Dear Club Presidents,
During the first half of the season it was pleasing to note that conduct across the League was generally of a satisfactory standard. The numbers of reports of players and officials were down on previous years, and there were very few incident reports from umpires and clubs.
However, over the past couple of rounds the umpires have had reason to notify the League of a decided change in behaviour, for the worse, by a number of teams and clubs. In particular there appears to have been a marked increase in officials and spectators calling out unacceptable comments to the officials of other teams, and to the umpires including abuse of umpires.
The umpires play a very important role in our game, and it is incumbent upon all of us to respect and accept their decisions. Our Umpiring group has worked very hard at raising the standard of umpiring across the board this year, and feedback received by the League has been very positive. Umpires, like players, make mistakes, but their decisions (right or wrong) are final and not to be challenged by players or officials.
With regard to club officials, when someone takes on an official role with your club it is expected that they will behave in an appropriate manner at all times, and refrain from calling out to, or arguing with, or abusing officials from other clubs.
Going forward we need to ensure the following at both club and League level:
- 1. Better control of players, trainers, runners by the coaching staff, team managers and ground managers
- 2. Better club management in terms of educating coaches and players on the code of conduct
We are a junior football League and as adults we all need to remind ourselves that we should be leading by example. Improper conduct by players, coaches and their staff, parents and supporters at YJFL games cannot and will not be excused or tolerated.
We ask that you ensure that the message is passed down through your club to all officials and parents that in the last five rounds of the season, and in the finals, we expect that all officials will concentrate on performing their roles and refrain from engaging in any banter or exchanges with umpires and opposition officials. We also demand that you ensure that spectators conduct themselves in a sportsmanlike fashion.
Thank you in anticipation of your assistance with this very important aspect of our League.
Regards,
Peter Haddad Michael Moran
President General Manager, Conduct
