EAST LOTHIAN LADIES’ COUNTY GOLF ASSOCIATION

5-A-SIDE TERMS OF COMPETITION (updated November 2023)

Introduction

The 5-a-side Competitions shall consist of a scratch competition for the Dewar Trophy and a handicap competition for the Carols’ Trophy.

Competition Administration

East Lothian Ladies’ County Golf Association will provide guidance and assistance with the administration of this competition and provide guidance on any rules matters. Participating Clubs will make all arrangements for matches.

An Organising Committee will oversee the competition and this Committee will comprise the Captain and Vice-Captain of East Lothian Ladies’ County Golf Association and one representative from each of the participating Clubs. This Committee will meet annually at which time any issues may be raised and draws for the following season will take place.

The representatives have a vote on any matters relating to the conduct, structure and organization of the 5-a-sides. In the event of a tied vote the Captain of ELLCGA will have the casting vote.

Rules

These rules must be displayed within each participating Club and on the ELLCGA website (www.ellgolf.co.uk). Team Captains should ensure that all team members are aware of these rules and that they are adhered to.

 

 

The Competition

Clubs may enter teams for either the scratch or handicap trophies or for both trophies.

In the event of the Clubs agreeing that the number of teams participating for either of the trophies will give rise to more matches than can be reasonably accommodated the competition for that trophy will be split into 2 sections by way of a random draw. The winning team from each section will then play off in a final for the trophy.

Groups for the Carols’ Trophy will be re-drawn every 3 years. Home and away ties will be determined at the AGM.

New teams entering the competition will create the need for a new draw to be made. This will be carried out at the AGM.

Teams

  1. 5 players per team.
  2. Players must be members of an East Lothian Golf Club.
  3. 3.  Players can only play for one Club.
  4. Players who are members of other counties may take part, providing they comply with rules 2 and 3 above. Failure to follow these conditions will result in the Club having to forfeit the match. However we would ask all clubs to encourage players to become members of ELLCGA.
  5. Clubs should encourage junior girls to play.
  6.  All matches will be in singles format.
  7. Each Club must appoint an Acting Team Captain to take full responsibility on match days.
  8. Where a Club has more than one team, they should endeavour to maintain a separate pool of players for each team in the interests of maximizing participation. There will however be no prohibition against a player participating in matches for both trophies.
  9. A joint team may be entered for either trophy with agreement of the Organising Committee. The Clubs entering a joint team must agree in advance the arrangements for hosting the home matches.

 

 

Matches

  1. It will be up to clubs to decide whether to play weekdays or weekends.
  2. The challenging home club should offer 3 dates not all in the same week and must include at least 1 weekday and 1 weekend date. If no approach has been made by the Home Club to arrange the match by 1st April, then home advantage will be lost.
  3. Challenged clubs are expected to respond within 2 weeks of dates being received.
  4. Times for matches can be anytime at weekends and after 5pm or later during the week.
  5. The matches for the Dewar Cup must be completed by the 30th of September. The matches for the Carols’ Trophy must be completed by the 31st of August; to allow ELLCGA to arrange the final, to be played by the 30th of September.
  6. Once match dates have been arranged, details of said dates must be given to the Vice-Captain of ELLCGA. The fixtures will be published on the website.
  7. As a last resort Clubs must field at least three players rather than concede the whole match. Any conceded games will be deemed to have been lost by 5 & 4.
  8.  The Dewar Trophy shall be played off scratch and the format will be determined from year to year at the AGM.
  9. The Carols’ Trophy shall be played off handicap with an upper limit of WHI 24.4.  Players with a higher handicap may play but must play off 24.4. This means that the course handicaps may be greater than 24. All players must have an active handicap. Handicap allowance will be the full difference between the course handicaps.
  10. If the course is open then play proceeds.   A match may only be abandoned if, during the course of play, the course becomes unplayable under the Rules of Golf.

An alternative date should be arranged as soon as possible between the Reps with at least 2 alternative dates being offered by the home team. The date, when confirmed, should be notified to the ELLCGA Vice Captain. Where a match has been abandoned all games will start from the first tee regardless of where each game finished in the original match.

  1. The home team shall have the honour of the first Tee as they are the challengers.
  2. Immediately before the match Acting Team Captains will enter the names of their players (in ascending order of WHI) onto the results sheet. For a Carols’ Trophy Match they will determine the course handicaps of the players and strokes given/received. No alteration can be made to the agreed pairings.
  3. If a player is delayed the games should continue in the pairings determined in clause 12. A rearrangement of the order of games is permitted. If the delayed player is later than the last tee time then they will be penalised under the rules of Golf; ready to play no more than 5 minutes past the last tee time, the player loses the hole; more than 5 minutes late the game is forfeited and the opponent is awarded 1 game point the score is recorded as 5&4.

14 A team will forfeit any game (and lose the game point) where a player plays in incorrect WHI order. The result of the game will be 5&4 for the team that played in the correct order. If this means subsequent players play out of order then these games will be deemed to have been lost 5 & 4.

  1. A club will forfeit a match if they field an ineligible player e.g. one who has already played for another club in the competition. The game scores will be recorded as 5&4 victories.

 

 

Results

  1. After completion of the match the official “Results Notification Sheet” should be completed and the winning team must arrange for the return of this sheet by e-mail, to the Vice-Captain of ELLCGA within 2 days of the match date. Both Captains should keep a record of the results. Should the results sheet not be returned then the result will be declared null and void.
  2. Teams will be awarded 2 match points for a win, 1 match point for a halved match and 0 for a loss.
  3. At the end of the season if 2 clubs have the same number of match points then the team with the most game points won will win. In the event of a further draw the team with most holes up will win.
  4. Results will be posted on the ELLCGA website. Club Representatives may print these off and post on their respective County notice boards.
  5. Once the winners of the two sections of the Carols’ Trophy are known ELLCGA will determine the date and venue of the final.
  6. In the event of a draw after completion of the five matches in the Carols’ Trophy Final the result will be determined by number of holes up. In the event of a tie after a “holes up” count, the final shall be decided by a sudden death playoff by the first pairing.
  7. The Dewar Trophy will be presented to the winners of the scratch competition and the Carols’ Trophy will be presented to the winners of handicap competition at the ELLCGA Annual General Meeting.

 

 

Distance Measuring Devices

A player may obtain distance information by using a device which measures distance only.

Catering

Catering, recognised as a courtesy, is left to the discretion of individual Clubs. Catering arrangements should be advised in advance so that the teams are aware of what to expect and host clubs are not left with unnecessary food and caterers are aware of dietary requirements.

Caddies

The use of caddies is permitted.

Breach of Rules

Any Club who commits an infringement of the Rules will be asked, in the first instance, to provide the Captain of ELLCGA with written reasons for the infringement.

All other clubs not directly involved with the infringement will be asked to make an informed judgement as to what sanction should, in their opinion, be invoked.

Transportation Policy

Follow these links for the East Lothian Ladies County Golf Association:-

Transportation Policy and Consent Form

https://www.ellgolf.co.uk/transportation-policy-documents/

[Updated November 2023]

Competitions

Enter competitions online

Follow Us on Facebook