CONSTITUTION and ADMINISTRATION  
The text shown in red indicates the rule is being introduced in 2008 for the first time

1.Title
The combination of clubs in membership shall be called “The Heavy Woollen District Junior Cricket League” (hereinafter called “the League”)

2. Membership and Registration
2.1  Membership of the league shall run for a period of twelve months from the date of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) when all clubs intending to renew membership are required to submit a team entry form detailing their requirements for the following season. Such forms will not, normally, be accepted after the date of the AGM held in December.
The names and contact details of key club officials to be identified for the coming season and complete information shall be in the hands of the Fixture Secretary, prior to the 1st February, otherwise a fine may be levied at the discretion of the Executive Committee.
Applications for new  membership, as opposed to renewed membership, shall be considered separately by the Executive who will make appropriate recommendations for approval or rejection by the AGM. Such membership, if approved, shall be probationary and shall be reviewed at the end of twelve months if the club intends to renew membership
The Executive may impose certain terms and conditions, appertaining to club renewed membership, having regard to circumstances

2.2   It is a League requirement that all clubs in membership shall take out Public Liability Cover, (a minimum indemnity cover of £5m (million) is required.) and, on request, shall provide evidence of compliance. Clubs found in breach of this requirement will be debarred from involvement in any League activity, until such time as the required cover is in place.
No liability shall be incurred by the League, the Management or any Officer of the League due to the failure of any club to meet the requirements of the Rule. 

2.3 All clubs in membership shall be affiliated members of The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and shall adopt, implement and administer the ECB Welfare of Young People in Cricket Policy and Programmes including the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) disclosure procedures. It is mandatory for all welfare officers, coaches, umpires, adult scorers, team managers and others with significant or regular contact with young persons to complete a CRB check. Clubs are required to register, with the League, the identity of their “Club Welfare Officer” by name, address and contact telephone number prior to the commencement of each new season.

2.4  The league competitions shall be open to all irrespective of age, gender, disability, race, ethnic origin, colour, social status and sexual orientation. Clubs are required to submit a list of all their junior players to the league’s Registration Secretary no later than the 31st May each year. The details required to include the player’s full name, gender, date of birth, and telephone contact number. An unregistered player may be included in a team, after the date referred to, provided the aforementioned information is recorded, at the latest, on the result sheet applicable to the first Home match following his/her selection.

2.5   A club may, subject to annual review and at the discretion of the Executive Committee, be allowed to enter a maximum of two teams in a designated age group (to be known as their “A” and “B” teams or other named equivalent) provided they function as two separate “League clubs” in terms of player registration, team management and the provisions of General Rule 6. The teams will not be grouped together so as to compete in the same section. All players must be paid up bona-fide members of the clubs they play for. Players who play for more than one club, in differing age groups, must be a paid up bona-fide member of all the clubs they are associated with. The same requirement shall apply to all persons who undertake, on behalf of a club, the duties of club welfare officer, umpire, coach, team manager, youth organiser etc. Failure to comply could invalidate cover provided by the Clubs Insurance Policy both with regard to personal accident and public liability insurance.

3. Executive & Management Committees.
3.1  The league shall be governed by a Management Committee, comprising of the Patron, Life Vice-Presidents, Life Members, all Elected Officers and one representative from each club in membership.

3.2  An Executive Committee shall deal with matters arising out of League Rules and with routine business of the League. This Committee shall comprise the Patron, President, Life Vice-Presidents, Life Members, Chairperson, General Secretary, Treasurer, Fixture Secretary and Results Secretary.
                                                                                  
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3. Executive & Management Committees. (continued )
3.3  Management Committee Meetings and Extraordinary General Meetings (EGM) will be held at the discretion of the Executive Committee.

3.4  The Executive Committee shall meet as necessary and is empowered to co-opt other persons to serve on this Committee and the Management Sub-Committees as required. No business shall be transacted unless a quorum of at least three members is present including the Chairman and the General Secretary.

3.5 Matters of a pressing nature, which need to be resolved urgently prior to the next meeting of the Executive, will be passed to an officer or group of officers with delegated powers to act on behalf of the full Committee. The adjudication or decision reached shall be regarded as final without recourse to appeal or further discussion   

4. Financial Year & AGM
The financial year end to be 30th of September
The Executive Committee shall fix the date of the Annual General Meeting (AGM), usually in December.
Each club shall, normally, be represented by their nominated “league representative”, and although a maximum two guests from each club may attend only the “league representative”, or person deputizing, may vote.

