Member Conduct

1. We would like to maintain a high standard of member conduct from day one and have this reflected in every aspect of the community.

2. Verbal abuse, racist comments and any other negative behaviour will not be tolerated. No-one likes to lose games but we expect all members to act cordially at all times not only within the community but also on any other associated forums/websites, especially in the event players decide to have league references in their signatures.

League Applications

3. Whilst the league is a UK-based entity, we welcome applications from any and all coaches. We do not impose restrictions. It should be noted however that since this is a UK based league, everyone will assume you are using UK times when scheduling a match. If ever a match is not played due to a confusion over times, then the player that showed up at the correct time in the UK will be deemed to be the one who does not default. Please be aware that the UK adjusts for Summertime and therefore GMT is not always the correct time in the UK!

4. As the league develops, if we feel a particular race is too heavily represented we may temporarily suspend new applications for teams of that race. We will, however, try to avoid a restriction of this type wherever we can so as to allow for as much personal freedom as possible.

5. Applications should be made in the relevant forum at www.ukbbl.co.uk and once reviewed, a Divisional Admin will post a reply informing you as to whether there is space in the league at the current time, or failing this, confirming your inclusion on the Reserve List.

Reserve List

6. This list is summarised in a separate thread on the forums in order of signup. Players will be therefore brought into the league proper in the same order in which they joined the Reserve List.

7. Do not be alarmed if you appear fairly low down on this list. At the end of every Season we will endeavour to include everyone from the Reserve List wherever possible, and if you don't make it there are other competitions you may be able to participate in.

8. The Commissioners may at their discretion also run a Conference feeder competition once the season is underway to enable the coaches on the Reserve List to get some practise in. These competitions may be used to decide which coach on the Reserve List has the privilege of replacing any Tier 4 mid-season drop-outs there may be.

Forum Ranks

9. Your forum name should match your in-game name. You will notice upon joining the community that you will be assigned the rank of Substitute. This rank will increase as you post and once you are confirmed as a participating coach, you will be given the appropriate rank and associated posting rights on the league discussion threads.

10. We cannot stress enough that we consider all members as equal parts of the community. Even if you have not yet been able to join the league proper, your input and opinion on league matters will be considered equally important to all other members including Divisional Admins.

11. Also every member of the community will be invited to join in with our UKBBL Ladder League and also privately arranged matches. We also offer one-off competitions, cups, play-offs which will not only be limited to league players, but every member of the community.

Periods of Extended Absence

12. In the event a team coach is going to be away for a period of time which will cause him/her to miss a scheduled game, they will be required to post this information in the Absences forum for their division. Please refer to the section on Forced Scoring for more information on how missing matches will affect you.

League Matches

Arranging League Matches

13. The Divisional Admins will advance the match day in game and will immediately post the match fixtures in the Match Fixtures forum. They will also set up threads for each match in the fixture list which must be used by the appropriate coaches to arrange their match.

14. Once the fixture lists are up, you must post within 3 calendar days letting your opponent know your match availability and requesting theirs. This is to ensure both coaches have sufficient time to get the match played before the deadline (this should be taken to be 7 calendar days from the date of the fixture lists being announced).

15. In the event you do not post within 3 calendar days and the match then goes unplayed by the deadline, the score will be logged as a 2-0 victory in favour of your opponent. This penalty will obviously not be applied in the event it is deemed evident that the opposing coach is purposefully delaying things as a result of you missing the 3 day posting requirement.

16. It is important to note that, should a game go unplayed by the deadline, the only source of information we will refer to before making a decision re the scoreline will be the fixtures forum. We will not get into discussions about unanswered PMs, emails, texts or phonecalls made between coaches. For more information about scoring for missed matches, please see the Forced Scoring section below.

Disconnects

17. In the event of a disconnect, Cyanide will automatically allocate the person who crashed / disconnected a 0-2 loss, and award the person who stayed connected SPP.

18. In the event of a disconnect, the two affected coaches will have the option of agreeing between them what would be the fairest outcome had the game continued. Flagging the game as unplayed, with no SPPs or injuries awarded is an option at this stage. The Divisional Admin can therefore effectively wipe all record of the game and you will be free to play again. It is no longer acceptable to attempt to recreate the state of the game when the disconnect or crash happened. A replay must be played from scratch. The only exception to this is that you may agree in advance to replicate who kicks and who receives at the beginning of the match. In all other regards the match must be played afresh from Turn 1.

19. If you do not choose to reset the game, each coach must PM their Divisional Admin the agreed result. That means one PM from each coach. The result is not agreed until the Divisional Admin has received a PM from both coaches (and the agreed result is the same!).

