Rules of SA Masters Waterpolo

Short summary of rules applicable for the annual Masters tournament:

1. Age groups

• Open – any age
  • No handicaps
• 30+ , 40+ , 50+ , and 60+
  • handicaps as normal
  • 1 goal for every 2 years average age difference with a max of 3 goals

2. Average Age

• Determined by the average age of your youngest 7 players , and then can only enter in the group that fits , e.g. average age of 39 means can only enter Open or 30+ , and so on

3. Registration

• Can only register and play for one team , and
• Can only enter if you have at least 7 players

4. Borrowings

• No Borrowing of other players will be allowed
• If your team suffers an injury or two that makes your side less than the original entry size, you will have to get permission from the Tournament Director to borrow another player; and that player, or two, will have to fit your average age e. as old or older

FINA rules apply with the following deviations:

• Teams are handicapped based on the average age of the youngest seven (7) players.
• A players age is determined as at the 31st December for the year of the tournament.

Age Groupings and Restrictions

• No player may be registered in more than one (1) team.
• The average age of the seven (7) youngest players in a team shall determine which age group that team enters.
• The current ruling for national players will remain in effect unless they are entered into a team which plays in the Open section (2019).
• Ages shall be taken as the 31st December of the year in which the event takes place.
• Teams with less than seven (7) players shall not be permitted to enter an event.

Borrowing of Players

• 2019 Vote on to the abolishing of the “borrowing” rule:
  • In favour of abolishing the borrowing rule = five (5)
  • The motion carried as more than half of the delegates supported this.
  • No borrowing of players.
• Relaxation from any of these restrictions may be allowed provided written representation is made to the SAMWP Board and the Board agrees in writing.

Current age groups catered for (pre-2013)

• 30+
• 40+
• 50+

Current age groups catered for 2019+

• Open
• 30+
• 40+
• 50+
• 60+

Notes to the above:

• Based on the number of teams entering , a decision would be made to spilt the oversubscribed teams into five (5) year brackets.
• If insufficient entries for the Open section do not materialise then this section must be scrapped for the current tournament and may not be merged with the 30+ section.
• Sufficient entries will be determined by a vote amongst the provincial representatives once the number of potential teams are known; the consensus outcome would then determine if that or those sections would be entertained for the current tournament.

Minimum age to participate in the SA Masters Waterpolo tournament

• The minimum age for all players is twenty-five (25) years unless the player is a current or recent international player then the age limit will be thirty (30) years.
• The current ruling for national players will remain in effect unless they are entered into a team which plays in the Open section.

Handicap system

• The older team receives one goal for every complete two (2) years difference in average age, to a maximum of three (3) goals.
• This will be recorded on the team sheet and scoreboard BEFORE each game.
• Note: no handicap system applicable to the 25-35 age group for 2019 tournament as per majority vote at the 2018 AGM
• No handicaps would be applied to the Open section.
• Current handicap rule would apply to all other sections

Examples

Team	Average age	Team	Average age	Calculation	Handicap
A	33 years	B	34 years	(34 – 33 = 1/2 = 0.5)	No handicap
A	35 years	B	37 years	(37 – 35 = 2/2 = 1)	One (1) goal
A	33 years	B	38 years	(38 – 33 = 5/2 = 2.5)	Two (2) goals
A	33 years	B	46 years	(46 – 33 = 13/2 = 6.5)	Three (3) goals

• The average age of the youngest seven (7) must be over the specified age grouping.
• Games are 2 x 12 minutes with a 1 minute break between halves.
• Games missed will be forfeited and a 6-0 result will be awarded to the other team.

Rules of the tournament

• No time-outs are allowed.
• No extra time.
• In the LAST MINUTE of the game, the game clock will be run in the normal stop-start manner. This is to ensure that teams do not waste time at the restart once a goal has been scored or when a penalty has been awarded.

Points system for the pool games

Points for the pool matches are as follows:

• Win – 3 points
• Draw – 1 point
• Loss – 0 points

In the event of the completion of the pool games where two (2) teams are on equal points, their position will be determined by:

1. Goal difference.
2. Most goals FOR wins.
3. Least goals against wins.
4. Result of the game between the two (2) teams.
5. Most number of wins.
6. The flip of a coin.

Drawn games in a knockout phase shall be decided by each team taking three (3) penalties alternatively and continue one apiece thereafter until a result is determined.

Discipline

• A player excluded for Dissent or Verbal Abuse of the Refs will have an automatic one (1) game suspension and may also be required to appear before the disciplinary committee.
• A player excluded for Violence will have an automatic one (1) game suspension and may also be required to appear before the disciplinary committee.
• A player excluded for Brutality will have an automatic two (2) game suspension and may also be required to appear before the disciplinary committee.
• The disciplinary committee has the right to overturn an automatic suspension upon appeal.

Note: Team captains are to make sure that their team is ready mid-way through the prior game.

No-shows

Any team that fails to fulfil any fixture on the Tournament programme will be subject to a maximum fine of the equivalent of their entry fee, such fine to be determined by the Tournament Organiser in conjunction with the SA Masters Board Executive.

The issue of ex National players playing below their age groups.

This problem was brought to the attention of the Executive during the 2014 Tournament.

The suggested proposal for consideration is that ex-National players, in any age group, should not be allowed to play in a division above their age.

E.g. Glenwood had three ex Boks in their early 30’s playing in the 35+ group. This is not fair on players at the end of the age group, i.e. 45 year olds.

Thus if you are an ex-National player, then you will ONLY be permitted to play in your age bracket or below BUT never up!

Should ex-National players be limited to playing in their age division?
Yes: 4
No: 3