Conduct in Sport Policy
The following conduct in sport policy applies to all members, coaches, spectators and guests in any activity related to of Galloway Cricket Club, including matches, training, friendlies and social events at the ground and at ‘away’ venues. ‘Sport’ refers to activities listed above related to Galloway Cricket Club.
Player discipline is also covered with Cricket Scotland Code of Conduct in conjunction with this policy and Western District Cricket Union Code of Conduct Documents. Cricket Scotland’s code of conduct can be found here. WDCU code of conduct can be found here
1. MAINTENANCE OF APPROPRIATE CONDUCT
a) The Club Committee is the authoritative body in respect of conduct within the Club and shall take whatever measures are required to maintain an acceptable standard of behaviour and impose appropriate penalties.
b) A Conduct in Sport Panel shall be appointed by the Club Committee and will deal promptly with any complaint or incident.
2. CODE OF CONDUCT
a) All players, officials, members and supporters/spectators are bound by the Club Code of Conduct and shall conduct themselves accordingly.
b) All members are expected to have read and agree to code of conduct when becoming or renewing their membership.
· Repeated infringements of the Spirit of the Game where each infringement in itself might not merit any immediate conduct in sport action. Such instances will result in a Conduct Hearing.
3. WHAT CONSTITUTES A CONCERN?
The key is that the person concerned views any comments, actions or behaviour as offensive, demeaning, disrespectful or unacceptable. It does not need to be face to face but can occur in writing, by telephone, text message, email or use of social media. It may be an isolated event or number of incidents, which was not meant intentionally to cause upset or distress.
3. RESPONSIBILITY FOR MAINTAINING CONDUCT
a) Club
The Club has the overall responsibility for the behaviour of its members, spectators and visitors and for maintaining appropriate conduct.
b) Captains
The Captain and, in the case of junior teams the Development Officer, is responsible at all times for ensuring that play is conducted within the spirit of the game as well as within the laws. The Captain or Development Officer can instruct a player to leave the field of play and take no further part in the game or make a complaint against a player after the game to the Galloway Cricket Club Secretary. Failure to take suitable action against an offender may render the Captain or Development Officer liable to a charge of ‘Unsatisfactory Conduct’.
4. ACTION TO BE TAKEN FOLLOWING AN INCIDENT
In the event of an incident occurring and being reported to the club, Galloway Cricket Club will instigate an investigation and take appropriate action against offenders, irrespective of whether the incident has been reported to the League. The Captain, Development Officer or officials of Galloway Cricket Club should forward any complaint against any member or participant by the umpires, opposition or spectators to the Galloway Cricket Club Secretary as soon as possible.
5. PLAYERS
a) Outstanding Disciplinary or Conduct Action
1. No player who is currently under suspension or involved in uncompleted disciplinary or conduct action imposed by WDCU league or member club of another other league may play in matches for Galloway Cricket Club.
2. Galloway Cricket Club must endeavour to check the disciplinary/conduct record of any player whom they intend to sign from another club.
3. Galloway Cricket Club may refuse to register any player until the Club is satisfied that the player’s disciplinary or conduct status is acceptable.
6. REPORTING AN INCIDENT
a) Any complaint about incidents of misconduct or improper behaviour must be notified in writing to no later than five days following the incident. Any complaints reported outside this time will only be accepted in exceptional circumstances and at the discretion of the Club Chair. The complaint should be supported with evidence, where possible.
b) Upon receipt of such a complaint, the Club Secretary shall send acknowledgement of receipt of complaint within 5 working days. Acknowledgement of the complaint will also be sent to the respondent.
c) The complaint will be reviewed by the Conduct in Sport Chair, who will be appointed by the Club Chair and the appointment of this person will depend on the nature and context of the complaint.
7. DECISION MAKING
Following a receipt of a complaint the Conduct in Sport Chair will consider what action is required depending on the significance of the complaint,
a) If the Conduct in Sport Chair decides no action is required, they will write to the complainer detailing the reasons behind their decision.
b) If the Conduct in Sport Chair decides that the complaint requires action, they will initiate a Conduct Hearing to investigate the complaint.
c) The Conduct in Sport Chair will also review whether the matter requires referral onto League disciplinary/conduct process or Cricket Scotland dependent on the nature of the complaint. Advice can be sought from WDCU and CS by the Conduct in Sport chair as required to make this decision. If the decision is to refer on, the respondent and complainant will be informed of this. This process and those of WDCU and Cricket Scotland may run in parallel.
c) The member(s) will be invited to a hearing and will be provided with details of the complaint and any supporting evidence. When considering the complaint, the Conduct in Sport Chair will consider seriously any behaviour that impacts the members having the ability to enjoy their sport in an environment free from threat of intimidation, harassment, and abuse as well as physical damage to the Club’s property.
