded and may call the managers involved in the fixture to attend a Committee Meeting to discuss the matter. Therefore we ask all Managers to carefully consider how they mark the opposition and only complete the Sportsmanship Marks section on the Match Return once the game is over.