Rule 2.2 : The consent of a player

[John Upham]

I am attempting to register the AMCA players and have been informed I need to provide consent for the players.

Can someone clarify exactly what this means in plain English?

The rule is given as

2.2 After the registration list deadline as announced per rule 1.1 above, a player who has explicitly consented to play for a team may not move to another team unless (a) the captain of that team voluntarily deregisters him/her or (b) the Chief Arbiter considers that it would be inequitable to hold the player to his/her previous commitment, taking into account the circumstances in which the commitment had been given and any relevant evidence subsequent to the giving of the commitment. It is the responsibility of the captain of a team wishing to retain the registration of a player who has agreed to play for that team to provide firm evidence of explicit agreement (which should be in writing or by email, should be dated and should record that the player has been informed of the consequences of giving explicit consent). A player who has given explicit consent to play for a team but who changes his/her mind must contact the Registrations Secretary before the registration list deadline. A player who has not given explicit consent will be considered to be validly registered for the team including him/her on its registration list, but until he/she has played for the team he/she remains free to play for other teams subject to the requirements of sections 3 and 4 of these rules.

Does this mean I have to provide written consent for each and every player in the squad or for only those who were playing for another squad in the previous season?

[Maxim Devereaux]

Does this mean I have to provide written consent for each and every player in the squad or for only those who were playing for another squad in the previous season?

No (to both). You don't *have* to acquire written consent from your players at all, or provide it to registrations secretary, and certainly it should only be sent to the latter in the event of a dispute about whether a player has agreed to be registered for a team or not.

Basically, it's a safety net which allows a captain to ensure he isn't going to get gazumped.

If you're confident enough in your players that they aren't going to turn around and say "Well, you haven't used me yet, so I'm going to play for Woodpushers Inc instead", and you haven't got any players who have switched allegiances and maybe "forgotten" to inform their former team that they don't want to be registered then for this season, then you don't need to ask them for their consent in writing at all.

And even if you do, a one-line statement in an email (as little as "Yes, I want to play for AMCA this season and I understand that by saying this I can't now agree to play for another team this season") to you written before the registration deadline next week would be sufficient, and, as said earlier, these should *not* be sent to Neville, except in case of a dispute.

EDIT: made my statement cover the fact that it is supposed to make clear the consequences of giving written consent.

[Richard Bates]

I am attempting to register the AMCA players and have been informed I need to provide consent for the players.

Can someone clarify exactly what this means in plain English?

The rule is given as

2.2 After the registration list deadline as announced per rule 1.1 above, a player who has explicitly consented to play for a team may not move to another team unless (a) the captain of that team voluntarily deregisters him/her or (b) the Chief Arbiter considers that it would be inequitable to hold the player to his/her previous commitment, taking into account the circumstances in which the commitment had been given and any relevant evidence subsequent to the giving of the commitment. It is the responsibility of the captain of a team wishing to retain the registration of a player who has agreed to play for that team to provide firm evidence of explicit agreement (which should be in writing or by email, should be dated and should record that the player has been informed of the consequences of giving explicit consent). A player who has given explicit consent to play for a team but who changes his/her mind must contact the Registrations Secretary before the registration list deadline. A player who has not given explicit consent will be considered to be validly registered for the team including him/her on its registration list, but until he/she has played for the team he/she remains free to play for other teams subject to the requirements of sections 3 and 4 of these rules.

Does this mean I have to provide written consent for each and every player in the squad or for only those who were playing for another squad in the previous season?

It seems fairly clear that you only need explicit consent if you are worried that a player is going to defect to another team at some point before they have played for you, and you don't want to allow that.

So basically, the answer is no.