Covid Related Rules (Now Rescinded)

Restrictions while the Covid Pandemic continues, as agreed at the Extraordinary General Meeting on Tuesday 17th August 2021 Revised following SCCA Committee Meeting Monday 25th October 2021 PDF Version

The SCCA Committee have decided that while the pandemic remains, the League should follow government guidelines regarding enclosed spaces. Any player may request that masks be worn in his game, in which case both players will wear masks. Captains must inform the opposing captain of any requirement for masks (either on individual boards or amongst all players as a result of venue rules) at least three days before the fixture. On receiving such a request, the captain of the opposing team may change the board order so as to be able to field a willing opponent, even if this breaches the 80-point rating on board order¹. If the opposing team is unable to field a player wearing a mask in such circumstances, the match will be postponed and rearranged by the captains. The home captain will notify the competition secretary of the postponement and new match date. Fixtures for the '21-'22 season have been front-loaded, with several weeks at the end of the season explicitly left blank to present as many clear opportunities as possible for rescheduling postponed matches. At the discretion of the SCCA committee, the season may be extended until the end of May to also facilitate the completion of postponed matches. Teams will be permitted to postpone any fixture if:

• their playing venue is closed due to a COVID outbreak
• one or more of the nominated team members are self-isolating or have tested positive for COVID

Teams not meeting either of these criteria will be expected to fulfil their scheduled fixtures. Teams will not be required to provide proof that the criteria have been met, and will be trusted not to abuse this allowance. When a fixture is postponed, a new date may be agreed between the two captains and advised to the Competitions Secretary. If it is not possible to agree a date, the Competition Secretary will reschedule the fixture into one of the blank weeks at the end of the season. Where a fixture is for any reason not played before the end of the season, the result will be scored as a 1-1 tie. This applies only to fixtures postponed due to COVID, fixtures postponed for any other reason are subject to League Rule 3.2 as usual. These restrictions apply only to the current season, 2021-2022.

---

¹ NOTE: This dispensation is only for revising board order to accommodate non-mask-wearers in a team that would otherwise be valid and nominated, and is not licence to freely play players who would otherwise not be eligible due to existing nomination and substitution rules.