ST. GEORGE DISTRICT NETBALL ASSOCIATION INC.
MINUTES OF THE DOMESTIC FORUM
Held on Wednesday 19 August 2015
at Club Rivers, 32 Littleton St. Riverwood commencing at 7:00pm
___________________________________________________________________
CHAIR: Hayley Vizzone
PRESENT:
Executive
Hayley Vizzone
Barbara Hay
Tawhi Tua
Club Representatives
Justin Bevan (Arn. Scots)
Robert Folwell (Arn. Scots)
Julie Spika (Kardinia)
Deb Cummins (St. Ursulas)
Helen Goldsmith (St. Ursulas)
Ana Lewis (Tu Kaha)
MINUTES: Lara Mina
Lara Mina
Robyn Ellis
Kristy Lane (Arn. Scots)
Alex Fraser (Kardinia)
Carol Bresnahan (Oatley RSL)
Emily Togher (St. Ursulas)
Tamlyn Holtz (Tu Kaha)
Kelly Holtz (Tu Kaha)
The Chair declared the meeting open at 7:01pm
1.
PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS
Introduction from Chair and apologies that the President was unable to be present.
Updated agenda on website due to late submissions. The minutes are being recorded.
2.
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION
a.
Wet Weather – decision to be made by Executive if games are to be stopped
Chair: As the President was not present, the floor was given to St. Ursulas.
St. Ursulas: This refers to when a decision regarding wet weather is required during a
game. At the time, it was left to the umpires to decide if it was safe for the game to
continue. Two games continued and one game was stopped. The decision should be
consistent as this then throws out the for and against.
The Association should give consideration when there are split decisions because there
are no wet weather days. Consider points being given out to even out games played and
points awarded.
Junior Competition Co-ordinator: This occurred during an S5 game. The Association left
the decision to the umpires. It was up to the umpires to access their duty of care to the
players. Teams were happy with this decision. The Association also has a duty of care to
all.
Action: St. Uruslas to raise an amendment to the existing wet weather policy.
b.
Coffee
Chair: As the President was not present, the Chair gave the floor to those present to
provide feedback about Pure Bean coffee.
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St. Ursulas: We need to have coffee available at the Association. I was disappointed that
we got rid of the coffee van. The coffee didn’t start too well but got better throughout the
season.
Chair: If the coffee is no good, then we need to rethink this at Executive level.
Tu Kaha: The hot chocolate was good.
Action: Further discussion to be had at Executive level.
c.
Grass courts
Chair: As the President was not present, the Chair gave the floor to those present to
provide feedback about the grass courts.
St. Ursulas: The goal posts are dodgy.
Junior Competition Co-ordinator: There are issues with goal posts being rusted.
Action: The Executive are very aware of these concerns. Members of the Executive have
raised this with Rockdale Council and the Member for Oatley for funding. We will continue
to source grants to replace the existing goal posts and consider recommendations from
the Finance Committee.
d.
Tribunal make up / processes
Chair: As the Senior Vice President was not present, the floor was given to St. Ursulas.
St. Ursulas: To follow on from the discussion regarding tribunals at the last Council
Meeting, we feel that there should be a level prior to taking a complaint to a hearing. This
should involve a discussion and an assessment of the complaint to determine the severity
and process. If it is a serious complaint, then it should proceed to a tribunal hearing. This
only occurred during a tribunal.
Chair: Club Executive should support their members to make complaints. They should
assist them to complete the Incident Report Form and ensure areas of the form are
covered and that the content is factual and non-emotive.
St. Ursulas: We would also like to know in this assessment what to expect as a support
person and as the complainant.
Chair: A screening process may be needed. This could also lessen the case if facts are
not presented. I agree that Clubs should assist their members during the complaints
process and agree that things can also be mitigated at Club level. A policy does exist for
complaints handling and we are in the process of review our policies and procedures.
Tu Kaha: Things may also be subjective.
Action: Incident Report Forms to be countersigned by Club Executive.
There will be a deadline on timeframes regarding the complaints process.
Tribunal hearings to be scheduled midweek.
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e.
NetSetGO / 9s and 10s competition
St. Ursulas: Older players playing NetSetGO should be playing competition. We
understand that some are in their first year of playing netball but we need to consider the
age bracket for these players. We agree that NetSetGO is a grassroots program and think
it should be available to players.
We encourage our 9s and 10s to play up if possible. This year we had a lot of NetSetGO
teams. This year’s 9s in NetSetGO will go up to competition next year and the number of
teams should increase.
We believe that players only need one (1) year in NetSetGO and suggest they move to
competition. If they have not participated in NetSetGO previously and are turning 10, then
yes, we would support them in NetSetGO, however if they have played NetSetGO for two
years, they should move to competition. We also encourage our 9s to play competition.
