REGISTRATION POLICY

As of January, 2009:

1. Registration:

   1. A registration will be accepted and deemed valid only upon receipt by the Club of the appropriate registration forms and registration fees as designated on our website.
   2. A player will be permitted to lodge his/her registration forms and registration fees with the Registrar prior to Registration Day. Note that registrations received prior to registration day will be deemed to have been received on registration day.
   3. Forms, together with the appropriate fees (paid in full), can be either mailed or personally delivered to the home of the Registrar. If registration forms and fees are mailed, it is the parents’/players’ responsibility to ensure that they are received by the Registrar prior to the close of Registration Day.
   4. Registration Day is deemed to close at the nominated closing time for the receipt of registrations.
   5. A player will not be permitted to play until such time as the appropriate registration fees have been paid.
   6. After Registration Day, registrations may be accepted at the discretion of the registrar. Late registrations will be placed on a waiting list and places will be offered according to the ‘Priority Selection Process’ outlined below and/or in order of receipt of registration.

2. Age Restrictions:

   These age restrictions are consistent with the current policies of the Yarra Junior Football League (YJFL):
   1. No player will be permitted to register unless he/she is at least 7 years of age as at 1 January of that year.
   2. No player will be permitted to play more than 2 years out of his/her age group (that is, an Under 10 player will not be permitted to play in an Under 13 match)

3. Number of players in each team:

   1. In general the number of players per team will be limited to a maximum of 24. Variations to this may only be made at the discretion of the Committee.
   2. Should more than 24 players register to play for any one particular team, then the ‘Priority Selection Process’ (outlined below) will be implemented.
   3. Should any player inform the club that they no longer desire to be on the waiting list, all registration monies will be refunded and the waiting list adjusted accordingly.
   4. Where the committee deems it necessary for there to be more than 24 players in a team, then a roster system (see rostering table below) will be deployed to ensure all players receive approximately the same amount of games throughout the season. Parents/players will be notified of this occurrence to allow them to not partake in this procedure should they so desire.

4. Priority Selection Process:

   In the event that an inappropriate number of players present themselves to play in an age group, preference will be given to those players who in the following order:
   1. Played with the club in prior years.
   2. Have siblings already at the club.
   3. Live close to the club.
   4. Have parents/guardians with formal roles within the club.
   5. Enrolled in a previous year but were unable to play due to circumstances outside their control e.g. injury/medical reasons, family temporarily moved out of the area, they were on the waiting list etc.
   6. Only in the case of Tackers, after implementing the above clauses, should there still be an excess of players, priority will be given to the oldest players up to the allowable team limits.

5. Player allocation to teams:

   1. The initial team selection at the Tackers level will be made along school/community lines.
   2. The Club will finalize the number of teams it will be fielding at each age group level in any year as soon as practical after registration day, or as required by the YJFL.
   3. The Club will advise children/parents as soon as practical the number of teams it expects to be able to field at every age group level for that coming season.

   4. In the case of two or more teams:

      1. Players will be allocated to the various teams by the registrar.
      2. As much as possible teams will retain the same players each year to facilitate “friendship groups”.
      3. The Club reserves the right to re-allocate players from one team to another in the event that some “evening up” of numbers is required to ensure the viability of one, or more, team(s) at any particular age group level.
      4. Should a child wish to be in a different team in their age group, they should endeavour to find a child in the other team who is prepared to swap with them and then inform the registrar of their request.
      5. The club will endeavour to field multiple teams at adjacent levels.

   5. Combination Teams:

      1. Should the Club have a “reasonable” number of excess players at an age group level, the Club will consult with the children/parents to establish their preparedness to play as part of a “combination team” with excess players from another Club in the local area.
      2. If there are insufficient children who are prepared to play in a “combination team” and/or the Club only has a small number of excess players and/or the Club is unable to establish a “combination team” with another Club at an age group level, then the Club will not be able to offer those excess players a game in that particular year and will advise the children/parents accordingly as soon as possible.

6. Rostering Table:

   In the case of more than 24 players being allowed to enrol in a team, the following table is provided as a guide to let the parents and children understand how many games they are likely to miss out on in that season so that they can make an informed decision as to whether they still want to play in that team. This table assumes there is a 6 person bench, ¾ of a game per player and a 16 game season.