5.Voting
Voting at all meetings shall be on the “ one member one vote” principle with a simple majority of those present, by a show of hands, being decisive. In the event of a tied vote the motion/proposal is defeated

6. Nominations, Amendments to Rule and Special Powers.
6.1 Nominations for the post of Patron, Life Vice-President or Life Member shall be submitted to the League’s General Secretary who shall present them to the Executive Committee for consideration prior to any formal recommendation and approval by the next Annual General Meeting.

PATRON – the AGM may, on the recommendation of the Executive Committee, elect any person having performed outstanding service to the League and/or Youth Cricket, in general, to the highly prestigious post of “Patron”. The post to be held in perpetuity.

LIFE VICE-PRESIDENT - the AGM may, on the recommendation of the Executive Committee, elect an official of the League to the post of “Life Vice-President”, in recognition of long and/or significant service to the League. The post to be held in perpetuity.

LIFE MEMBER - the AGM may, on the recommendation of the Executive Committee, confer on a person the status of “Life Member” for having made a distinguished contribution to the League and/or Youth Cricket. A Life member may hold any office within the League.

6.2  Members of the Executive, other than those referred to in 6.1 above, shall retire each year and, subject to their agreement, are eligible for re-election at the AGM.
Nominations shall be in the hands of the League’s General Secretary not later than seven days prior to that meeting.

6.3  Club representatives who are elected to serve on the Executive Committee shall stand down as a club representative and a replacement appointed.

6.4  Proposals for omissions, additions or alterations to rules shall be submitted to the League’s General Secretary, in writing, before the 30th September immediately preceding the AGM.

6.5 The League Child Welfare Officer (LCWO) is empowered to oversee the recruitment and appointment of all coaches, umpires, adult scorers and team managers employed by the League. The necessary vetting process shall require all such appointees to provide the LCWO with evidence that the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) has checked their suitability to work with persons under 18 years of age, in either a paid or unpaid capacity.
The Enhanced Disclosure certificates issued to individuals by the Bureau incorporate a “disclosure number” and “date of issue” and the LCWO shall keep a record of this data. No other data shall be recorded or stored.
Such certification is valid for 3 years, from the date of issue, after which a renewed CRB check shall be obtained via the ECB; the only recognized Registered Body for cricket for England and Wales.
Club Welfare Officers (CWO) shall process matters in a similar manner when dealing with requirements at club level, except those other volunteers not falling into the afore-mentioned categories and not subject to CRB Disclosure Certification shall be required to complete and sign an ECB Self Declaration Form to be retained by the CWO.  Referrals initiated at Club level must be passed on to the County Welfare Officer direct.

6.6 The Executive Committee shall have authority to act in an emergency for any matters not provided for in these rules and shall have powers to impose any penalties deemed necessary.

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7. Subscriptions Fines and Levies
The annual subscriptions, fees, fine and levies will be determined at the AGM. The levies are currently: -

a) The Annual Subscriptions will be £25.00 per team, except no subscription raised for any  U9 team.

b) Late payments for annual subscription e.g. paid after 1st June - £5.00. 
 
c) Withdrawal of a team from the league after 1st February - £25.00

e) Non-attendance of a club at the Annual General Meeting or a  Management Meeting - £10.00

 f) Failure to notify the result of a match, or reason for not playing the match, within 48 hours of the   scheduled, or re-arranged, fixture date - £5.00.

 g) Failure of a club to provide a full list of their junior players, for registration, by 31st May - £10.00.

h) Failure to provide the Registration Secretary with information concerning all persons who have played in two or more matches for a club, under the provisions of the final sentence of 2.4 above, and have not previously been listed by that club as a junior player - £3.00 per player per match played.

i) Failure to fulfil a fixture - £10.00.

j) Failure to return cup and trophies before the date of the League’s Presentation Night ceremony or at the Management Meeting held in April - £25.00.

k) Handbook publication levy - £10.00.

All fines which are levied shall be paid within 28 days of the notification date, otherwise, other punitive measures may be taken at the discretion of the Executive

8. Named individual prizes
Clubs and individuals shall retain such cups and trophies awarded to them for a period not extending beyond the date of the April meeting of the Management Committee.
All annual trophies (team and individual) MUST be returned to the League before the day of the Presentation Evening ceremony, normally held in November, and MUST again be returned at the April meeting of the Management Committee. Failure to do so will result in a fine being levied per trophy not returned.
Clubs will be responsible for the collection and subsequent return, including those held by individual club members. Trophies to be returned in a presentable condition and appropriately engraved.
Clubs returning trophies, which have not been engraved, will be subsequently charged for the cost of engraving.
All Cups and Trophies are insured by the league whilst they are on Club premises.
Trophies held by individuals and kept at their home residence etc must be insured separately. 