Tu Kaha: Our discussion is along the same lines. Previously we have 11 teams in 9s and
this year we have six (6). There should have been a 9B division as there were six (6)
teams of varying ability. 9s and 10s should play competition. We believe that 7s and 8s
should also play competition and consider how this might make us stronger? We need to
tailor our competition to want the Association wants or needs. Do we need to offer
NetSetGO? Are we going to retain these players? They can play competition and are
registered as a NetSetGO player in MyNetball and play NetSetGO fees. We are no better
off if teams are not moving on from NetSetGO.
Junior Competition Co-ordinator: Any player up to the age of 10 years is entitled to play
NetSetGO. For new players within the 7 – 10 years age group, they are offered either
competition or NetSetGO. I have observed a height difference in those players staying
back in NetSetGO who are 10. If they had played previously they would have been
encouraged to move to competition.
In fact, there weren’t that many players. It will be a case-by-case basis as registrations
come in. We may not always have the numbers. NetSetGO Black and White were
primarily made up of seven (7) year olds. There were three (3) divisions of NetSetGO this
year. Players need to be to turning seven (7) to participate in the NetSetGO skills and
game aspect. NetSetGO is for players aged 5 – 7 years. This works similarly for 17 year
olds playing in Seniors but playing Junior fees. This is the first competitive sport most of
these players have played. Parents want players to have the fundamental skills.
The 9s team that won the Oatley RSL Trophy for highest goal average had a goal average
of over 1000%. I have recommended that this team go up to 11s. In the 9s the junior
grading committee would not have been able to determine this.
Tu Kaha: Our 9s team is young and wouldn’t have been competitive against the Titans
team. We should have more teams next year in the 9s from those moving up from
NetSetGO. If we don’t get them at age seven (7), we don’t get them. We want to ensure
that Clubs are on the same page.
Junior Competition Co-ordinator: The junior grading committee didn’t get the teams for the
9s. During the grading review teams have been moved up as appropriate. In the 9s we
had two (2) teams of 7s. It would assist the grading process if the playing history were
available for these players.
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Senior Representative Co-ordinator: Netball Australia developed NetSetGO as their
grassroots program. It is up to the parents to determine where they feel the player is
capable of playing. Most Kyle Bay players will go into 9s competition. One player had
played NetSetGO before but her parents wanted her to stay in the program. Another
player requested NetSetGO although she was eligible to play competition.
Chair: To clarify, any child turning nine (9) is recommended to play competition. The
Association oversees the Dragonettes program (5 – 6 yrs) and NetSetGO is offered
through the Clubs. We think that we will see peaks and troughs in registrations. If parents
are informed about what a particular program can offer their child, they tend to opt for that.
Action: No resolution by good discussion.
Memorandum of Understanding pertaining to registration of players aged nine (9) and 10
and the programs they can access to be developed across all Clubs.
f.
Age divisions – 9s, 10s, 11s, 12/13s, 14/15s
St. Uruslas: A policy was carried last year to reflect single age divisions. We note that
there were six (6) teams in the 9s. We feel that it decimated the 16s. We feel that Div. 1
should be the premier junior division. This year many of the 15s and 15 Representatives
played up in Seniors.
We feel that players should be graded into four (4) grades (A, B, C, D where possible).
There should be one (1) division of 16s. In previous years we combined age groups which
allowed us to grade players within that group dependant on their ability. We would like to
see 16s go back to Seniors. In the 15/16s all strong players should be graded in the A
grade or moved to Seniors. There were some discrepancies regarding scores in the Semi
Finals. By having stand-alone age groups we scattered the ability and strength of the
division.
At St. Ursulas, we would like the junior competition to return to combined age divisions. If
we only have 6 x 10s teams they could stay down in 2016. We consider it from a school
age perspective and then consider the player’s ability. We had three (3) tiers in the 14/15s.
The 15s struggled this year. The 14s were OK. Again we would like 16s to go back to
Seniors. Perhaps we can consider a Cadet division for them whereby they could play
against players of a similar age. We feel that it would be good for these players to go to
Seniors as the overall Senior competition needs to increase in numbers.
We struggled to get 10s and graded them in A or B. Combined age groups will put players
in one group. We have discussed this proposal with the Junior Competition Co-ordinator
with Div. 1 being the premier division of the junior competition. Our Falcons went up to S2
when they generally would’ve been in Div. 1. What do other Clubs think?
Div. 1 should be an A grade division. Playing Junior Representative players up took
players away from the competition. If they had stayed, it would’ve been a very strong Div.
1. We don’t see the benefits of this. I see my role in grading my Club players as ensuring
there is a place for the C and D grade players and we need to know this information before
we grade.
With combined age divisions, representative players still have the opportunity to move up
to Seniors. It is up to the Club to grade their own teams.
