Hey everyone, Its been great to see so many of us participating in the creation of all of these rules. I have finished a draft version of our inaugural rules, however I do plan to tidy them up a bit more, like fixing up abbreviations and formatting. We voted in favour of starting with the rules drafted by TTH as a base. Then we opened up for comments/feedbak for about 9 days. I then added some rules that seemed to only have support, and we voted on several other more contentious matters. See the results here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-PDFHDWCW/ We have also had some other votes on rules along the way (delist numbers, trading during season, auctions etc) I have finalised this list of rules based on all of the feedback. I have also added a couple of things myself, such as a very basic dispute procedure at the very end. Before we set up a vote to endorse the rules, i believe it is important for everyone to see the final list and have an opportunity for final comment. I will post the draft rules below. Please let us know if you have any issues with anything in there that we have not already voted on. If any of these matters are contentious, then we could hold a vote on them too. Also let me know if anything is not clear enough, and potentially suggest any changes in wording that you think are necessary. Obviously ask any questions too. It is now Thursday. I'll leave this open for comment/feedback for 5 days, until Tuesday morning (March 8th) at 4am AEDT.
1. TEAMS 1(a) ORFFF teams shall be named after a remote or regional Australian town/place or offshore territory. 1(b) Weekly ORFFF sides selected from playing lists of 30 players will consist of 15 players. 4 Defenders, 4 Midfielders, 1 Ruck, 4 Forwards and 2 Interchange. In addition, 4 Emergencies can be selected, maximum 1 emergency per line. They come into the side if a selected player on that line does not play. To avoid any doubt, an emergency will not come into the side to fill a position that was left blank. 1(c) SC points and player position eligibility - including dpp - will apply, with “out of position” players receiving half their SC score. 1(d) Interchange players can be of any SC position and will score full points. 1(f) Submission of a Round 1 ORFFF team each season via TS leagues or other method prescribed by the ORFFF Commissioner and/or Board is essential. 1(g) Submission of ORFFF playing sides for subsequent rounds is highly desirable. Non updating of an ORFFF side for an extended period of time to the extent that avoidable donuts are fielded in one or more weeks will be viewed unfavorably due to the impact that this has on the competition overall.
2. FIXTURE 2(a) The ORFFF season will be played over 19 AFL rounds, with each team playing each other once each and a 4 week finals series. 2(b) There will not be any ORFFF rounds scheduled during the 3 AFL multi-bye rounds. This period will be known as the mid season break. 2(c) Whilst there is a 23 round AFL season, there will be no ORFFF games scheduled during the final AFL round each season, with the ORFFF Grand Final played during the penultimate AFL round each year. 2(d) Split AFL round - Where matches are held over a 2 week period, there will be a 2 part lockout for the first and second week of the round. 2(e) Any non-split rounds will be locked out at the beginning of the first match of the AFL Round, except that Matches on Thursday (or opening Anzac round matches on Wednesday) will be locked out at the start of the game, but the remaining games for the rest of the round will be locked out at the beginning of the next game played.
3. ORFFF COMPETITION LADDER AND FINALS 3(a) After each round of games the ORFFF competition ladder will be sorted in order by ORFFF ladder points (Win =4, Draw = 2, Loss = 0), then by Points Scored, then by % (calculated as Points Scored/Points Against *100). 3(b) The top 8 teams as at the end of the roster series will qualify for the ORFFF finals series. 3(c) The ORFFF finals series will be played over 4 weeks and will mirror the AFL finals system. 4(d) Pursuant to 2(a)(b)&(c), the ORFFF Grand Final will be held during the 22nd AFL round each season.
