Each year Touch Football Victoria holds the Affiliates Cup tournament where teams from each of the affiliated competitions in Victoria come to compete against each other to be crowned the winner of the Affiliates Cup. This year it will be held on Sunday 26th February at Frog Hollows Reserve, Endeavour Hills. 

The event will have the following groups participating:

Mixed Championship, Mixed Social, Mens Open, Womens Open, Under 20′s (Men/Women), Over 27′s (Women), Over 30′s (Men), Over 35′s (Women) and Over 40′s (Men).

Royal Park Touch would like to send at least one team in the Mixed Social division plus any additional team subject to demand. With social divisions available anyone can play.

If you are a player or a whole team interested in playing in this tournament all you need to do is contact:

Pete Shaw
Mob: 0414 315 957
E-mail:royalparktouch@gmail.com

The draw for the final two regular season rounds has been published here:

http://www.royalparktouch.com/season-draw/

and the ladders here:

http://www.royalparktouch.com/ladders/

All grades are very even, with most teams having a chance of playing finals. However those teams missing the finals do not miss out at RPT as those teams that miss the finals still get a run in our comp over both weeks. This year our season has been extended to 15 weeks so all teams will have a minimum of 13 games (most will play 14).

Please be aware that for the rest of the season the kickoff of the first time slot has returned to being 6PM.

Also as I am sure you are aware Thursday is a public holiday. Given there is no work the next day for most and the forecast is finally for some good weather Wednesday is looking good for social Touch and a good opportunity to have a few snags from the BBQ and relax with a few drinks either in Princes Park or at the pub afterwards.

Team captains

This is just a general update to let you all know about some important things.

Draws

Draws are available here: http://www.royalparktouch.com/season-draw/.

The bottom two grades have now been set, after next weeks rounds the top two grades will be split into three and a draw for the rest of the season will be published.

Also note that during December and early January the kick off of the first game will be pushed back to 6:10 PM.

Uniforms penalties begin this week
We have received some questions about uniforms and what constitutes a uniform at RPT. For the first 7 rounds the only requirement is that a team is clothed in tops (t-shirt, polo, etc) of a similar colour. The tops do not need to be the same but they do need to be close enough in colour and design that the referee can tell players are on the same team.

Teams may be penalised for players not in uniform. The penalty will be in the form of tries per player not clothed in matching top awarded to the non offending team (up to a maximum of 2 tries).

After next week (week the same policy applies to unique numbers on the back, numbers can be in taped on but they must be legible to the referee.

BBQ and Great Northern Hotel
As soon as we get a warm Wednesday night we will be bringing back the BBQ. We will be selling sauages and drinks so get involved.

This year we are sponsorred again by the Great Northern Hotel. See below for more information.

As you are probably aware the Great Northern  Hotel are again offering free drink vouchers to teams this year. They are now also now offer a great new “Royal Park Touch menu”, check it out here. 

If your interested ask the referee or at the desk for a voucher and a copy of the menu and get along to the Great Northern for great food, drink, and atmosphere.

Come join us at the Great Northern Hotel, the perfect spot to while away a summer’s eve. We have a massive beer garden out back serviced by Kipper’s Bar. There’s also a cosy snug area for respite from the sun. We have 16 beers on tap, offering Australia’s finest, including Feral White and Hop Hog IPA, Taxi Pilsner and Mountain Goat Steam Ale.  We also have international highlights including Trumer Pils on tap, and a range of imported boutique bottles, as well as home town heroes like Carlton Draft.

With five big screens playing all sporting codes, The Great Northern is the place to be this summer.

The Great Northern Hotel
644 Rathdowne St, Carlton North
Ph : 9380 9569
Fx : 9381 2476
email: gnh@live.com.au

As per our weather policy we will be playing touch tonight. 

Unlike other competitions that cancel rounds (making the season shorter) we prefer (providing conditons are safe) to leave the decision in the hands of our players. In the unlikely event a round is cancelled we will update the website and send a general email immediately to all team contacts/captains.

The below outlines our wet weather policy.

