Please note: REG 7 only applies to those Individual and Team Championship events listed in Appendix 1 (‘BUCS Competition Offer and Associated BUCS Points’) which are not conducted as part of the National, Premier and Conference League/Knockout programme.
REG 7.1 A complete list of Individual and Team Championship events is contained in Appendix 1 (‘BUCS Competition Offer and Associated BUCS Points’). Amendments and additions to this list can only be made with the endorsement of the CEO of BUCS, on the recommendation of the relevant Sports Advisory Group (SAG), Event Management Group (EMG) or BUCS Competitions Group.
REG 7.2 Administration BUCS reserves the right to administer its Championships in the manner the BUCS Executive considers to be most expedient.
REG 7.2.1 Where a Third Party is assigned to organise and/or deliver an event on behalf of BUCS, a Service Level Agreement (SLA) will be produced and signed.
REG 7.3 Rules and Regulations Individual and Team Championship events shall be conducted in accordance with the BUCS general regulations, the rules of the International Governing Body or National Governing Body of the sport concerned (as identified in the sport specific regulations), the relevant BUCS sport specific regulations, entry information and pre-event information.
REG 7.3.1 Sport specific regulations for Individual and Team Championship events will be published on the BUCS website alongside the release of entry information prior to the event.
REG 7.3.2 In the event that the BUCS sport specific regulations contradict the BUCS general regulations, the BUCS sport specific regulations will supersede, unless specifically stated otherwise.
REG 7.3.3 In the event that the BUCS sport specific regulations contradict those of the rules of the appropriate International or National Governing body, the BUCS sport specific regulations will supersede, unless specifically stated otherwise.
REG 7.4 Officials
REG 7.4.1 BUCS reserves the right to appoint a Tournament Director for all Championships.
REG 7.4.2 The chief officials for all Championships shall be officials qualified according to the rules of the relevant International or National Governing Body of the sport concerned.
REG 7.4.3 Other competent officials may be appointed by BUCS or its representatives.
REG 7.5 Entries All information regarding entries will be contained in the relevant event entry information. This includes, where applicable, but is not limited to: Entry process and deadline(s), whether staged entries may be offered, whether guest entry opportunities will be offered, amendments policy, reserve list policy, substitution policy, withdrawal policy, and no-shows. Associated fees and/or fines will also be listed in the entry information.
REG 7.5.1 An institution/Playing Entity found to have allowed an individual to compete without the correct entry processes having been followed will have the entry disqualified and may face a charge of misconduct being raised against the institution/Playing Entity and appropriate disciplinary action taken in accordance with REG 5.
REG 7.5.2 In any event which is run in a progression format, if 2 entries (teams or individuals) from the same institution/Playing Entity are drawn against each other in the first round, they may be redrawn. Redraws will be at the discretion of the BUCS Executive and/or Tournament Director and may not always be possible.
REG 7.5.3 In events which offer team categories (two or more individuals), all student-athletes in a team must be from the same institution.
REG 7.6 The use of drones at BUCS events is strictly prohibited. The only permissible use of drones will be with the express permission of BUCS for professional companies with appropriate licenses, insurance, risk assessments and in line with all the requirements of the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority). The unauthorised use of drones will result in disciplinary action under REG 5, and the relevant authorities being notified e.g. CAA.
REG 7.7 Disputes at events Should a dispute occur the following procedure will operate:
REG 7.7.1 A dispute shall be presented, with supporting evidence, to the Tournament Director (TD) or BUCS Executive representative within 30 minutes (unless otherwise specified in the rules of the relevant International Governing Body or National Governing Body of the sport concerned or the relevant BUCS sport specific regulations) of the dispute occurring or becoming known. If the dispute is not raised within this timeframe, an appeal will not be permitted.
REG 7.7.2 The dispute shall be raised by the club/team captain, who may be accompanied by one other individual (e.g. a coach). The TD or BUCS Executive representative may not hear the dispute if there are more than two people present when it is being raised.
REG 7.7.3 The TD or BUCS Executive representative shall convene an events appeal panel. The composition of the events appeal panel will be outlined in the relevant BUCS sport specific regulations.
REG 7.7.4 Where there is a respondent institution/Playing Entity, the events appeal panel will invite them to submit a response and any supporting evidence. The response shall be made by the club or team captain, who may be accompanied by one other individual (e.g. a coach). The TD or BUCS Executive representative may not hear the response if there are more than two people present when it is being made.
REG 7.7.5 Decision A decision based on the submission(s) of the relevant party/parties and on established precedents shall be made. Any sanctions imposed will be guided by the Sanctions Guideline in Appendix 11 (‘BUCS Disciplinary Sanction Guidelines’). The decision, and any sanctions will be communicated to the institution(s) immediately. The decision of the events appeal panel will be final.
REG 7.8 Cancellation
REG 7.8.1 Whenever possible, at least 48 hours’ notice of cancellation of a BUCS event should be given to participating institutions, officials and volunteers, except in cases of force majeure where notice of cancellation should be given as soon as possible after the requirement for cancellation being identified.
REG 7.8.2 BUCS will not be responsible for reimbursing any expenses incurred by an institution/Playing Entity, Athletic Union (or equivalent), or any of its constituent clubs or individual members in the cancellation of any BUCS event.
REG 7.9 Withdrawals and refunds The following shall apply to all Individual and Team Championship events with the exception of Equestrian and Indoor Cricket which have their own equivalent sport specific regulations in place.
REG 7.9.1 Prior to the event entry closing date, any entries submitted can be amended or removed. There is no charge to amend an entry prior to the deadline. Entry fees will not be charged for entries removed prior to the deadline.
REG 7.9.2 Once the event entry closing date has passed, entry fees will be charged for all entries submitted except for where any of the following apply:
- If BUCS has rejected an entry for not meeting the criteria, the institution will not be charged the entry fee. For example, an entry is rejected in Athletics for not meeting an entry standard.
- If BUCS has rejected an entry due to the event having reached capacity, the institution will not be charged the entry fee. Please note: For events which operate a reserve list for entries not initially accepted into the event, if an entry is not withdrawn from the reserve list and is subsequently added to the event, the entry fee will be charged.
REG 7.9.3 Once the event entry closing date has passed, most events do not charge a fine for withdrawals up to ‘x’ time prior to the event. However, after this period, most events will charge a fine for ‘late withdrawals’ or ‘no-shows’. This will all be detailed in the entry information for each event, including how withdrawal requests must be submitted. Fines for ‘late withdrawals’ or ’no-shows’ will not be charged where an individual/member of a team needs to withdraw for medical reasons (and where applicable they are not able to be replaced) and this can be evidenced by a medical/doctor's note.
REG 7.9.4 As stated in REG 7.9.2 and REG 7.9.3, some events will offer the opportunity for institutions to replace individuals/teams who are no longer able to compete, using other individuals/teams entered elsewhere in the event or that they have registered on a specific reserve list. Any events which have a substitution policy will have this clearly detailed in the entry information. Alternatively, some events which are often oversubscribed will place any entries not initially accepted onto a reserve list and individuals/teams from this reserve list will be called up to replace any withdrawals/no-shows in accordance with the event specific policy.