4. TRADES 4(a) Teams can trade players and/or draft picks during the designated trade periods, ie pre and post Midseason Draft, pre and post Preseason Draft, and post season. 4 (b) Specific Draft and Trade period timeframes will be communicated in advance by the ORFFF Commissioner and/or Board, with there always being at least 3 clear days between the end of a trade period and the next ORFFF game or draft. As a guide the MSD and MSD trade periods will usually be held during a 3-4 week period around the multibye rounds. 4(c) Teams may trade players and/or draft picks subject to the restriction that they can only trade draft picks relating to the 2 ORFFF drafts directly ahead. 4(d) – In the trading period prior to a draft, teams can trade uneven amounts of players, however the player component of all trades conducted following the end of the draft must be on a 1:1, 2:2, or 3:3 (etc) basis in order to maintain even player list sizes. 4(d) An “Auction thread” will be posted during the trade periods prior to drafts. Coaches may post a player or players or draft pick or picks or any combination of these as a package to auction in this thread. All players or picks to be auctioned should be listed with a closing day/time, and they cannot be withdrawn before that time. No player or pick being auctioned should be the subject of private trade negotiations nor used as part of a bid in another auction, until the auction of that player or pick has reached it's conclusion/closing time, with or without a sale. The initial posting of a reserve is optional and the reserve is not reached on any auction until the seller says so. Once a bid is tabled the bid is live until rejected OR deemed beaten by the person conducting the auction, it cannot be materially altered once tabled. No bid can be conditional on outcomes not directly related to the auction at hand. Once a reserve has been reached the seller has the option to adjust the auction length, but to no less than 48 hours, or the end of the trade period, whichever is the lesser. As soon as practicable after receiving multiple bids on an auction the seller should indicate whom is in front, any reasoning is optional. If reserve has been met, the winning bid must result in a trade, which is final and irreversible unless vetoed as per 4(e) or via a subsequent mutually agreed trade between the parties (which would also be subject to a veto period). 4(e) Trades will be cancelled if 4 ORFFF coaches believe the trade is unbalanced in favour of one of the participating teams and cast a veto vote in the relevant thread. 4(f) Teams will have 48 hours to veto a trade (e.g. If a trade is proposed at 2.15pm on a Tuesday, ORFFF coaches have until 2.15pm on a Thursday to cast their votes). The ORFFF Commissioner or Trading & Lists Manager will announce the trade is cancelled if 4 vetos were posted in the timeframe.
5. PLAYING SQUAD DELISTMENTS 5(a) Pre-Season Draft delistments must be completed by the designated time and date to be advised by the ORFFF Commissioner and/or Board. 5(b) To delist players, simply post the players delisted on the designated “delisted players” thread. 5(c) Prior to the Preseason draft, ORFFF lists can be no greater than 24 players. If an ORFFF list exceeds 24 players by the deadline mentioned above, players will be delisted from that team for them (previous season averages from lowest to highest) to take the list down to 24 players and the coach will be in serious risk of losing their place in the ORFFF. 5(d) ORFFF lists may be cut to fewer than 24 players prior to the Preseason draft. 5(e) The ORFFF midseason draft is not mandatory, provided that teams retain exactly 30 players following any trading and/or delisting of players. 5(f) To participate in the Mid-Season Draft teams must have reduced their playing list through trading and/or delistment to 29 or fewer players by the designated time and date (again, to be advised by the ORFFF Commissioner and/or Board) in the relevant MSD trade and delistment threads. Teams who have reduced player numbers to 29 or fewer solely through trading uneven numbers of players will also participate in the MSD. 5(g) The Mid-Season draft delistment deadline also applies to ORFFF teams who have gained players through trading uneven numbers of players, as they must reduce their squad to 30 players.