20. The Divisional Admin will then adjust the result accordingly.

21. If the two coaches cannot agree on a fair outcome, then the score will result in the Cyanide default, penalising the player who initially disconnected. In the event of a ?-? result being recorded in game following a disconnect or crash, and the coaches failing to agree on either a replay or a fair score by a deadline imposed by the Divisional Admin, a scoreless draw will be imposed. Any attempt to unfairly abuse this rule to override what was most likely to be a loss will be in contravention of Rule #1 of the Code of Conduct and may result in the offending coach being banned from the League. Any Divisional Admin can confer with the League Commissioners before arriving at a final decision, but they are empowered to resolve the situation on their own if they choose to do so. This obviously requires fair play and sportsmanship between our coaches which we're sure will not be a problem for the UKBBL.

Match Conduct

22. In line with the above information about Member Conduct, we expect players to mirror the ethos of the UKBBL in their actions and behave with respect toward their fellow players/opponents. This said, we are not playing Crown Green Bowling here and this game brings with it a certain degree of brutality and gamesmanship. We will therefore not address any match disputes which pertain to in-game fouling or tactics. There are no rules on the pitch. If this does not sit well, we suggest you purchase an online copy of Scrabble by Hasbro Games.

23. Furthermore, this is a competitive league. All coaches are expected to play competitively for the entire duration of a game. All coaches are expected to be aware of and implement correctly the concede rules (see below) when one coach wishes to stop playing. SPP farming and match rigging will not be tolerated. But just to be clear, showing leniency and saying you won't beat up on them *is* legal if the game is won and you don't want or need the extra CAS SPPs. Not every player on your team needs to be baring down on the opposition in every turn. If you want to build a defensive screen and he doesn't want to attack it, so be it. If they have the ball, are passing and making SPPs, or running in un-opposed TDs then that is obviously *not* legal. The key thing to bear in mind is that not beating them up is actually a valid conservative tactic for your own team, since every block you make carries a small risk that your *own* player will die. You may be in a position where the game is won and that is not a risk you want to take.

Conceding

24. The official rules of the game (BB CRP) state: "A coach that concedes before setting up for a kick-off where he could only field 2 or less players suffers no additional penalties. If one coach concedes for any other reason then the winner gains all of the loser's winnings and MVP from this match. In addition, the loser automatically loses one Fan Factor and may not roll for a new one, and any players in the loser's team that have 51 SPPs or more will leave the team on a D6 roll of 1-3. Roll separately for each player with 51 or more SPPs to see if they leave."

25. We intend to enforce this rule for UKBBL matches. If someone concedes against you, your Divisional Admins need to be informed, and they in turn will inform the Commissioners. The necessary rolls will be made by the Commissioners and the coach will be expected to fire these players. Refusal to do so will result in the coach being expelled from the league. In addition to this, the UKBBL will impose a further penalty if the concede is not done at the very beginning of your turn. If that is the case, the player with the highest number of SPPs will automatically leave your team. This also applies to teams with no players above 51 SPPs.

26. Conceding *is* part of the game, and a perfectly valid tactic, but you need to notify your opponent at the beginning of your own turn that you are conceding and then you *must* wait for your opponent to acknowledge this in chat before hitting the Abandon Game button. Whilst waiting for the acknowledgement, the conceding player must make no moves but if they don't hear any acknowledgement within 2 mins of notifying their opponent then they can hit the Abandon Game button as normal. Some players don't watch the chat log so they may well miss such a comment the moment it is posted, but most players would check the chat if their opponent didn't move any of his players for 2 mins. Doing it any other way contravenes CoC #1 and #2.

Match Disputes

27. Any and all match disputes should be brought to the attention of your Divisional Admin in the first instance. It will be their responsibility to use existing precedent in order to resolve matters swiftly and amicably. If necessary, the Division Admin may request the players log onto Ventrilo in order to resolve the matter and other Admins may be called upon to be present if it is deemed necessary. Again, any Divisional Admin can confer with the League Commissioners before arriving at a final decision, but they are empowered to resolve the situation on their own if they choose to do so.

Forced Scoring

28. The in-game system allows Admins to enter results for matches that go unplayed. The system used for scoring these matches will be a simple one;

29. As per the Arranging Matches section, you are required to post availability specific to a given match in the appropriate thread contained in your League Fixtures forum.

30. In the event you do not post in this forum as per the requirements laid out in the Arranging League Matches section, you will have a 2-0 score entered in favour of your opponent. This of course assumes that your opponent has posted their availability in line with requirements. In the event neither party have adhered to the posting requirements, a scoreless draw will be assigned to the game. If both coaches posted but just couldn't arrange a mutually convenient time, then 2-2 is acceptable. The Divisional Admin has the final say.

Pre-match sequence

31. In league games where a player has the opportunity to purchase inducements, only the following inducements may be selected:

- Mercenaries,

- Star Players,

- Bribe the Ref,

- Bloodweiser Babes,

- Extra Rerolls,

- Wandering Apothecaries,

- Igor,

- Halfling Master Chef,

- Wizards. 

