The Courier |
THE jubilation surrounding Illabarook’s third-ever win in the Central Highlands Netball League A-grade competition has been soured by a harsh law in the league’s constitution.
Illabarook defeated Daylesford by nine goals on Saturday, but had the points stripped due to their absence at the pre-season annual general meeting.
The league constitution states clearly that “any team not represented at the annual general meeting shall forfeit four premiership points from each grade in which they field a team.”
As a result, the Bulldogs remain 16th on the ladder, just percentage clear of the winless Daylesford and Newlyn.
CHNL secretary Kaylene Trigg said the penalty for missing the meeting was tough, but added it was not the first time it had been enforced.
“It’s really the one meeting they need to attend because we give out all the information for the year and make decisions for the year at that meeting,” Trigg said.
“Because clubs have to travel so far (we) try and do the rest of it through email.
“One meeting a year isn’t too big of an effort, really.
“It’s fairly harsh, but there has been a need in the past to enforce something like this. The fine system in before this didn’t work.”
Illabarook went winless during its first season in the Central Highlands ranks in 2011, before winning two games last year.
The Bulldogs are now free to accumulate points and haven’t had their percentage altered.
The law has already stripped the Illabarook 15/unders of their first win of the season in round three, before they again won on the weekend.
Illabarook’s C-grade and 13/under teams have had ties, but will not have points deducted until registering a win or when reaching the end of the season.
First-year Illabarook netball co-ordinator Trudie Donovan was “absolutely devastated” to learn on Sunday evening that her club’s first wins would not count towards overall points tallies.
Donovan told The Courier than she and her husband were made redundant from their jobs shortly before the annual general meeting and had a job interview in Swan Hill on the day of the AGM.
“If I had known the consequences there’s no way in hell I wouldn’t have been there,” she said.
Donovan said she was unaware of the repercussions of missing the meeting, and while accepting the results, wished new co-ordinators could be made aware of such important laws before the start of a season.
“We are still people, we still have lives and kids and everything else,” she said.
“This is harsh.
“In essence we will lose 24 points.
“I’m sorry for the 70 netballers that I’m responsible for, it’s their efforts that are suffering.”
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