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Secretary: We used to have a Cadet division consisting of players aged 16 – 22. This
assisted in their transition from Junior competition to Senior competition. This technically
still exists. These players made up the S2 division this year.
St. Ursulas: We would like to see a Cadet division re-established for players aged 16 – 18.
We acknowledge that guidelines would need to be established around the grading of this
division. If we look at 15s and they go to 16s next year and mix with the 17s. We don’t
need to give them a name. It’s not going to be a strong Div. 1.
St. Ursulas is a school based Club. We don’t think a number of teams will come back next
year. A few of them got flogged this year. If we can cater for them, we may be able to keep
them. We need to be flexible and agree it is better to keep some of the age groups
combined.
The rationale wanted an even number of teams but it didn’t work out that way. We lost
teams and only have one (1) division of 16s. We could have 26 teams next year.
Arncliffe Scots: We found the single age groups difficult. We often had too many players
for one (1) team but not enough for a second team.
Junior Competition Co-ordinator: We lost three (3) divisions in 2015. We decreased from
18 divisions to 15. There has been a lot of discussion. The junior grading committee didn’t
think that there was a 15A grade that was strong enough and two (2) teams were moved
to S2 to give them experience. The 16s only had one (1) team, which was a bottom A
grade team. This year’s Div. 1 was the equivalent of B/C grade. Div. 2 was 15B/C, Div. 3
was 15C/D.
My voting on single age divisions, Clubs lost A Grade. The 14s had an A Grade which
considered of players aged 12 and 13 which was much of a muchness. In terms of the 14
– 16s their ability was similar. Competition was fairer last year than this year. S2 was 14 –
25 years this year. If we had left the 14s in the junior competition, the top four (4) would
have been determined very early on.
We had these players in S6 a number of years ago as a transition year. When we set an
age limit for Cadets, it does not restrict them from playing in other divisions within the
Senior competition and people complained.
In terms of guidelines, these should be left to the discretion of the relevant grading
committee. Junior teams are not easy to grade. We like to see flexibility in grades. We
want Clubs to be honest about where you want your teams to be graded. The information
provided at the time of grading is not always accurate. We can verify this information
through MyNetball over the last two (2) years. MyNetball will capture all new and exited
players.
We have trialled the current format for grading; it is up to Clubs to think about what they
want.
Senior Representative Co-ordinator: There were three (3) x A grade teams and the rest
were C grade. Stand alone age groups was difficult. At Kyle Bay, representatives always
play up an age group. Some Clubs don’t have players of a certain ability to make a
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particular graded team. Representative players also want to play with their preferred Club
and they should not be penalised if they want to say. We can’t force the issue with
combined age groups.
Chair: We lose players at 15/16 and there is limited in between. Strong or not, we need to
accommodate for all players so that it will be enjoyable for them. Would combined age
groups give Clubs more flexibility with grading? Do we need a points system? There
appears to be a mutual understanding between some of the Clubs.
Tu Kaha: We feel that we should consider the ability of players (past a certain age) not
age. We need to understand that young players need structure. It was noticeable having
junior representative players play up in the next age group. This may not be the way
forward. We can consider combined division not age groups. If a team has more
representative players, that team should go up.
Does this then weaken the 12s and 13s? Our 12s should be able to handle playing in the
13s. We had to play them in the 14s because we had representative players in the 12s
and 13s. Clubs need to determine grading. Was it difficult? The policy was written with
more teams and more divisions.
Kardinia: We had our 15/16s playing in S4. When this team had to play the top teams, they
were terrified. We like the idea of having a Cadets division. Does grading take into account
losing players?
Senior Competition Co-ordinator: Representative coaches complain when their players are
playing S1. Only two teams moved during regrading. Every other team was graded where
they were supposed to be.
Action: The creation of a Cadet division will be at the discretion of the relevant grading
committee.
Clubs to consider the preferred method of junior grading for their teams.
g.
Bread rolls
Tu Kaha: Following discussion at the previous Council Meeting, we would like the
Association to allow Clubs to purchase their own supplies for the BBQ at different costs.
The quality of the bread rolls is not consistent. Some are fresh, some are not. Rockdale
raised the question of supply. Perhaps we can consider a different supplier for the bread
rolls. Perhaps Bresnahans are not aware of the quality.
St. Ursulas: We have purchased bread rolls from Denny’s at Bexley for other fundraising
events and have been very happy with the quality.
Action: Clubs to submit quotes for BBQ supplies and rolls.
h.
Umpiring
Tu Kaha: We felt the main source of complaints leading to a tribunal hearing came from
umpires. Clubs are required to support their umpires. We are not sure about the Umpires
Co-ordinator’s plans and how to move forward with this in 2016? We want to support and
protect our junior umpires. This links back to the discussion about complaints handling.
