Postponement of fixtures or training
Postponement of fixtures or training due to the pitches not being suitable for playing on, please see below RFU regulations. Whilst this refers to senior club matches, Baildon RUFC follows the regulations for all Age Grade rugby too, for avoidance of doubt.
The RFU regulation (6.20) spells out how the decision on whether a pitch is playable or not:
Pre-Match
Suitability of the Pitch or Weather conditions (Regulation 6.20/21)
20. It is understood that Weather (as defined in RFU Regulation 1) conditions may preclude the safe playing of rugby and regulations 20-23 inclusive of this Regulation may be further supplemented by an Organising Committee’s Administration Instructions. In all cases, the Match Official, or their representative, has primacy of decision as to whether a match should be played. The deciding Match Official must be independent of both clubs (unless otherwise agreed by the Organising Committee) and the decision must be made in as timely manner as possible with the travel considerations of the away team taken into account.
21. Where practicably possible, a decision by 5pm the day prior to a match should be taken, noting the practicalities of changing Weather.
For avoidance of doubt, for all matches the Ground Chair will either do a pitch inspection the day prior to matches or delegate the responsibility for a pitch inspection to a club official. This is to prevent teams travelling distances only to find the pitch unplayable.
If a decision is made to cancel the game due to the pitches not being playable but areas of the ground may be suitable for the Baildon team to train, then this will be communicated at the same time as postponing the fixture.
If an away match has been postponed within 24 hours of the scheduled kick off then the match should not be rearranged to Baildon RUFC without prior approval from the following club officials: Ground Chair, Bar Manager, Events Manager, Rugby Chair & Facilities Chair. Whilst following regulations we are also mindful of our volunteers and employees as well as other ‘home’ teams that may already have a fixture or training session scheduled and/or prior arranged club bookings/events.
If there is doubt about the pitches or circumstances change overnight (differing to the forecast) then a further pitch inspection will take place Three Hours before scheduled kick off (or earlier) by the Ground Chair (or delegated club official). This process is also relevant for scheduled training sessions.
Within Three Hours of the Kick Off
When a late decision as to the fitness of the pitch for playing a match is necessary, the decision shall:
(a) Be made by the captains (or Lead Coach for Age Grade) of the teams involved.
(b) Even if the captains (or Lead Coach for Age Grade) agree for the match to proceed, the Referee is still entitled to decline to referee any match on safety grounds or other substantial reason.
(c) If one or both of the captains (or Lead Coach for Age Grade) do not agree for the match to proceed, the match will not be played.
The referee has no involvement in the decision of either team to refuse to play the match but can refuse to officiate if they believe it is unsafe to do so.
