Post
by Kevin Thurlow » Thu Sep 15, 2016 8:27 am
"SCCA (Surrey) changed their rules a few years ago. It was clear that previously the rules before only allowed this process for members, club officials etc.
I seconded the proposal because the year before it was one of our players that caused the dispute.
Our club also made a decision for a long term ban. Conduct was completely unacceptable."
The incident is known to me. When SCCA became a company, they did introduce rules to exclude "members", but this only referred to clubs (most of the board members wanted to get rid of one club), so when the dispute happened, SCCA had to make hurried changes. The ultimate decision was correct, although another individual probably should have been banned.
But the other members of Nick's club tried to cool the situation down at the time and afterwards. Relations between the clubs are probably even friendlier than they were before!
As for codes of conduct, you cannot cover every eventuality. If you say, "You will be banned if you throw a cup of tea at an opponent", then someone will throw a cup of coffee and claim he cannot be banned. It depends on context too. If you tell someone to "f*** off", merely for looking at your game, that is unacceptable. However, last season, a Guildford member violently pushed me in the back and falsely accused me of making a noise, I just looked at him and he went away, but I submit, it would have been quite reasonable to speak sharply to him or respond to the assault in an appropriate manner.
Nobody has mentioned codes of conduct for organisers. There are organisers and arbiters who behave in an obnoxious manner as well!