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East League Rules:  New for 2010 - 2011 season

3.2: Player registration deadlines in EML Prem A and EWL Prem have been brought forward to allow assessment by the League Manager. Players must now be registered 5 days in davance of their first match in these two division.

3.3: Players having played only junior hockey are not subject to transfer rules when first switching to senior league hockey.

4.2: An assessment of the first 3G pitch in the League concluded that it is suitable for the lowest divisions only.  FIH approved 3G pitches may therefore only be used in the botton two divisions of each quadrant in the EML, and not at all in the EWL

4.6.1: Failures by clubs to properly and promptly arrange indoor postponements under the present rule have greatly inconvenienced other clubs in previous seasons.  The rule has therefore been changed, and automatic postponements are no longer given but must be agreed in advance by the League Manager; must be arranged (but not necessarily played) by the end of October, except for later indoor rounds; and are limited to first teams.
Postponements for junior indoor hockey are limited to teams participating in an EHB final, i.e. the culminating match of a competition.

6.1 : EWL only : If a county league champion does not wish to accept promotion to the EWL, an extra promotion from another county league is now an option to fill the gap.

6.2 : EML only : Higher divisions usually had 2 promotions and lower divisions 3, but this has been inconsistent across the quadrants. The rule now establishes Div 5/Div 6 as the dividing point for all quadrants.

6.4.5: EML only : Under exceptional circumstances a new team from a club already in the EML may be placed above the bottom division. This might apply for example to clubs that do not put all their teams into the league.

7.4: Appeals are simplified; Appeals against League Manager or League Secretary decisions go to an East League Appeal Panel; those against League Committee decisions go to the East Appeals Committee. Decisions from both are final. An appeal must now be made within 7 days and be accompanied by all relevant documents.

All other rules : have been rewritten to improve clarity and remove anomalies. Sections are rearranged into a more logical order, the guideline section has been incorporated into the rules, and the text has been simplified. Examples of a rule in practice are added where that is believed to be helpful.