Competition Rules

 

GENERAL RULES 2007/7

 

 

1.        All competitors must be 26 years of age or under (or the appropriate age according to the rules of the competition) on 1^st September 2007. Competitors must be active YFC members and will be required to produce their current plastic membership card at the start of the competition. Failure to produce a card will result in a penalty charge of £5.00 and the YFC member will not be allowed to compete.

 

 

2.        Competitors will be disqualified if they contact the public by speech or sign while a competition is in progress or talk with each other in the stock judging rings. Chief Stewards will be required to warn competitors and then report the incident to the elected Complaints Panel for decision.

 

 

3.        Mobile phones will be confiscated during all competitions.

 

 

4.        Written notification of intention to lodge a complaint to dispute a result must be received by the Competitions Committee Chairman within one hour of the completion of a contest or immediately after the announcement of the competition results. It should be accompanied by a deposit of £10 which will be refunded if the complaint is substantiated. Complaints will only be accepted from members of membership age or Club Chairmen. A panel of three will deal with all official complaints and where possible problems will be dealt with on the day to find a satisfactory result. If not, the Chairman will discuss the complaint at the next County Committee meeting.

 

 

5.        On no account should members approach Judges voicing their complaint or indeed writing to outside organisations, prior to the complaint being raised and discussed at a County committee meeting.

 

 

6.        Unacceptable behaviour by competitors or supporters, which adversely affects other competitors, will be penalised.

 

 

7.        Removal of exhibits before the allowed time, will result in the offending competitors marks being withdrawn.

 

 

8.        Any infringement of the rules will result in a competitor/team being placed ten points below the lowest placed competitor in that competition, unless specified differently in the rules of that specific competition.

 

 

9.        The decision of the Judge(s) shall be final within the framework of the rules and any harassment of the Judge(s) may lead to disqualification. Abusive behaviour towards Judges and Stewards will, in continual and extreme cases, lead to disqualification.

 

 

10.Competitors will be awarded at least one mark in each competitions with the  exception of Rule 8.

 

 

11.  Members are advised not to use expensive items in any displays. Gwent                        Federation will not be held responsible for any items left on display.

 

 

12.   The results of competitions will be used to determine Wales YFC and National competitions/team selection. Members MUST compete in the County Eliminator of a County Competition if they wish to be considered for the team to represent Gwent YFC in an out–of-County Competition or a Wales or National Final. THE COMPETITIONS COMMITTEE WILL STRICTLY ADHERE TO THIS RULING.

 

 

13.  Where necessary, a draw for the order of appearance in competitions will be conducted by County Officers or Staff prior to the event.

 

 

14.  Gwent Federation reserves the right to amend or cancel any of the rules of the competitions.

 

 

15.  Individuals cannot be called upon to judge the same competition in consecutive years.

 

 

16.  Should a member require assistance to compete in a County competition due to disability (learning/physical), every effort shall be made to ensure inclusion of the individual with dignity, respect and confidentiality. County requests prior knowledge of any assistance required in order to maximise the benefit to the individual.

 

 

17.  Insurance cover provided by The National YFC Insurance Scheme will apply to all Clubs and members participating in competitions PROVIDED that the competitor holds an up to date Photo ID Membership Card.  Each club has been supplied with full details, and further information is readily available from the YFC Insurance Department, NFU Mutual Insurance Society Limited Tel: 0191 212 570.

 

 

18.   All Competitions carried out at Gwent County level must comply with Health and Safety legislation and meet the relevant safety standards.

 

 

19.   Entry forms are to reach County Office by 15^th of the month prior to the month that the Competition is being held. FAILURE TO DO SO MAY RESULT IN THE TEAM/MEMBER BEING UNABLE TO COMPETE.

 

 

THE RULING ON REPRESENTATION OF MORE THAN ONE CLUBCOUNTY IN A CALENDAR YEAROR EVENT IS AS FOLLOWS:-

 

'That where a member represents a County Federation in a National Event (including Area Eliminators), they may not represent a different County Federation in any other event in that same calendar year.  This applies also when they represent a Club on behalf of a County in a National event or Area eliminator’.

 

 

‘However, a person who resigns from a Club and takes up membership of another, may represent that new Club or its County Federation as from the date of joining, except that they may not represent more than one Club or County Federation in successive rounds of the same competition which leads to a National Final'.