Sheriff's Cup

FIRE SPORT UK GOLF SECTION

THE SHERIFFS CUP INTER SERVICE GOLF COMPETITION

Inaugurated in 1961 as a result of the presentation of the cup to the Surrey Fire Fire and Rescue Service for Inter Fire and Rescue Service Competition by the late A E Kirk Esq., Sheriff of the City of London 1960 / 62.

Now run under the auspices of the Fire Sport UK Golf Section (Since 1972).

As amended on the:
4th October 1995.
5th October 2006
16th October 2008
8th October 2011
23rd November 2015
16th October 2018
26th November 2020
30TH November 2023

SHERIFFS CUP RULES

1. TITLE

The Title of the Competition will be the ‘Sheriffs Cup’ Inter Fire and Rescue Service Competition.

2. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To provide a further means of fostering relationships between members of Local Authorities Fire and Rescue Services through the opportunity for sportsmanship, fellowship and healthy exercise afforded by the Royal and Ancient game of golf.

3. FREQUENCY

The competition shall be held annually preferably in the first two weeks in June. Efforts should be made to avoid school holiday periods and public bank holidays.

4. ELIGIBILITY TO ENTER

The competition shall be open to team’s representative of Local Authority Fire and Rescue Services throughout England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, who are fully paid-up members of the FSUK.

The competition will be limited to a maximum of 48 teams.

Each Fire and Rescue Service will be entitled to an initial entry of one team. At the closing date for entries any shortfall can be made up by allowing the following Fire and Rescue Service to enter an additional team, strictly in order: - Hosts, Previous Hosts, Holders, - all other requests will be by draw to fulfil competition requirements on numbers.

Any additional shortfall may be made up at the discretion of the organising Fire and Rescue Service.

5. NUMBER AND ELIGIBILTY FOR TEAM

A team shall consist of four players who must be members of the Fire and Rescue Service, that is to say, be whole time, retained or volunteer operational members or industrial, administrative or technical whole time members, wholly employed in the Fire and Rescue Service Department for the Fire Authority and under the direct control of the Chief Officer or Firemaster.

A retired member who is still a member of his Fire and Rescue Service Sports & Welfare fund which is a fully paid up member of the FIRE SPORT UK shall be entitled to play as a team member.

6. MANAGEMENT & ORGANISATION

For the purpose of the competition there will be four areas, Scottish, Northern, Midland, and Southern. See appendix list for Fire and Rescue Service falling into these areas.

An area may, at its discretion, delegate responsibility for organising to a particular District or Fire and Rescue Service. The District or Fire and Rescue Service will appoint an organising Secretary.

If for any reason an area is unable to accept responsibility for organising a competition it will advise the National Secretary prior to the Annual General Meeting preceding the competition. The National Committee will thereupon decide which of the other areas will be nominated.

7. ENTRIES

Entries for the competition will be made on a form to be provided by the Organising Secretary which must be signed by the Golf Secretary of the Fire and Rescue Service making entry.

If Fire and Rescue Service Secretaries have not received entry forms from the Organising Secretary by the end of February in the year of the event it shall be the responsibility of the Fire and Rescue Service Secretary to contact the Organising Secretary to ensure that Fire and Rescue Service can make entry.
Entry forms must be in the hands of the Organising Secretary by the set closing date. Entries received following this date will only be accepted in the unlikely event of a shortfall in entries.

8. ENTRY FEES
Each competing team will pay an entrance fee, the amount of which will be determined by the Organising Committee having regard to the local factors affecting cost and must be submitted with entry forms.

Any team which withdraws from the event after that entry has been accepted will not be entitled to a refund.

9. FORMAT OF COMPETITION

The competition shall be held on two consecutive days.

Day 1: One round of 18 holes of Fourball Better Ball Strokeplay i.e. two partnerships each of two players from two different teams, each partnership playing their own ball, the better ball score to count.
Playing Handicap Allowance: 85% of Course Handicap.
Played from the FSUK Championship tee markers (white)
Day 2: One round of 18 holes Strokeplay by each of the four members of the team. Playing Handicap Allowance: 95% of Course Handicap.
Played from the FSUK Championship tee markers (white)
The result of the competition will be decided by aggregating the nett scores of the players of each team over the four ball rounds and the singles strokeplay.

The team with the lowest aggregate nett score will be the winners.