8.1 The highly prestigious ”Spirit of Cricket” Dale Baxter Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the club, which is deemed to have made a significant contribution to the reputation and standing of the league. The overall standards of achievement provide a role model to which all member clubs should aspire. This is the highest award that the league can bestow on a club.

8.2 The W. S Goldsmith Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the player who has made a major contribution to furthering the prestige of the league, both on and off the field of play, throughout his/her junior career. This is the highest award that the league can bestow on an individual

8.3  The Roy Black Trophy is awarded in connection with the Reporter, Peter Snape Under 17 League Championship Final for the “player of the match”.

8.4  The Roy Anderson Trophy is awarded in connection with the Brackenbury Cup Final for the  “ player of the day”.

8.5  The George Newton Trophy is awarded to the Under 17 player of the season.

8.6   The Raymond Godbold Batting Prize is awarded to the player who achieves the most number of thirty-five (35) run scores or more in Under 15 League matches only, during the season. Best batting average to decide if more than one qualifies.

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8.7   The Margaret Howarth Bowling Prize is awarded to the player who attains the best bowling return in a single Under 15 League match. This performance is adjudged to be the taking of most wickets for the fewest number of runs conceded.

8.8   The Joyce Hoblyn Wicket-Keeping Prize is awarded to the player who dismisses most victims throughout an entire season in Under 15 League matches

8.9    The John Regan Trophy is awarded to the leagues “player of the week” in the Under 15 Lord’s Taverners Yorkshire Cricket Festival matches.

8.10   The Reporter Under 13 Trophy is awarded to the Under 13 player of the season.

8.11  The Heavy Woollen Cricket Society Trophy is awarded to the leagues “player of the week” in the Under 13  Lord’s Taverners Yorkshire Cricket Festival matches.

8.12  The Clifford Smith Trophy is awarded to the Under 11 player of the season.   8.13   The Neil Smith Trophy is awarded to the Under 11 Dorothy Smith championship “player of the finals day”.

8.14  The Dennis Richards Trophy is awarded to the leagues “player of the competition” in the Under 11 Lord’s   Taverner’s Yorkshire Cricket Festival matches. 

8.15  The Geoff Lowe Trophy is awarded to the Under 9 player of the season.

8.16  The Tom Austin Trophy is awarded to the Girl player of the season  

9. Claims and Award procedure
This section to be read and applied in conjunction with section 8 above.
9.1  The Executive Committee shall decide the winners of the trophies referred to  in 8.1, 8.2, 8.5, 8.9, 8.10, 8.11, 8.14 , 8.15 &  8.16.  To be announced and awarded at the league’s Presentation Night ceremony

9.2  The winners of the trophies referred to in 8.3, 8.4, and 8.13 shall be decided by League Officials or the match umpires appointed by the League.  The trophies shall be awarded to the winners on Finals Day and be re-presented to them again at the league’s Presentation Night ceremony.

9.3    The remaining under-mentioned trophies (8.6, 8.7, 8.8 and 8.10) are subject to a claim being submitted by clubs to the Results Secretary by the15 September, unless otherwise stipulated.  Late claims will NOT be considered valid.   

a)  A claim for The Clifford Smith Under 11 Player of the Season, supported by relevant statistics/averages ,to be sent in summary form on a specially devised form circulated by the league. This shall be based on overall achievements in the U11 Dorothy Smith Championship matches excluding the Semi-Finals and Final of the competition.                        

b)  A claim for the Raymond Godbold Batting Prize and the Joyce Hoblyn Wicket-Keeping Prize to be sent in summary form on a specially devised form circulated by the league to be supported by the relevant Under 15 averages/statistics for the season

c)  A claim for the Margaret Howarth Bowling Prize to be made currently at the time of the             match result sheet being faxed to the Results Secretary. Details of the number of overs bowled, wickets taken and runs conceded to be detailed in the space allocated for  “Comments”.                                                                                                                                   Unless this requirement is met within forty-eight (48) hours of the match being played and the feat being achieved the claim may not be considered valid.

 

10. Handbook.
The League shall produce a Handbook, annually, which will include the rules of competition, league policy, child welfare guidance and the current fixture programme.
Clubs are responsible for ensuring their Secretary, appointed League representative; Club Welfare Officer and individual team managers receive a handbook, for personal reference.
Any changes made to the “Directory of Clubs in Membership”, contained within this Handbook, must be promptly brought to the attention of the League’s General Secretary to enable circulation to the membership on the website.

Failure to do so may result in a fine being levied at the discretion of the Executive Committee

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