Arnold Civil Defence A vs BCI Braves (24/11/09)

[gary spencer]

arnold A had no game as the BCI  Braves did not turn up, made a phone call to bci to check if there wasa game but they had no team available.

[Steve Butler]

BCI Braves captain Paul Bradley sent me an email last night (Monday) at 10.16pm saying:

I have just been down to BCI to find that half of my players will be missing for tomorrows game against Arnold. Please could you let them know as i can't find any contact details on the website. I know its short notice to cancel but its out of my control.

I sent one back (which I copied in to Gary Spencer and Alan Cunningham) saying:

I can't allow a postponement I'm afraid because rule B. 11 states that you have to inform me before 8pm (see below).

With 4 players you can send 2 away and keep 2 at home and still potentially draw the match 4-4.  With 5 players you can have 2 at one venue and 3 at the other and potentially win 6-2.  If you don't play at all tomorrow you will lose the match 8-0 and incur 2 penalty points (see rule B. 12 below).

Whatever you decide, please let Gary Spencer know how many players you will have at each venue, particularly if you decide not to send anyone away.  Gary's phone number is 07*** ******.

RULES
11. If a team needs to postpone a match the team captain or another member of the team must inform the League Secretary by 8pm on the day before the match. The Secretary will then contact the opposing team's captain to inform them and try to make arrangements for the match to be rescheduled.

12. If a team captain fails to notify the secretary of a postponement 24 hours prior to the match and his team then fails to fulfill their fixture, the match will be awarded 8-0 to the opposing team. The offending team will also have 2 points deducted from their points tally as a penalty.


I understand that nobody from Paul's team phoned Gary to let him know and Gary had to phone BCI to find out if they were playing anybody.

In line with the rules, the match is awarded to Arnold 8-0 and BCI will incur 2 penalty points.

[Paul Bradley]

The reason i didn't phone Gary was because i didn't have his number on Monday night. Steves email was sent to me on Tuesday on which i was working in London and didn't have access to a PC. I have since spoken to Gary Spencer to explain that we didn't have a full team and he fully understands. I don't normally look at these forums but it seems me and my team have been made to look like idiots and that we just turn up when we want. This is why i'm on here explaining myself so everyone can see our side of the story.

[Steve Butler]

Paul,

Nobody is trying to make you or your team look like idiots.

The reason I posted the contents of our emails on the forum is so that Arnold's competitors, ie. Pegasus, Beeston and BCI Super Elites are clear on why Arnold would have to be awarded the match 8-0.  Nobody wants to see matches awarded because it unfairly benefits the opposition.

I had to award the match to Arnold because that is what the rules say.  I do not make the rules on my own, they are voted on at the AGM and I have to ensure that they are abided by.  You have to bear in mind that some players book time off work to play in matches (me included) and some others (eg. Stephen Lally) have to employ extra staff to cover so that they can play in the matches.  A lot of people actually think that more than 24 hours notice should be given to postpone a match for this very reason, however that is what was decided - the secretary must be informed of a postponement at least 24 hours before the match.  This is so that I can contact the opposition captain in plenty of time for him to contact all his players and inform them that there is no match.  This can be very difficult to do after 8pm at night because people may be working a night shift or be in bed ready for an early start the next morning and before you know it they are coming straight from bed/work to the club to play their match only to find out they don't have a game.

I fully understand that you did not find out you would have players missing until quite late on the Monday, however you still had some players available and could still have played the match with those players, like I said in my email.  The fact that you did not get my email until the Tuesday is not exactly my fault.  You sent me yours at 10.16 pm.  I was out until late playing for Carlton Liberal Club on the Monday and didn't get home until 11pm.  I read your email when I got home and sent you the reply at 11.32pm.  I know that you tried to phone me at 9.56pm on the Monday but my phone was switched off as I was playing in the match.  I did however have my phone switched on up until 8pm, like I always do on a Monday night just in case anyone needs to postpone.

What's happened has happened.  Let's move on now.  All everyone wants is for as many teams and players as possible to be playing in the Nottingham leagues.  It can be difficult captaining a team at times but it can also be very rewarding when things start falling into place and the results start coming.  So keep up the hard work and keep sending in those results.  It would also be great if you could submit some match reports on here so that they can be printed in Ballsmania and the Evening Post.



I am planning a Captains Cup soon which will be open to all team captains as a bit of a reward for their hard work.  It will probably be a doubles competition (oh no!) so that captains can also involve another player who they feels deserves it.  Watch this space!

[Robert Wright]

Quote from Pbrado:- I don't normally look at these forums.
Well! I suggest that you do in future as there is so much info on these sites. I don't think you were purposely made to look idiots. Gary Spencer wouldn't do that to anybody (except me probibly). I don't think that any team "just turns up when they want to". I never have any problems with your team in the institutes. You might like post your results a little earlier if you can, but that's not a problem as such.

[Robert Wright]

i echo everything that Steve has put in his post. It's good for the game if we all get along with each other. Unfortunately rules is rules and we all have to follow them. The only way to change things is to attend AGM's and propose rule changes.

[Paul Bradley]

Not blaming you Steve about the email - infact i'm not blaming anybody. My point was that i thought it was worded badly why we didn't turn up. Other players in our team have said the same. I knew that the match would be given to Arnold but as i said in my email it was out of my control that we had so many players who wouldn't be able to make the match. And Bob, i look at the website but not the forums - forums seem to get very bitchy in my opinion.

[Robert Wright]

Hi Paul
Yes they can get a little heated at times, but if you ignore that and look for the good bits of info on them it can be quite good. Pleased to see that you are looking at the websites. If you look at the 2009/10 season you will see the ranking lists for both divisions on there. If you put your results and players scores on the "submit results" button they will be added to the list. All the best for the rest of the season. Good result in the cup. Bob