8. CONVENING A CONDUCT HEARING
The Club shall convene a Conduct Hearing within 14 days of receipt of the complaint and shall notify the Complainant and the Respondent of the date, if the incident occurred on the field of play then the Captain or development officer shall also be notified. It is the responsibility of the Complainant and the Respondent to present evidence, including arranging the attendance of witnesses, at the Conduct Hearing. The Galloway Cricket Club Conduct Committee can decide to proceed with matters in the non-attendance of a player unless a valid reason is given. Depending on seriousness of complaint, consideration should be given to notifying the Western District Cricket Union and Cricket Scotland.
9. CONDUCT HEARING
a) The hearing is not a Court of Law but an enquiry into the circumstances giving rise to the complaint. No legal representation will be allowed. The Conduct Committee shall comprise of three members of the Cricket Committee. The Chair shall appoint one of the members to make a written note of the Conduct Hearing. The decision, penalty and other matters arising for determination at the Conduct Hearing shall be on the basis of a simple majority vote. In the event of a split decision, the Chair shall have the casting vote.
b) No person who is connected or involved in any way with the complaint, such as a witness, shall be involved in convening or officiating at the Conduct Hearing or on an Appeal.
c) The decision of the Conduct Committee shall be given at the meeting, will be confirmed in writing as soon as possible thereafter by the Club Secretary and will be put into effect at the date thereof subject to any possible appeal. In the event of an appeal being lodged, the penalty shall be suspended until determination. No further discussion or submissions will be taken at the meeting.
d) The Chair shall determine the conduct of the hearing which shall be in accordance with the procedures laid down hereafter.
10. PENALTIES
The Conduct Committee shall impose such penalties as they consider appropriate. Galloway Cricket Club Conduct Committee has the power to:
· Recommend the Galloway Cricket Club Cricket Committee should dismiss the member.
· Suspend the member for a number of games depending on the seriousness of the incident.
· Give the member a written warning about their future conduct.
The Galloway Cricket Club Conduct Committee can reserve the right to take into account the conduct of a player during the three previous seasons.
· If the respondent is a non-playing member, spectator or other non-member of the club, penalties may include:
· Written warning about future contact.
· Exclusions from the ground, clubhouse or events organised by the club for a specified period.
11. APPEAL PROCEDURE
a) The Complainant and the Respondent may appeal the decision of the Conduct Committee providing new evidence is forthcoming. The Club Secretary must receive new evidence in writing to enable the Conduct Committee to decide if an appeal is warranted. If not warranted, the decision is final. If warranted, the Secretary should set a date for an appeal as soon as possible. An appeal against the decision of the Conduct Committee shall be given in writing, setting out the reasons thereof, and must be received by the Club Secretary no later than seven days from the date of the decision to be appealed against. The Conduct Appeal Committee shall have the power to accept an appeal out of time only in exceptional circumstances.
b) Upon receipt of an Appeal, the Secretary shall convene a meeting of the Conduct Appeal Committee and give no less than seven days notice to the complainant and the Respondent.
c) The Appeal is also not a Court of Law and no legal representation shall be allowed. The Conduct Appeal Committee shall comprise of five members of the Cricket Committee, excluding any who comprised the Conduct Committee whose decision is under appeal. In the event that there are insufficient qualified persons to sit on the Conduct Appeal Committee, the Club may appoint other members of the Club to sit. The Conduct Appeal Committee shall nominate one of its members as Chair. The Chair shall appoint one of the members to make a written note of the appeal hearing.
d) The Conduct Appeal Committee shall have the power to uphold or vary the decision and to uphold, increase or decrease the penalties (if any) imposed or to order a fresh hearing.
e) The decision of the Conduct Appeal Committee shall be final and binding on all parties and shall be confirmed in writing by the Club Secretary as soon as possible thereafter.
f) The Chair shall determine the conduct of the appeal which shall be in accordance with the procedures laid down hereafter.
12. NOTIFICATION AND RECORDING OF OFFENCES
All information relating to conduct matters will be retained by the Club and be available to all Officers of Clubs and Leagues affiliated to the Cricket Scotland.