In the event of a tie the team with the lowest aggregate nett score over the 4 singles rounds will be declared the winner (back 9, back 6, back 3 count back will be used if necessary)

10. SUBSIDIARY COMPETITIONS AND PLACINGS

There will be incorporated the following subsidiary competitions in which teams will compete for.

a. Sheriff’s Cup

The team with the lowest combined nett score over the 2 days will be the winners;

b. PBI Claret Jug

The team with the lowest combined gross score over the 2 days will be the winners;

Placing’s to be worked out strictly in the following order –

1. The team with the lowest nett score will win the Sheriff’s Cup.

2. The team with the lowest gross score will win the PBI Claret Jug.

3. The team with the second lowest net score will be awarded second place in the Sheriff’s Cup.

4. The team with the second lowest gross score will be awarded second place in the PBI Claret Jug.

5. The team with the third lowest nett score will be awarded third place in the Sheriff’s Cup.

6. The team with the third lowest gross score will be awarded third place in the PBI Claret Jug.

No team can win more than one prize but will be awarded both trophies. If a team should win both nett and gross trophies the 1st place prize in the PBI Claret Jug will be awarded to the team with the 2nd lowest gross score, 2nd prize to the team with the 3rd lowest gross score, and 3rd prize to the team with the 4th lowest gross score.

In the event of a tie the team with the lowest aggregate nett or gross score over the 4 singles rounds will be declared the winner (back 9, back 6, back 3 count back will be used if necessary)

c. Individual and Pairs Competitions

The following subsidiary competitions will result in players winning individual and pairs prizes. However, whilst every effort has been made to recover existing trophies these have not all materialised. Therefore, winners of these subsidiary competitions may or may not receive a trophy but will receive an allocated prize.

The order of priority for prizes is as follows:

1. Individual stroke play competition over 18 holes. The player with the lowest nett score will be the winner.

2. Individual stroke play competition over 18 holes. The player with the lowest gross score will be the winner.
3. This will be awarded to the pair with the lowest nett score in the four ball better ball competition.

4. This will be awarded to the pair with the lowest gross score in the four ball better ball competition.

INDIVIDUALS CAN ONLY WIN 1 PRIZE THEREFORE THEIR SCORES ARE ELIMINATED FROM ANY OTHER COMPETITIONS. This stipulation does not apply to nearest the pin, longest drive etc. prizes
Prize Guidance

The guidance on the relative value of each prize should be as follows;

• The last team prize i.e. 3rd team gross will be more than the 1st pairs prize i.e. 1st pairs nett
• The last pair prize i.e. 3rd pairs gross will be more than the 1st Singles prize i.e. 1st singles nett

This stipulation ensures that the emphasis is on the overall Team score and not the lesser pairs and singles scores

11. SWEEPSTAKES

Any form of sweepstake will not be permitted

12. HANDICAPS (competition max handicap index. 18.0)
WHS index must be provided by each player at registration for National Events: A Golf Club, or Fire and Rescue Service ‘handicap master’ index must be presented for scrutiny by the organising committee on the practice day at the very latest. A handicap certificate handed in on the competition day will not be accepted.
Failure to provide evidence will fall into three stages:
1 No penalty for no Fire Service golf evidence on first occasion, club scores should be available to see.
2 To play off scratch on second occasion of no evidence.
3 Unable to compete at the next National fire service event.
Club golfers will manage their own handicap index at Fire Service Golf Events, this to include local, regional, and national events. When entering a National Competition and registering you ‘MUST’ submit your card into the ‘My England Golf’/ Igolf app’. Non-England players ‘will take their cards back to their golf clubs and submit them’ The committee will carry out random checks, anyone winning a prize will automatically be checked, if their card has not been submitted, they and their team will be disqualified, prizes/trophies will be awarded to the next in line. The player will not be allowed to enter the event the following year.

As the Sheriffs Cup is a FSUK Golf Section event, players will, if he / she have one, play off their Club handicap

Any player who does not have a club handicap will play off their Fire and Rescue Service Golf Section (Society) Handicap Index. All Society handicaps must be supported by the Handicap Master system.

The maximum playing handicap index for the competition shall be 18.0 at the time of submitting the entry form. Should a team members’ handicap index increase above 18.0 by the time of the competition the organising committee must be informed. That entry shall be accepted subject to that member playing off 18.0 handicap index.

Any team found to contain a player whose handicap index is above the limit set out above (and had not informed the organising committee) or whose handicap doesn’t comply with National guidelines shall be disqualified from the competition. IN ADDITION, THAT FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICE WILL BE DISQUALIFIED FROM ENTERING A TEAM IN THE FOLLOWING YEARS COMPETITION.

13. RULES GOVERNING PLAY

Slow Play
If any combination of players loses more than one clear hole over the players immediately in front on the course, the organising committee may impose a penalty of two strokes.
The competition will be played under the rules of golf determined by the:
• Royal & Ancient Golf Club,
• Local rules at the host Golf Club.

The established etiquette of Golf must always be observed.

14. INTERPRETATION OF RULES

Any question which will arise relating to the interpretation of the rules, penalties etc. shall be referred to the National Committee.

