SHU Women’s West District

Under 14 and Under 18 Players Guidelines

SHU Women’s West District values the involvement of younger players in the teams playing for the adult District Clubs. We are keen to promote the development of young players and recognise that this can mean moving out of age group teams and joining adult teams to gain experience of a different level of hockey. At the same time, we are committed to ensuring that all youngsters stay safe while participating in any level of hockey.

For all Under 18 players, the club should ask their parents to complete and return a Safe in Care Form under the PVG scheme (templates for this scheme and its various forms are available on the SHU website.) The club should also register them as an Under 18 Player on the SHU Registration Form and pay the SHU fee of £18. This ensures that the player is covered by the SHU insurance scheme. This should be done for all Under 18 players whether they are playing in the SHU National Leagues or the West District Leagues. The names of all Under 18 players should also be listed on the West District Registration Form, and the registration fee of £3 should be paid.

The SHU Bye-Laws (which cover competitions such as the SHU National and Championship Leagues, and the SHU Scottish and Scottish District Cups) state that no player may play before the date of her fourteenth birthday in these competitions. So girls aged between 14 and 18 may play for your NL and ChL teams and the associated cups; please check carefully if your DL team is playing in the Scottish District Cup, as this rule also applies to it.

The SHU Women’s West District League Bye-Laws and West District Cup Rules allow girls under the age of fourteen to play in these competitions. Bearing in mind that we want girls to enjoy their hockey in a safe setting, we would remind clubs to consider the age and physical development of any Under 14 players. Also we require from each club a completed Under 14 Parental Consent Form (a copy of this form is available on the District website); the club should collect the form with the Parental Section signed and dated, then sign and date the Club Section, and send the original of the form along with your District Subscription Form to the Treasurer by the due date in October. Forms for any additional Under 14 players should be forwarded on as soon as they are received. The club should keep a photocopy of the form for reference. The names of all Under 14 players should be indicated in the appropriate column on the Registration Form. These girls should also have returned a Safe in Care Form.

We hope by this means to allow the younger girls to continue participating in the West District competitions and thus developing their hockey. However we would remind you again that we want all our players, whether over or under 14, to play in a safe setting and ask you to be mindful of this at all times, both in selecting and organising your teams and in playing, training or matches.

SHU Women’s West District
August 2016