BWPI 2009-10 Competition Rules Rules Common to both Junior & Senior Competitions BWPI CONSTITUTION AVAILABLE (CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD)

1. All players must be registered with Water Polo Queensland (QWPI).
2. All players, officials and spectators are required to adhere to the QWPI and BWPI Codes of Behaviour, the Membership Protection Policy and the Sun Safety Policy.
3. All games shall commence at the times stated in the draw.
4. Teams that are not ready to commence play at the required time shall first be warned by the referee, then penalised one goal for a period up to one minute and one goal for every thirty seconds thereafter. The penalty to be imposed shall be determined by the referee who shall advise the table officials at quarter time.
5. Competition points shall be awarded as follows:- Win - 3 points, Draw - 2 points, Loss - 1 point, Forfeit - 0 points
6. Club officials shall ensure players clearly print names on game cards. Players’ signatures must be supplied on the back of game cards. Failure to properly complete cards shall result in the offending player not being credited for that game for finals eligibility.
7. In addition to any disciplinary action commenced by the Brisbane Water Polo Assn Inc. (BWPI), the following actions shall result in the automatic forfeit of the game:
         - impersonation of another player
         - playing, then deliberately not signing the game card
         - the use of inappropriate, disrespectful terminology on the game card.
8. NO GAME (scratch or real) will commence without 2 referees. The failure to supply referees as per the programs will be penalised by the deduction of competition points.
9. Positions on the Points Table for Finals draw shall be determined by the total points. If teams are equal, then position shall be determined by the points gained from the game/s between the equal teams. If still equal, then position shall be determined by the highest difference between goals for and against. If teams are then still equal, the total goals scored when the two teams played each other will be used to determine the higher position on the table.
10. If teams have played an unequal number of games during the season, average points per game will be calculated and the team with the highest average shall be placed in the higher position on the Points Table. e.g. Team X plays 9 games and scores 25 points – points per game average is 2.78. Team Y plays 10 games and scores 26 points – points per game average is 2.60. Team X would be placed ahead of Team Y on the Points Table.
11. All protests or complaints in relation to any match conducted by the BWPI shall be submitted in writing by a Club official to the Secretary of the Association. The Management Committee shall convene the Judiciary Board in accordance with the Rules of the Association.
12. All games shall be played under FINA rules but BWPI Management Committee retains the right to modify rules, if necessary, to suit its specific competition structures.
13. Only 13 players per team can participate in any designated game.
14. In all BWPI competition games, the 'white' team (i.e. the first team mentioned in each scheduled game) must wear white caps
15. A team must have 7 players to avoid a forfeit. A team can play with 6 players till half time, but must then forfeit the game if a seventh player has not been capped. Once a player from a lower Grade or Age Group has opted to play up to avoid a forfeit, he/she cannot be replaced if another player (from the Grade/Age Group playing) arrives after the commencement of the game.
16. Starting with the 2006-07 season, Water Polo Queensland has introduced a new Blacklist system for all inter-Club (within the BWPI competitions) and inter-Association (within Queensland) player transfers. A full explanation of the system and the procedures involved are available on the BWPI website (Regulations) and the Water Polo Queensland website (Registration).
17. Notification of ‘forfeits’ in all competitions shall be made to BWPI Management Committee and the opposing Club 24 hours prior to the scheduled time for the match. From the 2007-08 season, BWPI Management Committee will be levying a penalty on the offending Clubs/teams of $100.00 for a ‘forfeit’ without notification and $50.00 for a ‘forfeit’ with notification.
18. Teams winning by ‘forfeit’ must complete a game card at the next fixture game to receive accreditation for the forfeited game.
19. Teams forfeiting three matches must show cause to the BWPI Management Committee why they should not be excluded from the competition.