A Committee is appointed for the Sheriffs Cup so that any matters in dispute are not left solely to the organising Fire and Rescue Service who will be involved. This Committee shall include at least one National Committee Member and must not include anyone from a Fire and Rescue Service involved in the dispute.

15. TROPHIES

a. The winners of the competition and subsidiary competitions will hold a trophy for a period of 12 months from the date of the competition and will be responsible for them being available for presentation when the competition is next held. If in any year the competition is not held, then the Fire and Rescue Service or individual holding the trophy will return it to the National Secretary who will be responsible for its safe custody until such time that a further competition is played.

b. The Fire and Rescue Service or individual holding a trophy will be required to sign for its safe custody and its return for the next competition. The trophies are insured by the Association.

16. ALTERATION TO THE RULES OF THE COMPETITION

Alteration to these rules will be made only at the Annual General Meeting of the Association Golf Section, subject to the following:

a. The National Secretary must receive in writing at least twenty-eight (28) days before the Annual General Meeting any proposal to alter these rules.

b. The National Committee shall comprise of the Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer, up to four Assistant Secretaries and the Golf Secretary of each appointed District of Association. At least six of the National Committee must be present at the Annual General Meeting before any alteration of the rules can take place. There must be a majority in favour of a proposed alteration before it can be accepted.

17. MANAGEMENT & ORGANISATION

a. For the purposes of the Competition there will be four areas, Scottish, Northern, Midland, and Southern. See appendix for list of Fire and Rescue Service falling into those areas.

b. Commencing in 2010, responsibility for organising the Competition will be vested in areas in the following order:

See rota of events until 2035 Appendix 1.

c. Any area will, at its discretion, delegate responsibility for organising to a particular District or Fire and Rescue Service. The District, Area or Fire and Rescue Service will appoint an Organising Secretary and a Committee.

d. If, for any reason, an area is unable to accept responsibility for organising a competition, it will advise the National Secretary within three months of the date of the preceding competition. The National Committee will thereupon decide which of the other areas will be nominated.

18. BALANCE SHEET
As soon as possible after the event the Organising Secretary shall forward to the National
Secretary/Treasurer a balance sheet for the event.

19. EVENT REPORT
The Organising Secretary shall forward to the National Secretary a report on the event (to
include photographs, and comments) so that the FSUK Golf Section Web site can be updated.

20. TEE TIMES
Start times are arranged to allow for a fair spread of play amongst all players and will adopt the following format:

a. 2 Tee start: From 2013 onwards, the committee will sit with the sponsor and consider all criteria of any potential venue. A 2 Tee start is deemed to be essential as this allows for play to progress effectively and completion of the competition in a reasonable time to prevent undue delay of the presentation ceremony.
Any bid to host the event with a venue that cannot meet the criteria of a 2 Tee start must be supported with an action plan to deal with speed of play and satisfy the committee that there will be no undue delay in the completion time.

b. Competitors start times on day 1 will be different and as close as possible to an opposite time on day 2. I.e., morning day 1, afternoon day 2 and vice versa;

c. Any requests to change tee times will only be accepted for exceptional circumstances (as agreed by the organising committee) in advance of the competition practice day and must take into consideration point b. (above). Therefore, both days start times will be altered and thus affect other team members. Any requests after the commencement of play will only be considered in EXTREME circumstances and will be at the discretion of the organising committee.

d. Singles day will be 3 balls, this has been introduced to improve the pace of play, we have the course for the full day, tee times should reflect this, if earlier tee times are required, play should start from 0700.

21. MARSHALS AND ENTERING THE COURSE OF PLAY

The organising committee must consider speed of play and arrange for marshals and spotters to be available in areas that there is potential for delay such as blind shots, common landing areas and player directing. These functions must be available for all the competition to allow for fairness.

It is agreed that competitors can be used to assist with these functions prior to and after completing their own round. Whilst carrying out one of these roles they are not permitted to discuss any aspects of their play or conditions of the course. Their purpose is to assist with speed of play by spotting or directing players.

NO COMPETITOR CAN ENTER THE COURSE FOR ANY OTHER REASON.

Should the organising committee require the use of competitors for these roles they must liaise with team representatives in advance so that it is coordinated effectively, and no competitor is put at a disadvantage by carrying out this extra duty.

I.e., due consideration of travel time on and off the course and allowances to warm up and be ready for their designated start time.

22. USE OF BUGGIES AT NATIONAL EVENTS.

Competition Play.
We want everyone to be able to take part in our Competitions and, if you have got a medical reason, you can receive permission to use a golf buggy. (England Golf).
Permission to be granted from the Organizing Secretary or National Secretary, failure to receive permission will result in DQ from the competition round played whilst using the golf buggy.

Appendix 1. Rota to 2035