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.

Venues

St. Lucia

Oval 1 (Union Oval)

Oval 8 (Next to Margaret Cribb Early Learning)

Oval 9 (AFL/Cricket oval on the right of Air Fred Schonnel Drive)

The University of Queensland, St Lucia

Venue Coordinators

Monday – James

Wednesday – James

Enquires

Competition Administrator – James

[email protected]

New Season Dates

Starts the week of Monday 22nd February & Wednesday 24th February.

Season Format

10 or 11 week season including finals(games will be extended at the discretion of UniTouch).

Fee Payments

Individual payments are required per player and teams will not be able to take the field until there are a minimum of eight (8) players registered.

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.

Fees are as follows:

St Lucia (UQ)

$89.95 per player (Min 8 per team) on Mondays
$99.95 per player (Min 8 per team) on Wednesdays

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.

Teams have 3 rounds to get their uniforms organised. After round 3 teams will not be permitted to take the field unless they have numbered and matching colour shirts or have the option to start the game 5 points in arrears.

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 3^rd 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

All teams are required to provide their own touch ball for matches.

They can be purchased from the venue co-ordinators for $20.

Wet Weather

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

In the event of wet weather an email will go out to all registered players upon the ovals being closed. Invite all your players to join your team via your teams “live the comp” page and they will receive the notification. Or alternatively ring the Administrator’s mobile 0432 449 371 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, once again an email will go out immediately to all registered players upon the ovals being closed, or 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.

The general procedure for making a claim is accessible via https://sport.marshadvantage.com.au/touchfootball

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

Forfeits

Teams intending to forfeit a game are expected to give 24 hours notice to the Administrator via email [email protected]. This early notification allows the opposing team to be contacted. If contact is not made or not made in a timely manner the forfeit will be recorded as 5-0.

Grading

Teams will be allocated to grades based on the grade they nominated for, past performance, and performance in the grading games. Rounds 1 & 2 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 or www.livethecomp.com when final team numbers are confirmed. The draw for the remainder of the season will be posted to the websites 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 among 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

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

If you require extra players please check out the free agent market on Live the Comp or contact the competition administrator as we always have a register of individual players who are looking to join a team.

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 I.e. due to sickness, exams, etc, which may affect their ability to field a competitive team.

In these circumstances fill-in players (I.e. 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 UQ Rebels on Facebook or email [email protected]

As a Touch Football Australia Affiliate we have access to accredited training and pathways for our officials to progress through to State and National events.

Should there be any problems regarding referees, inquiries should initially be directed to your Venue Coordinator. If you wish to pursue a complaint about a referee, please put it in writing and email [email protected]

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. 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 at UniTouch for life.

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 with notification from the forfeiting team will receive 3 pts for a win, and will receive 5 touchdowns for and 0 against. If the forfeiting team does not notify the administrator in a timely manner points will be 10 touchdowns for and 0 against. Teams may carry over their points from rounds 1 & 2 (grading games).

If games are interrupted due to power failure, washout or other unforeseen circumstances the following will apply. Event occurs during the first half of the game the result will be declared void and a replay will be scheduled. If the event occurs from half time onward the result will stand.

If a game is cancelled due to player or team official/supporter behaviour, that team will be deemed to have forfeited the match.

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.