4NCL - The Four Nations League - www.4ncl.co.uk/pre2010

2005/2006 Season

Although there are still a few months to go before the start of the new season, please find below some useful information for both existing teams and potential new entrants.

Dates and Venues

We are delighted to announce that we have concluded an agreement with the Paragon Hotel Birmingham which will once again bring together the first, second and third divisions together in one venue. The success of the league is illustrated by the growth of the fourth division over the last few seasons, and our long-standing association with the Moat House chain will allow this expansion to continue.

The Hotels page on the website gives further information on the above hotels.

Rounds 1 + 2

22nd/23rd October 2005
Paragon Hotel Birmingham
Divisions 1, 2 and 3

5th/6th November 2005
West Bromwich Moat House
Division 4

Rounds 3 + 4

19th/20th November 2005
Paragon Hotel Birmingham
Divisions 1, 2 and 3

3rd/4th December 2005
West Bromwich Moat House
Division 4

Rounds 5 + 6

14th/15th January 2006
Paragon Hotel Birmingham
Divisions 1, 2 and 3

11th/12th February 2006
Nottingham Moat House
Division 4

Rounds 7 + 8

4th/5th March 2006
Paragon Hotel Birmingham
Divisions 1, 2 and 3

18th/19th March 2006
West Bromwich Moat House
Division 4

Rounds 9, 10 + 11

29th April to 1st May 2006
Paragon Hotel Birmingham
Divisions 1, 2 and 3

27th to 29th May 2006
West Bromwich Moat House
Division 4

Entry Requirements

All entries, whether for existing teams or for new entrants, need to be received, together with the appropriate entry fee and confirmed team lists, by Saturday 31st July 2005.

We envisage that we will be able to accommodate between 32 and 36 teams in total in Division 4, although we do need to confirm detailed space availability with the West Bromwich and Nottingham Moat House Hotels. We therefore need to reserve the right to decline entries above 32 teams if necessary – although we will of course try to avoid this if possible. Division 4 will revert to a Swiss format with four promotion places to Division 3, and the arrangements for Division 4 will be included in the updated rules for the coming season which we plan to publish shortly. For new entrants we will be operating on a "last-in, first-out" basis, i.e. if we receive entries from new teams that takes the total over the number which we can accommodate, or if we receive an odd number of entries, preference will be given first to existing teams and then to the earliest entries from new teams. We therefore encourage new teams to submit their entries as soon as possible to secure their place.

Entries should be sent to Mike Truran at The Old Farmhouse, 7 Church Street, Ducklington, Witney, Oxon, OX29 7UA.

Prizes

We are pleased to announce that the total prize fund for the coming season will be Ł6750, an increase of 20% from the 2004/2005 season. Prizes will be as follows:

Div 1	First Ł2400	Second Ł1200
Div 2	First Ł1200	Second Ł600
Div 3	First Ł600	Second Ł300
Div 4	First Ł300	Second Ł150

Entry fees

Entry fees are as follows:

Div 1	First teams Ł250	second, third etc teams Ł300
Div 2	First teams Ł225	second, third etc teams Ł275
Div 3	First teams Ł200	second, third etc teams Ł250
Div 4	First teams Ł125	second, third etc teams Ł150

Please make cheques payable to '4NCL' and send along with your entry to Mike Truran at the above address.

As usual, entry fees entitle teams to nominate up to 16 players (Divs 1-3) and 12 players (Div 4) in their team lists. Nominated players taking team lists over 16 (Divs 1-3) or 12 (Div 4) in total will be subject to the usual registration fee.

Registration fees (Ł5) and wildcard fees (Ł10) remain at the same level.

Other

In the event that existing teams decide not to renew their entries, teams in the relevant division that would otherwise have been relegated at the end of the 2004/2005 season will now not be (starting with the relegated team finishing in the highest position, and so on down the relegated teams). In the event that the number of teams not renewing their entries exceeds the number of relegated teams, extra teams will be promoted from the lower division after applying the rule above, and so on down the divisions as necessary.

As usual, teams in Divs 1-3 will consist of eight players and teams in Division 4 of six players. The rules for the current 2004/2005 season require that teams in Divs 1-3 (but not in Div 4) need at least one female player in their squads, and this will also be a requirement next season.

It would be helpful if team captains/managers of entering teams could check their contact details in the "Team Captains" section of the 4NCL website and confirm that they are shown correctly. Please notify Peter Sowray of any updates required.

If entering teams would like a link to their own website from the 4NCL website, please let Peter Sowray know.

Queries

If there are any points that you wish to discuss further then please get in touch with Paul Littlewood, Mike Truran, Mark Adams or John Robinson, contact details for whom can be found on the Management Board page of the website.