THESE RULES ARE EXCLUSIVE TO THE JUNIOR COMPETITION

1. Players may play in Age Groups higher than their own Age Group but not in lower Age Groups.
2. A player may play in only one team in any one Age Group on any competition day.
3. In the Age Groups where A, B or C Divisions are offered, players may only play in one team in one Division.
4. Where a Club has entered more than one team in an Age Group/Division e.g. two teams in the U13 Age Group or two teams in the A Division of an Age Group, players may only play in one of those teams.
5. Players must have played a minimum of 50% of the games available in any one Age Division team to be eligible to play in the finals series in that Age Division team.
6. A player who has played in a State ‘A’ team (14 &U, 16 &U, 20 &U) in the current year is not permitted to play B Division in his/her Age Group for the current season, but is permitted to play B Division in higher Age Groups.
7. A player may be permitted to play for one Junior Club, other than his/her primary Club (i.e. the Club with which he/she is registered, in an Age group Division:
         - in which his/her primary Club does not field a team.
         - in which his/her primary Club does field a team but into which team the player is not selected.
         Before a player can play in accordance with this rule, both Clubs involved must inform the Management Committee of their agreement to the arrangement and the Management Committee must approve. This must be done prior to Wednesday, 21 st October - the closing date for sending all final team membership lists to the Registrar.
8. Duty Clubs for Junior competition days shall perform the following duties :
         - set up the pool for play (if necessary)
         - provide referees for the first game/s of the day
         - ensure all games commence on time
         - complete game details on competition cards for distribution to teams (if necessary)
         - ensure that nominated referees are in position to commence matches on time
         - ensure all completed cards are delivered to the Pool management at the end of play for the day (unless other arrangements have been agreed with the Registrar)
         - ensure pool surrounds are clean and all equipment is put away at the end of the day.
9. Duty Clubs may, for fund raising purposes, conduct raffles etc. during the course of the competition day.
10. Rescheduling of competition games shall not be permitted.
11. Clubs will be permitted two competition rounds (including any designated trial round) to finalise membership of all their teams in this competition and to submit team membership lists to the Registrar. Clubs must show cause why any of their teams with fewer than seven registered players in the lists submitted to BWPI Management Committee should not be withdrawn from the competition.
12. Clubs have until Wednesday, 21 st October, 2009 to send all final team membership lists to the BWPI Registrar. After that date, teams will be penalized (game forfeited) if any player plays in the incorrect Division/team of her/his Age Group.
13. BWPI Management Committee retains the right to place teams in Divisions within Age Groups where eight or more teams register in an Age Group. BWPI Management Committee will take account of the views of the Club in allotting their teams to Divisions within Age Groups.

THESE RULES ARE EXCLUSIVE TO THE SENIOR COMPETITION

1. Subject to rule number 2 below, no player shall play more than one Grade per week.
2. A Club is permitted to move two players up to a higher Grade to avoid forfeits, but the players will only be credited with the higher Grade played for finals eligibility.
3. A Club is permitted to move three players up to a higher Grade to avoid a forfeit; however, the lower Grade will then be recorded as a forfeit.
4. To be eligible for finals series, a player must have played a minimum of 50% of the games available in any Grade in different rounds.
5. A player who plays A Grade in a match shall not be permitted to play in C or X Grade in the following week.
6. A player who plays B Grade in a match shall not be permitted to play in X Grade in the following week (unless there is no C Grade offered).
7. If a player has played more than half of his/her games in the one Grade, he/she shall be graded in that Grade or higher for finals eligibility e.g. if a player has played 7 x C Grade, 3 x B Grade and 1 x A Grade, he/she will be eligible to play C Grade or higher for the finals, or if a player has played 9 x B Grade and 4 x A Grade, he/she will be eligible to play B Grade or higher in the finals.
8. If a player has played an equal number of games in two Grades, he/she shall be graded in the higher Grade for finals eligibility.
9. If the aggregate of the two lowest Grades played by any player is greater than the number of games played in the highest Grade, the player will be deemed eligible to compete in the middle or highest Grade finals series e.g. if a player has played 3 x X Grade, 3 x C Grade, 5 x B Grade, he/she will be eligible to play either B or C Grade finals.
10. A player may play in the semi-finals in only one Grade and in the grand finals in only one Grade. The finals Grade may be the same as for the semis or higher.
11. Games will not be rescheduled and must proceed according to the official program. If Clubs want this Rule relaxed to address a special case for rescheduling, the approval of the BWPI Management Committee must be obtained at least one week before the game time as shown on the official program for the competition. If rescheduling is approved:
          - the rescheduled game must be played within 2 weeks of the game time as shown on the official program;
          - arrangements must be made for refereeing and game administration to the satisfaction of the BWPI Registrar;
          - the fully completed game card must be lodged with the BWPI Registrar on or before the scheduled game as shown on the official program competition.
12. Duty Clubs (if appointed) for Senior competitions shall performthe following duties :
          - ensure all games commence on time
          - complete game details on competition cards for distribution to teams (if necessary)
          - ensure that nominated referees are in position to commence matches on time
          - deliver all completed cards to Pool Management by 5.00pm on the day following the game, unless other arrangements have been agreed with the Registrar.

Information supplied by the BWPI Website - original can be viewed here