Team Information

Welcome to Unitouch

You will be playing in a professionally managed touch competition, with the emphasis on fun & healthy competition.  Each venue has a Venue Coordinator that you will deal with on a week-to-week basis. 

Contents

  1. Venues
  2. Enquiries
  3. Next Season Dates
  4. Season Format
  5. Fee Payments
  6. Playing Attire
  7. Team Registration Forms
  8. Touch Ball
  9. Wet Weather
  10. Injuries and Insurance
  11. Forfeits
  12. Grading
  13. Competition Draw
  14. Playing Rules
  15. Multiple Teams
  16. Fill-in Players
  17. Referees
  18. Behaviour
  19. Competition Points
  20. Finals Format

Venues

 

St. Lucia

Oval 6 (opposite athletics track) or Oval 4 (located near the UQ swimming pool)

The University of Queensland, St Lucia

UBD Reference Map 179, H2

 

Venue Coordinators

Oval 6 Monday - TBA

Oval 4 Monday - TBA

Oval 6 Wednesday - TBA

Oval 4 Wednesday - TBA

Enquires

 

Competition Administrator Belinda Robson

unitouch@uq.net.au

 

Next Season Dates

Starts the week of Monday 2nd August 2010 & Wednesday 4th August 2010

           

Season Format

13 week season consisting of a 11 week regular season and 2 weeks of finals (plus one week for a washed-out game).

 

Fee Payments

A payment of at least $400 must accompany your team’s nomination.

The balance of the team payment is due by the third week of fixtures.  Teams will not be permitted to take the field in week 4 unless full payment has been received. 

Any remaining payments can be made in the same way as your deposit – electronic funds transfer, cheque/money order or credit card.

Fees are as follows:

St Lucia (UQ) $950/team  (less $50 early-pay discount if applicable)
Graceville $950/team  (less $50 early-pay discount if applicable)

Please note fees are all inclusive, and include costs for all games and player insurance.

 

Playing Attire

Uniforms MUST be matching coloured shirts, with individual numbers on the back.  

NO WHITE SHIRTS ALLOWED.

Teams have until week 3 to get their uniforms organised.  After week 3 teams will not be permitted to take the field unless they have numbered and matching colour shirts.

Both shoes and socks are required by the insurance company.

Grass sport shoes with moulded soles are acceptable. Screw-in studs, cleats etc are NOT permitted.

No jewellery is allowed & sharp or long fingernails must be trimmed or taped.

 

Team Registration Forms

All teams must complete and submit a Team Registration Sheet by the 3rd week of the competition for insurance purposes. 

Teams will not be permitted to take the field in week 4 unless a completed registration sheet with player details has been submitted.

Only players listed on the team registration form are qualified to play in finals.  After the week 4 cutoff, players can only be added in special circumstances – please apply in writing to the Administrator.

 

Touch Ball

A ball will be handed out for free for those teams that are paid in full prior to the commencement of round 2.  All teams are required to provide their own touch ball for matches.  They can be purchased from the venue co-ordinators for $15.

 

Wet Weather

Matches may be postponed or cancelled in the event of bad weather or other unforeseen circumstances. 

In the event of wet weather please ring the Administrator’s mobile 0418 731 293 after 4pm on game day.

If rain starts after 4pm the Venue Coordinator may need to make the decision to call off games once the condition of the fields becomes apparent. In this event, check with your Venue Coordinator or ring the Administrator on 0418 731 293. If there has been inclement weather leading up to the day of your game, (but not necessarily on the day of your game) also check the message as fields may still be deemed unfit to play on.

Safety of participants and preservation of facilities, particularly the playing surface, will at all times take precedence over the competition program.  Every effort will be made to replay postponed games.   Unitouch reserves the right to adjust the fixture program as deemed appropriate.  Rounds may be cancelled if the spare (wet) weeks have already been utilized.

There will be no appeal over the rescheduling of fixture matches.

 

Injuries and Insurance

Any injuries sustained in a game should be reported at the time to either the Venue Coordinator or Referee.

Insurance cover is provided for Non-Medicare Medical/Hospital expenses and Loss of Income by Sports Underwriting Australia.

Information on insurance cover is also available on the website at the ‘Teams Information’ link.

The general procedure for making a claim is as follows:-

(Note. Your name must be on a submitted team registration form to make a claim)

  1. Request a claim form from the insurance provider and register the claim with Insurance Agent Spencer Felix Ph: 38313333 (w), 0414368751(mob) email: spencer@jblw.com.au
  2. Complete the claim form as instructed
  3. Get a Unitouch official (either your Venue Coordinator or the Administrator) to complete and sign the relevant section of the form (‘To be completed by the Club Secretary/Treasurer’), to verify that the injury occurred in the Unitouch competition.
  4. The form can then be forwarded to the insurance company for processing.

N.B. It is a requirement of the insurer that a doctor’s referral must be obtained before seeking physio treatment.

 

Forfeits

Teams intending to forfeit a game are expected to give 24 hours notice to the Administrator on 0418 731 293. This early notification allows the opposing team to be contacted.

 

Grading

Teams will be allocated to grades based on the grade they nominated for, past performance, and performance in the grading games. Rounds 1 – 3 are normally classified as ‘grading games’. Promotion/relegation will take place after grading if warranted based on results. Points in the grading games will normally be carried over to the new grade for those teams affected. 

