Morning Phantoms,

We’re excited to kick off Round 1 this weekend and hope you’re all looking forward to hitting the court!

As part of Diamond Valley’s ongoing commitment to protecting referees and fostering a safer, more respectful environment for everyone involved in our sport, the association is introducing a new Behavioural Policy for our domestic competitions, effective this season.

A Behavioural Technical Foul is defined as any action or behaviour, by a player or coach that:

- Demonstrates dissent (by word or action) towards a referee or their calls, or
- Demonstrates disrespect (by word or action) towards match officials.

While the rules around behavioural technical fouls remain unchanged, the penalties for them are being updated to promote accountability and deter inappropriate behaviour. Moving forward, 𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗹𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗺𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗮 𝟭𝟮-𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗱, 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳𝗳-𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀. The penalties are as follows:

2 technical fouls in 12 months: 2-week suspension
3 technical fouls: 4-week suspension
4 technical fouls: 6-week suspension
5 technical fouls: 8-week suspension
6 technical fouls: 12-month suspension

These penalties apply to all coaches and players participating in the domestic competition. The goal is to ensure a positive and respectful environment for everyone involved, and we appreciate your cooperation in reminding your players to uphold these standards, as well as all coaches when representing Yarrambat Phantoms. All association referees have also been briefed on these rule changes.

Also as a reminder, only coaches or team managers are allowed to approach the bench or a court supervisor, to address any issues during domestic games.

If you have any questions or require further clarification, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.