West Kent Sunday Football League

TUNBRIDGE WELLS COUNCIL PITCHES - CANCELLATION PROCEDURE - current as of 2nd December 2021

There will be a message on the Pitch Line (01892 534472) at 5pm on Saturday, which will give one of three messages.

1- Games are OFF    -   2 - Games are ON  or 3 - Because of uncertain weather conditions, the games may be ON or OFF but an update will be posted at 9am on Sunday.

This may, on occasion, leave it uncertain until the Sunday but will, most weeks, give a certain decision on the Saturday.

If they say a particular pitch is not to be played on then it is not to be played on.

The only deviation from that would be if they pass a pitch fit for play but, on inspecting the ground before kick off, a referee decides that the pitch is not now fit. Then the referee's decision is final. Just to be clear on this - if TWBC call a pitch off our referees do not have jurisdiction to reverse this decision.

Any clubs playing on TWBC pitches that have been declared unfit for play face expulsion from the TWBC facilities, leaving them having to find their own ground.

So ring the number at the times listed above and act accordingly.

OTHER COUNCILS ETC

Other district, town and parish councils will have their own arrangements. Ensure that you are familiar with them. Check on Saturday evening if possible to assess the chances of a game being called off if it hasn't been already, especially if your opponents are travelling a long distance. You can then alert them to the possibility.

CLUB SECRETARIES - WHAT TO DO IF YOUR PITCH IS DECLARED UNFIT

On the subject of procedure when ANY game is called off, the home club has the following responsibilities. If you are away, please ensure that whoever is responsible in your absence knows exactly what to do and whom to call. We suggest this order of priority.

1.   Call the Opponents - it gives them time to contact their players. If your game is called off or is in doubt any time after, say, Saturday afternoon, we ask you to TELEPHONE your opponents rather than rely on email or text message. If your opponents travel unnecessarily they may be able to claim expenses against your club.

2.   Call the Referee - it gives them time to move to another game. Contact your the referee asap to stop them travelling.  Wait as long as possible for an answer. If you end up leaving a voicemail or text message, ask them to reply as an acknowledgement. Keeps you covered! If the referee travels to the ground only to find no-one there, he/she will be entitled to their fee and expenses which the home club will have to pay.

3.   Call or Text the League's Referee's Secretary to confirm the postponement

4.   Call or Text the League's Fixtures Secretary to confirm the postponement. For a County Cup game, please also follow the procedure set out by your County FA.

5.   Call or Text your own players - to save them travelling

6. Later in the day, call or text  the result reporting service just to confirm your game was off.

Also, be aware that County Cup matches are normally automatically rescheduled for the following Sunday with a consequent adjustment to WKSFL fixtures. WKSFL matches are re-arranged by the Fixtures Secretary. WKSFL Cup matches may not necessarily be re-arranged for the following week.

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