Weather Policy

At RPT we only cancel or postpone games if we consider conditions dangerous for our players. The two primary examples of this are:

•  Lightning in the imminent area such that it may strike competitors. This will generally be judged on the night and if lightning is imminent games will be temporarily be halted until it clears.
• Extreme heat,  which we interpret as temperatures above 38 degrees

Referees

This season RPT has grown by 25%. This along with the retirement of some key experienced referees means that we need to expand our referee base. As such we will be initiating a referee bonus system. All teams with a nominated referee will get a bonus point for every game refereed by that player or three bonus points for any player who completes a level 1 referees course.

The bonus points will be capped at three points per team.

There are two free level one referees courses on the 30th of October and 5th of November. Referees are vital to Touch so please spread the word.

Draw

A draw for the first round and a calendar for the various rounds throughout the year has beeen published here: http://www.royalparktouch.com/season-draw/

Like last season the first two weeks of the season will be grading rounds. These rounds along with your team nomination will be used to determine your teams ultimate grade for regular season play. Please note that given our expansion this season there are some new teams so mismatches in grading may occurr. But grading enables us to match teams closely over the remainder of the season.

Royal Park touch is a social touch football competition located in Parkville. To learn more about our competition, and its advantages visit about RPT.

Team Entry

Due to a large number of entries received on the 29th of September 2011 we have currently reached our official capacity of 30 teams. We asked council for an additional field to accommodate extra teams. All team entries after the 29th of September will subject to the Melbourne City Council’s allocation of an additional field or an existing team pulling out.

Update 11/10/2011. We are still waiting on MCC and have ben told that a decision should made shortly. No reason has been given by MCC for the delay in making a decision.

Further details of team entry are below:

To enter a team please download and complete the following Team Registration Form
and email it through to royalparktouch@gmail.com. If you have not collected all your players details do not worry (additional names can be added later), please ensure the following are details are recorded:

• Team name
• Captains details (phone number and email)
• Preferred grade, B-D2 (note we have two weeks of grading rounds so this is indicative only).

The total cost per team is $A1,140 for the season (all inclusive), deposit is $450 (this is required before the first game).

Individual players
RPT will try to place individual players into team right up to the commencment of the season. If you are an individual player wishing to be placed in an existing team visit Individual Players and follow the instructions.

Or for any other enquiries please contact us on:

• Peter Shaw (Mob) 0414 315 957
  E-mail: royalparktouch@gmail.com
• Toby Cooper (Mob) 0418 180 293
  E-mail: royalparktouch@gmail.com

There is not touch over Winter at royal park touch due to a lack of lights on our grounds. However we will be back in October 2011 raring to go.

For those who wish to continue playing over Winter in the inner north they is an option.  Due to the field renovations taking place at Cordner Oval, Fawkner Park Touch will not run this winter. However MCC have allocated some fields a JJ Holland park to cover.

Details are below:

Kensington Competition

The facility is located at JJ Holland Park in Kensington. It is synthetic surface which is located next to South Kensington Train Station which is only one stop from North Melbourne Station. Parking is also available near the station.

• Monday: 6:15pm – 10:00pm
• Grades: Social Mixed B to E & Social Men’s B to E
• Wednesday: 7:00pm – 10:00pm
• Grades: Social Mixed B to E, Social Men’s B to E and Social Women’s B & C

Places will be limited due to field availability. Contact details are:
Touch Football Australia – Victoria
Sports House
Level 2 375 Albert Road
ALBERT PARK VIC 3206
tel: 03 9206 6755
fax: 03 9206 6766

info@victouch.com.au
www.victouch.com.au

This week bring us to week 14 of the competition.  The last round of our competition. So check the results and see were your team is placed and who you are playing in the finals and playoffs.

Results:

http://www.royalparktouch.com/season-draw/

some other thing to note are:

Final round free BBQ

Get some snags

The BBQ will be back this week and snags will be provided free of chanrge. We will also be having refreshments available for purchase. The BBQ is situated next to the desk area.

So if your hungry, thirsty or just fancy a snag you know where to come…

Grand Final uniforms and conditions

For those playing in grand finals please note the following. The uniform policy will be enforced i.e. all teams members must be in a uniform and have a unique number on the back (taped numbers are acceptable). Secondly as we are limited by daylight in the event of a tied game the higher team on the ladder will be crowned champion (drop offs will not apply).

Great Northern Hotel

Following the final time slot we will be adjourning to the Great Northern Hotel for presentations and an end of season drink. Please come a get a dink voucher from the desk and join us there.