Local Rules
LOCAL RULES SPECIFIC TO TOUCH PĀPĀMOA
The following local rules of the Touch Pāpāmoa Competition are applicable to all participants and must be adhered to at all times. These rules should be read in conjunction with Touch New Zealand '5th Edition FIT Playing Rules' and any other policy papers put forward by Touch New Zealand and / or Touch Pāpāmoa. Touch Pāpāmoa has adopted and endorsed all of the playing rules of Touch as laid down by Touch New Zealand, except where specifically stated in these local rules.
It is the responsibility of the individual, being but not limited to, the team managers, coordinators, coaches, captains, participating players, and contact persons, to ensure that they and the players under their control are fully aware and conversant with the local rules, and the playing rules contained herein. Ignorance of these rules will not be considered an excuse. Touch Pāpāmoa reserves the right to amend any or all of these rules.
REGISTRATION PROCESS
Registrations open online on the 01st August each year.
The Team Manager must complete the team registration form online.
Payment is required of the team entry fee, which confirms your place in the competition. Teams will not be entered into the competition until the entry fee has been paid in full.
Team lists, including individual player details, must be completed online no later than one week prior to the start of the season.
Adult teams will be placed into grades based on Touch Pāpāmoa's assessment on grading day/s. Junior teams will be placed into grades according to age groups.
Touch Pāpāmoa may regrade teams at any stage during the competition.
ADULTS GAME NIGHT PROCESS
All players must sign in, against their own name, on their team sheet, at our main rego desk located at the front fields or via iDMe. Once you have signed in, Touch Pāpāmoa staff will put on your wristband. To be eligible to play each week, all registered players MUST wear a wristband, no sign in, no wristband, no play! Partners, friends, whānau, can NOT sign on your behalf.
To get your iDMe unique individual touch free sign in QR code, please register FREE at www.iDMe.co.nz and save to your phones home screen.
For your FIRST NAME, please enter your full TEAM name (EG: Ezy Queenz) Please enter all your teams, if you play in more than one team.
For your LAST NAME, please enter your full name. Your iDMe full name must be the exact same name as the one that has been registered under your team name or you may not be marked as having played that game which could impact your five (5) game eligibility come semi finals and finals time.
ADULTS PLAYER ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible to play in the Adult Competition, players must be 12 years of age or older.
All players must be registered on their team sign in sheet before they can play.
All players may only register for one (1) team within the same grade.
Any player playing in more than one (1) grade, may only play one (1) grade above / below.
Any team registering players playing in one (1) grade above, may only register a maximum of three (3) players from the higher grade.
Any current National or Provincial player, under 40 years of age, is not permitted to play outside of the Open grades.
Any team playing unregistered or ineligible players are liable to forfeit any match in which the unregistered or ineligible players have competed.
Any request to transfer to another team once the season has commenced will not be accepted.
Teams can only register up to 16 players for the season. This allows for two substitutions. Only 14 players can play any one game.
All players must have officially played a minimum of five (5) games for their team to be eligible to participate in their team's semi finals and finals.
PLAYING TOUCH WHILE PREGNANT
It is a rule that players of both defending and attacking teams are to use the minimum force necessary to effect touches, however, this does not take away from the fact Touch is still a contact sport. Touch Pāpāmoa cherishes and values our Mothers to be and our unborn babies and encourages our pregnant players to fully understand the risks of playing a contact sport, such as Touch, while pregnant. Ultimately, the decision you choose is that of yours and your whānau, which means you are accepting full responsibility for your decision once you take the field to play Touch. If you decide to take the field to play Touch, Touch Pāpāmoa will not accept any responsibility nor will any responsibility be passed onto any other participant, including but not limited to, a Player, Referee, Selector, Coach, Manager, Volunteer, Official, Organiser, or Supporter. We kindly ask you to not make a request to any player or team to alter their game because of your decision to take the field and play. Please take extreme care when deciding to take the field to play at any stage during your pregnancy.
REFEREEING
Junior teams must provide referee's for their own games.
For the Adults competition, Touch Pāpāmoa aims to provide referee's where possible, however, from time to time, teams may have to assist by providing their own referee's.
