Competition Regulations

- Club presidents will today receive pointers to this page, and especially to the two forms they will need to complete and sign, to register their clubs for either or both competitions. Copy of the League form from here; and the Cup equivalent from here.

- Why two forms? There never has been one, as such, for the Siddalls Cup; but this year we have to persuade the Préfecture at Nérac that we are squeaky-clean and worthy of having the civil authority sign-off that is required by the Code du Sport.

- Because of this necessary interaction with Nérac the forms are in French; and they also include a commitment by the president to respect a "Code of Honour", which is the small price to pay for being able to avoid all the pre-match checks and most of the post-match tasks.

- And the tournament regulations are also loaded today for the first time.  Those for the Cup (from here) are largely identical to the League (from here), save for the number of overs and how to settle tied/abandoned matches.

- ACCSO Committee has consciously aligned age groups and junior eligibility with what France Cricket has decided for its championships this year.

- Finally, those clubs re-affiliating to the FFBS have been advised of the procedure for 2012. It is, in fact, very similar to that introduced this time last year. Thus the item at the foot of this page is still relevant.

Posted 20111025: Whilst waiting for FC's decisions on age groups, notably as they affect the conditions under which younger players may play in FC's adult competitions, it's time to slip in a reminder of the various ECB regulations and guidelines on the protection of our younger players. Umpires will be familiar with these, from the plasticised cards issued to them. They are published here for the benefit of captains and coaches, and parents, too. 

- The general question of selection. The ECB document (from here) is written in the context of the UK "Open Age" concept? This is a concept largely alien to French legislation, it has to be said, but the words about how to go about deciding whether a youngster is ready, they are universally valid.

- The wearing of helmets: from here.

- Fielding regulations: from here.

- Fast bowling restrictions: from here.

And, as a catch-all, a piece on the playing conditions for different ages (ball size, pitch length, etc.): from here.

Posted 20111010: The FFBS have decided to do away with surclassements as such. There are proposals on the table to modify the range of ages eligible for the different competitions and this will in future be the mechanism whereby younger players are (or are not) allowed to play in a higher age-group.

The FFBS has delegated to FC the right to choose its age groups, but yet the FFBS reserves the right to validate them..... Doubtless the FFBS will compare FC's decisions with the proposals made by the baseball and softball communities; and the federal doctor will for sure have a say in the final decision.

FC plan to reach their decision on 19th November. Watch this space!

* Code of Conduct: English-language version, as at FC AGM 2011: click here.

Licences! It's getting to be that time again!  The key documents have been updated (in December 2010). They have been distributed to clubs and are always to be found on the federal site under the tab of Textes Officiels, section 15. Exceptionally, copies of  these documents are made accessible from here: but in case of doubt the original FFBS version is always the authoritative version. 

The guide_iClub tells you how to download the software and set about using it;

The  guide-prise_licences walks you through the process, including the 2011 licence fees (unchanged from 2010).

And a new piece - dossier_procedure_affiliation - about how to get your club affiliated for 2011. This will require you to update the information about club president, secretary and treasurer.... you have been warned!