‘I hope someone from IMG was there!’ Club to give fans chance to vote on new proposals
Fan-owned Hunslet will hold a consultation with their supporters ahead of the crunch IMG vote next week.
IMG’s re-imagining rugby league proposals are due to be voted on by RFL members on April 19.
It is expected that their five pillars to a new grading system, which will remove the current format of automatic promotion and relegation to and from Super League, will be passed.
The proposals require a majority vote to be passed, from a total of 55 votes.
League One clubs like Hunslet have one vote, as do their Championship counterparts. Super League clubs effectively have 2.14 votes each as part of an agreement that dates back to 2006 to balance the difference between the top tier and the leagues underneath.
READ: Explained: How the club voting process for IMG’s proposals will work
Seven other organisations will vote too, while French clubs Catalans and Toulouse do not get a vote as they are not RFL members. West Wales Raiders, whose late withdrawal from League One contributed to Hunslet not having a game for three weeks prior to their defeat to the Rams, also maintain a vote despite not playing this season.
Influence how the club votes
Unlike most other clubs, where the decision on how to vote will essentially be decided upon by a club owner or a board of directors, Hunslet are giving their fans the chance to have their say.
Chief executive Neil Hampshire wrote in a message to fans: “As you’ll no doubt be aware, IMG shared their proposals for the introduction of a Grading system at a meeting with all Clubs on 9th March.
“Since that date, the RFL have undergone a month long consultation exercise with Clubs which has already seen some small adjustments made to the original proposals. I have been leading for the Club on this issue.
“I’ve provided full written feedback to the board. Following discussions with the board, (I) submitted a comprehensive list of questions and concerns to the RFL.
“I’m expecting further information from the RFL this week which promises to provide more clarity on how the scoring system works, and I’ll also be attending a further all Clubs Video call with the RFL on 12 April.
“As a supporter owned Club, It’s important that we give you the opportunity to influence how the club votes. To that end, I will give a presentation on the proposals, and the Boards recommendation.”
The fans event will take place next Tuesday, April 18, the night before the formal vote is due to take place at the John Smith’s Stadium in Huddersfield.
Meanwhile, Hunslet Coach Alan Kilshaw said their narrow 12-6 loss to Dewsbury at the weekend was a reminder of the quality on show in League One.
Kilshaw said: “I hope someone from IMG was there!
“Anyone who was at Dewsbury on Friday couldn’t have failed to be impressed. Even though we lost, the match was a terrific advertisement for Rugby League, with two good sides giving everything, playing in the right spirit, and with two passionate sets of fans in attendance. It was a tremendous occasion.”
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