Touch Pāpāmoa's Referee Director will endeavour to allocate the referee's to games that best match the referee's capabilities.
Touch Pāpāmoa consistently focuses on developing new / young referee's and develops them on the field alongside a qualified, experienced referee, however, at times it is not always possible to have them alongside a qualified referee and we kindly ask all participants to be patient and consider themselves if in the same position and to please use empathy towards all our referee's.
No player or team official may dispute or make any protest of a referee's decision.
Referee's on our Adults competition roster are rewarded for their efforts.
If you are interested in becoming a referee, please contact our Referee Director.
DISPUTES / DISCIPLINE
Due to the social and fun nature of our competitions, disputes and discipline are a rarity. Most matters can usually be dealt with quickly by one of our Touch Pāpāmoa staff who is more than happy to address any concerns you may have or will direct you to Touch Pāpāmoa's Administrator or Games Day Administrator if immediate action is required.
Any abusive or threatening situations that may cause damage or assault to property or persons at the premises during the duration of our module, could result in the Police being called immediately. This is a family environment and Touch Pāpāmoa WILL NOT tolerate any fighting at our competition. The accused person(s), either a player or non-player will be banned from the premises if found guilty of not adhering to these conditions.
For any player who is ordered off the field by a referee, an automatic two game suspension will apply.
For any player who is sin binned three times, an automatic two game suspension will apply following their third suspension.
Touch Pāpāmoa reserves the right to suspend any player whose conduct is in breach of the spirit of the game of touch.
Protests and appeals must be submitted in writing to touchpapamoa@yahoo.co.nz within 24 hours of the completion of the game OR to the Administrator or Games Day Administrator within 30 minutes in events where 24 hours is not applicable eg finals.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
DO NOT SIGN THE SCORECARD IF YOU HAVE ANY DISPUTES. Once the scorecard is signed, decisions are final. Ask your referee to note your dispute on the scorecard.
DEFAULTS
Defaults are taken seriously, as this is not fair on the opposition, Referees, or Administrators.
If your team has no other choice but to default a game, you must phone Jenny Turner 021 055 9325 at your earliest convenience and preferably with at least 24 hours notice.
A twenty dollar ($20) fee will be imposed on teams that default.
The team will not receive further competition points until the default fee is paid.
Each season, Touch Pāpāmoa has a waiting list of committed teams that have unfortunately missed out on registering. If your team defaults two (2) or more times in any one season, Touch Pāpāmoa may decline your team registration for the following season in an effort to accept only teams that are organised and committed to maintaining our high standard competition here at Touch Pāpāmoa.
DRAWS & RESULTS
The draw for the season will be published on our website.
Delays in publishing the draws will only occur around grading, semi finals, and finals time, where we must wait on all results to be processed. We appreciate your patience during these times and will endeavour to have the draws published within 24 hours of receiving all results.
Weekly results will be published within 48 hours of receiving all results.
CANCELLATIONS
Touch Pāpāmoa will not cancel because of the cold, the wind, or the rain.
We will, however, cancel due to severe weather or Tauranga City Council closing the grounds at Gordon Spratt Park.
Any cancellation will be posted on Touch Pāpāmoa's Facebook page and website, by 2pm for the Juniors Competition and by 4pm for the Adults Competition.
Please do not contact Touch Pāpāmoa before this time as we do not like canceling, hence, we wait on the weather as long as possible to determine the final answer.
PRIZEGIVING
Prizegiving will be held immediately following the completion of finals on finals day/s.
Junior Competition finals day will be staggered into two sections as follows: Year 1-4 games followed by Year 1-4 prizegiving and Year 5-8 games followed by Year 5-8 prizegiving.
Please refer to the calendar for this season's times and dates.
All teams have a game on finals day.
Championship trophies are returnable.
To receive a prize, the participating player must be present at the prizegiving.
FIRST AID
A basic first aid kit is available at both the Rego office, located at the front fields, and the Rego cart, located at the backfields.
It is the responsibility of all teams to provide their own strapping tape and ice packs.
In the event of a major incident, please make contact with the Rego office and an ambulance will be called.
FURTHER ENQUIRIES PLEASE CONTACT
Jenny Turner 021 055 9325
