Following concerns raised regarding 2013 Women’s Pennant & Women’s Metropolitan Match Play player eligibility conditions, the matter has been further considered by the Golf Victoria (GV) Match Committee.
The Committee has noted the principal concern where a player who plays Women’s Metropolitan Match Play on a Friday is not permitted to substitute for a sick, injured or suddenly unavailable player and play Women’s Pennant on the immediately following Sunday due to the current definition of ‘weekend’ within the 2013 Pennant conditions.
The GV Match Committee has accordingly determined as follows: –
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The current definition of ‘Weekend’, Pennant condition 3.2 (vi) and Match Play Condition 3.2 (iii) would be retained.
Pennant definition 1(ix) states that “in the context of the different competitions conducted by GV, the term ‘weekend’ refers to the same consecutive three-day period: Friday to Sunday.”
Pennant condition 3.2 (vi) states that “Players eligible to play in both Women’s Pennant and Women’s Matchplay are permitted to compete once only for the same club in either competition on any one weekend. The penalty for an ineligible player competing in a pennant match is loss of the specific individual match.”
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However the following additional exception will be introduced with immediate effect to the 2013 GV Pennant Conditions:
Where a player becomes unavailable to represent their club in Women’s Pennant on a Sunday at short notice (e.g. within 48 hours of the designated starting time), the replacement may include a player that has participated in the Women’s Metropolitan Match Play competition on the immediately preceding Friday (e.g. within the same ‘weekend’ as defined in the Pennant conditions).
However any player substituting as a replacement in such circumstances, is only permitted to do so once in the 2013 Pennant season.
The Committee believes that a player should compete only once in either Women’s Metropolitan Match Play on a Friday or in Women’s Pennant on the immediately following Sunday. In addition, the Pennant conditions should relate to all Divisions and the scheduling of all contests throughout the season as far as practically possible.
However the above exception will provide each club with the flexibility to list an emergency player for its Women’s Pennant team who has played Metropolitan Women’s Match Play on the preceding Friday who can then be substituted if required.
While the Committee noted the suggestion that the definition of ‘weekend’ be deleted and an alternate reference be made to each ‘round’, this was not viewed as a suitable alternative due to:
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Potential to create further eligibility confusion, especially for clubs in Divisions 4 & 5 of Women’s Metropolitan Match Play which commence with Round 1 on Friday 5 April. In a number of cases, the same clubs contest Round 3 of Women’s Pennant on Sunday 7 April.
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Preventing a Women’s Pennant player from playing in Women’s Metropolitan Match Play on the following Friday if she was either dropped from the Women’s Pennant team or was unavailable for the following Sunday’s Pennant round. The Committee believes it to be important to encourage weekly participation in either competition and not restrict this intention via the respective conditions.
For example should the reference to ‘weekend’ be changed to ‘round’ within the Pennant conditions, a player who participates for a club in Round 3 of Women’s Pennant in Divisions 1-4 on Sunday 7 April would not be eligible to play Women’s Metropolitan Match Play for the same club in Divisions 1-3 until Friday 19 April. If the player’s club were in Divisions 4 or 5 of Women’s Metropolitan Match Play, they might be eligible to play on Friday 12 April (subject to previous Pennant participation) but could not participate on Friday 19 April.
It should be further noted that feedback will be sought from clubs via formal survey towards the conclusion of the 2013 season on both the existing Pennant conditions and the amendment that has been introduced.
2013 Women’s Metropolitan Match Play – Eligibility Condition Amendment
As a related matter, the GV Match Committee has also introduced the following exception to the 2013 Women’s Metropolitan Match Play conditions in relation to the final round of contests in Divisions 1-3 to be played on Friday 10 May: –
A player is ineligible to compete in the final round of Division 1-3 contests in 2013 Women’s Metropolitan Match Play on Friday 10 May if she has played four matches or more in the current season of the Women’s Pennant competition.
Given that the 2013 Women’s Pennant rounds will conclude as of Sunday 5 May with the finals to be played on Sunday 19 May, the GV Match Committee wished to ensure an equitable situation for the final round of the 2013 Women’s Metropolitan Match Play and preclude the involvement of players that had played a significant number of Women’s Pennant matches during the 2013 season.
A complete version of the amended 2013 Golf Victoria Pennant Conditions (including the above amendment) is available on the Golf Victoria Website by clicking here…>
A complete version of the amended 2013 Women’s Metropolitan Match Play Conditions (including the above amendment) is available on the Golf Victoria Website by clicking here…>
Should any club, respective Women’s Captain, Pennant Manager or officials have further queries regarding 2013 Golf Victoria Pennant or Women’s Metropolitan Match Play, please do not hesitate to contact the Golf Victoria Office.
Any further queries can be directed to: –
Golf Victoria Match Committee Chairman – Brian Lasky – 0408 504 030
Golf Victoria Chief Operating Officer – David Greenhill – 0417 338 567
Golf Victoria Golf Events Manager – Biviana Gilson – 0409 961 986