6. DRAFTING 6(a) The Pre-Season Draft (PSD) each year will be in reverse order of the ORFFF ladder after finals results. The Mid-Season Draft (MSD) each year will be in reverse order of the ORFFF ladder at the commencement of the draft. 6(b) The PSD and the MSD in each season will commence on designated times and dates to be advised by the ORFFF Commissioner and/or Board, with a time lime limit of 18 hours for each pick. 6(c) It should be the intent of each coach to make their selection as soon as possible when it comes to their pick, with the time limit only in place for emergencies etc, so that the draft can keep moving if someone is not available for any unforeseen reason. 6(d) If in either the PSD or MSD a Coach does not pick within their allocated time they will be given the highest ranked player on the previous season SC averages (PSD) or current SC season averages (MSD). If the time limit isn't practical, you must notify the ORFFF in advance; i.e. if it is one or two picks before yours but you are flat out at work or have a wedding etc then post that you may need to extend your time. Alternatively, nominate a proxy and give them a standby list. 6(e) Teams involved in a draft must continue to draft until their lists are at 30 players. 6(f) as stated at 5(e), the Mid-Season Draft is not compulsory to participate in for teams who have 30 players.
7. POSITIONS OF POWER 7(a) All official positions will be filled for 12 month periods effective from February 1 to January 31 the following year. Official positions are: Commissioner and the Board (made up of the Commissioner and 2 other ORFFF coaches). 7(b) In addition, there are also the positions of Fixturer, Trading & Lists Manager, Pre-Season Previewer, Year In Reviewer, and The Run Homer. These additional positions are not deemed “official” for the purpose of this clause, and their roles will be determined in consultation between both the coach filling the position and the ORFFF Commissioner. 7(c) All positions will be open for nominations and then filled in January each year. In the event of more than one nomination received and accepted for an official position, there will be an election with all ORFFF coaches receiving 1 vote each. For all other positions, a process will be determined by the ORFFF board, with more than 1 coach being able to fill any of those positions. 7(d) Anyone wishing to fill a position not mentioned in this clause should be encouraged to do so and could raise the idea with the league as per the process outlined in 7(j) 7(e) The role of the Commissioner is to regulate and control the operations of the ORFFF. This encompasses making a final ruling, casting a tie breaker vote, ensuring that all coaches have an opportunity to have a say, discussing matters of issue raised in ORFFF with the Board and to ensure the success and enjoyment of the ORFFF for all that are way too serious for fantasy football. 7(f) The role of the Board is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the operations of the ORFFF. This encompasses discussing matters of issue raised in ORFFF, proposing a variety of recommendations to those issues for a collective and united solution / decision and assist the Commissioner with ensuring the success and enjoyment of the ORFFF for all that are way too serious for fantasy football. 7(g) The Commissioner and Board may seek opinions from all ORFFF members on varying issues and this will occur through polls, forum posts, PM's, and emails; as such please advise others of your current email address and check the Too Serious website periodically throughout the offseason. The Commissioner and/or Board will take decisions in any way they deem appropriate, other than significant decisions which are pursuant to 7(i). 7(h) If a team Coach has gone “AWOL” for an extended period, the Commissioner and Board will be responsible for making reasonable efforts to make contact with the Coach. 7(i) Significant decisions will be taken by a vote with a poll that must be open for at least 7 days. A winning vote is considered as the majority of voters in the poll. Significant decisions include: additions to the rules; rule changes; decisions regarding a coaches further participation in the ORFFF competition; and any other decision deemed significant by the ORFFF Board. 7(j) Any ORFFF coach can propose a new rule, or propose a modification to any current rule, by posting a proposal in the ORFFF Rules Proposals thread and then setting up a poll under the guidelines of 7(g). A proposal of a particular rule, or to modify rules in any particular way, should generally only be made once in any 2 year period. A coach wishing to make a proposal less than 2 years after the previous vote on that same matter, may do so if they have gained permission from the ORFFF Board. If a vote decides in favour of a proposal made in line with this clause, a ORFFF Board member will update the rules accordingly. 7(k) Any disputes between coaches or in relation to these rules can be raised with the ORFFF Board, who will endeavour to resolve the issue satisfactorily.
I was planning to clarify a couple of things, but its late and I'm tired, so I'm going to bed Please let me know if any questions and then I'll try to clarify then g'night
ok, so the deadline has passed for comments. I will now seek to have these rules endorsed - theres no rush for this as the lack of questions, suggestions, dissent in this thread probably indicates there are no issues.