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Our Clubs needs umpire support in 2016 so we can grow. If umpires do not feel confident,
they need to send for an Executive member. Think about it and bring it back to policy.
We would like to see umpires to advise teams about their expectations prior to the game.
Chair: Is a hearing the place to hear issues regarding umpire dissatisfaction and quality?
Further umpire education is required. Without umpires we don’t play and we need Clubs to
enforce this amongst their members.
Kardinia: I know that Ramsgate RSL had an information session with umpires. They
explained the rules of the game. If each Club did that, it would inform Clubs about the
game and understanding about umpire allocation.
St. Ursulas: We have our Nat. Cs out there to support our developing umpires. This
responsibility is delegated through the Club. We agree that it comes back to the
complaints process which needs to go back to the Club. The Umpires Committee does a
good job of monitoring umpires through allocations and supporting the transition from
junior to senior games.
Arncliffe Scots: This needs to start from Day 1 as a new umpire. We have a Nat. Cs that
supports our new umpires.
Action: Umpire Q&A to be included in the St. George calendar. Two sessions to be held
each year.
i.
Facebook
Tu Kaha: We would like to see Facebook used more to communicate with our
membership. Links are easy to share and the website is hard to navigate.
Action: More information to be shared on Facebook
j.
Crowd control – identifiable vests for team representatives
St. Ursulas: We would like Clubs to manage issues on the court before escalating issues
to the Executive. This method is used in football (soccer) and has worked well and it could
work well in netball. Each team nominates a person to wear a coloured vest. This person
can approach spectators if there are issues. They will be the go-to person for the duration
of the game. It is about the managing situation and reducing the number of complaints.
Parents need to be supportive of new umpires.
Tu Kaha: We can address complaints there and then before going to a tribunal and there
needs to be consequences. If things are aligned with processes than we should be able to
minimise issues. Fines should also be increased.
Some juniors are not suited to umpiring and other umpires need support. We feel that we
shouldn’t push umpires to umpire if they are not ready. There are a lot of expectations of
junior umpires from various stakeholders.
Chair: How would teams nominate their team representative? Why could this not be the
team manager? Clubs should know if their umpires need support and this comes back to
grassroots development.
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Kardinia: The team representative may be a target if they are wearing a vest.
Secretary: How do Clubs support umpires that may not get a classification first go?
Action: Clubs to issue Code of Conduct to members. Clubs to take responsibility for
developing junior umpires.
3. GENERAL BUSINESS
a.
Finances
Tu Kaha: There is no visibility of finances. There needs to be is financial statement
presented to Council at every Council Meeting. Every Executive member needs to supply
a financial report to be included in the minutes. There needs to be transparency.
b.
Canteen
Tu Kaha: Who runs the canteen? What record do we have of this?
c.
Fines
Tu Kaha: We would like to see fines increase and those issues, paid prior to the next
game of play.
Chair: Fines are issues via the Co-ordinator to the Treasurer. It is the Treasurer’s
responsibility to follow up on fines, invoices etc.
d.
Website
Tu Kaha: There needs to be a back up Website Co-ordinator to ensure that information is
correct and available. Facebook is another portal for information.
Secretary: Shares on Facebook do not necessarily have to come through the Executive.
e.
Executive roles
Tu Kaha: Executive should be aware of any umpiring issues. We also want to know what
Executive is on duty of a Saturday. We would like to see a photo board of Executive as
this would give more visibility to the membership.
f.
Admin person
Tu Kaha: We feel a paid admin person should be appointed to take the pressure off
Executive. This person could take minutes. This should be considered for 2016.
Secretary: This has been discussed at Executive. The outcome of discussion was that
Executive members were to consider their role and consider what could be offset to a paid
administrative person. This information was not forthcoming.
Action: Discussion to be taken back to Executive for action.
g.
Grades Players are Eligible to Play Up Into
Tu Kaha: This should be done at the same time as grading.
Junior Competition Co-ordinator: This year two (2) different committees are list the
recommendation weren’t developed at grading.
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h.
Annual General Meeting (AGM)
Tu Kaha: Nominee for Executive positions should be present at the AGM and be prepared
to take questions from the floor. If they cannot come to meetings, why do they want to
come on the Executive and perform a role?
Secretary: This needs to be considered at the AGM and perhaps a change of constitution
is required.
Chair: Reasonable circumstances need to be considered for a vacancy. What is the
alternative?
i.
Photo ID Cards
Tu Kaha: We would like to know if there is an update on photo ID cards?
Secretary: Email was read from Netball NSW regarding the status of ID cards. At this
stage they are not available.
Action: Junior Competition Co-ordinator to follow up with Netball NSW and Oatley RSL
soccer.
The Chair declared the forum closed at 8:53pm.
Lara Mina
Secretary
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