32. If a player selects ANY other inducement then they will have forfeited the match, and the Divisional Admin will correct the score manually upon being sent the replay file for verification.

Post-match sequence

33. Once the game has been played, both coaches must post to the Scheduling thread their confirmation of the final score, and the winner must upload it to the UKBBL website. How to do this will be described in the Forum's Help section. If you do not upload your match then the Division Tables will not be updated, and unicorns may cry. In the event of a draw, players can discuss and agree in the post-game chat who uploads, but this should be done immediately after the game and not left until the following day. The game is not complete until the score is confirmed by both coaches and the result is uploaded. Furthermore, Divisional Admins have been instructed not to Validate games unless the result is uploaded to the website. In the event that the game is uploaded twice, or if anything goes wrong with the upload process, then your Divisional Admin should be made aware via PM. You are advised to make your skill selections well in advance of your next fixture since you will not be able to play a match until your skill selection is made.

Seasons & Divisions

34. The structure of the league from Season 6 onwards will be as follows:

Altern Forest East, Gryphon's Wood East, Drakwald Forest West and Laurelorn Forest West will both be the fourth and lowest tier of the UKBBL. Players who are joining us for their first season will join at this level. You cannot currently be relegated from this division, but this may change for future seasons if it is necessary to add a fifth tier to the bottom of the league structure. Two teams per season can be promoted from each of AFE, GWE, DFW and LFW, and these will enter the next tier above, which is Kolsa Hills East and Barren Hills West respectively. This diagram should explain everything. Note that if coaches above you re-roll their team you may get a bonus promotion even though you did not finish in a promotion slot.

35. Four teams per season will be demoted from KHE and BHW, but only three teams per season will be promoted to the second tier - Altdorf East and Altdorf West. Similarly, three teams will be promoted to the top tier - Premiership East and Premiership West. Promotions and relegations are determined by points and then TD diff. If TD diff is not sufficient to determine places then who won the fixture between the teams concerned will be the deciding factor. If that was a draw then the final criteria will the winner of a play-off match. When demoted a team will switch from the East to the West and vice versa. For the avoidance of doubt, Dummy Games are no longer awarded either for missed games or as prizes.

36. You are expected to play for the full Season. Even if results go against you, and you consider your team unplayable, you are expected to show up for matches. Failure to arrange fixtures, not showing up for games or serial conceding will all result in being ejected from the league. If you wish to re-roll at the beginning of the next season that is fine, and you will rejoin the league either on the bottom tier (currently Tier 4) or you may choose to enter the Conference. If you choose the latter you will receive no preferential treatment ahead of the other Reserve List members and will have to earn your slot in the main leagues.

37. You cannot "sit out" a season and expect to rejoin at the level you were previously at, although the Commissioners may permit this if space allows and they are having a good day. If you miss a season, you will most likely rejoin at Tier 4 with a new team. You may at the Commissioner's discretion be allowed to jump the queue ahead of the Reserve List.

Ventrilo

38. For anyone that is not aware, this is the most commonly used voice chat software around at the moment and is very easy to use. Whilst this isn't mandatory, we would encourage all members to download this software, grab a mic and jump on the server for some general banter. We believe this will really add to the experience especially if several matches are going on at one time. You can find the Ventrilo log-in details in the forums.

Additional Rules

39. There are three bugs which we will attempt to mitigate against with a "Gentleman's Agreement".

40. The first is Decay. Khemri and Nurgle coaches may notice that an injury they sustain during a match does not persist in the post-game sequence. If they suffer the death of a Tomb Guardian or Rotter, a regeneration roll is not successful, but the player is present on the roster once the game has been vailidated, then they MUST fire the player. This only applies to deaths. MNGs or Serious Injuries which have not persisted will have to be tolerated. This is therefore not a perfect solution, but it is a fair one.

41. The second is Wizards. According to the rules you should only be able to use a Wizard at the very start or the very end of a turn. The way the game is currently coded you can use your Wizard at any point during your turn. The UKBBL rule is that you may *only* use your Wizard before you take ANY action (including standing up or moving) OR just before you press "End Turn" (meaning you could not then take any further action once the Wizard has been used). Incorrect usage forfeits the match.

42. A new bug has been seen which results in the wrong number of players set up on the pitch sometimes. To minimize the likelihood of this occurring it is recommended that you do not use the Saved Formations function. If the bug does occur, ie. the game sets up too many players on the pitch, you must use your best efforts to get the extra players out of the way. Set them up in a corner of the endzone if you can. Do not risk any extra dice rolls to get them where there need to be. If your opponent may attempt a one turn touchdown you may need to consult them on where the best place to put the extra player is. Use your common sense, and act in a sportsmanlike fashion at all times.

43. If there is any dispute regarding the three rules above, then a replay can be sent to your Divisional Admin or uploaded to the website in order to facilitate a judgement.