BOWDON HOCKEY CLUB – CODE OF CONDUCT

1. OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Bowdon Hockey Club is an open membership club that is run by members for the benefit of members. Our members have rights, which must be respected, and responsibilities that they must accept. Each individual is accountable for his or her own actions. Trying to transfer the reason for your actions is not acceptable and so blaming others for wrong decisions or perceived weaknesses is not acceptable.

Our principals are participation and enjoyment for all, promotion of a team ethic, club spirit and the development of the individual player. We are committed to excellence and success through healthy competition within the club. We contest for honours at all levels.

We recognise that success is more than just winning. Whilst we aim to be very competitive, we also strive to maintain a high degree of sportsmanship. Make no mistake though, Bowdon is a very successful club and our teams win a lot of matches, but we must always be gracious in defeat.

Players should feel proud to play for Bowdon and this code of conduct is designed to engender that feeling and to support the England Hockey Code of Ethics and Behaviour. Players should familiarise themselves with this Code.

The club expects members to operate above these minimum standards which apply to all hockey members, be they playing in any game at any level, training or spectating.

The Club may instigate its disciplinary procedures against a player for any actions which contravene or are perceived to contravene this code of conduct.

2. BOWDON STANDARDS

The spirit of fair play is embedded in hockey. This is more than playing within the rules. It also incorporates the concepts of friendship and respect for others. You are expected to participate with the right spirit.
You are expected to respect the rights, dignity and worth of others and in return you can expect them to respect your rights, dignity and worth.
Whether you are playing, watching, coaching or umpiring any match, it is your personal responsibility to treat your own team, opposition players, coaches, spectators and the umpires with respect before, during and after the match.
You are expected to conduct yourself so that you protect your own safety and the safety of others.
You will never participate when under the influence of alcohol or non-prescribed drugs.
All players, but in particular players in our elite teams must make it their own personal responsibility to make themselves familiar with rules governing the use of banned performance enhancing drugs, whether they be prescribed of not.
Promote the reputation of the sport and take all possible steps to prevent it from being brought into disrepute.
Accept success and failure, victory and defeat, with dignity.
Set a positive example.
Protect others involved in the game from verbal or physical abuse and threatening or intimidating behaviour.
Subscriptions to the main club must be paid on time as laid down in the club rules.
No matter what the result, always shake hands with Opponents and Umpires at the end of a game. At Bowdon the team Captain offers three cheers for the opposition at the end of the game. You are expected to support this.
Note that abuse of any kind will not be tolerated by the club. Unprovoked aggression, intimidation and verbal abuse are not acceptable at Bowdon.
If any member feels that they have been abused in any of the above ways by another club member or a player or official from another club or organisation then they must contact any team captain or a member of the management committee as soon as possible.

3. UMPIRES

We recognise that our game cannot take place without the umpires. Abuse of an umpire will not be tolerated. Only the Team Captains should discuss decisions with Umpires during a game.
We encourage positive discussion between the all players and the umpires in the bar.
We expect umpires to be treated with respect before, during and after the game.

4. SOCIAL MEDIA

The Club recognises that many forms of Social Media are now used for communication purposes.
Players are reminded that what they consider to be ‘private’ communications between friends and team mates may well reach a wider audience and have consequences for the repuation of the Club
The club will not tolerate any social media posts which may be considered abusive (including but not limited to: gender, disability, race and ethnicity, religion or beliefs and sexual orientation). Nor will the Club tolerate any social media posts targeted at other clubs in general which may be construed as abusive or derogatory, or bring the Club into disrepute.

5. DISCIPLINE and CARDS

• If for any reason a player is sent off with a yellow or green card they should leave the pitch quickly and under control, so that the game can be restarted without undue delay. You are required to stay in the area designated by the umpire and sit or stand quietly. Team Captains or Managers must record details of cards given in a game and report them to the Hockey Club Secretary ([email protected]) within 48 hours of the card being awarded.