 

Competition Draw

The competition draw for rounds 1 & 2 (grading games) will be available on our website www.unitouch.com.au when final team numbers are confirmed.  The draw for the remainder of the season will be posted to the website after completion of the grading games (i.e. after round 2).

The draw will be done as fairly as possible. Late and early games are averaged out amongst all teams.

Special requests for game times or requests to avoid clashes between teams will be considered (but not guaranteed) provided they are made in writing prior to the draw being completed. If there is a problem or a discrepancy with your draw please notify the Administrator immediately.

 

Playing Rules

Playing rules are as per the seventh edition of the Australian Touch Association rules, unless specified otherwise. The basic rules of Touch can be downloaded from our web-site (extracted from the current ATA Rule Book), or from the following URL - http://www.qldtouch.com.au/gamedev_referees.html  (the 7th edition Rule book is here)

All games are six-a-side with a team comprising up to 14 players.  A mixed team must have a minimum of one and a maximum of 3 males on the field at any one time.

If you require extra players please contact the competition administrator as we always have a register of individual players who are looking to join a team.

Only players registered on the team registration form are eligible to play in the finals, and you must have played in at least 4 regular season games to qualify for finals. Team registration sheets and player sign-on sheets may be checked prior to finals.

Please ensure players arrive in sufficient time to prepare for their games. Games commence promptly when the hooter/whistle is blown. A forfeit is granted if a team is unable to take the field within 5 minutes of the scheduled commencement time.

 

Multiple Teams

Players are permitted to play in multiple teams, provided that:

  • the teams are in different divisions AND
  • they are registered for both teams

Playing in multiple teams in the same grade is not permitted.

 

Fill-in Players

At various times during the season, it is understood that teams may be missing regular players for various reasons ie due to sickness, exams etc, which may affect their ability to field a competitive team.

In these circumstances fill-in players (ie players not on the team’s rego sheet) may be used provided:-

  • the opposing team’s approval is sought and obtained
  • fill-in players have the correct team uniform

Only registered players may take part in finals.

 

Referees

Unitouch continually recruits new referees. If you are interested in earning good money by becoming a referee, contact Unitouch by phone on 0418 731 293 or email  unitouch@uq.net.au    Training is provided.

Should there be any problems regarding referees, inquiries should initially be directed to your Venue Co-ordinator.  If you wish to pursue a complaint about a referee, please put it in writing and mail to Unitouch, PO Box 297, Toowong 4066 or email to unitouch@uq.net.au

 

Behaviour

Unitouch prides itself on being a fun, social and safe competition.  Foul play, inappropriate language and bad sportsmanship will not be tolerated.

It is important for everyone to understand that a referee’s decision is final.  They make mistakes like anyone else does and their view can be hampered by their position on the field, other players etc.

Please also be aware that the referee has control over all participants – this is not just restricted to players on the field. This includes all players, coaches, team officials and spectators on the sideline.

Referees have several options available to deal with Participants guilty of misconduct or continual disruptive or unsportsmanlike behaviour. 

In cases of foul play, serious misconduct or severely disruptive behaviour a Participant will be ‘sent off for the remainder of the game’.  This means that the Participant can take no further part in the game and if it involves a player, it results in their team playing with one player less for the remainder of the game.  The Participant in question must also leave the vicinity of the playing field (they can be no closer then 15 metres away). 

A Participant who is ‘sent off for the remainder of the game’, will receive a minimum 2 game (normally equating to two weeks) suspension automatically, as per ATA regulations.  This automatic suspension may be appealed, however the appeal must be in writing and delivered to the Administrator no later then two days after the incident, a judiciary will then be empanelled and the parties concerned contacted.

In very rare cases, the actions of a Participant may warrant a much heavier penalty then a 2 game suspension.  If the match referee feels that a Participant’s actions require a heavier penalty, then they may recommend a judiciary be empanelled to look into the matter.  The judiciary has the power to ban a Participant for any period of time, including a ban from playing touch football for life.  Any sanctions applied to a Participant by a judiciary will apply throughout Australia. 

Participants must be aware that they may also be legally liable for injury caused by foul play.

 

Competition Points

Points will be awarded each round on the basis of the following:                              
Win 3 pts
Draw 2 pts
Loss 1 pt
Forfeit 0 pts
Bye 3 pts

A team winning on forfeit or with the bye will receive 3 pts for a win, and will receive 5 touchdowns for and 0 against.  Teams will carry over their points from rounds 1 & 2 (grading games).

 

Finals Format

Most grades will be based on 10 teams (or 9 teams plus bye) and the majority of teams will play in finals. Finals will be played in 2 separate divisions in each grade as follows :- there will be a Div 1 ‘cup’ final for the top 4 ranked teams after the regular season (ie teams ranked 1-4), and a Div 2 ‘plate’ final for the next 4 ranked teams (ie teams ranked 5-8). Note - there may be some smaller 5,6,7 or 8 team grades, and in this instance, teams will play off in a normal ‘top 4’ finals format.

Top 4/Next 4 Finals Format - finals games will be played over 2 weeks as follows :-

  Div 1 Div 2
Week 1 1v4, 2v3 5v8, 6v7
Week 2 (GF) Winner (1v4) v Winner (2v3) Winner(5v8) v Winner (6v7)

 

Change of Details

Please advise Unitouch by email if any of your team contact details change. Unitouch reserves the right to amend any of the previous conditions and information.

 

 

Good luck and enjoy the season!