The results of three rules that were put forward as changes for the 2022 season were announced at an SGM ahead of March’s Executive meeting.
One of the rules that proved quite a divisive subject was the provision of teas with a non-obligatory commitment proposal put forward by clubs narrowly missing out on succeeding with 22 in favour and 16 against. An adjusted proposal by the league Executive though was passed by a healthy majority of 31 for and 7 against. This means that clubs preferring to supply a full tea on a match day can do so but will need to inform the Executive of their intentions to do so and a register of clubs who will supply a tea will be made available on the league website.
An effort to make umpiring more attractive was passed via a proposal to increase umpires fees from £43.00 to £50.00 per match. This is for 1XI competitions - the three divisions above Premiership Two - where two umpires are officiating. 30 clubs were in favour with 8 clubs rejecting the proposal, passed with a majority of 78%.
The third and final proposal was unsuccessful with clubs not fully behind a submission to refine the rule for nomination of officers and Executive members in light of the leadership election in November. It was felt that annual challenges to officers' positions causes unavoidable uncertainty, creates extra administrative work, and diverts energy away from handling the smooth running and further development of the League. A process which included a two year ‘cooling off’ period was suggested but this failed to pass with a narrow majority of 55% in favour.
The full results of the SGM (PDF) can be viewed here: 2022 SGM Rules Revision Results