For all players we will follow the National League standards for suspension for accumulation of Yellow cards.
- ▪ 4 yellow cards in a season = 1 match suspension
- ▪ 2 further yellow cards in the same season = 1 further match suspension
- ▪ 2 further yellow cards in the same season = 1 further match suspension for each further yellow card
The penalty for a red card will be at least those as imposed by England Hockey. For a Red Card that is given for two technical offences, the club will not normally take any further action than the EH standard. However, in the case of a ‘straight’ Red Card for Abuse/Obscene Language/Violence the the player in question will be asked to attend a Disciplinary Committee hearing and the suspension imposed by England Hockey may be increased by 100%. In the event of a player wishing to appeal the EH ruling they must fund this appeal in its entirety. A player who wishes the appeal the decision of the Disciplinary Committee must follow the guidelines laid down in the Disciplinary Procedure.
For many years Bowdon Hockey Club has traditionally had an excellent disciplinary record. Anyone who undermines this risks their future with the club.
The Club reserves the right to demote or suspend serial offenders who bring the club into disrepute. In extreme cases the Disciplinary Committee reserves the right to ask the Bowdon Club Council to terminate or suspend the membership of the offender.The Club reserves the right to instigate a Disciplinary Committee hearing at any time to address a contravention or perceived contravention of the Code of Conduct.

6. PRE- MATCH

We inform players of their selection by email sent from Clubbuzz. Your team captain/manager may back this up using text, email or WhatsApp. Confirmation of your availability should be made by return otherwise you will jeopardise your place in the team. On match days you should arrive at the meeting point on time. It is your responsibility to make personal contact with the team captain or coach if you think you are going to be late. It is your responsibility to have the correct mobile/email contact with the team captain or coach. Simply sending a message and not making sure it is received is not good enough.
The club colours are Red/Black halved shirt, Black shorts and Black socks with red tops, with a change strip of White shirts, Black shorts and Red socks. The club have nominated Y1 as the supplier for all elements of the kit. The club will always try and ensure that members receive best value when choosing kit suppliers.

7. DURING THE GAME

The Captain / Coach is responsible for the conduct of their team for the duration of the game.
A team can consist of 16 players; hence rolling substitutions should be expected. Whilst off the pitch wear a different colour top from your playing strip. Only warm up (no ball and stick) on your side of the team/bench area, not in front of any opposition bench or that half of the pitch.
Substituted players are expected to act with dignity, and to contribute to the team’s efforts by encouraging their team-mates. Hockey is a high intensity game and you will need a rest to recover from fatigue or a temporary injury. Ask to be substituted and this will be good for you and the team.
Listen to the Captain and/or Coach’s team talks as they have a few minutes to put over their points across and game plan. Do not interrupt or start rival conversations.
Don’t criticise or remonstrate with your team-mates – every player has off days, it could be you next week, therefore encourage and support. Even Captains, Coaches and umpires have off days.
Remember that positive encouraging comments are motivational.

8. SUBSCRIPTIONS & MATCH FEES

• It is each player’s personal responsibility (or the responsibility of a parent/guardian) to ensure that their Bowdon Club subscription and hockey match fees are paid promptly when due. Failure to do may mean that the player is not selected until the correct fees are paid. Subscriptions and match fees are collected by direct debit, so it is the player’s responsibility to ensure that the Club is provided with the correct bank details for the collection of fees.

9. SPECTATORS

Parents, ex and current players, friends and others are always welcome to attend matches.
Spectators must show respect for your team’s opponents and the umpires. We remind everyone that without umpires there would be no game. Respect the umpires’ decisions and positively support your own team and remember nobody makes a mistake deliberately.
Reported verbal or physical abuse to umpires or players of either team by a Bowdon club member will treated as if the club member was involved in the game as a player.

10. POST GAME

Warm down and stay together as a team regardless of the result. Clear any dug outs quickly to allow the next game to start.Make sure you take all your kit and put rubbish in the bins when you leave the pitch.
Do not approach the umpires and opponents on the pitch immediately after the game in an aggressive or abusive manner.
At the end of the game always thank the umpires and shake hands with your opponents.
Make every effort to socialise after the game. This is the best time to seek clarification with umpires as mentioned earlier. Try speaking to members of the other team; you make good friends that way.
You may have certain jobs, delegated to you, e.g. looking after practice balls, putting out/taking in the flags etc. At home games one Bowdon team may be appointed as a “duty team”, helping clear glasses and plates from the club house and organising the club match day raffle. Players are expected to accept this role.

11. TRAINING

Serious contenders for progression up the team are expected to attend training regularly. Training helps with fitness but primarily is designed to improve skills, develop team spirit and to practice set pieces. The player who trains will, all other things being equal, be given precedence over the player who does not train.

12. GENERAL

There is a lot of responsibility spread around a small number of people. We need members to step up and maybe only do a small job. We have always got room for another volunteer even if it’s only one hour a week.
Finally, people play hockey for a variety of reasons and have different views, aims and ambitions – please respect these. Enjoy yourself – that’s why we play. We want to enjoy ourselves, we want to win – but we also want to win fairly.

Bowdon Hockey Club Management Committee – February 2022