FOOTBALL Federation Victoria wishes to advise all Geelong and region clubs of updates to the 2016 FFV Geelong league structures. These league structures have been built based on information provided on Fox Sports Pulse or otherwise during the team entry period.

Links are now online and are available on the FFV Information and Notices page and the FFV Geelong Forms & Links page, see links below:

2016 Geelong League Structures BY CLUB – click http://www.footballfedvic.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/2016-FFV-Geelong-League-Structures-08032016-By-Club.pdf

2016 Geelong League Structures BY LEAGUE – click http://www.footballfedvic.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/2016-FFV-Geelong-League-Structures-08032016-By-League.pdf

These structures will form the basis for the draft fixtures which are set to be released next Tuesday 15 March. The leagues in these structures do not involve competitions organised by the Northern and Southern Hubs.

The Key Dates as per the 2016 Geelong Competitions Update memo from last November are as follows:

Tuesday 15 March           FFV Geelong Draft fixtures released

Friday 18 March              Deadline for clubs to request changes to fixtures

Wednesday 23                March Final fixtures confirmed

Fri 8 to Sun 10 April        Round 1 – FFV Geelong season

LATE TEAM REQUESTS

Any changes to the above league structures must be made via submitting the Geelong Late Team Request form available online by clicking HERE.

Late team requests are divided into three types:

- Late Team Entry (entering a new team)

- Late Team Withdrawal (withdrawing an existing team)

- Late League Change Request (requesting to move an existing team from league to another)

Please ensure that you review the league structures before submitting a request.

The very latest date these requests can be submitted is Tuesday 26 April – two days after the conclusion of Round 3.

We acknowledge that there are a number of tentative teams across the region at this stage, so FFV encourages clubs to submit any late teams they may have as soon as possible to FFV (particularly over the next week where possible) so that as many teams can start the season from Round 1 as possible.

AMALGAMATED OR UNVIABLE LEAGUES

Clubs are to note that some of the league options offered in 2016 have not fulfilled the minimum numbers of teams in order to be viable.

This minimum amount is four teams for stand alone age groups (i.e. Girls' Under 16) and six teams for age groups with multiple divisions (i.e. Boys' Under 17A & 17B).

Specific notes are as follows:

- Boys' Under 12 & 13: the two divisions from each of these age groups have been amalgamated.

- Girls' Under 11 & 16: both of these leagues do not have the minimum of four teams required – FFV will contact each club to discuss suitable alternatives to ensure all teams have somewhere to play in 2016.

If you have any questions regarding the above, please call Competitions on 9474 1800 (press 1 for 'Competitions') to speak to a member of FFV staff, or write to competitions@ffv.org.au.

Due to the busy nature of the fixturing period, it may take FFV Competitions longer than normal to respond to enquiries. We thank you for your patience during this busy period.

Lastly, we would like to thank all clubs in the Geelong region for their efforts so far in preparing for the 2016 season.

Regards,

FFV Competitions